slick4hire
07-10-2004, 18:08
Overeager
Underequipped
Characters in
Hardcore
Members:
Oxy: Skelliemancer
Sawse: Fire Sorceress
Slick4hire: Martial Arts Assassin
Who else will join us?
“So it began, I tell you, as the confident dark lady stepped into town. Upon hearing of the place of great evil from Akara, and the eagerness of the albino and the maiden to tackle the feat for the town, they decided to join to pool each others talents.
They began as so many others have, by stepping out of town to test their luck in the Moor of Blood, illusions of grandeur floating through their heads and hearts of righting the evil which had overtaken the peaceful land. Many devilkin and zombies were lying in wait, plotting to lay to waste the grand goals set forth by the party; most were easily dispatched.
As they ventured, the abilities inherent in the bloodlines of the wanderers became apparent: the maidens ability to manipulate the flame, the albino soon being followed by many skeletons and the dark lady's uncanny ability to strike the heart of the enemy with such speed. The Moor of Blood stood no chance against their skill and will.
And finally, the place of evil Akara spoke of... A cave so dark that the wanderers failed to see their hand in front of them until their eyes adjusted. And it was thick with the devilkin and their spiritual leaders, who were accompanied by more zombies and large ape like creatures whos very grunt would send chills up your spine.
The dark lady continued her frontal assault on the known weak spots of the creatures, side by side with the albino's powerful undead minions while the maidens flame blasts came from afar. The combination was lethal, and the dark place could not stand as one after another of the evil foes fell to their demise.
After what seemed to be much slaughter, they adventurers stumbled upon a powerful zombie of blue color, whos simple presence would have sent you or I running. His minions clashed with the albinos, whos curses were causing the dark lady's strikes to seem to double in damage and whos sheer number was beginning to represent a small army in size. The maidens fire struck out at the enemy, solidly supporting the skeletons in their battle as the smell of singed undead hung heavily in the air. The dark lady weaved her way through the minions and went straight for the leader, striking at what she knew to be the weakness of the enemy as the small sprites circled her body, which always did when she was weaving her deadly tapestry.
With a final explosion of the sprites encircling the dark lady's body, the lead zombie fell and his body hit the ground in three pieces. Light began to pour into the cave, which seemed to sense that the evil was purged. The maiden was unscathed as was the albino, but the army he was controlling appeared dwindled in size. But all was well; they had defeated the evil, helped the town and lived to tell the tale.
Akara was very grateful; she presented each of the adventurers with an ancient tome of knowlege left behind by ancestors of great adventurers before them. After careful reading, each adventurer felt stronger in their innate abilities, which would be needed sooner than any of them could have expected.
It seems that Blood Raven, a rogue sister, had somehow been converted and was wreaking havoc in the burial grounds. Kashya informed the adventurers that rogue scouts spied her reviving the undead for unspeakable purposes. The abhorrent rituals had to be stopped; they cleaned their gear and readied for battle again.
The Burial Grounds would take them through the Moor of Blood to the Plains of Cold and beyond. It was a way many in the rogue camp knew but all now feared. Upon reaching the Plains of Cold, they were overwhelmed by more devilkin. They seemed to be getting stronger as they progressed further into the depths of this haunted land, as did their shamans. This shaman, in particular, was extremely powerful and seemed to revive the kin at a pace set to overwhelm the adventurers. The albino commanded his army and wove curses; the dark lady went straight for this powerful spiritual leader, the maiden commanded fire which seemed to come from all directions; with a loud pop, the shaman seemed to explode; he was dispatched.
