Jordan vaulted off the back of the mount and slapped its flank, sending it fleeing with the rest. They'd find the beasts later; the things weren't bright enough to stay frightened for long, and when they came out of the fort, the creatures would undoubtedly be nearby, probably grazing somewhere.
The group scattered into the trees and bushes along the roadway, and Jordan found a spot to conceal himself, assessing the situation. There must have been bowmen waiting in ambush for them. Even as he peered cautiously out, the companion who'd been shot was beginning to fade in death. They couldn't stop to mourn now, though.
Had the map been a trap? He could hear clanking footsteps as something hunted for the party. More encouragingly, he heard a brief scuffle and a muffled gurgle as one of his companions took down one of the hidden bowmen. They could probably avoid having to fight all the knights, though.
He slipped from tree to tree, his whip coiled in his hand, alert for noise, but that didn't stop him from almost running right into a knight who had paused to stand silently in a patch of shadow under the trees. It raised its sword and yelled, and he cursed and prepared to fight.
With a thud and a clank, the shadow Knight readies its blade. It says nothing, but it doesn't need to. Not when it is fighting with murderous intent!
THE INSANITY KNIGHT HP 50/50 gaia_crownBoss auto damage: You take 5 HP damage per turn you make gaia_crownBoss loot: (On DEFEAT of boss only) Roll 1d4 and match your loot to the results below: 1: 2: 3: 4:
Jordan wasn't quite prepared; while he was still surprised, the knight swung its blade, faster than it looked, and caught him in the ribs. He hissed with pain and swung the whip; it caught between plates of the knight's armor, and the thing roared and bled fog, thrashing until it dislodged the barbs.
OOC
Name of character: Jordan Damage done: 11 +6 CURRENT HP OF BOSS: 33/50 Current HP: 42/50 Special ability: Rook's Ambition Species Ability: Sun Hunter - 2d8-8 Current weapon equipped: The Watcher - 2d12-6 TARGET: BOSS
The knight stabbed him again, in spite of his efforts to dodge. Jordan grimly tangled the whip around its wrist and pulled. Off to the side, he could hear shouts and clanging; apparently his companions were engaging in battle too. He couldn't afford to pay too much attention to that, or his own opponent would cut him down.
OOC
Name of character: Jordan Damage done: 6 +6 CURRENT HP OF BOSS: 21/50 Current HP: 34/50 Special ability: Rook's Ambition Species Ability: Sun Hunter - 2d8-8 Current weapon equipped: The Watcher - 2d12-6 TARGET: BOSS
The knight seemed to be slowing down, but its sword still hit harder than Jordan was comfortable with. He fought back, lashing the whip around its leg and trying to trip it. It flailed, and the distraction let him move back and out of easy stabbing ranger, but it didn't fall.
OOC
Name of character: Jordan Damage done: 5 +6 CURRENT HP OF BOSS: 10/50 Current HP: 26/50 Special ability: Rook's Ambition Species Ability: Sun Hunter - 2d8-8 Current weapon equipped: The Watcher - 2d12-6 TARGET: BOSS
The knight was definitely getting slower, bleeding fog from between the cracks of its armor. Its swing was weaker and slower; Jordan gauged his moment and swung, wrapping the whip into the crevice between helmet and breastplate. The knight staggered, dropping its sword to clutch at its throat, but its struggles did it no good. The whip's barbs dug into its substance, and it collapsed, fog still seeping from the cracks of its armor. Jordan watched it warily until it faded.
OOC
Name of character: Jordan Damage done: 7 +6 CURRENT HP OF BOSS: ded/50 Current HP: 21/50 Special ability: Rook's Ambition Species Ability: Sun Hunter - 2d8-8 Current weapon equipped: The Watcher - 2d12-6 TARGET: BOSS
prolixity rolled 1 8-sided dice:
1Total: 1 (1-8)
Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 3:56 am
His other companions made their way out of the brush into the small clear space in front of the ruin, all of them alert and wary, listening wand watching for any further signs of an ambush. None came; they'd apparently taken care of all the lurking attackers. Jordan nodded and gestured to the entrance. They'd wasted enough time on the ambush; they needed to get inside.
A small fountain still bubbled just inside the entrance, out of sight of the courtyard outside. One of the companions knelt to drink from it. The rest of them watched him for a few minutes; when he suffered no ill effects, the rest of them gathered around the fountain, drinking the cool water and using it to wash off the dust of the road and the ichor of battle.
One corridor led out of the room and deeper into the building. It was narrow, and suspicious slits and holes lined its walls. Jordan glanced at his companions. One of them nodded, scrounged around for a pebble, and threw it down the hallway. Spears shot out of the ceiling as the stone landed, and further down, the buzz and glint of a circular blade rose from the floor.
They spent some time hunting for secret doors or passage ways, any way around the traps. None were evident, even when Jordan sent one of the companions outside to check the outer wall of the ruin. They were going to have to go through the hall.
