Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

[Tassadar]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

Spoiler

Ashleys Status: HP = 45, P = 55, EP = 35/40, Invisible

Stealth: Success.

Ashley pads over the dirt ground after the trio of men, who still talk in low whispers, though she has no idea why they try to remain so quiet. The ground remains unbroken, nothing more than lightly packed dirt that she sinks into slightly with each step, leaving a trail that anyone could follow if they tried, though her boot prints weren't much different than those left by the demons, so it would likely be overlooked. The men stop as they reach the top of the next hill and the building they'd been heading toward, and begin having a tense conversation, their voices raising just enough that Ashley might be able to hear them, if she got a little bit closer. That would risk revealing herself, however, and the gate back to her world was still a good distance away.

 

[thetwo]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

Ashley looks longingly at the gate that is the only certain way home... but it's a long ways away, and probably guarded on at least one side. These men, though, weren't guarded. And they might have information.

If they see me, I'll have to take them out quick. But if they let slip something about the gate that lets me make it out of here safely, it'll be worth it. I can take them. Easily. Or I hope so, because I get the feeling that if Mathias could come here there would be a mite fewer demons left alive.

As she creeps towards the men, trying to stay as far away as possible while still able to hear, a thought occurs to her. She doesn't have to get as close if she can hear better... on the other hand, running out of magic in the middle of this place would probably be a bad idea. Just a little bit, then.

(Maintain invisibility, cast minor buff (body level 1, trans) to increase perception)

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

Spoiler

Ashleys Status: HP = 45, P = 55, EP = 34/40, Invisible, +6 Perception

Casting: Success. (Lazy for level 1 spells.)

Ashley mutters the spell as low as possible, and feels her senses become more acute as the magic does its work. She can just barely hear what the demons are saying now, but they stop speaking and moving as she says her spell. The form a circle immediately, looking outward and examining the are, alert, as though one of them had heard something.

Stealth: Success.

Ashley stops dead in her tacks, and her gaze darts down nervously to where her feet leave slight imprints in the soft ground, far too small to be of the demons in the group she was following. They search for a few moments, and Ashley struggles to keep her breathing quiet despite her certainty that she could best these demons if it came down to a fight. Eventually, however, one of them says; "It was probably just your imagination. Lets get to work before someone finds out that we're late." One of the trio nods, while the other shrugs, and all three turn in unison to head toward the building. The slowly pull the door open, and creep inside, as Ashley hears the original speaker say; "Keep quiet. Maybe the Jailer won't hear us if we're quiet, and don't wake any of the prisoners. If he finds out we're late for guard duty, he'll probably skin us before he even tells the Queen."

 

[thetwo]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

Well, that's two useful bits of information. There's a Queen about who I certainly wouldn't like to meet, and this is a jail. What to do, what to do...

On the one hand, if someone raises an alarm I'll be in even deeper shit then I am right now. On the other hand... maybe my only chance of getting through the gate is a nice big diversion.

But... why risk it when I don't even know if the gate is guarded? Or that the prisoners aren't like that woman I met when I arrived in the city, or just demons who have misbehaved? If I'm wrong about any of those I'll be risking my life for nothing.

Decision rationalized, Ashley runs off toward the gate, intent on seeing if it has any guards before she embarks on a rescue mission.

(maintain invisibility and buff, move towards gate)

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

Spoiler

Ashleys Status: HP = 45, P = 55, EP = 30/40, Invisible, +6 Perception

The gate is a long distance off, and it takes Ashley several minutes of travel to get within comfortable sight range. Then, she paused, catching her breath, before seeing that, at least on this side, there didn't seem to be any guards.

Stealth: Failure.

Suddenly, a loud roar sounds from a hill to her right, and she turns to see a massive, wolf-like dog sitting and howling into the air as it looks directly down at her. A chorus of howls, some similar and some completely different, ranging from a titanic below to a high pitched shriek, respond in kind from any number of varying distances. The beast takes to its feet, and immediately begins rushing down toward her from fifty feet away. Its intent upon her is clear, her invisibility having proven insufficient to allow her to avoid detection by the demon dogs superhuman senses.

 

[thetwo]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

Ah, shit. There goes the stealth option...

Ashley doesn't waste time running from a dog that clearly knows exactly where she is. Instead she draws her revolver with one hand while the other hand stirs the air as she directs her magic.

(Gust (level 3 storm/trans) on the wolf/dog. Stop maintaining invisibility and perception buffs.)

(Edit: also, I think that was the first attack I've made since January. )

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

Spoiler

Ashleys Status: HP = 45, P = 55, EP = 26/40

(Lol.)