On they forged, through many possessed sisters and devilkin, until the gate to the Burial Ground stood before them. The adventurers exchanged glances and advanced. Before them stood Blood Raven, wielding her bow and surrounded by her revived army that dwarfed the albinos. For a brief moment before the carnage began, the albino thought he might have research the fallen sister’s ability to revive the dead in the near future, but that thought quickly passed his skeletons waded selflessly into her army, the maiden rained fire, and the dark lady circled behind to pick her approach. Blood Raven was clever; she commanded her army towards the albino and the maiden, then turned her bow towards the dark lady. The two arrows that struck the dark lady were critical blows, bringing her to within an inch of her life. Reeling from this attack, the dark lady retreated momentarily. The maiden saw this and adjusted her onslaught. After quick healing, the dark lady saw her opening. She wove through the undead army clash and struck a tremendous blow to the fallen sister. Blood Raven knew she was in trouble and tried to retreat. Her effort was in vain; the albino had dispatched her army and had circled his own behind her. The look in her eyes told the adventurers she knew the end was near, but it was a mixture of utter defeat and hatred; it was a look the adventurers would not soon forget. Blood Raven lay in the Burial Grounds as so many had before her; still and lifeless.
Back at the rogue camp, Kashya could not stop telling the heroes how impressed she was over the defeat of Blood Raven. So grateful she was, she assigned three of her finest archers to assist the group in their quests. There was much celebration of their latest victory inside the rogue camp. In the eyes of the sisters, a forgotten feeling called hope slowly began to return. They watched the adventurers with a mixture of awe and graciousness but, as fate would have it, the celebrations would be short lived.
Akara approached the party with a solemn look on her face. Deckard Cain, a wise man of legendary reputation, was said to be held prisoner in the ancient town of Tristram. According to Akara, Tristram was hidden behind illusionary magic woven by an unknown, but powerful, foe.
As the adventurers prepared to set off, Akara informed them about the rumor of the Cairn Stones in the Field of Stones. She told them it was rumored to be a puzzle, with the solution leading to Tristram, but one that anybody had yet to solve. With this in mind, the adventurers set off.
Through the Plains of Cold to the Field of Stones they fought, leaving a trail of demons and undead in their wake. The forces at work had yet to see a group of adventurers with such persistence and cunning. Upon purging the Field of Stones, they journeyed through an underground passage wrought with strange demons whos very voice could call orbs of electricity deep within their bodies; they fell as the rest of the foes in the passage.
The adventurers emerged from the passage in a deep, haunted looking woods known as Dark Wood. They began their dirty work again, clearing the evil from the very woods that the rogues used to call their most pristine hunting grounds.
Through a gap in the trees, the albino spotted a very strange tree. It appeared to be guarded by a group of the large ape creatures. As the albino motioned for the dark lady and the maiden to quietly move into hiding positions to discuss attack plans, one of his skeletons (not known for their intelligence) blindly charged in to attack the apes; they had been spotted and all hell broke loose.
The apes surrounded the lone skeleton and crushed him to fragments in mere seconds. The dark lady circled behind the group while the albino tried desperately to find more fuel for his army. The maiden immediately rained fired upon the ferocious beasts. The apes spotted the dark lady’s futile attempt at stealth and charged her. She spotted the leader and knew from her ancient teachings that it would be her first target; sheep were easily scattered when you dispatched the shepherd. She struck with precision, while taking blows all around her, laying to waste the leader. The albino’s army had been raised and charged into battle next to her. A burnt fur odor emanated all around as the maidens fire splashed from the apes but fell harmlessly off the dark lady and the albino’s minions. But the leaders death did not lack for surprises; immediately after his body fell lifeless to the ground, a ring of ice exploded from within the body. It seemed to freeze the very essence of the dark lady and the skeletons as it advanced from the body of the ape. One of the skeletons could not withstand this assault and shattered before the party. And as the leader fell, a smile crept across the face of the dark lady as the other apes scattered. Divided, they were easily conquered.
The booty from their battle was a strange one. A scroll posted upon the unusual tree was in a language that none could understand. The maiden suggested that perhaps Akara could shed some light on the roots of this mysterious language and together they took the scroll back to town. By the grace of the heavens, Akara could decipher this ancient and mysterious language. And woulnd’t you know it? It was the key to the puzzle of the Cairn Stones. The heroes exchanged glances. Smiles were beginning to creep across their faces; they could smell their impending victory in the air and success was something they all felt they could get used to.
