Crucible #17 - "Mysterious Island: Part One"
Lily and Rose say goodbye to the rest of the Vigilant as they take off in the PRIMUS chopper. Goldstar, carrying Frostbite, follows the helicopter. Hand in hand, Lily and Rose begin the long trek back to Lily's parked car.
The ride to the new island takes only a few minutes. It sits smack dab in the middle of North San Diego bay between Coronado and Harbor Island, just south of San Diego International Airport.
As the heroes draw closer, they can make out more details about the castle. A total of six towers rise up from the main body of the castle. Three of the smaller towers are only two stores high. The other three towers each rise three stories, with two having capped roofs. The remaining tower has a flat top to it and was one of the entrances noted earlier.
At Flux's direction, Captain Novak maneuvers the chopper to a point hovering over the boat docking area. A smooth walkway from the castle's gatehouse winds its way to the edge of the island. There, on either side of the path, is a thick wooden post to tether boats to.
Goldstar and Frostbite land a bit further up the path, while everyone else is dropped off by the chopper. Captain Novak then moves the chopper off to a safe distance.
The Vigilant tentatively walk up the path towards the castle. Up ahead there is a gatehouse featuring two large doors. On either side of the gatehouse is a small guard tower. Numerous archer slits can be seen on the two towers. Still no sign of habitation inside the castle.
As the heroes walk along, a noise draws their attention to a spot on the path. There, the stone seems to shift and bubble as something begins to rise up. A crude stone head rises up from the ground! The head speaks in a strange and eerie voice. The gender of the voice and head cannot be determined.
"Please help me!", the head begs. "Do not trust them! They are cruel and malevolent! Much damage in the crash! No--! No, they call me! Must go..."
The head then sinks back into the stone as if it was never there.
Continuing on, you reach the gatehouse. It is a twenty-foot square chamber with a pair of large wooden doors opposite of the entry. An iron portcullis has been raised allowing access to the inner doors. On the wall to either side of the double doors is a smaller, featureless door presumably leading into the guardhouse towers. Murder holes can be seen in the ceiling overhead.
The double doors have the carved images of leering and scowling faces carved into them. It is slightly disturbing to observe. Set into the doors is brass handles. Perched over the door is what appears to be a gargoyle like creature made of stone with a demonic looking head.
Back on the mainland, Lily and Rose make their way along the crowded downtown streets. No traffic is moving at all except for emergency vehicles. Abandoned cars litter the streets, some of them having crashed into buildings or other cars. Some bodies are still down in the streets.
Rounding a corner, the pair is startled to see a man buried from the waist down in the sidewalk! The man is motionless with the look of agony on his face. It appears that he somehow merged or passed through the sidewalk before stopping. Lily directs Rose away from this horrific sight.
Continuing on, the pair spots several police officers in the block up ahead. There are flashes of light from in front of the police officers. As Lily watches, a bolt of lightning streaks in and slams into the chest of one of the officers, sending him flying.
As Lily strains to see what is going on, her eyesight automatically compensates for the distance. Suddenly she can see what had been very far away. Up ahead, surrounded by several policemen is a woman dressed in a tank top and shorts. Electricity plays about her body, making her long blonde hair seemingly stand on end.
Somehow Lily can hear the woman clearly even at this distance. "I told you pigs before! You don't mess with Electra!" With that she blasts another police officer, sending him hurtling to the pavement. Wisps of smoke rise from the man's chest.
Crucible #17 - "Mysterious Island: Part One"
Crucible #17 - "Mysterious Island: Part One"
Try it and find out!
GM Notes:
GM Notes:
That should be suitable strange for all involved! Eldritch does not detect any magic and Serena does not sense any malevolence in the immediate area. Even stranger she can sense a vague presence in the area, but cannot pinpoint it exactly.
Lily and Rose are over a block away from Electra and the policemen. Electra can be avoided should you so desire.
Now what?
That should be suitable strange for all involved! Eldritch does not detect any magic and Serena does not sense any malevolence in the immediate area. Even stranger she can sense a vague presence in the area, but cannot pinpoint it exactly.
Lily and Rose are over a block away from Electra and the policemen. Electra can be avoided should you so desire.
Now what?
Try it and find out!
Flux:
{Ok, without Lily we are six. I'll give a radio to Frostbite, Blackout, and keep one for myself.}
As the stone head submerges back into the path, Flux tries to make sense of the words as well as the observations of Serena and Arcane.
Well, no magic, somebody around but not pinpointable, looks like a castle, but can't be so by the convluted logic of the day, this must be a ship from another planet that crashed here and what we just heard was the ship itself warning us off before being forced to obey a command from the beings who hijacked it. In fact, I bet the whole place, island and all is alive and nothing is what it seems. Yep, makes perfect sense--today. Now how do I say that out loud without sounding insane?
"Can anybody tell me if these faces in the door convey any info on the type of folk likely to live here?"
I sure don't like the decor but I've seen worse in some of Germany's castles.
{Ok, without Lily we are six. I'll give a radio to Frostbite, Blackout, and keep one for myself.}
As the stone head submerges back into the path, Flux tries to make sense of the words as well as the observations of Serena and Arcane.
Well, no magic, somebody around but not pinpointable, looks like a castle, but can't be so by the convluted logic of the day, this must be a ship from another planet that crashed here and what we just heard was the ship itself warning us off before being forced to obey a command from the beings who hijacked it. In fact, I bet the whole place, island and all is alive and nothing is what it seems. Yep, makes perfect sense--today. Now how do I say that out loud without sounding insane?
"Can anybody tell me if these faces in the door convey any info on the type of folk likely to live here?"
I sure don't like the decor but I've seen worse in some of Germany's castles.
Bruce....Superhero of San Diego
Home Sweet Home
Serena:
The Knight finds the flight in the ‘chopper’ to be interesting. How strange. A craft that can fly without magic or wings!
Once at the island, Serena will follow the other down to the path. “Places like this are familiar to me. Those towers that flank the gatehouse are guard towers. Typically archers are placed inside and can fire down on enemies with impunity. Step carefully, my friends.”
