Adventure! RPG: Dark Tidings - Chapter 2: Casting A Shadow

[Rachel Fiore]

Originally Posted By: Lee Deity

"Indeed," Ben chimed in, rather casually. "In fact, you are going to tell us exactly who you are, exactly who is in control of you, and exactly what you're doing in New York. Because if you don't, well... Let's just say we have friends that can make the life of even the dead extremely unpleasant. For one thing, my friend here," motioning over to Catori, "Has a distinct lack of love for the dead. Has a great preference for purification of the dead, as a matter of fact. Don't suppose you have much idea what that might do to the power keeping you here?"

Ben had to admit, he was probably bluffing here. Catori had some powerful skills, and he had no doubt that Catori could probably purify a dead body to the point that it would never arise again, but whoever was animating this one clearly had some impressive skills themselves. Still, no need for the corpse to know that. And failing that, the Grimoire would surely have some fun techniques for interrogating corpses. That, at least, was no bluff.

Catori was barely catching Ben's try to intimidate the corpse. From her perspective the man has already been put to torture by the evil forces that animated him. Purifying his body and severing any ties to the evil source would be more what she'd do. But she agreed that they had to find out more about the evil source in order to strike there and finish this madness once and for all.

Catori turned the dagger in her hand grasping it tightly in her hand until her knuckles turned white and looked angrily at the corpse. Whatever Ben's plan was she hoped she wouldn't blow his bluff.

[Archibald]

Arch wasn't sure if Ben really would be able to pull of his bluff, and Archibald noticed that Catori made no immediate move to question the prisoner. He didn't want to interfere in Ben's plan as well, so Arch took a step back to cool down.

Arch motions Ben over to join him, and he relays a thought that had popped into his head. "Ben, that shard you got might be powerful enough to hurt this thing. Maybe you can try it out on that thing and see what it does?"

[Lee Deity]

Ben had a split-second of blankness before he realised that Arch was talking about his pendant. He'd barely been thinking about it, so rarely did it seem to come up. "Perhaps indeed."

Ben grabbed a chair, and very slowly and deliberately placed it in front of the prisoner. A brief moment of concentration, and suddenly, the pendant began glowing with a bright green light. Ben slowly pulled it off his neck, and held it in his hand. He looked straight into the eyes of the corpse. "You have no fear, and mere pain won't compel you," he began, "but I'll bet you still prefer existence to the void. There's more than enough power in this crystal to unmake you, to the point where even your patron won't be able to bring you back, so I'll ask you politely and nicely one last time, before I start asking rudely and messily - Why are you here, and who do you work for?"

Ben held the crystal between his eyes and the eyes of the corpse, it's light bright enough to fill his (and hopefully, the corpse's) vision with nothing but the crystal's light and his opposition.

[z-Daphne Walton]

Snarling, Daphne wrenched her spear loose and struck the beast again, making use of the weapon while she had it. Part of her regretted destroying the only real memento from her time in Hell. Still, defeating the enemy was her focus and she didn't slow down, stabbing it again.

Spot tore into it just as viciously, his resentment at months of confinement pouring out into the monster in front of him.

[OOC Status

Damage: 0/2/0]

[jameson (ST)]

He spits again, "Your bauble has not the power to harm me. You do not know the power of my masters to restore life." With a odd look on his face he leans forward and sniffs Ben. His look changes to confusion, "Why do you fight me? Do we not fight for the same goal?"

[jameson (ST)]

Withdrawing the spear from the festering bulk of the creature proves difficult as only the last foot and a half of the haft are not coated with fluids best left untouched. Daphne is forced to step backward in the process and the creature swings a massive twisted fist down onto Spot's back as she does so. A sickening crack shatters the primary bone in one of Spot's wings and the dog lets out a whine of pain even as his jaws close around more rotting flesh and tear it from the monster's torso. With an almost feral growl Daphne simply rams the spear home once more its blade and haft bifurcating flesh and bone alike. Black steaming ichor spills to the snow bringing with it the foul stench of rot and decay.

