Never Ending Nightmare (Tiffanian)

[Tassadar]

Re: Miranda (Tiffanian)

Spoiler

HP = 46, PP = 63, EP = 43/47, Status = Fine

The trip down into the basement proved harrowing only for Mirandas nerves, and not for Miranda herself, thankfully, and as she reached the bottom step, and stepped down onto the cold, polished stone floor, she glanced around into the darkness. It was, quite literally, pitch black down here, the only light cast by what was coming in behind her down the stairs, and that only illuminated maybe ten feet ahead of her at best. She could just barely make out the solid stone support columns of the mansion, two of which were just outside of the light.

The simplest path to the storage room containing her herbs would simply be to skirt the edge, going right and then turning once she hit a corner, but that would also take her past four other flights of stairs. Flights that could have other monsters lying in wait, if more had managed to get into the mansion. Alternatively, she could try to take a more or less straight line, but that might get her lost entirely. Either way, she would need some sort of light if she wanted to go anywhere without stumbling about blindly.

 

[Tiffanian]

Re: Miranda (Tiffanian)

Miranda's quick trip to the stairs and down into the basement was uneventful, and for that she thanked the gods. No monsters had been waiting in the hallway to snatch her away, no traps laid on the stairs. And yet, now she ran into another obstacle as she looked out on the enormous basement, blacker than any night. She gulped hard as she peered into the darkness. She had always been uncomfortable in the dark; not afraid of it, per se, but just a little nervous for no good logical reason. Perhaps she knew deep down that the darkness was not her element, and that predators naturally roam in the blackness. Perhaps she was simply too high strung.

Whatever the reason she called up a magical torch, taking time to examine her surroundings when she could see them. Now she had a decision to make. To take the straight path which she wasn't well acquainted with and risk losing her way, or to take the long way round, and risk being pulled up into a staircase by a monster. Really, either way is potentially dangerous... If a monster has gotten to the stairwell, it could just as easily be in the basement itself, hiding. I'll go the way I know, I'll just have to be careful she thought, making her way around the basement's edge, keeping a watchful eye out for monsters. When she came to a stairwell, she would move in front of it only very slowly, and with a good deal of tension built up inside her.

Spoiler

Cast Torch (Level 1 Fire spell)

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Miranda (Tiffanian)

Spoiler

HP = 46, PP = 63, EP = 43/47, Status = Torch, Grappled

Rolls

Spoiler

Casting: Success.
Perception: Enemy wins. Just barely.
Attack: Hit.
Miranda has been grappled.
Aphrodisiac: Miranda is at 15/24 Resistance.

Mirandas magical light illuminated her surroundings much better than the light from the stairs, and she navigated through the comparatively plain stone corridors by simply following the wall. The mansion grounds were massive, and she'd been walking through the close stone halls for several minutes, only the stone support columns and the still silent Nero for company, for several minutes. Shadows played across every surface, shapes slithering in all directions as her magical light touched upon a myriad of different things. At one point, she passed a full sized stuffed model of a male Su-Ku-Ta, naked save for a loin cloth, and Miranda somehow got the idea that its eyes were following her as she passed it.

So, it only came as half a surprise when she felt something warm and slimy wrap around her ankle, and suddenly yank her off of her feet. She felt it slithering its way up her leg, and she could see its slimy grey length leading off into darkness that was swiftly being illuminated by her light. More tentacles waved in the air, casting shadows upon the floor as her light was dragged right along with her toward the source of it. The same heat that had spread throughout her body when the slime had grabbed her was pulsating its way through her body even now. The main body of.... Something, came into view, a formless grey blob with no head or limbs other than more tentacles, a dozen of which were now slowly, menacingly making its way toward her even while she was dragged closer. She would reach it within the next few seconds, and she began to hear a sick laughter filling her mind.

