Something Wicked 2.0 - STORY THREAD

[Shameless]

Undaunted by his foe's parry, Hank didn't give up, and instead came back with an even more determined strike, his slash coming from below and the kobold was unable to defend itself this time, the well sharpened blade finding purchase and drawing blood.


He was reasonably aware of how the others were doing in their fights, but he knew that he had to stay focused on his own opponent.   Ben had taught him that in their gaming sessions, spreading focus too widely was a sure path to disaster.
 

Spoiler

attack roll
Shameless Roll: [6, 2] Result: 9  Hit

Damage
Shameless Roll: [4] Result: 4 4 damage dealt

 

[SalmonMax]

Meanwhile, the creature that had been stalking after Roach and MJ, paused as the cat landed in its path and arched its back, hissing. The feline darted forward, aiming a nasty slash at the gnoll's ankle, but the towering creature was wise to such things now and jerked its leg back. Its bloodshot eyes narrowed slightly, and drool drizzled from its teeth as it bared them and raised its weapon up to smash this tiny terror...

 

WHOK

 

That was the sound made as a large, nasty stone smashed into the gnoll's head, just under the crook of its right ear. It snarled and looked around, spotting Roach a few trees away. She'd hidden MJ a little ways off, then circled back around...collecting some good throwing rocks on the way. Her eyes were fixed angrily on the gnoll as she transferred another rock from her left hand to her right and started winding up for another throw.

 

This was seriously the last time she left the house without some kind of weapon.

 

Spoiler

Cat rolls 7 to hit, 1 damage. I think that misses?

Roach rolls 13 to hit, 2 damage.

 

[Nina]

While Banner worried the beastmans right arm Jo lunged for the left and the thing that he wore on his hand. She didn’t get the hand but she did manage to grab its wrist. She could see the thing clearly now, since it was level with her face. It was an intricate lace of filigreed gold and silver entertained around the things very human like fingers, the web of strands meeting at the palm and coiling around themselves into a setting for the smooth orangish red jewel. It looked sort of familiar, but Jo couldn’t quite grab the thought.

 

That was when it spread its fingers wide as if it were going to grab her face and the jewel burst with scintillating light. The light hit Jo like a physical thing, but it wasn’t to her it felt like her face was being pushed in and pulled off at the same time. But that wasn’t where the pain was the pain was inside, in her brain. It felt like her brains were being run through a blender. And she could do nothing about it her body simply wouldn’t respond!

 

Hank who had never practiced knife fighting in his life, a knife was tool, suddenly found himself in a sword fight that he had brought a knife too. But instead of being terrified and panicking he felt calm and collected and more strangly, the knife felt comfortable as he held it in a true warriors grip, one he had never studied before…

The Dog man lunged and Hank parried the sword as he spun away knocking the monster off balance causing it to slam face first onto the ground. Hank grinned and then caught sight of Jo’s predicament.

 

 A few feet away Roach was in trouble. The dogman now ignoring the cat set its sight on her and with a howl it charged. Or at least that is what it had panned to do. It took one step and then it was hit in the mid-section by a hurtling form.

 

Ben had shook off the shock of seeing the things he had thought were gnolls attacking from the woods and summoning a strength, not he nor anyone else thought he might possess, had charged the best about to attack Roach slamming into it, wrapping his arms around its waist lifting it and carrying it back into a tree trunk. Ben stepped back and expecting the beast to come at him instead to find that it had been impaled on a broken tree limb by the force of Ben’s attack.

 

Spoiler

Jo make a end test dif 8. if you succeed you take 4 stamina damage fail you take 8.  for jo to act next round she needs to make a str test diff 10

 

it is next round one best is dead one is on the ground and one is killing Jo

 

[Asarasa]

Jo was an athlete. Arguably the best athlete in school. She was used to pushing herself, pushing herself through the pain. But she had never felt any pain like this. It went far deeper than skin deep, past the muscle, deeper than bone, inside her head. It felt like her head was going to explode, pieces of skull and brain to scatter through the woods like shrapnel from a grenade. 