4L levels to the abomination (now at -7L)

2L levels to Spot, Wing broken

[Archibald]

Well there goes that. Nothing seems to faze this thing.

Quote:

With a odd look on his face he leans forward and sniffs Ben. His look changes to confusion, "Why do you fight me? Do we not fight for the same goal?"

The words the man speaks sends a chill through Arch's body. That thing knows what Ben did. How is that possible? This is way outta of our league. Arch turns to the gathered group. "This isn't going to work, the forces at play here are past my abilities as much as I hate to admit it. So if anybody's got something better, we may have to wait on the others for help."

[Lee Deity]

Ben looked at the corpse. He began to smile, suddenly. All of a sudden, things became a whole lot clearer. My, Ben thought, So that's where I'm heading. No thankyou. "No, because unlike you, I can think for myself, and don't join someone merely because they grant me gifts. I will take the gifts your masters have given me and I will ensure their defeat. After all, that was why I took them in the first place. I am an Abel, dead man - I will not give myself up without a fight."

With that, he stood up, and placed the pendant back around his neck. The glow that arose from the crystal slowly died down, and Ben walked back to the table. "Well, unless you have any ideas, Catori, I think Arch may be right. I'm no mystic, alas."

[SalmonMax]

On hearing the ruckus coming from the back of the house, Marion's heart takes a pause, then speeds up wildly.

Daphne!

She jams the pistol into its holster again, and opens the Grand Grimoire as she races around the house to meet whatever terror Daphne had blundered into.

[jameson (ST)]

He laughs, "I am no more dead than you are fool. You will find that you have a great deal still to learn about the greater truth. Pain is as much an ally as it is an enemy." With that he pulled his hand out from under the knife, the cutting edge splitting tendons and skin and slicing cleanly between the middle knuckles on his hand. He held his hand up, as much as possible given that he was tied up, and watched as flesh re-knit itself until the wound was gone.

[Lee Deity]

Ben looked at the prisoner momentarily. "Oh, that trick. That's barely worth noticing. I've seen that at least 6 times in the past 3 years, and I've helped stop everyone who had it from opposing me. You have me at a momentary disadvantage, since I'm away from my home and a number of my friends, but don't think for a second that means you've beaten me. Unless you've got a way of getting out of those ropes, I'd say time is on my side, wouldn't you?"

Ben smiled a bit, although his head didn't turn to face the prisoner this time. "Of course, even if you did escape the ropes, 3 out of the four people here have firearms, and Catori here has a very impressive knife..."

[Mia Foster]

"Hell, can't leave that girl alone for a second, can we?" Mia follows Janos and Marion, pulling her own pistol from her purse. "What're you gonna do with that then?" she asks, indicating Marion's Grimoire. "Throw the book at 'em?"

[z-Daphne Walton]

Spot's cry of pain was echoed by Daphne's enraged shout. Her packmate had been hurt, and Daphne - at first just eager for the fight - was now enraged. She twisted the spear savagely and bent it, feeling the already weakened bone snap and break off. Leaving the broken spear end in the wound, she stabbed with her broken end, making new wounds in the monster's side. Spot, his pain goading him, attacked again, his teeth shredding foul skin and muscle.

[OOC Status

Damage: 0/2/0

Spot's Status

Damage: 0/2/0 - wing broken]

[SalmonMax]

Despite the situation, Marion threw Mia a grin as she charged around the corner.

"Oh I'll throw something at them all right. Are you armed? Can you shoot a gun?"

[Count Janos Rakozi]

If Janos could have heard the interchange of the two compatriots behind him, he would have smiled. It was just like old times. As it was, he pounded away at the distance between him and Daphne and Spot.

[jameson (ST)]

The man smirks, "You will not get me to talk. The Heart of Darkness will be reclaimed and ..." He is cut off as Kolya delivers a cruel right cross that topples the man and the chair to the floor.

"Right. Now what the heck is going on here Ben? I think you owe me an explanation and I'm not inclined to wait further." Kolya turns to Ben and the look on his face says he'll broker no other options, he wants to know what is going on and he's not going to take no for an answer.

