[RPG] Sword and Sorcery Play-by-Post

[CJC]

@Tamamo
Rossaria, your rest is interrupted by another knock at the door. But the sun is at high noon. Could your little errand man be back so soon?
You perk your ears to the sound, and it is not a knock. Rather it is the sound of a club splintering the wood. That stuff is ebonwood, do these marauders have no sense about how expensive fine building materials are?
Your red lady will still be in her slumber for hours. Whoever the trespasser, it will be up to you to deal with the problem.
You expect you have about two minutes to prepare.
What will you do?

=====
@TheDarkOne @mrz84
Sancireph and Zataka...
The flames provide an excellent shroud as you make your escape from the cave. The ogres seem to be hesitant to approach through the inferno.

Sancireph, this is behavior with which you are unfamiliar; ogres you have encountered in the past were far too foolish to be concerned with self-preservation.

Zataka, you take point through the narrow passage in the event that there are dangers awaiting. Sancireph takes the back, with the gnomes in the middle between you. Thankfully, there are no hazards as you navigate the escape.

All-together you emerge, finding GRINGHAM the KNIGHT waiting for you at the opening with MALICHOR ( @Xyvol ) the MAGE unconscious on his back. The HEAD GNOME ENGINEER is with them, but the MATH WIZARD is not.
"Where have you guys been? You step out for a few minutes, the gave shakes, and then this guy turns on the digging machine and goes limp! We were nearly buried alive."
You ask if he disabled the machine. He did not.
That means that the thing is still burrowing in the cavern. Is it enough to hope that it will bury itself before it reaches the dwarven settlement below?
You can see the gnomish town of Audamar down the mountain from your position. The storm has quelled. If you do not feel the machine is your problem, you could easily go back to the city and rally a militia.
What do yo do?

[Tamamo]

I am no fool, I know who it is.
Well if he's going to force his way through the door. Might as well help him out right?

Maintaining my wolf form during the day is no problem, but it's tasking to maintain my Dire Wolf Form. Never the less I change into my dire wolf form and ram down the door and make a leap over the marauders I turn around and speak to the man with the leather hat and long coat who I have decided to name Serge.

INTIMIDATE!
You just don't know when to quit do you! Give up on your quest for revenge and move on my brother! Killing us won't bring your mate back. Besides you know as well as I do that this world is survival of the fittest, we're both rangers that hunt the most dangerous of all game for heavens stake. Now get the hell out of my sight before I rip you to shreds!

btw he's a werewolf too.

[mrz84]

I ask if there is a way to inform the dwarven settlement of the ogres' plan as quickly as possible. I will deliver the message myself if need be. I also suggest that we find any able bodied (and preferably trained) combatants from the the town other than those present who could lend assistance to the ogre threat. The only other thing that concerns me at this point, is who is the ringleader of the ogres? clearly the owner of the rune-laden room is somebody not to be taken lightly and we found little evidence of their identity before having to retreat. I ask if they know anyone who is known to have knowledge of runes in the general area or in the known world for that matter. Once I am certain they have told me all the can, I suggest we make haste to the defense of the dwarven settlement.

[TheDarkOne]

I look back the way we came to see if any ogres are in pursuit. If they were smart enough to avoid the flames, then it's possible they may know of hidden passages which could take them around the fiery barricade and pursue us. However, the dwarven settlement is in danger. Being of elven descent, I am fast enough on my feet to get to the village and inform the dwarves of the danger. I volunteer for this duty and ask the knight if he can guard the passageway while Zataka helps the others escape.

[CJC]

@Tamamo
Rossaria...
Serge scoffs, flashing his teeth. They begin to sharpen as he speaks.
"This isn't about revenge, anymore. This is about the leech maggot you are bowing to and her true agenda."
You snicker. His propaganda cannot sever the tie between you and the Red Lady, but you decide to let him blather at you, unaware his posse of vigilantes is quietly creeping away from the dangerous altercation.
"Her wicked magic tore my mate to shreds! But... the Red Lady did not intend to kill her. She is trying to separate the wolf from the person, but the beast is a part of us. Ebb was not her first victim and she will not be the last. YOU! Rossaria, you are her next victim!"
Fur engulfs his features as he too attains the form of a dire wolf. He seems pained by the exertion and you notice a scar across his belly as he transforms. Got too close to a hunter, did he?
He calls out to his men in a gutteral growl to chain you.
"If you will not see reason you must be detained until the Red Lady is no more."
He awaits their assistance. After a while, he becomes puzzled. He turns to yell at them and finds they have all fled.
His back is to you.
What do you do?

=====

@mrz84
Zataka...
Gringham shakes his head.
"Nope, you can't even get into the mountain without notarized credentials. I dropped mine somewhere on the way here. Audamarites are stubborn that way; they're too wrapped up in their bureaucracy to get anything done. If we're going to get help, it'll have to be from the gnomes."
You ask if there's anybody who knows about runes.
"The only wizard I know in the area is that TELIVAR guy. He pops in from time to time for raw materials, particularly if he's building on to his mansion. My cousin writes about him often, apparently he's very good for business. Still, from what I've heard he's a HEDGE WIZARD, and you'd need a PAPER MAGICIAN to translate runes."
...Isn't MALICHOR a paper magician? Maybe he could be roused. He's been weird since that dimension scramble, though.
You decide the conversation would best be continued in town, so you lead your comrades back to the INN where your sleep was interrupted. Sancireph asks if someone should guard this exit, but you reassure him that the passage is too small for the ogres to use as an escape.
"It's pretty late. Are we going to even be able to rouse a posse at this time of night?" Gringham says.
What do you do?