 

She tried to raise her arms, to pull away from the monster, to push him away, to push the thing away, but her arms won't respond. She wasn't even sure she had arms anymore. She tried to shout her defiance, but only a gurgle escape her slack lips.

Banner tore his jaws from the creature's wrist, blood and saliva flying in an arc. The big dog crouched with a ferocious rumbling growl, then sprang again, jaws opening wide to snap on the foul smelling animal-man's other hand, the one hurting his mistress.

 

Spoiler

Endurance Roll
!roll 2d6+1

Asarasa Roll: [4, 2] Result: 7 = Fail

Strength Test
!roll 2d6+1

Asarasa Roll: [3, 2] Result: 6 = Fail

Yay! Can't make any rolls. Huge Amazon blonde is a complete wimp

Banner Attack
!roll 2d6+4

Asarasa Roll: [5, 1] Result: 10

Damage
!roll 1d3

Asarasa Roll: [2] Result: 2 x 2 = 4 damage

Jo Stamina: 20/29

 

 

Edited July 27, 2022 by Asarasa

[SalmonMax]

Rochelle stayed where she was for a heartbeat, eyes wide, breath held. Ben, panting, looked at her and she could only look back. The monster snarled weakly, struggling on the branch that protruded from its abdomen...then it slumped. The sword it held dropped to the ground from its claws as it relaxed.

 

The sword.

 

She looked over at Hank and Jo, and her brain couldn't really assign words to whatever the flying fuck was going on with Jo other than it looked bad. Really really bad. She dropped down and grabbed the sword, her brain whirling around in her skull whispering that maybe she could give it to Hank and he could fight with it... But that wasn't what happened. Her brain wasn't in charge anymore.

 

With a shriek that seemed much too big to come out of her ribcage, Roach charged towards the creature torturing Jo. The sword was absymally heavy, dragging behind her, but she threw her shoulders forward and heaved the blade up and over herself in a wide arc. As she brought it back down, gravity took over, and her timing was just right for the heavy edge to catch the beast's thick, meaty arm. Exactly as Banner seized its wrist and hauled it's arm out, extending it. Like a hock of meat on a block, ready for chopping.

 

Thick hide parted, and muscle beneath. The momentum of the weapon, and the keenness of its edge, carried it through even the bone and on down through the other side. The monster's arm gushed blood and plopped to the ground with a thud. The radiance engulfing from the device on its hand guttered out.

 

It threw its head back and roared in pain and fury, and Roach screamed back.

 

"NO, FUCK YOOOU!!"

 

 

Spoiler

Roach, with help from Jo's dog, hits the creature's arm with a roll of 8 and does 13 damage; enough to sever the arm, per Nina.

 

[Nina]

26 minutes ago, Roach McKendrick said:

"NO, FUCK YOOOU!!"

 

The beasts head exploded showering Jo, Roach, and Banner with blood, brains, and bone.  The monster swayed a moment then fell backwards.

 

The remaining dogman threw its sword at Hank to distract him, dropped to all fours and lopped off into the woods leaving the teens and the two dead creatures.

 

Spoiler

combat over

 

[Shameless]

Hank stayed at the ready, watching the last dogman run away, and frowned.  He'd been fighting, but hadn't finished his fight, and it left him unfulfilled, which was definitely a new feeling for him.   Still he turned and saw that Jo, Roach, and Banner were covered in blood, and he sighed.  "Well, that happened."  He slid his knife into the scabbard, and then set his backpack down, producing a packet of antibacterial wipes, and a single towel.   "It's all I've got to get y'all cleaned up.   If anyone's hurt, I've got a small first aid kit as well, I've got some aspirin and tylenol."  he got that out too, and looked around for MC.  "I'll check MC first, to give you guys a bit.   Ben, if you would, try to find the sword that last one threw, if he comes back with buddies, we might need it."  He pointed where he'd seen the sword pass by him, and hoped Ben could find it.  