[jameson (ST)]

Janos rounds the corner into the back with Mia and Marion hot on his heels. The three see a thing crafted of cobbled together bodies and animated with arcane magics. Spot sinks his teeth deep into the torso of the creature, his powerful jaws locking around a bone deep within the bulk. Daphne meanwhile jams the broken shaft of her spear into the creature and wrenches it sideways as she avoids a poorly aimed blow at her from the abomination. The torsion of her haft and the force of Spot's jaws and powerful legs tearing render an unanticipated effect as the creature tears in half. The sound of shredding muscle, popping joints, and tearing ligament and tendon is accompanied by a stench of foul decay as literally gallons of pus and putrefied organs spills out of the body. Suddenly free of resistance Daphne stumbles sideways and falls into the slush. Spot likewise tumbles backwards as the bulk of resistance to his pull is suddenly reduced.

[Count Janos Rakozi]

The thing stunk of death and its every movement fought to cause the bile to rise up in him. It was an abomination. Feet crushed snow as Janos ran to Daphne's side.

"Is it alone?" he asked her in a conversational tone. His blade came up at the ready, prepared to strike at the closest opening as well as cut aside any blows aimed at himself or Daphne. Monstrosiety or not, the Hungarian nobleman was in his element facing down the enemy in battle once more.

{Taking three actions - Parry, Parry, Attack - with multi-action penalty of -3, -4, -5}

[Mia Foster]

Hell. Okay then. Time to find out just how invulnerable I am.

"Hey, ugly!" Mia fires a shot from her Derringer at the beast. "Come and get it! Nice tasty gal reporter here."

(Firearms pool 3.)

[Lee Deity]

Originally Posted By: jameson (ST)

"Right. Now what the heck is going on here Ben? I think you owe me an explanation and I'm not inclined to wait further." Kolya turns to Ben and the look on his face says he'll broker no other options, he wants to know what is going on and he's not going to take no for an answer.

"Kolya," Ben began, "I gave you the full story, at least as much as we know. I'm not lying, and I'd've thought that this," he waved towards the now-unconscious cultist, "would have corroborated what I've told you. And, you know, I'd've told you about the less-important details if we hadn't been so rudely interrupted."

"I'm here with my sister and a group of good allies. About seven of us and a very strange dog, all up. We're all involved in this in odd ways, and we're a pretty strange bunch. I'm maybe a bit more involved than the others - remember how I told you that crystal calls to your dreams? Well, it called to mine, and I made some choices that perhaps weren't for the best. I wasn't aware of what I was dreaming, and I got something from the shard. A language or two, to be precise. And if our unconscious friend here - and I must say, terrific punch Kolya, quite spectacular - is any indication, I may be in serious trouble, because I'm guessing his journey probably started very similarly to mine."

As to what he's saying about a 'Heart of Darkness'? Well, I have my suspicions that our little shard is a small fraction of it. And if it has the power to grant me an entire language in my sleep, I don't want to think about what it could do if they got every shard back together. I just don't."

"Kolya, I know this is a lot to absorb, and I know it sounds completely insane, but I'm telling you the complete truth." Ben's grip on his emotions started to crack as he almost began pleading with Kolya. "Honestly Kolya, has even a single one of my tales I've told ever turned out to be anything other than the honest truth? And I know it must sound like I'm holding back on you, because none of it makes sense yet, but that's because I'm only just starting to investigate what's happening myself! I feel like I have a few pieces of the jigsaw puzzle, but nowhere near enough of them to guess at the final picture. That why I came to you! I was hoping that somewhere, somehow, you might've flushed something out that could help.

"And you did!" Ben continued, pointing at the cultist "You flushed out him! We've now got a real chance to start adding more pieces to the jigsaw, and just maybe stop me from becoming him. Please Kolya, you have to believe me here, I'm not lying, and I'm trying very hard not to hold anything back from you. Why would I? At the moment, you're probably one of my best hopes for finding any pieces that have fallen off the table, and unless I tell you everything, you can't help me."