 

[Tiffanian]

Re: Miranda (Tiffanian)

Miranda slowly made her way through the enormous basement, her spell illuminating less of the space than she would have liked. She had almost always been down here with her mother before, and the older woman was much better at illuminating the space than she was. The light played against the edges of many things as she skirted the basement, most of them just out of her vision, giving the whole place an eerie atmosphere. Then she came across an old nemesis; a life-size model of a male Su-Ku-Ta, almost completely naked. She nearly jumped out of her skin, not having expected to see it and terrified of the thing. After a moment of recognition she mustered up the courage to continue on past it, and could have sworn that the thing's eyes followed her. Why do we even have such a thing? she thought, shuddering as she passed the model, which had always scared her since childhood.

Perhaps as a result of the lingering distraction, Miranda didn't notice the tentacle that wrapped around her ankle until it was far too late; the slimy thing tripped her onto her butt and began to move up her leg, up to her knee before starting to drag her into the darkness, towards itself. She could feel the same sort of burning, tingling arousal the slime from before had caused as she was rapidly dragged towards what turned out to be a lot more tentacles, attached to a blob with little real shape to it. For some reason this scared her less than the walk through the basement had; perhaps this was becoming a form of routine for her. She had confronted many such horrors, and she had always been able to burn them to a crisp before they had done anything to her. There was still the nagging doubt, the worry that this time would be different, and the wicked laughter in the back of her head only increased the feeling, but she swallowed hard and called up a fireball and flung it at the ground beneath the thing, hoping to finish this quickly.

Spoiler

Cast Cast Greater Fireball (Level 4 Fire spell) with Empower Spell To-hit (d20 + 51) Damage {[(1d8 + 6)*5]*2}

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Miranda (Tiffanian)

Spoiler

HP = 46, PP = 63, EP = 27/47, Status = Torch

Rolls

Spoiler

Casting: Success.
Attack: Hit.
Damage: 6 + 6 = 12 * 5 = 60 * 2 = 120 damage.
Gain 4 exp.

The fireball exploded as soon as it reached the writhing mass of grey flesh, and the heat of the powerful explosion washed over Miranda even though the magic couldn't harm her, its summoner. The ground shook with the force of it, and she coughed uncontrollably as smoke filled her lungs, an aftereffect of the fireball she'd unleashed. When it cleared enough for her to see, Miranda could see some of the support columns around her had been partially displaced by the blast, and the house above her creaked and groaned slightly. The columns weren't badly damaged, and the building wasn't in any immediate danger of falling, but any more damage, and some concerns would have to be raised.

The tentacle around her ankle was limp, and mildly crispy even though it hadn't been directly in the blast. As more of the smoke cleared, she found that the monsters main body was a charred, smoking mass, its shape distorted by the flame as it gave off the combined odors of burning meat and burning oil. Around it, flames licked at an assortment of other things, caused by her fireball. An old fencing practice dummy that was already practically destroyed, a shelf covered in assorted bottles and vials that had begun to crackle and steam dangerously, an old, three legged table, a rack of old ornamental robes that had belonged to her grandparents before they'd passed away.... Wait, a shelf covered in bottles?

The sound of grass cracking sounded loudly as Miranda watched, the pops and snaps getting louder and more frequent as the seconds passed by. She idly noticed the "Hazardous" sign, partially charred, that was written above the burning shelf. That probably wasn't good.....

 

[Tiffanian]

Re: Miranda (Tiffanian)

Miranda hacked and wheezed as the fireball worked as fireballs generally do. The smoke slowly cleared around her, allowing her to notice that she had shook the support columns for the house ever so slightly, the house making strange sounds that were not the least bit reassuring. As the smoke cleared a little more she saw the badly burned and charred body of the thing she had just killed, parts of it still burning and giving off a sickening smell. She also marveled at the damage she had done to the basement with just one fireball. Numerous things that would perhaps have registered as sentimental in different times were on fire or destroyed, as was a shelf with a number of bottles. A number of bottles that were labeled "hazardous." Why did we ever store such things in our house? she asked herself as she began the work of summoning another water elemental to try and take care of the fire before it spread. "Please, put out the fire" she requested of it once it had appeared, and then she started to run off towards the things her mother had told her to get, not wanting to stay there too long either way.