The Cairn Stones were imposing on their own, but when guarded by a devilkin rumored to be named Rakanishu (nobody really knew the demons name but he was rumored to be the king of the devilkin and that seemed to be the only word the simple minded demons knew, so it stuck) it was even more challenging. A sort of lightning blob emanated from Rakanishu in four different directions when the dark lady struck him from behind, and she was completely unprepared for it. The albino and the maiden acted as if they knew and they kept their distance, letting the skeletons bear the brunt of the damage. The dark lady followed suit; from a distance Rakanishu wasn’t very threatening at all. The mighty devilkin king fell before the onslaught of the albinos skeletons, the maidens fire and the rogue mercenary’s elemental enchanted arrows.
The scroll transcribed by Akara was, in fact, an order in which the stones were supposed to be touched. This would lead them to the ancient city of Tristram and to Cain, the wise man of great renown. As the stones were touched in the proper order, arcing lightning shot from stone to stone until if formed into a portal of which the adventurers had never seen before. The adventurers exchanged nervous glances, then boldly the maiden stepped through. The others followed, expecting the world to come apart.
The mighty, ancient city of Tristram was in ashes. Fire burned from every building as if the fuel were coming from an unearthly source. It was hard to say how long it had been like this, but from the looks of the scorch marks on the buildings and the decay of the dead livestock near the portal, it had been this way for quite some time. Other than the flames, all seemed pretty quiet. The party advanced with one question on their mind: Was Cain still alive?
Then from all directions, the ambush sprang. Skeleton archers appeared from around the bushes. A devilkin shaman with a menacing green aura at his feet ordered his minions to attack from within the buildings. And most menacing of all, a huge, slow moving demon of a man, whos very arms looked as if they could squeeze the life from the most seasoned hero.
The dark lady was immediately surrounded and assaulted with volleys of arrows. She appeared to be trapped and dying. The albinos army charged in to help the dark lady escape and his curses could be seen with an eerie glow over the heads of the demons. The maiden selflessly led some of the enemies away and was picking them off with a cunning hit and run technique. The dark lady continued to attack, laying waste to the shaman and turning her attention to the large demon-man. In the distance, faint cries of help could be heard; it had to be Cain.
The demon-man seemed to have skin made of stone. The dark lady attacked repeatedly, but was doing very little damage. The other enemies had fallen by this time, and all were moving in to surround the demon-man. Very few could have withstood this onslaught, and he was no exception. The ground rumbled as his massive body seemed to topple like a tower falling. More cries for help and the party remembered what they were there to do.
The dark lady found Cain in a cage suspended by a rope. One quick flip of the wrist and her katar had sliced the rope clean. Cain was free and he quickly returned to the camp. The others followed suit.
Back at the camp, Cain proceeded to tell the adventurers about the downfall of Tristram. He also thanked the group and promised to help them to unlock the mysteries of the items they found on their adventures. But even as they were resting from their latest exploits, yet another problem seemed to have arisen. Another fallen rogue had converted some of her previous followers and was wreaking havoc from the Forgotten Tower. It seemed as though work in a land so wrought with evil was never completed. The heroes agreed this was a task that needed to be accomplished. They began to draw plans for the assault on the tower for the following day.
When the plans were drawn, the found their way to separate tents to rest and reflect on what they had accomplished, as well as what they yet had to do.
As he was nearing sleep, the albino pondered how feeble minded the rogues must truly be to constantly fall under the enchantment of whatever evil so ravaged this land.
All three had dreams of a land where evil would be purged, and the light would be restored, but there was much work yet to be done. They also knew that in the not too distant future, they were going to need help but from where it would come they did not know…”
The battle between good and evil has begun. Do you feel the call?