He lashed the whip out in front of him, paused as a rain of arrows showered down from the ceiling, and darted across to a spot that had no holes in the wall or ceiling. It clicked under his feet, and before he had time to react, rows of thin blades shot up across the hall, piercing his boots. It wouldn't cripple him, certainly, but it hurt like crazy. He looked back to where the companions waited and pointed to the blades by way of warning as he picked himself off the edges.
This time, Jordan edged the steel-plated toe of his boot forward to press the apparently blank tile on the floor before putting his weight onto it. It sank slightly, but there was no immediate reaction. He waited. After a moment, just long enough to fool a less cautious man into advancing, rows of long, vicious spikes shot out from the walls in both directions. They would have skewered anyone unfortunate enough to be standing in their way.
The companions had picked their way through the bladefield on the floor; as the wall spikes began to retract, he slipped through the gap, motioning his companions to follow.
The next trap was also on a delay timer, but this one was longer; Jordan had begun to move forward into the tile when it went off. The click above him warned him just in time to jump back so that he wasn't drenched when the hot, tarry oil splattered down, but some of it splattered up onto his trousers, the intense heat searing right through to his skin before it began to cool. He hissed with pain and picked his way cautiously across the puddle.
Trap: 3/8 - triggered HP: 40/50
prolixity rolled 1 8-sided dice:
4Total: 4 (1-8)
Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 4:15 am
When he poked the next tile with the toe of his boot, it didn't feel entirely stable. He braced his hands against the walls and stomped his heel down onto the tile. It broke and fell away; he counted five long seconds before a splash came echoing up from the dark hole where the floor had been. The splash was followed by ripples and smaller splashes. It sounded like whatever deep water lay down there might not be uninhabited.
He sighed and took a step back to prepare himself for a jump over the gap.
The surface that he landed on on the other side of the gap in the floor clicked under his boots, and he rolled aside instinctively as spears shot up out of the floor. When they'd retracted, he stayed on the pressure plate so it wouldn't re-trigger, and motioned his companions to follow him over.
Trap: 5/8 HP: 40/50
prolixity rolled 1 8-sided dice:
7Total: 7 (1-8)
Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 4:31 am
A saw-blade rose spinning out of the floor ahead of him, primitive but effective, and Jordan judged the distance carefully and jumped over it, making sure to land on the same tile so he wouldn't trigger the next trap. Unfortunately, it seemed that this trap was two-pronged; tiny thorns shot out of a hidden flap in the wall, sticking into the skin of his neck and cheek and bare hands. They were barbed, and plucking them out hurt considerably; by the time he was done, his skin felt like it was full of holes, and he was sure he was leaking trickles of fog.
The wires that were strung across the hall took some dexterity to avoid, but Jordan and his companions were good at careful maneuvering. By the time they negotiated the tile, though, his face, neck and hands were afire with pain; it seemed that the thorns had been coated with some kind of toxin. He had to stop and lean heavily on the wall, gritting his teeth, until the pain began to fade.
Trap: 7/8 HP: 35/50
prolixity rolled 1 8-sided dice:
5Total: 5 (1-8)
Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 4:41 am
By comparison, the blade that swung out of the ceiling like a pendulum was ridiculously easy to avoid. Jordan watched it for a few moments to judge its speed, then ducked swiftly past it without incident and turned to watch the companions do the same.
The room that opened out from the hallway was likewise filled with a regular grid of squares, each marked with a symbol, and when one of the companions tossed a chunk of fallen masonry into the room, its landing was accompanied by a pillar of fire that made them all wince, covering their eyes against the brightness. At this point, though, the other option was turning back and renegotiating the trapped hallway.
Jordan stepped out cautiously and was rewarded for his daring with a searing-hot column of flame. When it subsided, he sagged slightly and sighed. He pointed to the symbol he had stepped on. Avoid that.
Roll 1/5 3 - A tower of flame shoots up from the tile, badly burning you. Take 10 damage.
The Gauntlet pt 3 - Mystic Tiles Starting/Current HP: 20/50 The rolls:
The tile you step on gives way under your feet... and nothing happens. As you step on this tile, something wet sprinkles on you from above. Whatever it was, you feel better. Recover 15 HP. A tower of flame shoots up from the tile, badly burning you. Take 10 damage. CLANG! Something hard and heavy falls from the ceiling. You forget something. You activate a trap. Take 5 damage. You activate a trap. Take 3 damage. A companion reaches out and pulls you to safety! Nothing happens. As you step onto the tile, you are filled with a feeling of... elation...? Recover all HP. A companion reaches out and pulls you to safety, taking your place! Except... they're gone. Lose a companion. CRUNCH. You can still hear your companion's screams of pain as they suffer heavy damage. Take 50% HP loss (ie if you are 30/40, take 15 damage).
2: 