Spoiler

Cast Call Water Elemental (Level 2 Water/Ice Spell) and have it put out the fires.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Miranda (Tiffanian)

Spoiler

HP = 46, PP = 63, EP = 25/47, Status = Torch

Rolls

Spoiler

Casting: Success.
Perception: Success.

Once more, an orb of water congeals in front of Miranda, floating above the floor. It bobs twice at her command, and the moves over to the burning cabinet as Miranda herself started running through the basement. She didn't see whether or not her summoned being succeeded before any of the vials exploded. Her flickering light caused the shadows to warp as she ran through the stone corridors, creating strange shapes along the floor and on the pillars that she passed. The stair wells she went by proved to be empty, thankfully, and she ran for a while completely unmolested. She almost tripped and fell several times, but she always caught her balance, and eventually, Miranda came upon a stone corridor with walls on either side.

She continued down it without a second thought, remembering that the corner where she would be turning should be right up ahead, after the wall to her left ended. However, as she was about to pass it, Miranda suddenly ground to a halt, a shuffling sound from up ahead alerting her to movement, just before one of the slimy, tentacled things came around the wall. This one was almost five feet tall, and its tendrils seemed longer than any of the others she'd seen. A quick glance behind her revealed a pair of similar monsters, their spindly legs carrying them forward quickly. She was surrounded, both exits blocked by her slime-covered foes, and all three monsters were going to be on top of her within seconds, if she didn't do something, fast.

How in the hell so many of these things had gotten into her basement, and why they had gone there in the first place, was a mystery.

 

[Tiffanian]

Re: Miranda (Tiffanian)

Miranda didn't stop to watch the elemental do the task she had assigned it, instead running as fast as she practically could through her basement, paying little attention to her surroundings that were just barely illuminated by the flickering light of her torch as she raced by. It was perhaps a bad idea, as she continually stumbled and nearly fell, but she was always able to keep herself upright and moving forward, more likely than not as a result of her luck.

After a while she came across a stone corridor, at the end of which was the turn she needed to take, and she quickly made her way through it, thankful that there was nothing littered on the floor in this part of the basement. The thankfulness didn't last long, however, as she heard a strange shuffling sound from up ahead. She stopped in place, watching one of the spindly tentacle things she had seen outside shuffle into the corridor, though this one was different; this one was much larger than the ones outside. Two more were behind her now, and she gulped hard. I could probably kill them all with magic, but I can't keep throwing so much energy at everything I see. I'll run out if I'm not careful, and that can't end well. How can I do this? Maybe... Just maybe... she thought, as she drew her rapier from its sheath. Gods help me she prayed as she cast a spell that sent a warm, pleasant feeling throughout her body; somehow she felt as if she had the strength to rip the tentacles off those monsters with her bare hands now, and she took up the best defensive stance she knew how to as they charged after her.

Spoiler

Cast Warmth (Level 3 Fire spell) with Empower Spell. 80 to Body rolls.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Miranda (Tiffanian)

Spoiler

HP = 46, PP = 63, EP = 11/47, Status = Torch, +80 Body

Rolls

Spoiler

Casting: Success.
Miranda gets +10 * 4 = 40 * 2 = +80 to Body.

Attack: All three miss.

Magic, incredibly powerful, surged through Miranda's body, it's heat making Miranda feel invincible as she stared at the approaching creatures with her rapier in her hand. Indeed, she felt as though the gods themselves had granted her their strength, even though exhaustion from pouring so much power into her magic was swiftly setting in.

She dodged the grasping tendrils of the creatures with ease, even in the close quarters, and even given her lack of real experience in close combat. Now, she was within arms reach of each of the invading monsters, the stone walls closing her in with them, but with the magic coursing through her, Miranda felt as though the fight would be easy.