:yep:
Underequipped
Characters in
Hardcore
Members:
Oxy: Skelliemancer
Sawse: Fire Sorceress
Slick4hire: Martial Arts Assassin
Who else will join us?
“So it began, I tell you, as the confident dark lady stepped into town. Upon hearing of the place of great evil from Akara, and the eagerness of the albino and the maiden to tackle the feat for the town, they decided to join to pool each others talents.
They began as so many others have, by stepping out of town to test their luck in the Moor of Blood, illusions of grandeur floating through their heads and hearts of righting the evil which had overtaken the peaceful land. Many devilkin and zombies were lying in wait, plotting to lay to waste the grand goals set forth by the party; most were easily dispatched.
As they ventured, the abilities inherent in the bloodlines of the wanderers became apparent: the maidens ability to manipulate the flame, the albino soon being followed by many skeletons and the dark lady's uncanny ability to strike the heart of the enemy with such speed. The Moor of Blood stood no chance against their skill and will.
And finally, the place of evil Akara spoke of... A cave so dark that the wanderers failed to see their hand in front of them until their eyes adjusted. And it was thick with the devilkin and their spiritual leaders, who were accompanied by more zombies and large ape like creatures whos very grunt would send chills up your spine.
The dark lady continued her frontal assault on the known weak spots of the creatures, side by side with the albino's powerful undead minions while the maidens flame blasts came from afar. The combination was lethal, and the dark place could not stand as one after another of the evil foes fell to their demise.
After what seemed to be much slaughter, they adventurers stumbled upon a powerful zombie of blue color, whos simple presence would have sent you or I running. His minions clashed with the albinos, whos curses were causing the dark lady's strikes to seem to double in damage and whos sheer number was beginning to represent a small army in size. The maidens fire struck out at the enemy, solidly supporting the skeletons in their battle as the smell of singed undead hung heavily in the air. The dark lady weaved her way through the minions and went straight for the leader, striking at what she knew to be the weakness of the enemy as the small sprites circled her body, which always did when she was weaving her deadly tapestry.
With a final explosion of the sprites encircling the dark lady's body, the lead zombie fell and his body hit the ground in three pieces. Light began to pour into the cave, which seemed to sense that the evil was purged. The maiden was unscathed as was the albino, but the army he was controlling appeared dwindled in size. But all was well; they had defeated the evil, helped the town and lived to tell the tale.
Akara was very grateful; she presented each of the adventurers with an ancient tome of knowlege left behind by ancestors of great adventurers before them. After careful reading, each adventurer felt stronger in their innate abilities, which would be needed sooner than any of them could have expected.
It seems that Blood Raven, a rogue sister, had somehow been converted and was wreaking havoc in the burial grounds. Kashya informed the adventurers that rogue scouts spied her reviving the undead for unspeakable purposes. The abhorrent rituals had to be stopped; they cleaned their gear and readied for battle again.
The Burial Grounds would take them through the Moor of Blood to the Plains of Cold and beyond. It was a way many in the rogue camp knew but all now feared. Upon reaching the Plains of Cold, they were overwhelmed by more devilkin. They seemed to be getting stronger as they progressed further into the depths of this haunted land, as did their shamans. This shaman, in particular, was extremely powerful and seemed to revive the kin at a pace set to overwhelm the adventurers. The albino commanded his army and wove curses; the dark lady went straight for this powerful spiritual leader, the maiden commanded fire which seemed to come from all directions; with a loud pop, the shaman seemed to explode; he was dispatched.