Casting: Success.
Mind Check: Ashley wins.
Damage: 5 + 18 = 23 x 2 = 46 - 4 = 42 damage.

The creature ceases its growl as Ashleys spell brings up a torrent of wind. It claws at the ground for a half-second before her magic lifts it into the air and flings it back to the top of the hill, where it lands with a pained yelp. It begins to rise back to its feet, but falls back down again, obviously in great pain, as she can see a bit of bone protruding from one of its legs.

The other howls and cries of the approaching demons continue to draw closer, and Ashley watches as a pair of titanic creatures, easily dwarfing the troll she'd encountered earlier, come out of the gate and issue massive bellows of their own. The two creatures immediately zero in on her position, and start heading toward her.

 

[thetwo]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

Ashley starts swearing continually under her breath as she sees first one then a second creature appear, their bellows and footsteps shaking the very ground.

Okay, take a deep breath. Just have to end this quickly...

Ashley pulls her gaze away from the gargantuan beasts and looks up at the sky again. Not a single cloud... but those lights surely meant that there would be energy of one kind or another. She raised both hands and brought them down in an effort to channel that power into a usable form - a single bolt of lightning that would hopefully be enough to kill both of enormous things.

(Call Lightning (storm/trans level 4) aimed to hit both ogres if they're close enough together, otherwise the nearer of the two)

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

Spoiler

Ashleys Status: HP = 45, P = 55, EP = 18/40

(They're ogres, not trolls. Just compared them to the troll for effect.)

Casting: Success.
Damage: 7 + 2 + 28 = 37 x 3 = 111 - 8 = 103 damage.

Ashley watches as some of the rainbow of colors in the air above her coalesce at the command of her spell, drawing energy from the air, as well as from her body, until it suddenly and violently descends down toward the creatures standing near the gate. A bolt of green and gold lightning strikes directly between the two huge demons, and Ashley shuts her eyes for a second against the violent flash. When she opens them once more, both creatures are collapsing to the ground, charred to blackened crisps. The gate is now apparently unguarded, unless some other demon was waiting on the other side, and the shrieks of the demons quickly drawing closer suggest that it would be a good idea to get moving. Though, now that she thought about it, it seemed like her going for the gate would be rather obvious.

 

[thetwo]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

As soon as she saw that the Ogres were dead, Ashley started sprinting as fast as she could for the gate, holstering her pistol and even trying to give herself a little magical aid...

Just have to make it through the gate. Then... well, then I hope I can find some help. Or at least a better place to hide.

(Minor buff to speed (level 1 body, trans) while already running. >.>)

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

Spoiler

Ashleys Status: HP = 45, P = 55, EP = 18/40, +6 Speed

Casting: Success.

Ashley feels her magic flow into her, increasing the speed at which she moved, and the open ground allowed her to keep going without obstruction right up to the gate. By the time she reached the massive glowing portal, she was breathing heavily, not used to running for so long, but the closest demons were still over fifty feet behind her. The gate stood unobstructed before her, but she had no idea what might be on the other side.

 

[thetwo]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

As she approaches the portal at a run, Ashley remembers the two ogres that came through when she made too much noise dealing with the demonic dogs. Hoping nothing worse awaits her on the other side, she slows to a walk just before passing through the portal.

With the way finally clear, Ashley spares a thought for what she'll do on the other side...

I could go invisible and try to hide, but I can hear more of those dog-things. They won't be far behind me, and the rest of the demons could just follow them. I could try to call Mathias, but I can't rely on that. And I can't just keep blasting things, I don't have much left in me.

As she begins passing through the gate, a plan finally occurs to her...

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

Spoiler

Ashleys Status: HP = 45, P = 55, EP = 18/40, +6 Speed

As she passes through the gate, her body suddenly feels completely weightless, and her sight goes black, while her other senses are equally cut off. For a moment, Ashley feels as though she doesn't exist at all, being nothing but a disembodied mind in an endless void, before she stumbles forward on the other side of the gate, back in her own world. She finds the area around her completely barren of demons, thankfully, and the various badly damaged factories and warehouses around her seem completely empty. Streets branch off in numerous directions, including directly in front of her, slightly to her right, slightly to her left, direct left, direct right, and much the same behind her. The four main directions are main streets, while the diagonals are all smaller, but all of the roads are fully paved. She can still here the demons coming for her, though it sounds odd coming through the portal.

 

[thetwo]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

Okay, that was more then a little weird. Now, to even the odds a little...

Ashley turns around to face the gate, then raises her hands and feels the water in the air. She pushes on it slightly, forcing it to condense into a cloud of fog. She stretches it as far as she can without sacrificing its density, in all directions.