As we draw closer, the strange head erupts from the ground! Exactly what it is Serena cannot determine. Even stranger the manifestation appears to elude her senses. The knight cannot determine the quality of the heads soul.
“Do not trust who?”, Serena will inquire. However, the head is gone just as quickly as it appeared. “I do not know what to make of this. Was it someone begging for help, or some sort of illusion to divert our attention? I did not sense any malice coming from the apparition. Regardless, we must continue on as before.”
As the band walks along, Serena will continue to point out the castle features. “That iron gate is called a portcullis. I take the fact that it is up as a good sign. Were it down, then those inside would not be expecting guests.”
“Keep to the sides of the entryway. Those holes in the ceiling are called Murder Holes. The defenders of the castle use them to drop boiling oil down on invaders at the front gate. The statue above the door is a gargoyle. Many believed that it would ward off evil spirits. Some were even magical guardians used to repel invaders.”
At Flux’s insistence, Serena takes a closer look at the faces carved into the door. “These faces seem to convey the evil and malevolence the earlier manifestation spoke of. No man of goodness would have such a likeness on his front door.”
“How do we precede now, my friends? Knock or enter on our own?”
The Knight finds the flight in the ‘chopper’ to be interesting. How strange. A craft that can fly without magic or wings!
Once at the island, Serena will follow the other down to the path. “Places like this are familiar to me. Those towers that flank the gatehouse are guard towers. Typically archers are placed inside and can fire down on enemies with impunity. Step carefully, my friends.”
As we draw closer, the strange head erupts from the ground! Exactly what it is Serena cannot determine. Even stranger the manifestation appears to elude her senses. The knight cannot determine the quality of the heads soul.
“Do not trust who?”, Serena will inquire. However, the head is gone just as quickly as it appeared. “I do not know what to make of this. Was it someone begging for help, or some sort of illusion to divert our attention? I did not sense any malice coming from the apparition. Regardless, we must continue on as before.”
As the band walks along, Serena will continue to point out the castle features. “That iron gate is called a portcullis. I take the fact that it is up as a good sign. Were it down, then those inside would not be expecting guests.”
“Keep to the sides of the entryway. Those holes in the ceiling are called Murder Holes. The defenders of the castle use them to drop boiling oil down on invaders at the front gate. The statue above the door is a gargoyle. Many believed that it would ward off evil spirits. Some were even magical guardians used to repel invaders.”
At Flux’s insistence, Serena takes a closer look at the faces carved into the door. “These faces seem to convey the evil and malevolence the earlier manifestation spoke of. No man of goodness would have such a likeness on his front door.”
“How do we precede now, my friends? Knock or enter on our own?”
Knight of the Mystic Fire
-
Goldstar
- Solar Powered Heroine
- Posts: 143
- Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2003 10:08 pm
- Location: Star Guard Headquarters
Goldstar is unimpressed
Goldstar:
As per Frosty’s instructions, Goldstar lands close to, but safely away from the helicopter landing zone. They arrive just as the others are getting on the path.
“Well, this is a creepy looking place! I wonder what kind of sicko’s live in there?”
Goldstar is too busy looking around to spot the strange head in the road. It’s up, it speaks, and it is gone by the time Goldstar can look at it.
"Darn! I missed it!"
As we continue along, Serena explains the details of the castle. Once close enough to the guard towers, Goldstar will fly up and peek inside the arrow slits trying to see inside. However, she doesn’t spot anything. Disappointed, Goldstar rejoins the others.
Spotting the icky looking stone gargoyle, Goldstar is sure that something will happen when she gets close to it. But again, nothing does happen. Nor does anything drop down out of the Murder Holes.
“Boy, this is a pretty dull place! Maybe the inside is more interesting? Let me knock!”
Goldstar reaches for the grab handles with the intent of knocking. Unless someone stops her of course!
As per Frosty’s instructions, Goldstar lands close to, but safely away from the helicopter landing zone. They arrive just as the others are getting on the path.
“Well, this is a creepy looking place! I wonder what kind of sicko’s live in there?”
Goldstar is too busy looking around to spot the strange head in the road. It’s up, it speaks, and it is gone by the time Goldstar can look at it.
"Darn! I missed it!"
As we continue along, Serena explains the details of the castle. Once close enough to the guard towers, Goldstar will fly up and peek inside the arrow slits trying to see inside. However, she doesn’t spot anything. Disappointed, Goldstar rejoins the others.
Spotting the icky looking stone gargoyle, Goldstar is sure that something will happen when she gets close to it. But again, nothing does happen. Nor does anything drop down out of the Murder Holes.
“Boy, this is a pretty dull place! Maybe the inside is more interesting? Let me knock!”
Goldstar reaches for the grab handles with the intent of knocking. Unless someone stops her of course!
Stellar!
Knock Politely.....
Flux:
As he was about to do the same himself, Flux takes no action to stop Goldstar from knocking on the door. It is the expected thing to do when calling after all!
Malevolent evil. Lovely.
As he was about to do the same himself, Flux takes no action to stop Goldstar from knocking on the door. It is the expected thing to do when calling after all!
Malevolent evil. Lovely.
Bruce....Superhero of San Diego
Eldrich Arcane:
Eldrich climbs into the"chopper" noting the comfort of the seats and seeking the armaments that must be emplaced but sees nothing that he recognizes.
The castle looks archaic to him, something from bygone days before the Shattering.
"How dangerous can they be if they inhabit such a relic?"
After stepping out of the flying craft Eldrich senses no magical eminations close by, surprising him. He would have expected to find traces after such a task as raising an island from the sea.
"Perhaps it has always been here but was invisible until now?"
When the stone head emerges and gives its abbreviated warning Eldrich looks about and still senses no magic.
"An elemental bound into servitude no doubt. It would take such to either raise a land mass from the seabed or an element of the air to hide it from sight. There may be several such here."
As Lady Serena details the defenses of the castle Eldrich looks for the defenders themselves but sees none.