Ben was almost on the verge of tears. For once, his bravado was down for the count. For maybe the first time in his adventuring career, there was an obstacle that Ben wasn't sure he could overcome, and the thought absolutely terrified him. The thought that a single mistake could unravel him entirely rattled him terribly. "Please Kolya, please believe me. I need your help."

[jameson (ST)]

Kolya looked Ben over and shook his head. "I'm not getting involved with this, I have ... I have something important that cannot wait. I ... oh crap, the police." Indeed the sounds of a police siren could now be heard outside the house. "Upstairs, there is an old clay vessel, some sort of pottery. I had hoped to sell it. I ... I owe a great deal of money and I need to pay it off soon or the man I owe it to will kill my wife. This man was trying to steal that item, take it perhaps it will help you where I cannot."

[jameson (ST)]

With a sweep of his sword Janos cut through a dead limb which fell to the ground and turned quickly to ash. Mia's gun popped loudly in the quiet evening and burst a hole in the thin skin from which more foul smelling ooze began to weep. The thing lay still however with no further sign of movement, the magic which had given it unlife apparently spent.

[SalmonMax]

"Daphne, are you all right?" Marion asked, quickly swooping to the younger woman, Grimoire still in her hands. "Are there any more?"

[z-Daphne Walton]

Daphne pushed herself out of the muck, spitting up a little while grimacing. Her concern for herself faded quickly as she knelt next to the whimpering Spot. Frowning, she checked his injury, then looked up at Marion. "No see or smell more. I fine. Spot hurt."

Clearly, this wasn't true, not completely: her arm was raked, oozing blood into the filthy pus that clung to her skin.

[Mia Foster]

"Let me have a look at that, Daphne. I know first aid." Mia walks towards Daphne, digging in her purse for a strip of cloth. "Anyone mind telling me what the hell that was?"

[Lee Deity]

Ben looked at Kolya, the emotion on his face suddenly mixing with something between incredulity and relief. "Oh Kolya. You could have told me that at the outset and I'd've done everything I could for you, and then some. After what you've done for me today, The least I can do is pay off your debt. Here," Ben gave Kolya a card, "Talk to this man, at the 1st National Bank, and give him this card. He'll provide you with as much cash as you need."

The Card reads

Code:

Edgar Jameson
Bank Manager, 1st National Bank, New York

On the back of the card, handwritten:

Code:

Edgar, this person needs my assistance. Help them however I can.

Benjamin Abel
[ben's Signature]

Ben continued. "Right, at this point, I think it might be prudent to get the important things hidden before the police get here, and start thinking of a convincing alibi. Everyone? Oh, and Kolya, one last question - Where did you say the pot came from?"

[Count Janos Rakozi]

Originally Posted By: Mia Foster

"Anyone mind telling me what the hell that was?"

Looking over briefly at Daphne,
"A clue," he snorts in disgust. "A clue to what madness our opponents will resort to."

Looking back over at the house, he continues,
"Well, we've lost any element of surprise, but we've killed their guardian. I say when we get Daphne patched up, we try another look inside. Spot should stay outside ... with the car."

[Mia Foster]

Originally Posted By: Count Janos Rakozi

Looking over briefly at Daphne,
"A clue," he snorts in disgust. "A clue to what madness our opponents will resort to."

"What's that then? Can I look that up in a book? How about giving me something a little more substantial than that? Hold still, Daph."

[jameson (ST)]

Kolya turns to Ben, halting for a moment of the stairs. "It was dredged from the Tigris River. I'm not archaeologist though so the specific time period and culture aren't something I can pin down. But hey, you can probably figure that out easily enough." With that he disappears up the stairs and returns a moment later with a small clay pot roughly the size of a one gallon jug. "Here, take it and go. Take the man or not but be quick about it, the cops are likely to not dally any more than they have."

[SalmonMax]

"One of the undead," Marion says darkly, coming up behind Mia to peer down at the creature. "A necromantically animated corpse. Though..."

She frowns and hunkers down to get a better look.