On they forged, through many possessed sisters and devilkin, until the gate to the Burial Ground stood before them. The adventurers exchanged glances and advanced. Before them stood Blood Raven, wielding her bow and surrounded by her revived army that dwarfed the albinos. For a brief moment before the carnage began, the albino thought he might have research the fallen sister’s ability to revive the dead in the near future, but that thought quickly passed his skeletons waded selflessly into her army, the maiden rained fire, and the dark lady circled behind to pick her approach. Blood Raven was clever; she commanded her army towards the albino and the maiden, then turned her bow towards the dark lady. The two arrows that struck the dark lady were critical blows, bringing her to within an inch of her life. Reeling from this attack, the dark lady retreated momentarily. The maiden saw this and adjusted her onslaught. After quick healing, the dark lady saw her opening. She wove through the undead army clash and struck a tremendous blow to the fallen sister. Blood Raven knew she was in trouble and tried to retreat. Her effort was in vain; the albino had dispatched her army and had circled his own behind her. The look in her eyes told the adventurers she knew the end was near, but it was a mixture of utter defeat and hatred; it was a look the adventurers would not soon forget. Blood Raven lay in the Burial Grounds as so many had before her; still and lifeless.
Back at the rogue camp, Kashya could not stop telling the heroes how impressed she was over the defeat of Blood Raven. So grateful she was, she assigned three of her finest archers to assist the group in their quests. There was much celebration of their latest victory inside the rogue camp. In the eyes of the sisters, a forgotten feeling called hope slowly began to return. They watched the adventurers with a mixture of awe and graciousness but, as fate would have it, the celebrations would be short lived.
Akara approached the party with a solemn look on her face. Deckard Cain, a wise man of legendary reputation, was said to be held prisoner in the ancient town of Tristram. According to Akara, Tristram was hidden behind illusionary magic woven by an unknown, but powerful, foe.
As the adventurers prepared to set off, Akara informed them about the rumor of the Cairn Stones in the Field of Stones. She told them it was rumored to be a puzzle, with the solution leading to Tristram, but one that anybody had yet to solve. With this in mind, the adventurers set off.
Through the Plains of Cold to the Field of Stones they fought, leaving a trail of demons and undead in their wake. The forces at work had yet to see a group of adventurers with such persistence and cunning. Upon purging the Field of Stones, they journeyed through an underground passage wrought with strange demons whos very voice could call orbs of electricity deep within their bodies; they fell as the rest of the foes in the passage.
The adventurers emerged from the passage in a deep, haunted looking woods known as Dark Wood. They began their dirty work again, clearing the evil from the very woods that the rogues used to call their most pristine hunting grounds.
Through a gap in the trees, the albino spotted a very strange tree. It appeared to be guarded by a group of the large ape creatures. As the albino motioned for the dark lady and the maiden to quietly move into hiding positions to discuss attack plans, one of his skeletons (not known for their intelligence) blindly charged in to attack the apes; they had been spotted and all hell broke loose.
The apes surrounded the lone skeleton and crushed him to fragments in mere seconds. The dark lady circled behind the group while the albino tried desperately to find more fuel for his army. The maiden immediately rained fired upon the ferocious beasts. The apes spotted the dark lady’s futile attempt at stealth and charged her. She spotted the leader and knew from her ancient teachings that it would be her first target; sheep were easily scattered when you dispatched the shepherd. She struck with precision, while taking blows all around her, laying to waste the leader. The albino’s army had been raised and charged into battle next to her. A burnt fur odor emanated all around as the maidens fire splashed from the apes but fell harmlessly off the dark lady and the albino’s minions. But the leaders death did not lack for surprises; immediately after his body fell lifeless to the ground, a ring of ice exploded from within the body. It seemed to freeze the very essence of the dark lady and the skeletons as it advanced from the body of the ape. One of the skeletons could not withstand this assault and shattered before the party. And as the leader fell, a smile crept across the face of the dark lady as the other apes scattered. Divided, they were easily conquered.
The booty from their battle was a strange one. A scroll posted upon the unusual tree was in a language that none could understand. The maiden suggested that perhaps Akara could shed some light on the roots of this mysterious language and together they took the scroll back to town. By the grace of the heavens, Akara could decipher this ancient and mysterious language. And woulnd’t you know it? It was the key to the puzzle of the Cairn Stones. The heroes exchanged glances. Smiles were beginning to creep across their faces; they could smell their impending victory in the air and success was something they all felt they could get used to.