The carved decorations look repulsive but tell no tale to him, only vaguely resembling demons from his spotty memory.
"If the bars are raised then guests may be welcome here-for whatever purpose. I suspect the danger will come from beguilements first."
Eldrich also makes no move to stop Goldstar, trusting in her unaccountable abilities to protect her if need be, but stands ready to defend all....
Eldrich climbs into the"chopper" noting the comfort of the seats and seeking the armaments that must be emplaced but sees nothing that he recognizes.
The castle looks archaic to him, something from bygone days before the Shattering.
"How dangerous can they be if they inhabit such a relic?"
After stepping out of the flying craft Eldrich senses no magical eminations close by, surprising him. He would have expected to find traces after such a task as raising an island from the sea.
"Perhaps it has always been here but was invisible until now?"
When the stone head emerges and gives its abbreviated warning Eldrich looks about and still senses no magic.
"An elemental bound into servitude no doubt. It would take such to either raise a land mass from the seabed or an element of the air to hide it from sight. There may be several such here."
As Lady Serena details the defenses of the castle Eldrich looks for the defenders themselves but sees none.
The carved decorations look repulsive but tell no tale to him, only vaguely resembling demons from his spotty memory.
"If the bars are raised then guests may be welcome here-for whatever purpose. I suspect the danger will come from beguilements first."
Eldrich also makes no move to stop Goldstar, trusting in her unaccountable abilities to protect her if need be, but stands ready to defend all....
Bruce....Superhero of San Diego
-
Menagerie
- Friendly neighborhood metamorph
- Posts: 299
- Joined: Wed Apr 02, 2008 7:08 pm
- Location: Lost in the Crowd
Mother and Child
Lily:
Wandering back toward her car is parked, Lily finds the random destruction all around rather depressing. Worse, there is likely no one who can be held responsible by the law for all this. Innumerable lives have been lost or otherwise affected, yet it seems that nothing can be done.
Sadness turns to horror as they come upon the bizarre death of a man who somehow became a part of the sidewalk. The word gruesome doesn't begin to suffice. Lily does her best to shield Rose from the sight and hurries her past. Once again, there is nothing she can do to help this man.
Moments later, a commotion ahead becomes apparent, and Lily attempts to determine whether it is a danger to her daughter. A day full of surprises reveals one more, as her vision suddenly telescopes in on the scene down the street. Having been through such revelations so many times already today, Lily quickly recovers from her astonishment.
While there is no discernable immediate threat to Rose, she cannot say the same for the police officers. A metahuman woman calling herself Electra appears to be working off a grudge toward the officers in blue. Already, she has downed two of them in the few moments Lily has been watching. At this rate, they won't survive long.
The helplessness she has been feeling galvanizes into determination. She must find a way to help them! But how? She has no training in combat, and only the slightest idea of what these new powers can do. All she really knows that she can do is run really fast and improve her senses dramatically.
It will have to be enough.
Lily points toward a nearby, abandoned delivery truck that appears to have rammed a light pole. "Rose. Go hide behind that truck and don't come out until I tell you. Go!" Fortunately, Rose is an intelligent and reasonably well-disciplined child. Lily knows she can trust her not to do anything remarkably stupid.
Next, Lily scans the area, looking for a chunk of concrete, brick or pipe. Snatching up whatever she finds that she can easily hold in her hand, Lily takes off running while kicking in the turbo. At least the searching that she did earlier with Serena gave her a chance to practice using her speed so that she feels she can do so fairly reliably now.
Lily loops wide around the area so as to get behind Electra without drawing attention to herself. She'll even go around the far side of buildings if necessary to avoid being spotted. Lily knows that this is going to cost her precious seconds - seconds that will undoubtedly be paid for by those police officers - but she also knows that surprise is her only real chance here.
Once behind Electra, and if she has avoided being noticed by the woman, Lily will zoom in and attempt to clock the woman in the head as she zips by with whatever she picked up.
Wandering back toward her car is parked, Lily finds the random destruction all around rather depressing. Worse, there is likely no one who can be held responsible by the law for all this. Innumerable lives have been lost or otherwise affected, yet it seems that nothing can be done.
Sadness turns to horror as they come upon the bizarre death of a man who somehow became a part of the sidewalk. The word gruesome doesn't begin to suffice. Lily does her best to shield Rose from the sight and hurries her past. Once again, there is nothing she can do to help this man.
Moments later, a commotion ahead becomes apparent, and Lily attempts to determine whether it is a danger to her daughter. A day full of surprises reveals one more, as her vision suddenly telescopes in on the scene down the street. Having been through such revelations so many times already today, Lily quickly recovers from her astonishment.
While there is no discernable immediate threat to Rose, she cannot say the same for the police officers. A metahuman woman calling herself Electra appears to be working off a grudge toward the officers in blue. Already, she has downed two of them in the few moments Lily has been watching. At this rate, they won't survive long.
The helplessness she has been feeling galvanizes into determination. She must find a way to help them! But how? She has no training in combat, and only the slightest idea of what these new powers can do. All she really knows that she can do is run really fast and improve her senses dramatically.
It will have to be enough.
Lily points toward a nearby, abandoned delivery truck that appears to have rammed a light pole. "Rose. Go hide behind that truck and don't come out until I tell you. Go!" Fortunately, Rose is an intelligent and reasonably well-disciplined child. Lily knows she can trust her not to do anything remarkably stupid.
Next, Lily scans the area, looking for a chunk of concrete, brick or pipe. Snatching up whatever she finds that she can easily hold in her hand, Lily takes off running while kicking in the turbo. At least the searching that she did earlier with Serena gave her a chance to practice using her speed so that she feels she can do so fairly reliably now.
Lily loops wide around the area so as to get behind Electra without drawing attention to herself. She'll even go around the far side of buildings if necessary to avoid being spotted. Lily knows that this is going to cost her precious seconds - seconds that will undoubtedly be paid for by those police officers - but she also knows that surprise is her only real chance here.