With that done, he turned back to trying to patch up his friends, and checking on MC.

[SalmonMax]

Breathing hard, Rochelle planted the sword tip-down into the dirt, and reached down to offer Jo a hand up. "You okay? That thing was kind of...blasting you with something."

 

She looked over at Hank and said, "I put MC just a little ways over. I'll show you. Gimme a second."

 

Once Jo was back on her feet, Roach led Hank over to where she'd pulled MC's unconscious body over to and stood over her worriedly as Hank did his thing.

 

"She's going to be okay, right? You should look at Jo too, I'm not sure she's okay." Her words were quickly spoken, almost tumbling over one another. "Also, and I know this is pretty obvious but this is really FUCKED UP and I have no idea what the fuck those things were! We came out here to find a BEAR, Hank! A fucking BEAR! Those things had...swords! And like...lasers or something! Ben STABBED one! With a tree!"

[Asarasa]

A ways off from the other two, Jo stood like a lightning blasted tree, listing worryingly as she absently tried to clean off some of the gummy blood off with the packet of wipes. Blurry blue eyes rested on the de-armed, de-headed monster. The heavy muscles under her tanned skin twitched and trembled as she washed the blood from her face, shoulders, and chest as best she could.

At her side, Banner alternated cleaning himself and his mistress with licks of his wet tongue, coughing some at the taste of the acrid blood, but continuing obstinately.

"That... hurt," Jo admitted in rough tone, like her tongue didn't work, or was too big for her mouth. "Still does." She glanced around, then slowly focused one the quick, piping voice. It took longer than it should have to recognize Roach, and Ben beyond her starring at the other dogmanthing. They couldn't tell if the blood under her nose and dribbling from her eyes was hers or the monsters. "Thanks. Roach. Ben. Didn't know yah can explode a head choppin' an arm off."

The gratitude was grudging, dragged out of the huge girl. She was practically as big as Roach and Ben combined, and she'd done nothing but get her brain microwaved. She hadn't been able to tackle the one dogmanthing. Hadn't been able to stop it from doing... whatever it had done to her. Ben had thrown one into a tree and Roach had chopped the other one down with a damned sword. Even Banner had contributed more than her.

Jo wasn't used to losing, not in anything physical at least. But she felt like a total loser right now. At least the others didn't seem hurt any. Everything of hers throbbed. After a long moment, she realized she was staring at her long pale blond hair and realized it was a total lost trying to clean it. Gaze wandering again, she dropped the ball of used wipes, blue eyes pulled toward a glinting.

Staggering, she took a few steps, hesitated, then leaned over, using a tree for balance, then shook the metal jewelry thing free of the de-bodied arm, wondering how it had did what it did, debating if she should stomp it.

"We should go," she muttered staring at the thing in her hand, though she had no clue where. Was the rock place or home closer? "Maybe Mistah So, Mistah... that there weird guy knows 'bout what these are..."

[Nina]

Hank glanced over at Jo and did as Roach suggested and left to check on his amazonian friend. Roach knelt down and just then MC opened her eyes and blinked. The blomd moved her head once she realized she was lying on the ground then looked back at Roach. "Wow, you have the prettiest brown eyes."

 

Ben was still in shock as well, he kept looking at the two dead monsters and at Roach's back as Hank passed by on the way to Jo, "Did you see that," Ben asked Hank. 

 

"See what," asked Hank continuing on to Jo. "Hey Jo, come sit over here, Let me look at your head." Hank took Jo by the arm and led her to a tree that didn't have a dogman hanging on it or blood and gore dripping off it. Ben followed.

 

Ben stood while Hank a examined Jo's head and checked her eyes acting like a doctor. He glanced back at Roach who was still crouched over MC. "When that things head exploded there were thing flying around Roach's head did either of you see them?"