 

[Tiffanian]

Re: Miranda (Tiffanian)

The creatures made their way to Miranda and attempted to slap and grab at her with their tendrils, but she easily dodged them; it was as if time itself had stopped for everything but her. Quickly she made to stab at one of them, hoping to impale it quickly so that she could move on to the others.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Miranda (Tiffanian)

Spoiler

HP = 46, PP = 63, EP = 11/47, Status = Torch, +80 Body

Rolls

Spoiler

Attack (Miranda) : Hit.
Damage: 2 + 4 + 4 + 8 + 40 = 58 damage.

Attacks (Enemies) : They literally cannot hit you. I declare Miranda the victor, out of sheer not wanting to do rolls of infinite pointlessness, and instead advance you onwards!

Gain 4 experience.

Miranda was surprised by her own sudden agility and power, as her rapier not only slid easily and perfectly into the slimy grey flesh of her first target, but then easily ripped upwards and through it, leaving a massive gash through half of the creature's body. It promptly collapsed, its tentacles waving weakly against the ground for a moment before going still. Despite their numbers and the incredibly close quarters, Miranda found it almost laughably easy to avoid the reaching tendrils of the other two creatures. After another ten seconds, both of them received a treatment similar to the first of them. She still felt flushed with the magic burning within her, and unless she wanted something else from the dead creatures, there was nothing else to be done but to move on.

Moving through the basement with her magical light floating above her and the magical enhancement burning through her body, Miranda found the rest of her trip through the basement almost enjoyable, even. Even as she passed stair wells or passages into the center of the basement, or tiny alcoves that had never been used for anything but storage, nothing else jumped out to try and attack her.

She reached the tiny room in the corner of the house, and swiftly located the shelf she'd been sent to find. It was directly across from the doorway into the small storage room, which also had a number of other shelves containing an assortment of odds and ends, with a bit of an emphasis on the odds part. A search of this place might prove... Interesting, but with what she'd come to find right in front of her, the idea of getting what her mother had asked her to gather, and getting out of the basement was a very tempting one.

 

[Tiffanian]

Re: Miranda (Tiffanian)

Miranda quickly and easily impaled the creature with her rapier, then simply splitting it in two as she jerked the blade upward, cutting through it as if it were no more substantial than butter. She quickly turned, ducked, and swept around to avoid the tentacles of the other two, in the same motion cleanly slicing one of the monsters in two. Another quick dodge and a stab later, and Miranda had easily torn through the group of tentacle monsters.

A quick look at the corpses confused Miranda; the things had no blood, and indeed didn't seem to be anything but deflated and torn flesh. It almost made her doubt whether they were really alive to begin with, instead being some sort of bizarre magical construct. Though it seemed they were intent on reproducing, so perhaps she was wrong... She pushed it out of her mind and continued out of the tunnel, moving quickly through the enormous basement, rare confidence surging through her as she felt more or less invincible thanks to her magic. Nothing was around to attack her until she got to her destination, or at least nothing that showed itself, and she quickly set about gathering the things her mother had asked her to gather, and maybe a few extra close-by things if she had the passing thought that they might be useful. She wanted to get back upstairs to her mother as soon as possible.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Miranda (Tiffanian)

Spoiler

HP = 46, PP = 63, EP = 11/47, Status = Fine

Rolls

Spoiler

Perception: Success.
Miranda gains 2 darkhearts, and 120 denarii.

A quick glance around the shelves, her knowledge of the general layout coming back to her even after years of being absent, and Miranda quickly spotted several things that might be valuable. Firstly, two bottles contained tiny red stones called darkhearts. They were solidified manifestations of corruption, possessing potent magics of their own, and with a wide variety of uses. They were also valuable and light, and she took them without hesitation. A pouch of coins had lain behind the bottles, a stash left in case of emergencies most likely, and she took that as well.