Once behind Electra, and if she has avoided being noticed by the woman, Lily will zoom in and attempt to clock the woman in the head as she zips by with whatever she picked up.
castle...
Blackout:
Blackout will take the radio handed to him and, depending on what style it is, secure it as best possible.
After landing, we begin to approach the castle and the strange head comes up from the ground, pleads and shrinks back before anyone, Blackout included, really has a chance to grasp the situation. As we continue on and others discuss its true meaning and nature, Blackout isn't sure either whether that was a genuine plea for help or a ruse to throw us off guard.
As everyone approaches the door, Blackout will strain hard to listen for anything that could give away someone or something preparing a trap or ambush and scan about to make sure no one is circling around behind us while we wait and see if anyone will be answering the door.
Blackout will take the radio handed to him and, depending on what style it is, secure it as best possible.
After landing, we begin to approach the castle and the strange head comes up from the ground, pleads and shrinks back before anyone, Blackout included, really has a chance to grasp the situation. As we continue on and others discuss its true meaning and nature, Blackout isn't sure either whether that was a genuine plea for help or a ruse to throw us off guard.
As everyone approaches the door, Blackout will strain hard to listen for anything that could give away someone or something preparing a trap or ambush and scan about to make sure no one is circling around behind us while we wait and see if anyone will be answering the door.
Frostbite
As we are flying over the bay Frostbite begins to take in this new experience. "Wonder what's in it." he thinks to himself. As they land he begins to take in his surroundings. "If this wasn't so weird this would be beautiful."
Catching the radio Flux gives him ,"What Channel are you on?" he will look it over and look at all the features than put it away.
As they walk the path towards the "new" castle a giant stone head eruptes out of the ground.
"Please help me!", the head begs. "Do not trust them! They are cruel and malevolent! Much damage in the crash! No--! No, they call me! Must go..."
Taking a few steps back, "What the?" When it seemingly dissolves back into the ground Frostbite will ask "The way it talked it seemed like some kind of servant..... Don't Trust Who though?"
Frostbites takes in what Serena says about the castle's defenses and looks at them accordingly. As they walk into the we see a stone gargoyle of sorts and several leering faces that don't sit well to gaze upon. "I can see why they would think that." Having read/seen way to many Horror and Sci-fi movies he will try to see if any of the statues have eyes that seem to move when they do.
Frostbite will let Goldstar knock on the door and be ready for what may come.
As we are flying over the bay Frostbite begins to take in this new experience. "Wonder what's in it." he thinks to himself. As they land he begins to take in his surroundings. "If this wasn't so weird this would be beautiful."
Catching the radio Flux gives him ,"What Channel are you on?" he will look it over and look at all the features than put it away.
As they walk the path towards the "new" castle a giant stone head eruptes out of the ground.
"Please help me!", the head begs. "Do not trust them! They are cruel and malevolent! Much damage in the crash! No--! No, they call me! Must go..."
Taking a few steps back, "What the?" When it seemingly dissolves back into the ground Frostbite will ask "The way it talked it seemed like some kind of servant..... Don't Trust Who though?"
Frostbites takes in what Serena says about the castle's defenses and looks at them accordingly. As they walk into the we see a stone gargoyle of sorts and several leering faces that don't sit well to gaze upon. "I can see why they would think that." Having read/seen way to many Horror and Sci-fi movies he will try to see if any of the statues have eyes that seem to move when they do.
Frostbite will let Goldstar knock on the door and be ready for what may come.
Post Continued:
Post Continued: The Vigilant
The Vigilant stand before the doorway to the castle. Goldstar buzzes the gargoyle but it remains unmoving. The entire statue is stone and doesn't appear to have eyes that move.
Goldstar moves to grab one of the brass knockers to announce the groups' arrival. No one moves to stop her. She raises the knocker up and brings it down hard on the door generating a loud bang.
The sound of something falling is immediately heard followed by a tremendous crash! Spinning around, the heroes discover the iron portcullis has just fallen, blocking their exit from the castle!
Just as they are recovering from that, the sound of a creaky door reaches their ears. Spinning back around, you see the large wooden doors opening, seemingly of their own accord. A puff of thick, grayish smoke issues from inside the door and rises harmlessly into the air.
Beyond the door is a long medieval looking hallway partially filled with more grayish smoke. Some kind of alarm or siren is wailing further inside. Curiously, the hallway is a mixture of contrasting cultures. The look and style is medieval in appearance, but there are overhead fluorescent lights illuminating the passage. No one is in sight.
Carefully, the Vigilant enter the castle. There doesn't appear to be any side doors in the hallway. After traveling about one hundred feet along, you can just barely make out that the corridor opens up into a larger chamber about fifty feet ahead.
A voice can just barely be heard over the sirens in the room up ahead. "Collision with energy wave while in Quantum Space has severely impacted on all systems. Main power plants are offline; most systems are inoperable. Unable to maintain current hypercube configuration, resulting in a decrease in Nth mass of 85%. Reduced Nth mass configuration is at maintainable at current power levels. Quantum Engines are severely damaged. Unable to determine time until repair."
The voice sounds suspiciously similar to the one you heard earlier on the pathway. The heroes continue to walk along and are able to hear more and more about what is being said up ahead.
"Confound it, you infernal demon!", a man's voice cries out in a commanding tone. "Speak so that I may understand thee! Have we arrived with the borders of the Grell Confederacy? Are my armies ready to go forth and do battle in my name?"
A third voice answers the third. It is another man, but this one is much calmer and rational. "What the demon is saying milord is that some unknown magic has attacked him, much like a windstorm driving a ship off course. Parts of the castle have vanished back into the ether from which it sprang. The status of your armies is unknown."
"What of the King's armies, demon?", a new voice demands. This one comes from a woman. "What became of them?"
"Those within the collapsed Nth space sections are no more," the eerie voice coldly replies.
"How many remain, demon?" The first man speaks again.
"I can sense twenty troops who were not in the shunted areas. Guests have arrived."
"Our armies...", the woman laments.