Satisfied with her spell work, Ashley picks the smaller diagonal street that was behind her and to her left when she exited the gate, and starts running through the fog.

The fog won't last long before it gets burned off by the sun, but hopefully it will keep the demons from seeing which way I've gone. Maybe it'll even keep my scent dampened or confused enough that the dogs won't be able to track me. Hell, maybe the demons will think the entire city is covered in fog and give up. If not... I guess I could try to figure out where the river is.

(Roiling mists (level 1 storm spell, transmutation). Create a patch of fog covering the gate and the intersection, stretching in all directions far enough that it one can't see all the way through it... hopefully.)

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

Spoiler

Ashleys Status: HP = 45, P = 55, EP = 18/40, +6 Speed, Grappled

Casting: Success.

A cloud of fog blankets the area around the gate as Ashley casts her spell, but she knows that it can only cover the area around the gate itself. Still, hopefully it will stall the demons, whose muffled calls she can still hear through the magical gate. Then, she gets moving, going North East from the gate, which had been facing South. As she moves along, the cries quickly quiet until she can no longer hear them, and after a few minutes she can no longer hear them coming form behind her.

Perception: Failure.
To-hit: Automatic Success

Unfortunately, in her run, Ashley hadn't been able to keep track of where she'd been going, and she curses inwardly as she feels a sudden heavy weight slam into her back, and she ends up knocked to the ground. Looking at her back, a glob of red slime about the size of a small dog seems to have struck her, and is trying to worm its way into her clothes. It still looks like she could easily throw it off, but she isn't sure how it had gotten there, and she couldn't see its point of origin form where she lay.

 

[thetwo]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

Ugh, what the hell!

Ashley grabs at the blob wearily, trying to pull it off while keeping her left hand free to cast spells should whatever hit her show itself.

I hope this isn't 'out of the frying pan and into the fire', I'm too low on magic for a big fight...

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

Spoiler

Ashleys Status: HP = 45, P = 55, EP = 18/40, +6 Speed, Grappled

Ashley easily pushes the slime blob off of her, and it begins back the way she'd come as she regains her feet. She immediately spots another, similarly colored mass of slime, shaped vaguely like a human woman, gliding silently over the stone street toward it. It goes fairly slow, however, and is only about twenty feet away, meaning that Ashley is fairly sure that she can outrun it if she wanted to.

To-hit: 9 + 28 = 37 vs 35 == Hit.

Just as she is thinking this, the large slime suddenly leans back, and then throws itself forward, the chunk of it that had been its face flying off straight toward Ashley. She is so surprised that she can't get out of the way of it before it strikes her legs, wrapping around her right leg and weighing her down, keeping her from fleeing while the slime body moved closer to her. Another head immediately grows to replace the one that had been thrown at her.

 

[thetwo]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

Before Ashley has time to marvel at the animated slime, she finds herself under attack again.

If that thing can throw its head at me twice, it can do it three times. Going to have to kill the main body before I deal with the rest. And fast.

Not wanting the noise of a gunshot so soon after she lost her pursuers - and not sure that the slime has any important organs to hit - Ashley falls back on her magic once again, funneling wind into a force to knock the slime back hard enough to hurt.

(Gust (Storm 3/trans) on the slime)

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

Spoiler

Ashleys Status: HP = 45, P = 55, EP = 14/40, +6 Speed

Casting: Success.
Mind vs Body: Ashley wins.
Damage: 4 + 3 + 14 = 21 x 2 = 42 damage.

Ashleys burst of wind tears off large chunks of the slime and sends them flying away. Even if the creature could pull itself back together somehow, it would at least take quite a while. The chunk of slime that had slammed into her chest fell off of her as her spell tore the main body apart, and Ashley was free to get moving once more.

 

[thetwo]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

Ashley shivers at the strangeness of it - at least the other creatures she has seen were living things to begin with - and tries to find her bearings while walking away from the direction of the gate.

With the end of the attack on her, she's reasonably sure that she's escaped the demons that chased her through the gate and her adrenaline begins to wear off. And with it gone, exhaustion built up from extended unusual levels of both physical and magical activity floods in. And then come the minutes-old memories of hell. Her mind turns to the prison.

I barely made it out of there as it was, if I had tried to free the prisoners none of us would have made it. I'm going to need help if I want to try *that*.

After some amount of internal dialog, Ashley decides that her conscience won't let her go without making an honest effort to free those the demons saw fit to take prisoner. Or determining that they were just demons that were too murderous even for hell. After all, there might be those upon whose imprisonment mortals and demons agreed. For some reason Ashley's thoughts turned to the old wizard...

Now where's that thrice damned river...

(Drop all buffs, try to figure out how to get to the old wizard's house)