The shelf she'd come to find had everything she needed, and after gathering all that she'd been sent to find, Miranda turned and headed back upstairs. She followed the route she'd taken, not wanting to risk getting lost or running into anything else, and reached the top floor without further incident. The magic running through her had faded just after she'd left the basement, leaving her huffing slightly by the time she reached the third floor, and her light was no longer necessary, so she'd allowed that fade away as well.

At the top of the stairs, she followed the hall straight to her mothers chambers. There were voices sounding from behind the closed door, but Miranda couldn't tell who they might be due to how muffled they were through the thick wood. Certainly more than one, but how many and precisely where, she couldn't tell.

 

[Tiffanian]

Re: Miranda (Tiffanian)

In a quick glance Miranda found a few things of value; a few darkhearts and a bag of coin, both of which would be good for money if she needed it in a pinch. She took them along with what her mother had told her to get, and quickly made her way back upstairs by the same way she had come. No monsters had come to take the places of the ones she'd killed, and she muttered a brief prayer of thanks for that fact as she exited the basement, allowing her spells to lapse now that they weren't needed. After a quick run up the stairs that left her breathing hard, she headed straight to her mother's chambers, only to stop at the closed door. Inside were voices; whom they belonged to she had no way of telling. This worried her more than a little bit, as she was certainly not in good shape to fight anymore, having used up most of her energy fighting her way through the basement. Still, she opened the door carefully and walked in, trying to make sure there were no traps before she did so.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Miranda (Tiffanian)

Spoiler

HP = 46, PP = 63, EP = 11/47, Status = Fine

As Miranda pushed the door open, noting quickly that there were no traps normally set up within her own home, and that her mother likely wouldn't have set any while waiting for her, Miranda began to understand the voices. She was very glad that she had been quiet upon entering, when she found out what lay within.

Her mother was sitting on one of her tables, her eyes tightly shut as she attempted to stifle the lewd sounds that were coming from her mouth. Her body was unclothed, her dress, which was slightly damp having been discarded onto the floor, and her underclothes other than a tight corset having been tossed onto the floor near to it. There were three other women in the room, all of them naked and glistening with slime, and all of them had surrounded her mother. Two of them were standing on either side of her, one planting kisses on her neck on her left side, while the other nibbled on her right earlobe. Both of them had one hand leaning on the table, while the other was between Miranda's mother's legs, and steadily pushing two fingers into her heavily leaking flower. The third was speaking quietly, her voice low and droning and empty of emotion.

"Resisting.... That's alright, your will cannot hold before Us. Our being will seep into you... And you will bed for us to take your delicious soul from you. We can already taste it... More and more, as your pathetic resistance falls away.... Your kind are slaves to the needs of your physical shells, and that weakness.... Will let us consume you all, in time."

 

[Tiffanian]

Re: Miranda (Tiffanian)

Miranda made her way quietly into the door, and stopped dead in her tracks. Her mother was sitting on a table, being pleasured by three demons who, if their words could be trusted, were intent on feeding on her soul. Miranda had heard of these sorts of beings before, and she knew that she had only one real chance at killing them; if they had her mother like this, they were probably powerful, and they could probably deal with her with just a look. At the same time, she was almost out of energy, and she had to take care not to hurt her mother in the bargain; she quickly and carefully lined up a blow that would hopefully put the demons out of commission, and with a short prayer for both strength and luck fired it off.

Spoiler

Cast Flaming Orb (Level 3 Fire spell) To-hit (d20 + 51) Damage [(2d4 + 10)*4]

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Miranda (Tiffanian)

Spoiler

HP = 46, PP = 63, EP = 7/47, Status = Low on Energy

Rolls

Spoiler

Casting: Success.
Attack: Hit.
Damage: 1 + 4 + 10 = 15 * 4 = 60 - 4 = 56 damage.

The woman seemed to sense Miranda's presence as she prepared her spell. The one who had done the talking spun, grinning widely, and stared at Miranda. She seemed about to speak as her eyes met Miranda's, and she suddenly felt an intrusion against her mind, while the other two continued their work upon her mother. Both were quickly put to an end, however, as Miranda's bolt of flame streaked forward and slammed right into the slimy woman's face. Her flesh melted off instantly, and blackened the bone beneath.

