[RPG] Sword & Sorcery 2

It appears everyone is confused.

Merlina is the villain. Not the Demon Queen, she wouldn't release the Seals under any circumstances.

TheDarkOne wrote:Realizing there is only one chance, I quickly reach into the secret sheath in the top of my right boot and draw out my Elven dagger.
((In AD&D terms, this is a throwing dagger with a +1 damage bonus, never misses, and returns to the user's hand after it strikes its target. Skie rarely uses it unless in an emergency and this certainly qualifies))
I take aim at the hand holding the dagger and let mine fly, hoping to knock it from her hand, as there are only seconds to stop her.

I didn't mention her either. I mentioned I was gonna body check whoever was causing trouble (plus Alty works for her, even if its against his will, he'd avoid causing injury to her)

=======================================
Update
======================================= [MENTION=60919]TheDarkOne[/MENTION] [MENTION=40954]King Aquamentus[/MENTION] [MENTION=38704]mrz84[/MENTION]
The dagger flies true and hits the staff Merlina is holding causing her to lose her grip. The sideeffect is more then appealing the vortex destabilizes and grows and a elongated arm reaches down and grabs her. She screams as she is dragged swiftly up into the vortex. The vortex destabilizes further and finally collapses.

Demon Queen: "At last this trifling matter is finished, the seals should remain safe for now."

The crowd disperses but a man with long black hair and dark eyes wearing a equally black cloak with hood pulled up.
???: "You shouldn't be so sure Demon Lord of your enemies motives, Xenovia's purpose of this ritual was not to give but to receive. She does not give anything but death and despair. Even to her followers. Not that I mind, death is my specialty after all."

The staff remains at the the ground. And this strange new figure also remains. However, La Croix seems to have dispersed with the crowd.

What do you do?

I surreptitiously replace the Elven dagger in my boot, taking care to make sure I am not observed.--having magical weapons on one's person can make one a target for thievery, and Elven-made weapons demand a high price on the black market. If it weren't for my dear, departed Artanis, I would not have this dagger--it was his, before he died, and it is all I have left of him besides memories. As for the staff ((I could have sworn you said it was a dagger she was holding)), I leave it where it is. No good can come of such a thing as that, and I want no part of it.

Jade meekly pokes her head out from the back of the group "Hiya!!"

You will find no coin purse on me, off with you and your thieving hand spawn of Tiamat. With a flick of his wrist he flings you into the sky to the west.

Jade reappears from behind the strange man almost immediately. How exactly? Let's just say she rolled a natural 20 with one of her Thief-trade skills. She looks very cross.

"Hey that wasn't very nice if you don't want anything to do with us then just say so and walk away otherwise stop being so rude geez you remind me of that racist mermaid that I've been nothing but lenient with even moreso than everyone else around here even though she's tried to kill us but I'm not gonna be the one to murder a hey where do you think you're going I'm not done yet you know you're a racist too where do you get off thinking I'm here to steal your purse why do you even have a purse thats kinda weird not that guys cant have purses if they want hey you are a guy right now if you were referring to a crotch bulge that's TOOOOOOOOTAALLY different but why would I want to steal a crotch bulge GROSS, and anyways..."

[MENTION=40954]King Aquamentus[/MENTION]
Vetoed: I could of sworn I told you before not to pull that crap. If your not going to contribute to the progression you are going to be punished. I do not take kindly to spam in my rpgs. Last warning okay.

[MENTION=56506]Tamamo[/MENTION], everyone else

Not really, no, nor am I going to drag on about things I've already said behind the scenes in regard to a lack of humor throughout the story.

[MENTION=40954]King Aquamentus[/MENTION]...
Very well...

The man looks up at Jade quizzically.
"As I thought, you are a dragonkin, no mere Lizardfolk could of avoided such a direct blow. How perplexing, tell me child. How did you come to be in this world? A world where dragons cannot live or breathe."

I'll explain the Mana Field, in depth in the next update.

"Beats me" Jade shrugged. "One minute I was flying along, next thing I know I'm in a weird sky, things smack me out of it, I end up in a tree, and that's when I realize... ...my belly went up into my chest. I guess these things allow me to breathe? Hell I didn't even know I wasny supposed to be able to, I've really just kinda been rolling with it. ^^;" her tail's tip is idly swinging left and right, whimsically. "Anyway I'm Jade!! Nice to meetcha"

Alty arrives with the freed captives. Seeing nobody to body check, he sighs and heads towards the group.

"Found these 2 bound in the barracks. Now what did I miss? Also, who is the weird guy?" Allty spies the staff. "Oh. Neat. Can I keep that? As a trophy? I like to keep trophies from my adventures. Plus they usually end up being artifacts of destruction or whatever so I seal them in a pocket dimension of my own creation. Stuff goes in, but it don't come out unless I want it to." Alty attempts to take the staff as a trophy, so long as there are no interruptions from anyone else, and will proceed to put it in said pocket dimension for safe keeping.

===============================
Update
===============================

Alty: [MENTION=38704]mrz84[/MENTION]
You have another vision from grabbing the staff.

You find yourself on the roof of a castle in the abyss. The demon queen approaches a six armed creature hunched over. "Stop, I cannot fight any longer. Tell me! Why do you hate me so! I fulfilled my purpose. Now let me go." Her indifferent expression turns into a malicious grin. "Poor Xenovia, did I hit you too hard. Let me try again." She kicks the creature over on it's backs and begins speaking to it. "The Queen of a Thousand Fucking Teeth. What a joke." You couldn't even get your job done in time, although you did complete it. She conjures a whip of purple flame and starts to repeatedly beat her. "I should of never of brought you into this world aberration." Xenovia cocks her head up to ask a question but is stepped on by Liliths foot. "Then why don't you send me back?" Lilith's eyes light up with bewildered excitement and her lips curve into a malicious grin. "I know exactly what to do with you actually. I'm going to imprison you for all eternity! And curse anyone who tries to free you!" Her body is ripped apart and sent flying throuh six portals."

The scene on the roof the castle fades to black and you are left alone, all of sudden Xenovia appears before you and addresses you.

"Servant of Lilith, no Slave. Yes I can tell. You bare the mark of a slave." She points to your seal. "I make an offer. I will dispell that, buit in exchange... You will have to work for me until I am released and she is dead and not that traitorous wench. I can use my power to put distant between the two of you and anyone else you think will be willing to join our cause. Once my goals are complete any and all who follow me will have 14 years of good fortune." She looks over to a woman, Merlina shackled. "I will await your answers traveler. I have a traitor to deal with." With that she moves over to Merlina who shrieks and then looks over her shoulder. "Remember, I always honor my deals."

I was actually not counting on you doing something so risky, thank god I had this back up plan. Huge plot diversion here btw. Now that you and you alone know what is truly going on. As for the seal being removed, that is the only chance your getting. Unless Lilith dies, it's there for good. -T

Continue reading at bottom

Everybody Else [MENTION=60919]TheDarkOne[/MENTION] [MENTION=40954]King Aquamentus[/MENTION]
All of a sudden alty touches the staff and begins screaming and then falls on his back. Everyone rushes over to see what is wrong.
Lilith: "QUICK NERINAE! BREAK IT!"
Nerinae smashes the staff beneath her foot, but nothing changes.
Lilith: "Fuck, going to have to perform mouth to mouth."
She hops on top of him and slams her fist onto his chest. Nothing she lowers her mouth to his and opens it and then...
Alty all of a sudden wakes up and begins kissing Lilith who pushes him away and bitch slaps him!
Lilith: "Do not fuck with me. You're a slave know your place." Lilith stands up and walks away stomping her feet

What do you do.

Alty smirks. "Ya, well I'm not gonna be your slave forever. Sooner or later you're gonna fuck up. And when you do, I'm gonna take back my life." Alty stands up and walks over to the side, crossing his arms while the others talk about the recent events. [Alright Xen, I'll bite. What will it take to get this mark off of me and my powers back? Also, I'm pretty sure that the others are not completely trusting of her yet. You'd have to explain to them most likely. But before anything else goes further, I'm gonna say this: Don't. Fuck. With. Me. I don't take kindly to being someone's minion. Lilith isn't the first to try it is all I'm gonna say about it, but I will not tolerate being used by others for personal gain. At least not for very long. Now what do you need to do?]

Alty waits for a response, keeping an eye out for any more trouble.

"Uhhh..." Jade coughs, "that's... Lillith and Alty, our friends." She seems a bit embarassed by their antics.

[MENTION=38704]mrz84[/MENTION]
Are you absolutely sure you want to fly solo on this. Note that unless you inform the others of Xenovia's offer you will be pursued from all sides. The Demon Queen is no where in sight, so now would be your best chance to bring up that vision you just had. And perhaps the others too. -T

Alty checks for a second, and then lets the others know he has something to say while the Demon Queen is nowhere in sight. "I didn't wanna mention this around Lilith, but when I grabbed the staff I had a vision. To make a long story short, we're batting for the wrong team." Alty the briefly describes Xenovia's offer to them and and what other details are important on the matter before giving them all a moment to think it over. "Once you know what you wanna do, Lemme know and we'll let Xen know. If you don't wanna join me, that's fine. I won't think less of you."

Alty then goes back to watching the area.

*As a side-note, I'd like to point out that Alty can be quite the reckless risk-taker, for future reference*

Yeah I figured as much. -T

"I'm not sure I trust Xenovia any more than I trust Lilith. I suppose, however, than Xen is the lesser of two evils. I'm with you, for now. What is our next move?"

===================================
Update
===================================
Everybody: [MENTION=38704]mrz84[/MENTION] [MENTION=40954]King Aquamentus[/MENTION] [MENTION=60919]TheDarkOne[/MENTION]
The hooded figure leaves.

Nerinae: "Hey look everyone! I found a cute black bird!"

All of a sudden a crow cocks her head up at her and begins speaking.
Crow: "You have two seconds, to shut the fuck up fishface and listen. That goes for all of you."
The bird hops out of her hands and waddles around.
Crow: "You guys have obviously lost your minds. I'm going to go find my master. And perhaps inform or lady of what has transpired."
The crow grows in size to a roc and flies away in the direction of the demon queen.

Nerinae: "Not good, let us form a circle. I will teleport us to safety"
She bows her head and spacetime warps around you as red mist fills the air, and you all find yourselves before Xenovia the queen with 1000 fucking teeth sitting on a thrown merlina stands beside her with a chain bound to a manacle around to her neck, a dead look in her eyes. All of a sudden to your surprise she kneels. She raises her head and to your shock her eyes have turn scarlet and her hair is black.
Nerinae: "It seems you are enjoying my gift my Queen."
Xenovia: "Indeed, and you have helped my saviors escape the demon queens wrath, you are truly a remarkable servant. Once I am free you will become as powerful as Dagon himself and the Entire ocean will be under your control as I have promised."
A satisfied smile makes it's way across Nerinae's face as she leaves the 3 of you alone.
Xenovia: Now tell me what is your ultimate desire. I will grant it upon my release from this eternal prison. As it is written by us outer gods, those who contract us must receive compensation, and I can grant anything being a god of both fortune and despair.

What do you do?

arc 3 has begun

I reflect on this in silence. I know well what my ultimate desire is, but I am hesitant to ask for it. Some things, no matter how much you want them, are better to let go. Artanis has been gone for two years, and he should probably stay dead. On the other hand, I would have liked to have the chance to tell him how I felt about him before his death.

((I feel make it clear that Skie's elven friend Artanis is in fact dead--no "surprise-he's-actually-alive" twists, Skie actually held his body in her arms as the life left it so there is no question about his death. And yes, he was an elf, but you probably picked up on that when I mentioned how Skie got her dagger))

Alty take a few seconds to reflect before answering. "In the past I've dealt with being forced into the service of others via curse marks, powerful magic, and such. I want immunity to such abilities so I never can be forced to serve anyone again."

Jade knew what she needed to ask for, but was hesitant to do so. Although unsure if even this woman could return her home though, she declined to ask. For one, she did not like to be manipulated. Secondly, she'd grown attached to her allies. Somehow, Jade was confident there would be other ways... but what to wish for instead...?

