Session Start: Sat May 31 17:24:21 2008 Session Ident: #castlevania * Logging for #castlevania started [The intrepid party prepares to wander into the southern jungle. The humidity and density of the plant life in this part of the world lend an air of claustrophobia to the enterprise.] * Nyyx looks down the street for anything else that might be of interest. * Biff yawns I vote we find some nice local cuisine, then hit the road. * Nyyx nods. "Before we go, though - Skip, any supplies you would recommend for traveling in the jungle? I'm not sure my bedroll's going to cut it in this soggy climate." * Skip thinks for a moment. "Yes, I guess I've never traveled with such a large group that is not used to the jungle. We're going to need a lot of things before we leave." Skip describes the necessary items, as well as the hazards they will meet along the way. * Olivia will satisfy Nyyx's curiosity in being a 'thing of interest', by being a woman with olive skin and black hair in a travelling outfit, walking by the group and peering at them curiously a moment. Almost staring, but after a moment of that her face brightens and she says, looking at the whole group, "Finally!" Eh? Wotcha talking about, babe? * Nyyx blinks at the woman. "Finally what?" * Biff is a small housecat, a couple feet long from nose to tail, totally black, held in the arms of a masked woman, who is idly scratching the scruff of his neck. Hm? * Biff is also, inexplicably, both talking and wearing adventuring gear, including a pair of cute little goggles, a tiny backpack, and a number of other strange things. * Charlotte is a brown-haired woman in a cloak with advenring gear. * Olivia wipes her forehead with the back of her gloved hand, then she reaches into the front of her outfit, showing off both some light chain under there, and a symbol of Boccob pulled just far enough out to see. "I've been here waiting for you." * Nyyx is a gaunt, pale woman dressed in a wide-brimmed black hat and a black cloak; her eyes and hair are a washed-out gray-white. A friend of Roland's? * Skip is a short, scrawny halfling dressed mostly in ragged black clothes and armor. "Hm, another messenger?" Really? * Olivia nods slightly and replies, "More of an associate, really. Less of a messenger." She smiles slightly. "I'm here to help you out. And since it took you a week to get here..." the smile slips away a moment, then returns, ".. and I couldn't help but overhear your discussion... I'm pleased to tell you that I already have most of that equipment for you all." Oh hey, looks like I get to meet dis one. I tihnk Boccob is slipping. * Olivia gives Biff an odd look, but then smiles slightly. "Well, I'm pleasd to meet you too, little cat. Although you're a pretty big cat." Well. That's convenient. Good to meet you, then. I dunno what you consider -small- then, toots. And if you're anything like Roland, I'm guessing we don't really need to introduce ourselves, since you already know who we are and what we're here for. * Olivia shrugs slightly, then looks to Nyyx and says, to the group, with a faint smile, "No, but it is polite. I'm Olivia Terrania." Biff Mouser, familiar for hire. Good to meet you. I'm Charlotte. Natalia Ruthven. A pleasure. Call her Nyyx. * Nyyx offers her a gauntleted hand. I've, ah, since realized that anonymity isn't really an option. * Nyyx smirks. * Olivia extends her hand in response and shakes it, smiling slightly. "It's a tough lesson to learn." She then looks to Skip. "And you?" * Skip smiles, "Murdock Mudskipper." He looks at Biff, then back to Olivia, "But you can call me Skip." He said that when I joined, too. * Olivia lets go of Nyyx's hand and asks, "And do you?" Call him Skip? * Olivia nods, and glances to Biff. "Well, I was more asking Mister Mouser, but if everyone has a habit of ignoring the nickname, I'd like to know." She chuckles to herself, then runs a hand back through her shoulder-length hair. "Well, it's your party, I'm just another partygoer. What's next?" I'm an agreeable sort. Why wouldn't I call him Skip? Well, you might not if you were angry. If I'm angry, the only thing coming outta my mouth is spells. * Nyyx laughs. "So far, I've found that to be true." Anyway, I hear tentacled cat stew is the local specialty. I think I might give it a chance. No offense to your cousins, Biff. * Olivia smiles slightly as she listens to the interplay. She's awfully smiley. * Skip turns a little green. "I'd have to recommend against it. Well, at least I never had the stomach for it." I, uh, I think I'll bow out. Maybe they got roast lizard onna stick or something. I'm not really into the whole cannibalism thing, y'know? * Nyyx nods. "Unlike some of my distant relatives." I don't think they're really cats, Biff. But it always felt