The woman collapsed, and both the other two stiffened, their eyes going wide, before they suddenly collapsed. Her mother, still naked, gasped in surprise as the fingers and lips that had been pleasuring her were pulled away. She sat on the table, her body flushed and still on full display for several moments, but then she opened her eyes and spotted Miranda in the doorway. She hurriedly closed her robe, blushing brightly, but also adopting a very serious expression, the whole look almost comical all things considered. "Errr.... Thank you, dear. Did you get everything that I asked you to find?"

 

[Tiffanian]

Re: Miranda (Tiffanian)

Just before Miranda let loose her spell, one of the strange women turned toward her, and she felt an intrusion into her mind; disregarding it entirely, she let the orb of flame fly, and watched as it slammed into the woman's face. The flesh instantly melted away, leaving only a blackened and charred skull as she slumped to the ground, and a sickening smell in the air. Miranda's stomach turned at the sight, and she closed her eyes briefly as the other two stiffened and died along with the first, apparently connected in some way. She could feel the intense headache coming, the kind that told her that she was almost out of energy, and soon enough there was a pounding in her head.

She only opened her eyes when her mother had asked her question, and she pulled out the box of things, replying "yes, I've got it all." She initially tried to ignore the awkward position her mother was in, but then started to focus on it a bit, hopefully keeping Nero from seeing their purpose for a few more precious moments.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Miranda (Tiffanian)

Spoiler

HP = 46, PP = 63, EP = 47, Status = Fine

(Gain 4 more experience by the way.)

Miranda's mother, Helena, didn't seem particularly bothered by the scorched bone, though she wrinkled her nose at the smell of burnt flesh somewhat. "Excellent, Miranda. Come, there is much that must be done before we can depart from this place, and leave our unwelcome guests behind us." She got back onto her feet, and buttoned her clothing closed as she walked away, stepping over the still body of one of the women who had been raping her not too long ago.

The headache she'd been expecting came in full to Miranda as she followed her mother through her chambers, but thankfully, Nero's presence remained blocked off from her thoughts. It was almost like the daemon didn't even care what she did. After a few moments, during which her headache faded and her energies were at the very least partially restored, Miranda found herself in a small, plain chamber, the walls decorated in simple tiles. Piles of dust from chalk were everywhere, but there were also numerous symbols drawn into the square tiles. She pointed toward the one in the center of the room, on which an eight pointed star was drawn, and quickly said; "Place the box down in the center of that star, open it, and place the sprigs of wraithguard at each of the corners so that they are standing up. Then, shred the mint leaves and sprinkle them into the box. Leave the nut inside, and bring me the holly berries. Once you've done all of that, disrobe and stand over the box."

 

[Tiffanian]

Re: Miranda (Tiffanian)

"Of course, mother" Miranda replied, admiring her mother's cool demeanor as she simply stepped over the dead woman. It was amazing how calmly she was taking all of this, considering that the world was more or less crashing down around their ears. She quickly followed her mother through her quarters, blood pounding in her ears as her head felt like it might split open. The pain slowly subsided, though, as she regained a bit of her energy on the way to a small, plain room with magical symbols drawn all over it.

"Alright" she replied to her mother's instructions, quickly moving to the tile at the center of the room and carefully placing the little box in the center of it. She took the other materials she had taken from the basement, standing up a small sprig of wraithguard at each corner of the box, then ripping up the mint leaves and sprinkling them on the inside of it. She left the nut in the center of the box where it was and then took the holly berries over to her mother, handing them over, then swiftly stripped naked and moved to straddle the little box, careful not to step on the circle as she did so. "I'm ready, mother" she said, taking a deep breath. She wasn't quite sure what happened after this, but she focused on her mother to take it off her mind, trusting that the older lady knew what she was doing, and that everything would turn out fine.