The gray smoke parts and you step out into a grand hallway. The ceiling is easily seventy feet overhead and is supported by huge circular carved pillars in rows on either side of the main walkway. About ninety feet ahead you spot three people. Two are seated on chairs on top of a raised platform with steps leading up to them.
Seated is a man in woman in what at first glance appears to be medieval style armor. The man appears large and powerful with flowing red hair and a full beard. The woman is much smaller and attractive in her own way. Ornate crowns sit on both of them, the man's much larger than the woman's.
Standing to the side of the man is another man in long flowing black robes. His black hair and beard are neatly trimmed and a there is more then a hint of malevolence from him.
The trio turns towards the entryway of the vast chamber and spot the Vigilant.
The seated man rises to his feet. "Then let these visitors be the first to pay tribute to their new lord and master! Come forth strangers and make yourself be known to my presence! I am the Warlord, King Otto of the Pentara! Swear allegiance to me and join me in conquest or perish by my hand!"
The Vigilant stand before the doorway to the castle. Goldstar buzzes the gargoyle but it remains unmoving. The entire statue is stone and doesn't appear to have eyes that move.
Goldstar moves to grab one of the brass knockers to announce the groups' arrival. No one moves to stop her. She raises the knocker up and brings it down hard on the door generating a loud bang.
The sound of something falling is immediately heard followed by a tremendous crash! Spinning around, the heroes discover the iron portcullis has just fallen, blocking their exit from the castle!
Just as they are recovering from that, the sound of a creaky door reaches their ears. Spinning back around, you see the large wooden doors opening, seemingly of their own accord. A puff of thick, grayish smoke issues from inside the door and rises harmlessly into the air.
Beyond the door is a long medieval looking hallway partially filled with more grayish smoke. Some kind of alarm or siren is wailing further inside. Curiously, the hallway is a mixture of contrasting cultures. The look and style is medieval in appearance, but there are overhead fluorescent lights illuminating the passage. No one is in sight.
Carefully, the Vigilant enter the castle. There doesn't appear to be any side doors in the hallway. After traveling about one hundred feet along, you can just barely make out that the corridor opens up into a larger chamber about fifty feet ahead.
A voice can just barely be heard over the sirens in the room up ahead. "Collision with energy wave while in Quantum Space has severely impacted on all systems. Main power plants are offline; most systems are inoperable. Unable to maintain current hypercube configuration, resulting in a decrease in Nth mass of 85%. Reduced Nth mass configuration is at maintainable at current power levels. Quantum Engines are severely damaged. Unable to determine time until repair."
The voice sounds suspiciously similar to the one you heard earlier on the pathway. The heroes continue to walk along and are able to hear more and more about what is being said up ahead.
"Confound it, you infernal demon!", a man's voice cries out in a commanding tone. "Speak so that I may understand thee! Have we arrived with the borders of the Grell Confederacy? Are my armies ready to go forth and do battle in my name?"
A third voice answers the third. It is another man, but this one is much calmer and rational. "What the demon is saying milord is that some unknown magic has attacked him, much like a windstorm driving a ship off course. Parts of the castle have vanished back into the ether from which it sprang. The status of your armies is unknown."
"What of the King's armies, demon?", a new voice demands. This one comes from a woman. "What became of them?"
"Those within the collapsed Nth space sections are no more," the eerie voice coldly replies.
"How many remain, demon?" The first man speaks again.
"I can sense twenty troops who were not in the shunted areas. Guests have arrived."
"Our armies...", the woman laments.
The gray smoke parts and you step out into a grand hallway. The ceiling is easily seventy feet overhead and is supported by huge circular carved pillars in rows on either side of the main walkway. About ninety feet ahead you spot three people. Two are seated on chairs on top of a raised platform with steps leading up to them.
Seated is a man in woman in what at first glance appears to be medieval style armor. The man appears large and powerful with flowing red hair and a full beard. The woman is much smaller and attractive in her own way. Ornate crowns sit on both of them, the man's much larger than the woman's.
Standing to the side of the man is another man in long flowing black robes. His black hair and beard are neatly trimmed and a there is more then a hint of malevolence from him.
The trio turns towards the entryway of the vast chamber and spot the Vigilant.
The seated man rises to his feet. "Then let these visitors be the first to pay tribute to their new lord and master! Come forth strangers and make yourself be known to my presence! I am the Warlord, King Otto of the Pentara! Swear allegiance to me and join me in conquest or perish by my hand!"
Last edited by GM Mad on Thu Aug 28, 2003 1:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
Try it and find out!
GM Notes:
GM Notes:
Things just get stranger and stranger...
Eldritch will detect strong magic from the black robed man, but none from the other two. Serena will also peg the black robed man as the most malevolent of the bunch, with the woman being next, and 'King Otto' being the least evil of the trio.
Now what?
Things just get stranger and stranger...
Eldritch will detect strong magic from the black robed man, but none from the other two. Serena will also peg the black robed man as the most malevolent of the bunch, with the woman being next, and 'King Otto' being the least evil of the trio.
Now what?
Try it and find out!
Post Continued:
Post Continued: Lily
Lily and Rose walk along until Electra is spotted a block away firing on the San Diego police. Unsure of what to do, but feeling that she must do something, Lily decides to act.
She locates a nearby delivery truck that had crashed into a light pole and instructs Rose to stay there out of sight. In the back of the truck, Lily finds a large pipe wrench and grabs it. Surprising, the wrench feels light in Lily's hands. She hadn't noticed it earlier, but Rose also seemed lighter to carry than normal.
Grasping the wrench, Lily moves into superspeed and runs towards Electra. She circles around while the electrically charged woman tosses another bolt of lightning that misses its target.
As Lily moves in behind Electra, her speed slows down while the muscles in her upper body grow larger and begin to ripple! By now Lily can't even feel the weight of the pipe wrench in her hands. She swings the pipe wrench and clocks Electra in the back of the head!
The contact of the wrench is devastating and Electra goes flying forward over twenty-five feet in the air! She lands face down on the hood of one of the police cruisers and then slides off down to the pavement. Electra is not moving.
