[Taocow PBEM] Chapter XIX - Rath-Iren

[Aaron Clausen]

OOC: Still missing a post, and I've had a busy week, but lets plug on.

> > [GM]
> > The bluish energy coming through the keyhole in the ceiling suddenly
> > brightens many times, and as it hits the polished bronze walls and
> > ceiling, it becomes so bright it is painful to normal human eyes.  Soon
> > it will become damaging to any unprotected eyes, even reptilian eyes
> > like Ted's.
> >
> > On the table, though it can hardly be seen, a humanoid form begins
> > to appear, though oddly shaped, for the legs and torso seem
> > separated from the chest and upper body.  Beyond it, the single
> > open sarcophagus begins to levitate off the ground.
> >
> > The ground is shaking so violently now that the stone floor begins to
> > groan, and hairline fractures begin appearing in the door.
> >
> > Suddenly there is the sound of laughter, vicious, wicked and utterly
> > inhuman.  "Well well well." the voice says.  "All my prey caught in
> > my nest.  Don't worry, I'll be along soon, and then my servants can
> > pick at your bones."
> > [/GM]

> [Talas]
> Talas Yells "There on the Alter! It is the Demon that we spoke of!"
>
> Talas the noises the empty sarcophagus beginning to move. "The
> beast must need its coffin. We must destroy it, before it can use it!"
> With that Talas braces his back against the door and pull out his
> P-beam rifle. Talas then begins firing at the coffin. [Strike: 3]
> [/Talas]

[GM]
Talas's shot goes very wide, hitting the wall beyond the casket
[Damage: 54MD], blasting away the metal and literally carving
out a hole in the wall.  It's hard to tell in the light, but it almost
looks like there's some space beyond the hole.
[/GM]

> [Koba]
> Koba hopes the visor on the helmet can shield out the glare as the lights
> get brighter. Hearing Talas' command, he spins and lets loose a burst from
> the rifle into the casket. [Strike: 7, Damage: 120MD]
> [/Koba]

[GM]
Koba's shot fares a bit better, striking the coffin with a burst.  The force of
the blast knocks the coffin back, and it strikes the wall.  Black smoke seems
to rise from it, and there is bloodcurdling cry.
[/GM]

> [Alex]
> Hoping that it is the right thing to do, Alex will open fire with her
> JA-12 Rifle on the casket as well.  [Strike: 11, Damage: 50MD]
> [/Alex]

[GM]
Alex's shot follows in short order, and now the coffin begins to shudder, and
almost seems to be dematerializing.
[/GM]

> [Raven]
> Raven had seen some of the others make to open fire in the direction of
> the voice. She briefly thought about doing the same with her own magic
> but then thought against it. Instead, she concentrated her attention on
> the use of magic (if any) on the Altar.
> [Raven]

> [Owen]
> Owen will also pull his rifle and begin firing at the Coffin. [Strike: 12]
> [/Owen]

[GM]
Owen's shot also hits [Damage: 21MD].  The coffin now seems to be
burning with a strange black flame.  The screams are getting louder.
[/GM]

> [Raven]
> Raven casts Fire Bolt at the coffin [Strike: 1]
> [/Raven]

OOC: Just to let Raven's player know, I use the Critical Failure rule
(ie. Natural 1 is a critical failure, regardless of bonuses).

[GM]
Raven's fire bolt misses the coffin, hitting where Talas's missed shot
originally hit [Damage: 13MD].  The bolt blasts an even bigger hole in the
wall, revealing a hidden room beyond, though the intense light makes any
details impossible to pick out.
[/GM]

> [Lyle]
> Lyle keeps an eye on things and if the coffin thing is making a
> difference he'll join in.  [Strike: 8, Damage: 6MD]
> [/Lyle]

[GM]
Lyle's shot seems to be the last straw.  There's an explosion of black
flame that seems to utterly obliterate the bright light.  There is a scream
that seems to fade into nothingness.

Zandeeli pulls out his flash light, revealing a woman lying on the ground
where the coffin was last seen.  Though Zandeeli, Raven and Lyle do not
know her, the others do.  It is Lady Frost, their companion who had been
near death in the last battle with the demon.  She is naked and seemingly
still unconscious, with an iron band around her throat and a plain iron
ring on her left ring finger.

The table where the reforming demon had been laying is cracked into
pieces, and there is no sign of the demon, only the acrid smell of sulfur.

The hole that Talas made in the wall can now be fully seen.  Beyond is
a dark passageway, that tends even further downwards.

At the door to this room the pounding grows.  Ted, now left alone to
handle holding it closed while Talas opened fire on the sarcophagus,
seems to be struggling, his reptilian eyes squinting with the strain, his
muscles quivering so badly he must surely be near collapse.  Then,
even as Zandeeli leaps up to help him hold the door, it bursts open,
revealing several of the blue dwarfs literally standing on the squashed
remains of their compatriots.

Immediately they strike out, one hitting Zandeeli in the head with a glowing
spear.  It passes through Zandeeli's helm, and comes out the other side.
His body convulses and then he drops to the ground.  Within seconds
there are seven or eight of the creatures in the room.
[/GM]

-- 
Aaron Clausen
mightymartianca at gmail.com