"I don't think it's as simple as just that...this body looks to have been changed in the process. Mia, do you have a camera with you? Get some pictures. I don't think we'll be able to get this body back to the hotel, and I'll need references to research it."

Marion stands up again and looks towards the house.

"The front door was guarded by some kind of mystic barrier," she reports. "Lets see if that holds true here."

[Archibald]

Arch watched and listen as Ben and Kolya carried on their conversation as he keep an eye their prisoner. Arch was surprised by Ben's pleading, it wasn't something that had expected from him at all. The sounds of police sirens cut off their talk as Koyla returns with the pot. "Ben, Catori we got no chance of eluding the coppers if we take a prisoner with us. I'm not sure what we should do with him, but we got to get out of here. I'm sure the cops will not hesitate to lock us all up first, then ask questions later."

[Lee Deity]

Ben grabbed the jug as he thought for a split second. "As much as I hate to leave him here, you're right - it'll be too much effort to throw him in the trunk. Leave him here for the Police - I suspect we'll be seeing him again shortly anyway. Now, I say we depart with haste, everyone!"

Before he left, Ben turned to Kolya. "I hope things turn out well for you Kolya, I'll keep in touch!" He then head towards the door.

[jameson (ST)]

"Bloody idiot, go out the back door!" Kolya shakes his head as he all but shoves Ben, Catori, and Archibald toward the door out the rear of the house. As he does so there is a knock on the front door of the house, "Ah bloody hell." Kolya shuts the rear door quietly as they leave and a moment later they hear him answer the door, "Officers! Thank the bloody Queen you're here, this bloke tried to rob me, come on in, I've got him all trussed up for ya."

[jameson (ST)]

Together Marion, Mia, Daphne and Janos mount the steps to the back door of the brownstone. The door is locked and a cursory peek in through the small window shows a dark house with no residents in evidence.

[SalmonMax]

Marion tries the handle and scowls when it's locked. She looks around and grumbles, "Normally I just shoot locks, but we should probably avoid gunfire if we can. Anyone good at breaking and entering?"

[Mia Foster]

(Mia uses her camera to take a picture of the corpse.)

"Breaking and entering? Ha. Gimmie a sec." Mia slides a bobby pin out of her hair and a screwdriver out of her purse, and kneels in front of the lock.

(Making a Legerdemain roll. Base skill 4; usually matched to Dex which is 2.)

[z-Daphne Walton]

When Mia was done tending to her arm, and Daphne was satisfied with Spot's bandaging accomplished, she joined the others at the door. When Marion asked her question, Daphne nodded.

"Wood hard break; glass easy," she said, then added, "Locks inside." But after adding her insightful remark, she waited to see what Mia would do.

Suddenly she spun, dropping into a crouch and raising her spear butt defensively. Her dark eyes were wide and fearful as she searched for the threat she felt as keenly as she felt the cold December air.

[Count Janos Rakozi]

Janos watches with a calculate eye. Better to pick the lock, he supposed, than having him attempt to kick it in and fall into another trap. When Daphne turns and starts looking around for some unseen threat, Janos follows her lead.

"What is it?" he whispers. His breath comes out in the cold and the temperature is beginning to have an effect on him after being out in it most of the day.

[jameson (ST)]

With a quiet click the lock pops and Mia is able to rotate the door knob freely. Even as she does so Daphne and Janos have turned away and watch in fascinated horror as the two halves of the abomination begin to reanimate once more. Now two separate beasts they ooze acidic vitriol from wounds that are now turned into weapons. Mia stands, a satisfied grin starting to inch across her face as out of the darkness within the house a man as wide and tall as any she had seen comes charging toward the now open door.

[z-Daphne Walton]

"Marion, magic-kill!" Daphne shouted as she jumped forward with a snarl. Her broken spear was all she had as she faced the monstrosity to the right. No, it wasn't all she had. She had her fighting spirit and her determination to overcome this beast, as she had so many others.

Still, she wished she could hit this thing with her bare hands, but with that ooze it was extruding, she didn't think that was a good idea.