However, hitting Electra feels like Lily just grabbed a live wire! Electricity arcs out of Electra and shocks Lily. Lily is also sent backwards over twelve feet and slams into a storefront. Feeling very groggy, Lily manages to rise to her feet as a grateful police officer comes to her aid.
"That was amazing, ma'am! Are you all right? Who are you? A superhero or something?"
Lily and Rose walk along until Electra is spotted a block away firing on the San Diego police. Unsure of what to do, but feeling that she must do something, Lily decides to act.
She locates a nearby delivery truck that had crashed into a light pole and instructs Rose to stay there out of sight. In the back of the truck, Lily finds a large pipe wrench and grabs it. Surprising, the wrench feels light in Lily's hands. She hadn't noticed it earlier, but Rose also seemed lighter to carry than normal.
Grasping the wrench, Lily moves into superspeed and runs towards Electra. She circles around while the electrically charged woman tosses another bolt of lightning that misses its target.
As Lily moves in behind Electra, her speed slows down while the muscles in her upper body grow larger and begin to ripple! By now Lily can't even feel the weight of the pipe wrench in her hands. She swings the pipe wrench and clocks Electra in the back of the head!
The contact of the wrench is devastating and Electra goes flying forward over twenty-five feet in the air! She lands face down on the hood of one of the police cruisers and then slides off down to the pavement. Electra is not moving.
However, hitting Electra feels like Lily just grabbed a live wire! Electricity arcs out of Electra and shocks Lily. Lily is also sent backwards over twelve feet and slams into a storefront. Feeling very groggy, Lily manages to rise to her feet as a grateful police officer comes to her aid.
"That was amazing, ma'am! Are you all right? Who are you? A superhero or something?"
Last edited by GM Mad on Thu Aug 28, 2003 1:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
Try it and find out!
GM Notes:
GM Notes:
That was a very nasty roll Lily got against Electra! Flat knocked her out! Lily will shake off the effects of Electra's shock in a few moments.
Now that wasn't so bad, was it?
That was a very nasty roll Lily got against Electra! Flat knocked her out! Lily will shake off the effects of Electra's shock in a few moments.
Now that wasn't so bad, was it?
Try it and find out!
"The Arrogance of Kings"
Flux:
The crash of the portcullis may have been startling, but is not alarming to Flux.
"Don't worry about that. It can't keep us in if we want out."
"Blackout, up front with me. We'll see what jumps out at us. Everybody else spread out some. Stay with your "buddies."
With that said, Flux will quietly move forward noting the gray smoke (crash damage?) and flourescent lighting.
Listening to the voice giving a detailed report makes Flux think again of a computer, albeit a very advanced one.
That confirms it for me. Big ship, major crash. Now the only question is--why take the shape of a castle?
"That one man sounds like he doesn't know what he's talking to", says Flux to Blackout quietly.
"Calling it a demon...."
Although I've called computers worse things than that, usually right after a crash too!
Flux steps into the grand hallway flicking a glance to verify the clearence of the room.
Plenty of headroom if needed...
The declaration of King Otto is amusing to Flux as he has just lost most of his armies and doesn't know where he is either.
"Sorry your majesty. My loyalties are sworn already. Do you know where you are right now? I can tell you that you are nowhere near a "Grell Confederacy". And I don't take death threats well at all. Care to rephrase your remarks?"
While the words are polite, the tone is not. Flux is willing to provoke a hostile reaction given the info he has overheard.
The crash of the portcullis may have been startling, but is not alarming to Flux.
"Don't worry about that. It can't keep us in if we want out."
"Blackout, up front with me. We'll see what jumps out at us. Everybody else spread out some. Stay with your "buddies."
With that said, Flux will quietly move forward noting the gray smoke (crash damage?) and flourescent lighting.
Listening to the voice giving a detailed report makes Flux think again of a computer, albeit a very advanced one.
That confirms it for me. Big ship, major crash. Now the only question is--why take the shape of a castle?
"That one man sounds like he doesn't know what he's talking to", says Flux to Blackout quietly.
"Calling it a demon...."
Although I've called computers worse things than that, usually right after a crash too!
Flux steps into the grand hallway flicking a glance to verify the clearence of the room.
Plenty of headroom if needed...
The declaration of King Otto is amusing to Flux as he has just lost most of his armies and doesn't know where he is either.
"Sorry your majesty. My loyalties are sworn already. Do you know where you are right now? I can tell you that you are nowhere near a "Grell Confederacy". And I don't take death threats well at all. Care to rephrase your remarks?"
While the words are polite, the tone is not. Flux is willing to provoke a hostile reaction given the info he has overheard.
Bruce....Superhero of San Diego
Wizard's Duel!
Eldrich Arcane:
Eldrich will study the area in front of the gate for a possible spell exit later.
The closure of the portcullis does not concern him. The people he is with seem more than capable of breaking out. The composition of the gate worries him however.
Is that blood-metal? Pure? How is that possible?
The walk down the center hallway enlightens him not at all. The lighting is grossly out of place here and unfamiliar to him anywhere else but here.
Taking a position behind and just to the right of the Lady Serena, Eldrich watches for magical traps, spells, or attacks.
Eldrich hears the voice speaking, but most of the subject matter is incomprehensible to him. Only the intent is clear enough; transporting armies to this fragment to wage a war of conquest.
As he follows the rest into the great hallway, his senses register magic radiating from the dark robed man.
"Beware, friends. The dark bearded one is a mage of some sort."
Eldrich watches for any sign of casting in order to warn his less knowledgeable fellows against a surprise attack while the King demands oaths.
Eldrich will study the area in front of the gate for a possible spell exit later.
The closure of the portcullis does not concern him. The people he is with seem more than capable of breaking out. The composition of the gate worries him however.
Is that blood-metal? Pure? How is that possible?
The walk down the center hallway enlightens him not at all. The lighting is grossly out of place here and unfamiliar to him anywhere else but here.
Taking a position behind and just to the right of the Lady Serena, Eldrich watches for magical traps, spells, or attacks.
Eldrich hears the voice speaking, but most of the subject matter is incomprehensible to him. Only the intent is clear enough; transporting armies to this fragment to wage a war of conquest.
As he follows the rest into the great hallway, his senses register magic radiating from the dark robed man.
"Beware, friends. The dark bearded one is a mage of some sort."
Eldrich watches for any sign of casting in order to warn his less knowledgeable fellows against a surprise attack while the King demands oaths.
Bruce....Superhero of San Diego
-
Menagerie
- Friendly neighborhood metamorph
- Posts: 299
- Joined: Wed Apr 02, 2008 7:08 pm
- Location: Lost in the Crowd
Mother and Child
Lily:
Lily shakes her head, trying to clear it. Whoa... That zap really laid her out. Still, she seems to have done worse to the woman calling herself Electra.
"Hunh?" she replies to the officer, trying to make sense of his words. "Uh... oh, yeah. It would seem so. Just happened today; I don't really know what I'm doing." Lily has to admit that she's surprised that her tactic worked so well...
Did she really get stronger there just before hitting the woman?...
Lily shakes her head, trying to clear it. Whoa... That zap really laid her out. Still, she seems to have done worse to the woman calling herself Electra.
"Hunh?" she replies to the officer, trying to make sense of his words. "Uh... oh, yeah. It would seem so. Just happened today; I don't really know what I'm doing." Lily has to admit that she's surprised that her tactic worked so well...
Did she really get stronger there just before hitting the woman?...
Serena
Serena:
When the portcullis crashes, Serena spins, drawing Blessed Salvation and steeling herself for battle. There is no foe to fight and behind us the inner doors to the castle open wide. "Most curious."
With her sword at the ready, Serena will enter into the strange castle. The décor looks familiar except for the strange lights on the ceiling. She notes the smoke. Perhaps the castle is on fire?
The group proceeds down the long hallway and spies a vast chamber at the end of it. An odd thought comes to the Knight. "This is most peculiar. Unless I am confused, this passageway and the chamber beyond are almost as big as the entire island itself. How is this possible? Magic? And yet Eldritch didn't detect any such thing." Yet another mystery of this mysterious island.
The strange voice is heard again speaking gibberish. The response to it is more to Serena's understanding. "No, this cannot be a demon! I would sense the malevolence of such a creature and I do not."
Reaching the entrance to the vast chamber, Serena looks around in amazement. "This chamber is higher and more vast than the entire castle as seen from the outside? This is magic at work, but no magic that I can comprehend!"
The Knight eyes the trio of humans on the raised dais. "Be on guard, my friends! I sense varying degrees of evil and malevolence from those three. Especially the mage in black. They are not to be trusted!"
Upon hearing King Otto of Pentara's announcement, Serena will confidently step forward. "I am Serena, Knight of the Order of the Golden Chalice! I will never give my loyalty to anyone who reeks of evil such as thee! My comrades and I will defend this land from the likes of you until our dying breath! If you wish to test my steel, then come forward! Will stand ready to repel tyrants and invaders such as thee!"
Blessed Salvation at the ready, Serena waits for the enemy to make the first move.
When the portcullis crashes, Serena spins, drawing Blessed Salvation and steeling herself for battle. There is no foe to fight and behind us the inner doors to the castle open wide. "Most curious."
With her sword at the ready, Serena will enter into the strange castle. The décor looks familiar except for the strange lights on the ceiling. She notes the smoke. Perhaps the castle is on fire?
The group proceeds down the long hallway and spies a vast chamber at the end of it. An odd thought comes to the Knight. "This is most peculiar. Unless I am confused, this passageway and the chamber beyond are almost as big as the entire island itself. How is this possible? Magic? And yet Eldritch didn't detect any such thing." Yet another mystery of this mysterious island.
The strange voice is heard again speaking gibberish. The response to it is more to Serena's understanding. "No, this cannot be a demon! I would sense the malevolence of such a creature and I do not."
Reaching the entrance to the vast chamber, Serena looks around in amazement. "This chamber is higher and more vast than the entire castle as seen from the outside? This is magic at work, but no magic that I can comprehend!"
The Knight eyes the trio of humans on the raised dais. "Be on guard, my friends! I sense varying degrees of evil and malevolence from those three. Especially the mage in black. They are not to be trusted!"
Upon hearing King Otto of Pentara's announcement, Serena will confidently step forward. "I am Serena, Knight of the Order of the Golden Chalice! I will never give my loyalty to anyone who reeks of evil such as thee! My comrades and I will defend this land from the likes of you until our dying breath! If you wish to test my steel, then come forward! Will stand ready to repel tyrants and invaders such as thee!"
Blessed Salvation at the ready, Serena waits for the enemy to make the first move.
Knight of the Mystic Fire
-
Goldstar
- Solar Powered Heroine
- Posts: 143
- Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2003 10:08 pm
- Location: Star Guard Headquarters
Goldstar explains it all!
Goldstar:
The crash draws Goldstar away from the doors. "Golly! That was a surprise, but it was a neat effect!"
Goldstar follows the others down the hallway, flying along the way as much as possible. Once out in the main chamber, Goldstar will go just a little bit higher up to separate herself from the others.
Between what the eerie voice says and Serena noting that this place seems bigger inside then out triggers a thought in Goldstar's mind. "Stellar! Do you know what this is? It must be a tesseracted volume analog created by a controlled spatial application of a radical cube!"
Seeing the confused looks on everyone else's faces, Goldstar will quickly add, "It's a pocket dimension at right angles to real space. This place is dimensionally transcendental."
Choosing the simplest words she can think of Goldstar will conclude that, "It's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside."
Continuing on, we next come to the terrible trio. "Wow! Those three are more out of place than I am!"
"I gotta go with my friends on this one, Warlord! If you want people to join with you, you ask nicely and don't make death threats! So how did a medieval evil like you get a cool place like this?"