better to use a known word as part of the name. * Nyyx starts toward the local eatery, wherever that might be. * Skip hesitates, then follows. "Maybe I'll stick to the ale." Those things are creepy. [Nyyx finds a tavern about a half block down the road.] * Nyyx goes inside and finds a place to sit down. [Seating is indoors or on the open-air porch. The kitchen offers up a variety of cold items from smoked lizard to jungle vegetable dishes.] * Biff orders a lizard sampler! * Olivia 's smile lessens as she follows in, saying, "I fear I'm already ready for hard tack, having eaten this stuff all week." * Nyyx orders a little bit of everything and hopes it's not as bad as Skip seems to think. ...those words form a sentence, but I'm afraid I don't understand it. It just doesn't make any sense. * Skip requests the jungle vegetable stew, hold the many-tentacled meat-of-the-week. * Charlotte decides to give the vegetables a try Okay, so where are we going from here? * Olivia ticks off words on her fingers. "Hardtack, or rations, this stuff... uh... well... this food." She sticks with ale. Not sure... Probably toward Skip's village. Do you still remember how to get there, Skip? * Skip nods. "I think I can find it." * Skip mutters into his stew, "I'm just not sure there's anything to find." Don't be like that. * Nyyx finishes off her cold lizard and stands up. "We might as well check, now that we're here." It's not like it's costing us much time. We oughta get outta here, though. Don't want to spend too much time in one place, in case those Jassie goons come after their buddy. * Nyyx nods. "That's a good point, too. Let's get going." * Charlotte nods Right * Skip finishes his soup and leaves with the group. * Charlotte finishes her food * Olivia finishes her ale and sticks with the group as well, her smile having returned. "After their buddy?" Yeah, I sorta stole a member of their ruling council. * Nyyx nods toward the masked lady. "Her." * Biff flicks his tail up to the mask of the woman holding him. [Olivia sees that the woman is wearing a long dress and a stone mask. Strangely, she doesn't look a bit uncomfortable.] * Olivia looks over at her, the smile slipping, and nods slightly. "Ah, I was wondering just a little bit." Then the smile's back. * Skip adjusts his packs, "Well, are we ready to head out?" I know I am Show us which way to go. * Skip starts walking. "This way, then." * Nyyx follows along. [Skip leads the party quietly into the jungle and begins to proceed to the south. The light level drops very rapidly on account of the canopy overhead.] * Theodore has quit IRC (Read error: Connection reset by peer) * Theodore has joined #castlevania [Early out, the party comes across a narrow river about 20 feet wide. Will they ford it or try to find a way around?] * Biff looks at the river, looks at his paws, looks at the river again, then gestures, yowls, and an immensely thick sheet of ice appears to bridge the river. He directs his puppet across. [Biff wanders slowly across the ice bridge, making sure not to slip. Halfway across, several eel-like creatures slam into the bridge from beneath and fall back into the water.] * Olivia glances to the cat, and it walking across, then it frowns at the eels. "We'd better cross fast." She does so! * Nyyx is now known as NyyxAFK [Olivia and the other charge across one at a time. Soon, the river is behind them.] [The party proceeds along at a slow pace for the remainder of the day and all of the next week. Progress is slow but steady.] [A few times, the party is stopped by an obstacle and forced to backtrack or someone narrowly avoids a bog or similar hazard.] [At night, Charlotte and Skip sense the presence of something in the darkness, but cannot pinpoint anything. Several times during the week, Charlotte guides the group away from the tracking of larger predators.] [On their sixth day in the jungle, the party finds a fetish stuck in the ground. It is a wooden stake with a moon carved into the top.] ... huh. Hey, you know what this is? Skip: "This marks the territory of the Shadow Elves. They are our neighbors. Pretty sane if you don't insult them or try to hunt on their land." So we should watch our step * Olivia nods a little and wipes her forehead again. "Definitely. I much prefer sane." * Olivia then asks, "Do you think this is large enough we shouldn't go through?" Any signs they'll use to warn us off before they attack if they decide they don't like us? Skip: "Well, going around would add about half a week to our trip and they could trade with us or provide some useful information..." Or anything that might be construed as an insult? Through sounds best, then. How shadowy are these shadow elves? Skip: "They are not that shadowy. They worship the concept of