The Cairn Stones were imposing on their own, but when guarded by a devilkin rumored to be named Rakanishu (nobody really knew the demons name but he was rumored to be the king of the devilkin and that seemed to be the only word the simple minded demons knew, so it stuck) it was even more challenging. A sort of lightning blob emanated from Rakanishu in four different directions when the dark lady struck him from behind, and she was completely unprepared for it. The albino and the maiden acted as if they knew and they kept their distance, letting the skeletons bear the brunt of the damage. The dark lady followed suit; from a distance Rakanishu wasn’t very threatening at all. The mighty devilkin king fell before the onslaught of the albinos skeletons, the maidens fire and the rogue mercenary’s elemental enchanted arrows.
The scroll transcribed by Akara was, in fact, an order in which the stones were supposed to be touched. This would lead them to the ancient city of Tristram and to Cain, the wise man of great renown. As the stones were touched in the proper order, arcing lightning shot from stone to stone until if formed into a portal of which the adventurers had never seen before. The adventurers exchanged nervous glances, then boldly the maiden stepped through. The others followed, expecting the world to come apart.
The mighty, ancient city of Tristram was in ashes. Fire burned from every building as if the fuel were coming from an unearthly source. It was hard to say how long it had been like this, but from the looks of the scorch marks on the buildings and the decay of the dead livestock near the portal, it had been this way for quite some time. Other than the flames, all seemed pretty quiet. The party advanced with one question on their mind: Was Cain still alive?
Then from all directions, the ambush sprang. Skeleton archers appeared from around the bushes. A devilkin shaman with a menacing green aura at his feet ordered his minions to attack from within the buildings. And most menacing of all, a huge, slow moving demon of a man, whos very arms looked as if they could squeeze the life from the most seasoned hero.
The dark lady was immediately surrounded and assaulted with volleys of arrows. She appeared to be trapped and dying. The albinos army charged in to help the dark lady escape and his curses could be seen with an eerie glow over the heads of the demons. The maiden selflessly led some of the enemies away and was picking them off with a cunning hit and run technique. The dark lady continued to attack, laying waste to the shaman and turning her attention to the large demon-man. In the distance, faint cries of help could be heard; it had to be Cain.
The demon-man seemed to have skin made of stone. The dark lady attacked repeatedly, but was doing very little damage. The other enemies had fallen by this time, and all were moving in to surround the demon-man. Very few could have withstood this onslaught, and he was no exception. The ground rumbled as his massive body seemed to topple like a tower falling. More cries for help and the party remembered what they were there to do.
The dark lady found Cain in a cage suspended by a rope. One quick flip of the wrist and her katar had sliced the rope clean. Cain was free and he quickly returned to the camp. The others followed suit.
Back at the camp, Cain proceeded to tell the adventurers about the downfall of Tristram. He also thanked the group and promised to help them to unlock the mysteries of the items they found on their adventures. But even as they were resting from their latest exploits, yet another problem seemed to have arisen. Another fallen rogue had converted some of her previous followers and was wreaking havoc from the Forgotten Tower. It seemed as though work in a land so wrought with evil was never completed. The heroes agreed this was a task that needed to be accomplished. They began to draw plans for the assault on the tower for the following day.
When the plans were drawn, the found their way to separate tents to rest and reflect on what they had accomplished, as well as what they yet had to do.
As he was nearing sleep, the albino pondered how feeble minded the rogues must truly be to constantly fall under the enchantment of whatever evil so ravaged this land.
All three had dreams of a land where evil would be purged, and the light would be restored, but there was much work yet to be done. They also knew that in the not too distant future, they were going to need help but from where it would come they did not know…”
The battle between good and evil has begun. Do you feel the call?
:yep: