[Taocow PBEM] Chapter XVI - Into The Southlands

Aaron Clausen mightymartianca at gmail.com
Tue Aug 12 20:44:11 BST 2008


> > [Osiris]
> > Osiris quickly rummages through his backpack and pulls out a couple of thick
> > ropes, tying them together.  He hands them to Koba.  "That should be enough
> > to get us out of here."
> > 
> > He looks over at the strange table.  "I feel that thing is... important."
> > He walks with some effort towards the table, stooping down and touching the
> > broken tubes.
> > 
> > "Irreperable in the time we've got." he says.  He then looks over as the
> > others busily gather stuff up.  "Forgive me." he says, and then with speed
> > that belies his age and injuries, Osiris leaps on to the table and lays
> > down...
> > [/Osiris]

> [Sia]
> Sialillion looks behind her and catches Osiris laying down on the table
> out of the corner of her eye.  She cries, "No!  What are you doing you old
> fool!?  This device is clearly broken and we don't even know what it
> does!" She starts to move towards him to pull him off the table, then...
> [/Sia]

> > [GM]
> > For a moment, there's nothing, and then all the glowing tubes begin to
> > brighten.  Beneath them, the island shakes.
> > [/GM]

> > [Osiris]
> > "This may have been a mistake." Osiris says, as he tries to get up.  "Can
> > someone give me a hand here?"
> > [/Osiris]

> > [GM]
> > Before anyone can respond, a bubble of translucent blue energy surrounds
> > Osiris and the table.  Osiris is forced down by some unseen force, and
> > tendrils of energy leap from the bubble to his forehead.  Osiris screams
> > madly in pain, and the quake becomes much worse, making standing difficult. 
> > In the upper chamber, pieces of the ceiling start to dislodge.
> > 
> > Suddenly the six canisters burst open, the fluid spraying all over the
> > floor.  The wooden staffs fall out, and for a moment almost flop around like
> > frightened snakes.  The tubes of energy crack open with frightful
> > explosions, blackening the wall.  The field around Osiris begins to shudder
> > visibly, pieces of it blinking in and out as the energy tubes underneath the
> > table arc with each other.
> > 
> > There's an ear-drum breaking sound of stone splitting, and the lower chamber
> > literally splits in two, and a stream of lava starts bubbling through the
> > walls.  There's a deafening noise like a hurricane that just keeps getting
> > louder.
> > [/GM]

> [Sia]
> Sialillion's jaw drops.  "No!!"  Yet another of her new companions felled,
> and they haven't even gotten to the Reaver yet.  But it would seem to be
> too late.  "We have to get out of here.  Koba, quick, drop us the rope!"
> she yells up to Koba flying above the group in his jet pack.
> 
> Seeing the rope dangling in front of her, Sia climbs for all she's worth!
> [/Sia]

> [Ted]
> "Move out, everyone," Ted said. He looked over at Carlos and then asks
> "¿Necesita usted la ayuda para subir la cuerda?" (Do you need some
> assistance climbing the rope).
> [/Ted]

OOC: Apologies to anyone fluent in Spanish, I'm just using an online
translator.

> > [Meanwhile, on the boat...]

> > [GM]
> > As Alex observes the island, she sees Koba appear at the top of the island
> > with a rope in his hand.  That view is cut off as Lady Louissa approaches
> > the island's only landing at the bottom of the cliff.  She drops the anchor
> > and sets the engine so that the boat will remain relatively still in the
> > current.
> > 
> > Suddenly Alex catches site of a bolt of bluish energy bursting through some
> > rock at the top of the island.  It hits maybe three thousand feet of
> > altitude and then flattens out like a dish, moving in all directions like a
> > wave.  Much more breathtaking, and frightening, she catches sight of a
> > distant leyline, maybe twenty miles to the west, start literally bending
> > towards the island, moving somewhere between fifty and a hundred miles an
> > hour.  Another leyline, further to the south, is being pulled as well,
> > though it's much too distant for her to get much sense of its speed of
> > approach.
> > [/GM]

> > [Alister]
> > "Holy shit..." Alister murmurs.
> > [/Alister]

[GM]
The strong current of the river is now becoming erratic.  And Lady Louissa
is clearly having a hard time keeping the boat in one place.  She shouts to
Alex, "I think this might just pull the anchor out.  I see a few rocks to
tie up to, but do we really want to tie up to this island?  Can you get
those guys to get down here now?"

Alex can now clearly see large boulders dislodging from the cliff wall
immediately above them, some nearly as big as a small all-terrain vehicle. 
They crash into the water with great splashes which drench the deck and
everyone on it.
[/GM]

> > [Meanwhile, on the island...]

> > [GM]
> > From his vantage point, Koba can see the ley lines bending towards the
> > island much better than those down in the boat.  He can also see a third
> > one, far in the northeast, bending towards the island as well.
> > [/GM]

> [Koba]
> Initially trying to watch below for everyone to  get out of the chamber,
> his eyes are drawn to the blue energy of the lines pulling towards them.
> "Grab the ropes. We need to get out of here. The ley lines are shifting
> this way. They're actually moving!" The intensity of his voice amplified
> through the megaphone in the helmet, but even without it he could have
> woken the dead. Watching the arc of blue energy start to form a dome over
> the island, Koba is reminded of the force fields he can conjure. If he was
> to still be on the island when they.... "We need to get off the island
> now!"
> [/Koba]

> [Sia]
> As Sialillion climbs up the rope, she cries up at Koba.  "Moving!? What
> are you talking about??" As far as she knows, what he's describing is
> completely impossible.  But she has yet to emerge from the hole and see
> for herself.
> [/Sia]

> [Koba]
> "Just what I said Sia, they're bending towards us. There is a wonderful
> view of this from ANYWHERE OTHER THAN HERE!" Koba says with a bit of
> nervousness.
> [/Koba]

[Lady Frost]
Lady Frost looks at Ted, and then back at the chamber below as it fills with
molten rock.  "I'll be back in a moment."  With that she leaps back towards
the manhole, ice leaping from her hands down into the heat below.  "I won't
leave one of ours behind!" she shouts as she climbs down into the lower
chamber.
[/Lady Frost]

-- 
Aaron Clausen mightymartianca at gmail.com


More information about the Taocowpbem mailing list