shadow in the jungle. Stealth, predators, nocturnal creatures, that sort of thing. They are not literal shadows." * Charlotte nods Sounds like my kinda people. [After three more days of marching and spotting several more fetishes, the party wanders within sight of the shadow elf camp.] Skip: "Something is very wrong, they should have sent a scout to approach us by now." ... they're safe, right? No telling. You should probably scout ahead, to check. I'd hate to end up with a few extra holes in me. * Olivia smiles faintly and adds, "Or your friend. Then you'd have to walk." * Charlotte nods. Skip: "Right." * Charlotte steps forward and begins searching the area carefully. [Charlotte creeps forward through the brush and into the camp proper. From the back of one of the huts nearest the party, Charlotte looks around. No one seems to be present within her line of sight, but she can hear something at the other end of the camp.] [She climbs in through a window in the hut. The interior is a shambles with pottery and bedding strewn all over. She creeps to the entrance of the hut without disturbing the broken items on the ground...] [Looking out the entrance to the hut, she can see that the rest of the camp is in similar shape. The noises are coming from the largest building at the far end of the camp. It is wooden rather than thatched and reaches back into the jungle.] [The camp is silent save for the sound coming from the large building. It sounds like scraping. Not even birds or insects can be heard at this point. The building is still in good condition although weathered in the humidity. Charlotte approaches the front of the structure.] * Charlotte frowns. She makes her way back to the group and reports her findings. [The large wooden doors in front are knocked from their hinges and cast upon the ground in front of the building. The moon and figure carvings on them shows obvious skill with an awl.] * Charlotte does that once she's done observing this * Charlotte heads back. "Everyone's gone. There's some building made of wood, and a scratching sound back in there. You have any idea what this menas?" No bodies? No bodies. that mostly rules out plague, unless the scavengers have done a really thorough job. * Olivia tilts her head slightly at Charlotte. "But you didn't look inside the building...?" Skip: "I have no idea. It's probably related to the plague though." They could have all fled. The building had some moon carvings on it... I didn't want to look into the building without backup. You guys wanna come help? * Biff looks over at Olivia. "How're you with stealth, toots?" Nyyx: "I thought I was toots?" You are toots. It's not an exclusive thing, babe. * Olivia smiles a bit. "I can not be seen when I hafta be not seen." Fine. I'll leave my carrier here. If she starts panicking, the rest of you can come rushing in. * Biff hops over to Charlotte's shoulder. * Olivia nods slightly and says, "Okay." * Charlotte heads over * Olivia follows. [Biff, Olivia and Charlotte wander over to the doors. The scratching sound continues unabatted. Nothing but shadows can be seen inside the building from the doorway.] * Olivia sucks in her upper lip as she glances at the other two. * Biff hops down off Charlotte's shoulder and through the door to take a look around. [Biff pads a short distance into the building.] [The structure is dominated by one large room with a smaller room in the back. While the entryway is set with wooden planks for a floor. The remainder of the main room is set about two feet lower and is dirt-floored save a small landing leading into another chamber at the back.] [The scraping noise comes from the chamber further in the back. In the center of the main chamber are several piles. The first is of animal hide clothing. The second is cleaned bones. The last and furthest from the entryway is a pile of small wooden fetishes.] * Biff backs the hell out and whispers, "Something's in there, and it's a tidy sort. A pile of clothes, a pile of well cleaned bones, and a pile of those fetishes." * Olivia frowns slightly and whispers back, "Delicious. Well?" Uh oh I say we call in the hitters and take it on in the open. * Olivia nods and whispers back with a slight smile, "One thing better than three on one is more than three on one." [The party gathers outside of the building.] Skip: "Okay, what is the plan?" Well, I was thinking of running in, getting its attention, and then running back out to you guys. Except that it's not me doing it, it's Charlotte. Well, I'm a fast running... You ready? Skip: "I'm ready." Okay. * Charlotte opens the door. [As Charlotte opens the door to the back chamber, she sees a circular room with a large tree growing in the dirt at the center of its floor. A chair is set at the base of the tree where an old elf works with a stone to clean a set of bones.] [He has two baskets at his feet. One for clean bones and one for those yet to be worked on.] Uh... hi? [As Charlotte enters, he puts his tools on his lap and looks up.] "Hello." [He smiles with sharp teeth glinting in the weak light.] "You are very late." Late? "You have been blundering through the jungle for several days longer than it should have taken you to get here." "What do you want?" We wanted to pass through to Skip's village, but... what happened here? [He smiles wider.] "The people are leaving. First, they took the blood. Now they'll take the flesh and then they'll take the bones and they'll be all gone." ... what? What are yuou saying, exactly? Undead? Is... where's everyone else? is anyone left? "Left? We're all right here." [He absently picks a piece of tissue off of his lap and tosses it into the branches of the tree. Charlotte hears a snapping noise.] "Better than ever." [He stands and points at Charlotte.] "She is the prey!" [Glowing red points appear throughout the foliage in the tree.] "KILL HER! Drink her blood, eat her flesh and grind her bones into powder!" * Charlotte darts out of the house. "They're in the tree! hostiles!" ('The tree'?) In the house! [Cruel laughter follows Charlotte out of the building.] * Olivia pops a dagger into existance in her left hand, and tosses it over to her right. "... does that mean it's not coming out?" [As Charlotte reaches the party and readies to fire, a swarm of dark shapes fly out of the front door of the building. Amorphous, bruised forms glide through the air and slither along the ground toward the party. The only sign of consciousness in them are their glowing ruby eyes.] * Charlotte reacts and fires two arrows, which plunge into the swarm and dissolve into acid * Biff lays down a layer of pure speed over all his buddies. [Skip and Nyyx lunge forward, cutting into the twisted creatures with sword and axe.] [Several of the forms collapse under the onslaught.] * Charlotte raises her bow and fires another three shots * Biff backs off a bit and launches a ball of fire from his eyes. * Biff drops several of the shadows, and is glad he backed away. [The swarm advances and hounds the party.] [The creatures swarm over Nyyx and Skip, biting, drawing blood and slicing away tissue at an alarming rate. Both of the fighters look to be shaken by the attack.] * Olivia pulls out a wand from her travelling pack and points it at the swarm, a dagger made of ice appearing at the tip of it before heading towards the swarm. [One more of the creatures falls.] Skip retreats in a burst of shadow and reappears behind Charlotte.] Skip: "Nice friends you made." [Theo lobs a fireball taking advantage of the space that Skip just emptied. He hits two-thirds of the remaining creatures, dropping all of them.] [Nyyx growls and swings at the nearest beast.] Wow! [She cuts one down and cleaves into another, nearly slaying it.] * Charlotte fires anothey volley of arrows * Biff extends the Kitty Kannon and launches a high velocity stream of force missiles into the last shade. [The creatures have all crashed shuddering to the earth. There they lay, immobile and corrupt.] Finally.. What HAPPENED here? What ARE these things? [The creatures appear to have once been elves, now twisted and boneless.] [Their eyes are rimmed with blood.] I could do without meeting any more of those. ...whatever they are. * Olivia holds wand and dagger in hand, frowning a bit at the creatures, and then steps in to look in the house itself. Skip: Same. Ouch. [The main chamber is as Charlotte left it.] * Biff slides the kitty kannon back into storage and pads after Olivia. * Charlotte steps along carefully [The party reaches the back room. The old man is sitting in his chair, apparently dead, having finished his cleaning.] Well, damn. Was he dead before, Charlotte? [At his feet, the following is carved in Common: "and in the arc of time, even death may die."] No... he was being all mysterious and threatening Wonderful. Looks like we've got another anomaly on our hands. * Olivia frowns, then slips the wand back in her backpack. "Even death may die," she repeats. I'm not sure whether to be for or against that. * Olivia crouches and looks more carefully at it before she replies, "I'll vote against. It'd be awful... boring." She looks the old man over carefully, to see if he's got anything of interesting beyond standard stuff on him. Yeah, but I can get behind living forever. Depends. I spend an awful lot of time trying to avoid death, you know. * Olivia half-smiles as she looks down. "Yeah, but do you wanna do it with your lungs cut out?" I'm rather attached to my lungs, thanks. [End of Session.] Session Close: Sat May 31 22:19:20 2008