Should combat erupt, Goldstar will fire off a Plasma Blast in the hopes of catching the terrible trio in its area, but only if none of her teammates will be damaged in the process. From there, Goldstar will use Photon Blasts to pick off the most convenient target or the one causing the most trouble. Increase the power should the Photon Blast not be powerful enough.
The crash draws Goldstar away from the doors. "Golly! That was a surprise, but it was a neat effect!"
Goldstar follows the others down the hallway, flying along the way as much as possible. Once out in the main chamber, Goldstar will go just a little bit higher up to separate herself from the others.
Between what the eerie voice says and Serena noting that this place seems bigger inside then out triggers a thought in Goldstar's mind. "Stellar! Do you know what this is? It must be a tesseracted volume analog created by a controlled spatial application of a radical cube!"
Seeing the confused looks on everyone else's faces, Goldstar will quickly add, "It's a pocket dimension at right angles to real space. This place is dimensionally transcendental."
Choosing the simplest words she can think of Goldstar will conclude that, "It's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside."
Continuing on, we next come to the terrible trio. "Wow! Those three are more out of place than I am!"
"I gotta go with my friends on this one, Warlord! If you want people to join with you, you ask nicely and don't make death threats! So how did a medieval evil like you get a cool place like this?"
Should combat erupt, Goldstar will fire off a Plasma Blast in the hopes of catching the terrible trio in its area, but only if none of her teammates will be damaged in the process. From there, Goldstar will use Photon Blasts to pick off the most convenient target or the one causing the most trouble. Increase the power should the Photon Blast not be powerful enough.
Stellar!
into the belly of the beast...
Blackout:
The crashing down of the portcullis nearly causes Blackout to jump out of his costume, but he quickly recovers.
Failing to understand Goldstar's initial explaination of the interior of the castle/ship, Blackout really only hears part of her simplified version, instead trying to focus on what could lie ahead for the team.
As the supposed king makes his demands known, Blackout will scoff. He stands ready to hurl his rod at the first of the trio to make a threatening move against one of our team. He will then bound into and to one side of the main chamber, keeping mobile to present as difficult a target as possible as he closes the distance to the trio.
The crashing down of the portcullis nearly causes Blackout to jump out of his costume, but he quickly recovers.
Blackout will keep up front with Flux as we move through the entryway. The out-of-place lighting doesn't even bring a hint of confusion to Blackout. Maybe it's just been too strange of a day where anything, and everything, seems possible and for the most part has happened."Blackout, up front with me. We'll see what jumps out at us. Everybody else spread out some. Stay with your "buddies."
Failing to understand Goldstar's initial explaination of the interior of the castle/ship, Blackout really only hears part of her simplified version, instead trying to focus on what could lie ahead for the team.
As the supposed king makes his demands known, Blackout will scoff. He stands ready to hurl his rod at the first of the trio to make a threatening move against one of our team. He will then bound into and to one side of the main chamber, keeping mobile to present as difficult a target as possible as he closes the distance to the trio.
Frostbite
Spinning around quickly to the loud crash, Frostbite raises his guard to what may come. Seeing no one there doesn't comfort him much. "I'm not liking their hospitality."
Frostbite will walk down the corridor from the rear and be watchful of their rear flank. Noting the fluorescent lighting among the medieval structures 'This is strange indeed...' he thinks to himself as a wailing alarm can be heard in the distance. There is a mumbling above the wails and screeches of the alarm,most of which is lost on him.
As we enter an extremely large room, Frostbite begins to look around the room. 'this isn't what I was expecting from the outside." he thinks to himself. "How is this possible?"
It's a pocket dimension at right angles to real space. This place is dimensionally transcendental."
"huh" he looks somewhat dumbfounded.
Choosing the simplest words she can think of Goldstar will conclude that, "It's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside."
"Oh, wonder how they did that.........?" he drifts off in thinking. As three people come into few. A male seated with a women next to him as well as a black garbed man standing near them. "Must be some sort of royalty an an advisor of some sort."
The seated man rises to his feet. "Then let these visitors be the first to pay tribute to their new lord and master! Come forth strangers and make yourself be known to my presence! I am the Warlord, King Otto of the Pentara! Swear allegiance to me and join me in conquest or perish by my hand!"
"Sorry oh "great" warlord," in a mocking sort of tone "My allegiance is already sworn to another. You only mention 2 options neither of which I care for. Would you care to offer a third?"
Frostbite will begin to look around the chamber and look for possible entry points for reinforcements. If combat erupts he will take aim at King Otto,sending icy shards his way.
Spinning around quickly to the loud crash, Frostbite raises his guard to what may come. Seeing no one there doesn't comfort him much. "I'm not liking their hospitality."
Frostbite will walk down the corridor from the rear and be watchful of their rear flank. Noting the fluorescent lighting among the medieval structures 'This is strange indeed...' he thinks to himself as a wailing alarm can be heard in the distance. There is a mumbling above the wails and screeches of the alarm,most of which is lost on him.
As we enter an extremely large room, Frostbite begins to look around the room. 'this isn't what I was expecting from the outside." he thinks to himself. "How is this possible?"
It's a pocket dimension at right angles to real space. This place is dimensionally transcendental."
"huh" he looks somewhat dumbfounded.
Choosing the simplest words she can think of Goldstar will conclude that, "It's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside."
"Oh, wonder how they did that.........?" he drifts off in thinking. As three people come into few. A male seated with a women next to him as well as a black garbed man standing near them. "Must be some sort of royalty an an advisor of some sort."
The seated man rises to his feet. "Then let these visitors be the first to pay tribute to their new lord and master! Come forth strangers and make yourself be known to my presence! I am the Warlord, King Otto of the Pentara! Swear allegiance to me and join me in conquest or perish by my hand!"
"Sorry oh "great" warlord," in a mocking sort of tone "My allegiance is already sworn to another. You only mention 2 options neither of which I care for. Would you care to offer a third?"
Frostbite will begin to look around the chamber and look for possible entry points for reinforcements. If combat erupts he will take aim at King Otto,sending icy shards his way.