[Asarasa]

Sitting on the fallen tree, ridged back biting into her palm, Jo forced herself to be still as Hank checked her out. She kept her breathing slow and steady, though it felt like her heart was trying to hammer through her chest. The jewelry thing lay forgotten in her other hand bunched up in a fist. She leaned around Hank to give Ben a puzzled look.

'The stuff flyin' 'round Roach's head was brains and bone and a bit of hair, fur, whatever, Ben. Same as mine."

[Shameless]

"I can't say I did."  He'd been aware of the fight the others were in, but his primary focus had been on his own.  "That was a rough fight, especially considering none of us have ever fought like that before."   He offered a smile as he pulled back from Jo, who still seemed abit out of it. She was injured, but as far as he could tell there wasn't anything much he could do for internal brain damage or whatever that thing had been trying to do to her.  He produced a canteen, and poured some water in a cup, giving Jo a few Tylenol.  "It's not a great fix, but it might help with any sort of pain and headache. We do need to decide what we're going to do, continue on, or head home, and how exactly we're going to explain this."   He gestured to how Even after the wipes, there was no hiding the bloodstains.

He looked back to Ben.  "Did you find the sword?"

 

[SalmonMax]

"Wow, you have the prettiest brown eyes."

 

Rochelle grinned at that, and her cheeks colored. "Okay," she said, trying to laugh it off a bit, "Now I know you're hurt. C'mon...lets get you up."

 

She leaned over to get an arm under MJ's shoulders, and took her hand to help pull her up as well.

 

Once the other girl was on her feet, Roach cleared her throat quietly and said, "Even if it's just the concussion talking...thanks. You're pretty too."

[Nina]

MC still looking at Roach with a goofy grin muttered, "Thanks," and shyly looked away. Thats when she saw the dead monsters and all the blood. "What the Fuck!"

 

"They are called Oolonga-Doglalla."  The voice belonged to Warren Clairburn, who stepped out of the woods. "That is what the native Cherokee called them when they lived here long ago. White settlers couldn't pronounce that so they just called them Long Dogs. They considered them a myth."

 

The kids looked at Clairburn, he had changed. Not his body or anything but his clothes. He was wearing a loose fitting robe made of velour and there was a heavy necklace of thick cold links holding some sort of amulate around his neck. Oh and he had a staff, the head of which was an eagles claw grasping a smoky blue crystal or glass sphere. He looked like a fucking wizard.

 

Really.

 

"The Greeks called them  cynocephali or Dog-headed Men. Most scholars believe they were referring to the Egyptian gods like Anubis. They weren't these things are much older.

I told you this place was dangerous."

[Asarasa]

Jo grabbed Hank's wrist as went to put the Tylenol away, taking the bottle and doubling the number of pills in her other hand before nodding her thanks and washing them down with the water in a single swallow. Took bad they didn't work like healing potions in one of Ben's games and worked instantly. It still felt like a spike was driving into her forehead.

Jo whirled around at the voice, only registering the sound and not what it sounded like or what it was saying, fearing another of the monsters showing up, hands coming up in fists, thought they hadn't helped last time... and then had to catch her balance as she staggered from a bout of nauseous vertigo. Then she stared at Mr. Clairburn. And stared some more, rubbing her forehead, wondering how fucked her head was from that thingamabob.

"Ah've run 'bout here plenty before, and Hank even more'n me," Jo claimed. Banner pressed his head against her thigh and she absently scratched him behind the ear. "It ain't no more dangerous than anywhere else and Ah ain't seen anything like these... these Oogie-Boogies ya said they're called? Ain't seen their like 'fore now. If ya know so much 'bout them, Mr. Clairburn, why they show up now? And what the bloody hell - pardon mah French - is this here bloody thing?"

She held out her other hand, the jewelry thing ripped from the bigger Oogie-Boogie's hand dangling from her fingers by the linking chains.

"And why are ya lookin' like a wizard? You one of those there big Harry Potter fans who want to visit Hogwarts for real?"

[SalmonMax]

"Nope," Roach said, shaking her head as she led MC back to the clearing. It wasn't far. "Nope. Not buying it. These things had...swords. And like...clothes."

 

"They're not some kind of weird Indian cryptid. They have...blacksmiths and tailors and all that. There's like a Dog village somewhere in the woods? And no one's ever seen it before? Dogman horse-drawn carriages?"

 

She shook her head and pantomimed swinging a sword.

 

"At least we know their weakness. Cut their arms off, and their heads explode. Pshew."

 

And that's when something occurred to her and she shut her eyes and grimaced.

 

"Or wait. Aw man. That was you, wasn't it?"

[Nina]

"No, Jo, while I am a fan of some of the actors I am not fond of the franchise. As for the dogmen, you only heard the first part. These things predate the pyramids. and again, No that was all you Rochelle."

 

Clairburn walked over to the headless corpse and nudged it with his slippered toe. "Crude implementation but considering it was raw talent. Impressive."

 

He turned back to Jo and sort of waved his staff around in a quick circle in Jo's direction, "Intis Miridias!"

 

Instantly her head cleared and the pain was gone. "I am a wizard, in fact I am the High Wizard of this region. And that is a very nasty device called a Skrill."

[Asarasa]

Jo rolled her shoulders then took a deep, pain-free breath. She gave Clairburn a somewhat dubious nod of gratitude. He might have been a wizard and his spell worked... or the Tylenol had just kicked in... at that very moment. Riiiiight... She glanced down at the thing, the Skrill, in her hand, then tentatively set it on the ground and rubbed her hands clean, as though she'd been holding onto a piece of roadkill. Honestly, she'd have been more fine with roadkill than that damned thing.

"Right. Wizard. Fer real. Ain't many of yer sort about, Ah'm guessin', since Ah ain't heard 'bout no wizards bein' fer real real, 'fore now," Jo said, glancing about the woods, as though she might catch another wizard sneaking around. She glanced at the dead Oogie-Boogie, then at Roach, then back at Clairburn. "And yer sayin' Roach can do magic, too?"

In some way, that mollified Jo some. She might have failed at taking down the monster herself, but Roach had cheated using magic. She pursed her lips, and frowned, a fist planted on a hip. Wizards popping up, and monsters. What else had just shown up in their corner of Georgia?

"Hey! Mistah Clairburn, ya know 'bout a queer feller hereabouts called Mistah Yorushh? And some uncanny boulder with these here strange carvings all ovah it?"

[Shameless]

Hank listened quietly, wondering just what had happened to their small town since they'd found the book.   It had all seemed to start with that.  He put away his supplies now that everyone was up and ambulatory, wiping away the creatures blood from his knife, and going to find the sword, which wasn't surprisingly hard.   "Roach can do magic, we're all doomed."  he teased lightly, offering Roach a small smile.  "It came in handy though."

He looked back to Mr. Clairburn, and nodded.   "What about strange books with seemingly ancient stories in them?"

[Nina]

"Yes Jo, wizards are real, but we prefer the term mage, or magus.

 

And it's not just Rochelle," Clairburn responds to both Jo and Hank's comments, "All of you can work magic, probably most of you have been doing it subconsciously all of your lives." 

 

Clairburn takes a moment to walk around the little clearing they are in mumbling. as the Kids watch they realize that they were in a clearing now and not on a narrow trail, but they had been on a trail when the monsters...

 

"I knew you were quickened when you showed up at my place. Only magic users could have gotten past my wards, and since all of you showed up, all of you must have some talent. That could also explain why such different kids all joined together in a group, you each felt some kinship. That was your magic calling to each other."

 

Claiburn looks at Jo, "This Yorushh fellow what is he like?"

[Asarasa]

"Mistah Yorushh?" Jo repeated, cocking her head to the side. Blond brows crinkled in thought. "He's a... weird feller. Near as tall as Ah am, but skinny as a pole, all long limbs and fingers and what'all. " Her tanned cheeks grew faintly pink. "A real pretty feller, so pretty it's hard to tell if he's a boy or a girl. Wore old, fancy clothes, like from them there old British shows and movies, y'know, with all the fancy parties and lords and ladies and the like? He talked funny, said he had lots to teach us, but he had to teach all of us, or none of us."

Jo waved an arm in the direction... she thought they had been going before they got attacked by the oogie-boogies, but she wasn't so sure anymore. "He did... something - magic?" she added dubiously, "so we could find him again. We found him at a hill Ah ain't ever seen before, with a boulder at the top, all carved with strange writing Ah couldn't read."

Jo folded her muscular arms, a small frown on her lips as she regarded Mister Clairburn. "This here magic yah said we all're havin', yah sayin' we've been castin' spells without ever knowin' it? How's that work? Don't'cha, y'know, need to wave your arms and chant them funny words and all that?"

[SalmonMax]

Roach had been uncharacteristically silent since Clairburn had said SHE'd been the one to blow the thingy's head off. Partly because that sounded too good to be true, and partly because she had sort of...really felt it was true even before he'd said it. That moment when she'd thought it was him had been one of disillusion and disappointment.

 

So she had to process all this.

 

"Yeah, I kinda did though, didn't I?" she said to Jo. "Swung a sword. Shouted profanity in its face. Hell, there was even a blood sacrifice from its arm. Is that it then? Is that all it takes to do magic?"

[Shameless]

"Probably one way to do it, another involves pure will working against, or maybe even with, the fabric of reality."  Hank said, remembering other types of magic he'd read about in different book series.  Who was to say there weren't kernels of truth planted among the different portrayals of Magic throughout the ages.

Hank shrugged, and looked to Warren.  "One of them definitely got away though.  Are safe here, just standing around?  It could return with friends."

[Nina]

Clairburn nods at Hank's comments. "Yes It could. And these hills are not safe at all for anyof you, and not just because of the long dogs. What you kids need to do right now is make a choice."

 

Clairburn's grin, that they had become used to seeing on his weathered face, even after knowing him only for a couple of hours, vanished, replaced by a stern serious visage. 

 

"You kids are what we call Quickened. That's when a person has had that spark which allows them to work magic awakened in their soul. You're not mages, not yet, but you have the talent and the power to become mages. It is a dangerous time for people like you, and more so for kids your age. 

 

Now I said you have a choice to make. This Mr Yoruush fellow, to me he sounds like he might be one of the fae, what you might think of as elves. The fae, while not inherently evil, are fickle and capricious and often wicked. They have a very codified set of ethics, chiefly they don't do anything for free, and they will bargain with you, and then do their best to twist the terms to get you to break them.

 

I take it he offered to teach you magic, but I don't think you came to an agreement or excepted any terms he may have offered. But, you have set yourselves on the path to him, I wouldn't be surprised if those longdogs had been set on you by him to drive you to except what he offers when you get there. He can teach you a lot and quickly and I will admit it would be easier. But in the end you would owe him. Probably more than any of you are actually willing to pay.

 

So, you can continue on to this Yorussh guy. Or you can come back to my house, and let me teach you the right way."

 

[SalmonMax]

As Clairburn spoke, Roach glanced off in the direction the 'long dogs' had run off in, then back at the self-professed wizard. She had a lot of questions, but something about the whole scenario felt really off to her. What do you do when you're in over your head? Play for time.

 

"Mister Clairburn," she said, with more courtesy than she usually addressed adults, "this has been...a lot. I think we need some time to, you know...process here. Can you give us a minute to talk about some of this stuff? Just between ourselves?"

 

"I'll do better than that," he replied. "You know the way back or forward. I'll be at the house putting stuff away." with a gesture, some mumbled incomprehensible words and a flash of blue light he vanished!

 

Rochelle looked at the others. "This is all bullshit," she said. "We're standing, in a forest, surrounded by bullshit. Or...bearshit? That makes more sense, right? Bulls are domesticated. Huh."