=====

@TheDarkOne
Sancireph...
Zataka seems interested into getting help from the dwarves, but during his conversation with the knight GRINGHAM you get the impression that the stone folk will be less than accommodating during this crisis. Still, you decide it would be best to inform them of the danger, since it is their city that is under attack. You ask Gringham to stand guard at the opening, but Zataka assures you that the passage is too small for the ogres to follow. Looking through, you cannot even see the flames. You too are sure they will not pursue you this way; they would need to find another exit or the entrance you used to gain access to the cave, which will take time.
Zataka, Gringham, and the unconscious MALICHOR head back to the inn to discuss rounding up a gnomish militia for the crisis. You peel off from the group and make your way to the entrance of the mountain city.
Two guards are sitting on night watch. They are only wearing about half of their armor and they appear to be playing cards. Given the full moon there isn't much darkness in which to hide, but you manage to slip by them undetected.
As you enter the mountain you feel a crushing sense of vertigo. It is dizzying being surrounded by so much stone. Thoughts drift through your head about just how much mass of rock is looming above you. You stumble slightly, disoriented.
There's a sign that says MARKET DISTRICT, leading to a large cavernous opening. There is also a passage that says CUSTOMS veering off to the side. It looks like it comes back out further down the hall.
If you're going to be wandering around this place, it might be wise to steal some credentials to justify your presence. Still, the matter of the gnomish drilling machine is pressing; there's no knowing how long you have until the ogres break into the city.
What do you do?

[Tamamo]

I walk up to his side and tel hi i am not naive Red's magic died long ago i am the one hndling the transformation through medicine and alchemy text.

[TheDarkOne]

Stealing credentials would not be wise--I am not familiar with the ways of dwarves and do not know what they would consider valid credentials. My main purpose is to warn them of the danger to their city, so l look for the largest building. That would most likely be where I would find the high-ranking officials of the city. If I am accosted by guards along the way, I will tell them why I am here. With any luck, they will see reason and take me to speak with their leader (or king, or mayor, or whatever the dwarves call him).

[mrz84]

I first ask Gringham to see to the militia or whatever accounts for a city guard in the gnomish town for help against the ogre threat. I tell them that if they question our claims they can come straight to me and I will persuade them as best I can personally if need be and to add that if they can obtain entry into the dwarven settlement without delay it would be of great help in avoiding a disastrous slaughter that could be avoided. After he leaves to hopefully summon our reinforcements, I attempt to rouse my comrade from his slumber and inquire not only of what has happened to him while we were separated in great detail, but also that if he is familiar of the runes I found (once I inform him of what they look like anyway) and if he can ascertain their purpose or even their origin.

[Tamamo]

"You're crying sis. I am sorry if i was wrong about your relationship take this stake and keep it hidden. Break it when you're in danger."

i go and wake red. we have the wolfsbane but we have to go back to snowland i saw hunters it is no longer safe here.

"very well lets go to to the lake again"

back to audimar...

[CJC]

@Tamamo
Rossaria, you and Red arrive in the lake at the center of the DEAD FOREST, emerging from the great vampire bloom just as the sun had set. You can hear distant sirens from the mountain village Audamar. It seems there's some kind of scuffle there, but it is no concern of yours.
You know of a hut not far from this lake where you store materials and conduct your experiments. With Red you travel the short walk to this place, only to find everything askew.
This place has been ransacked. A squatter? What were they brewing in here?
There are a few scattered notes, but what concerns you are the runes inscribed along the walls of the hut. Is it safe to be in here?
What do you do?
(Rossaria is one day ahead of the rest of you in the timeline. Do not assume that things that are occurring in her region apply to you or you might get confused)

=====

@TheDarkOne
Sancireph, you enter the tallest building and are immediately greeted by a dwarven woman in a red shirt and khaki pants.
"Hello, welcome to Mark, the world's largest chain of department stores! How may I be of assistance?"
...What?
You say that you need to talk to the person in charge.
"That would be the floor manager. I think he's in hardware right now."
You follow the hanging signs, each labelled with a number and the wares that are sold within. Eventually you find the hardware department and the "manager".
You tell him that you need help; ogres are drilling their way to the city.
"Hmmm, do you know what kinda drill bit they're using? That heavy igneous stone needs a diamond tip bit."
You tell him that's not important.
"Well, are they putting in support struts? Mining is dangerous work you know. You'll need at least 2 by 6s, but 2 by 12s will be better."
You try to explain to him that these creatures are coming to his town to kill everyone.
"They're going to need some work wear for that. Check aisle twelve."
FACEPALM.
Okay, clearly the tallest building is not the center for political activity.
Where do you try next?

=====

@mrz84
Zataka, Gringham takes off like a bullet and you turn your attention to Malichor. You draw one of the runes on a sheet of paper and then pour a cup of coffee down his throat. He chokes briefly but then rouses. He sounds very ill.
You ask what the rune means.
"Deflect. These are used as protective wards to bend magic away from something"
That makes sense; the wizard in the cave must have been aware of the proximity of other magicians and been trying to conceal something. A circle of wards like that would deflect even the teleportation possible with Darkspace.
...The dwarves have this magician in custody? It can't be another ogre, they would have killed it on capture... right?
You hear loud stopping and the sound of steam coming from outside. You leave Malichor to rest and go to see what the commotion is.
Gringham is leading a pack of four steam mechs, roughly twelve feet tall.
"The cavalry's here."
What do you do?