=========================
Update
=========================
All of a sudden a large chained coffin appears behind you which bursts open revealing a portal. Out of the portal steps a revenant.
Skye addresses La Croix in surprise and everyone stares at the undead being with disbelief. Is this really La Croix.
La Croix: "When I revealed myself to you, that was a sign of trust. You shouldn't take it with a grain of salt Skye. You ladies, are about to become slaves to an elder god. I'm here to make an counter offer. Help me kill this thing and the demon queen like I originally planned. I'm already free from Merlina's control. So time I take my own iniatives. Only reason they're even alive is because they made a deal with me 1000 years ago. I tend to collect on their debts."
She begins charging a purple lightning bolt and fires a bolt of dark energy at Xenovia.
La Croix: "Now quick, get your asses through the portal. We'll just forget this mishap and discuss or plans later."
Xenovia fires counterspell at La Croix right now they're evenly matched. Wow either Xenovia is really weak, or La Croix is one hell of a grim reaper."
Xenovia: "You fools! Kill her why you still have a chance! That's an order!"
La Croix: "HURRY! I can't maintain this level of magic for long!"

[MENTION=60919]TheDarkOne[/MENTION] [MENTION=40954]King Aquamentus[/MENTION] [MENTION=38704]mrz84[/MENTION] What do you do?

Alty turns to Xen. "I told you earlier. I take orders from NO ONE. Also, not to fuck with me. You chose your words poorly Xen." Alty pulls a button on his left arm sleeve to open it and revealing his left arm. Or at least what's left it and the mechanical arm that functions as it now. He opens his left hand and it reforms into a lion head and fires a blast of energy at Xen. After it fires, Alty makes haste to the portal, not wanting to stay longer than he requires. As he leaves through the portal he flips off Xen with his right hand while sticking his tongue out.

Groaning, Jade pulls at Skye's arm, successfuly or otherwise. "Oh, come on would you!?" rolling her eyes, they disappear into the portal.

=========================
Update
=========================

After narrowly escaping Xen's wrath, Lacroix flies through the portal and the hooded man from earlier slams his hands together closing it.
All of a sudden the figure's form shifts into a gigantic raven with that spreads it's wings, La Croix Kneels before it's eerie majesty.

"Good day mortals, I am the Raven King. Roc of Death. 1000 years ago, Lilith contracted the outer god in hopes of defeating her sister and she succeeded claiming the title of Demon Queen. However all was for naught as she tried to seal the god using the forbidden spell of sealing. However spacetime fractured open xenovia was sealed away, but she was sent to this world, and the book was lost. Or so Lilith thought. I spent the last 1000 years searching the planes for this book (he pulls a dusty black tomb out of his robes), this book has enough magic power inside to make an entire world disappear. With it we can destroy an immortal such as Xenovia, but we need to reach her domain first. What you saw was a refraction. It was not her true form, as she is formless outside of the world she calls home. Imprisoned she has no form, so she simply uses a homunculous. As for direction, we must gather my brothers, they each have a fragment of a keystone that can open the way to the Outer God�s realm, and from there we can unseal Xenovia and destroy her. Leave Lilith to Alty and Lacroix, both of them have a debt to settle. And La Croix loves nothing more than to collect on debts. I'll leave the path you take up to you. Mountains, Desert, and the Frozen Waste. Those are where my brothers can be found."

Up ahead you see a massive fissure in the ground with green glow coming out of it The giant raven takes flight and flies across the chasm of light towards a castle.

La Croix "This is Gaia's Navel, the center of the world. Look up. Merlina used to call that floating city home. Before they tried to release Xenovia and the Demon Queen butchered her entire race leaving her as the only survivor. The past is just a story, if you can just except that the past loses all power over you. Try to remember that folks."

What do you do?

Alty returns the mechanized arm to normal before replacing the sleeve to its previous state. "Raven King, huh? He sounds like the most reasonable person since I got here. So let's get these keystones and kick the face in of anything that gets in our way then." Alty punches a clenched fist into a open hand as he says this. [I've got debts to settle. And nobody better try to make me a damn slave again. First person that tries it gets a foot to the teeth...or whatever they have for a face anyway.]

[MENTION=38704]mrz84[/MENTION] [MENTION=40954]King Aquamentus[/MENTION] [MENTION=60919]TheDarkOne[/MENTION]
La Croix smiles at your gesture.
La Croix "I too have debts to settle, I would love nothing more then to hold her while you rip her black heart out of her chest with that fancy arm of yours Alty. What do you say guys? You game for a Demon hunt?"

Note this is a sidequest guys, and is also serious business for two of the party members.

"I'm up for the desert, if anyone is coming with" Jade peeps