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June 15, 2016
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Game the 12th
In which our heroes discuss the doctrines of Nurzhanism, fight some (but not all) of the gnolls, and Dorian yells at everyone.
Back to Team Drunk and Cranky...
Narcel’Uss and Ildan argue heatedly about whether or not go back to town to further pursue the ring situation. They suddenly realize that the rest of the party has been gone for a long time. Too long. They say a hasty goodbye to Sir Bart and follow the tracks to catch up with the rest of the TIP. They arrive just in time to see them being led into the tower by the gnolls. Why on Earth were the gnolls treating them almost like royalty? They argue about what to do for a while. At one point, a cheer rises up from inside. Narcel’Uss can’t handle the suspense anymore. Are they having a freakin’ party inside? They have to go in!
They waltz up to the guards at the door, who seem confused. “You stand with the chosen?” one questions. Narcel’Uss looks to Ildan and back and says blankly “yes”. They are lead inside.
Lions and Gnolls and Priestesses … OH MY!
Lion-time is almost up. J can feel it. She hears a commotion upstairs. It has a familiar tone to it. It sounds like Narcel’Uss is here. She decides to try to de-lion in the most inconspicuous way possible and also meet them upstairs to try to mitigate the impending disaster. She tries to make eye contact with Julia to communicate with her not to make a big deal about it when she changes. She makes the change and now a gnome stands where a lion once stood. Julia still remarks on it, not showing much tact, but Dorian smooths it over by “It’s okay. She does that sometimes”. The priest accepts it grudgingly, but seems more suspicious even than before.
Right on cue, Narcel’Uss and Ildan show up with their gnoll escort. Ildan waves, revealing the rose sword at his side. Some of the gnolls back up but most seem relaxed and ready to fight. Narcel’Uss’ gaze goes across the room and lands on Dorian.
“Your slave Priestess is here”, the female warrior gnoll announces. A burning hate blazes in Narcel’Uss’ eyes fiercely and directed at Dorian, but is gone so quickly that he wonders whether or not he imagined it. With a placid expression, she says “I am here to serve you my Lord”.
“You stink of heresy”, says the gnoll priest. Narcel’Uss summons her spiritual flail as a show of her faith. The priest speaks of the box inside the golem and how it is the altar of Nurzhan. He is still very suspicious of this rag-tag team and that Dorian, the supposed champion, cannot support himself alone. Dorian says “I know… I have unusual tastes. It gets lonely in the woods”. The party is not impressed at what he is hinting at but they wisely hold their tongues.
The Chosen Speaks...
Dorian looks towards the female warrior as the priest paces around. She is hard to read, yet he can tell that she is tense. She is keeping an eye on the TIP though she seems to more closely be watching the old priest. There is definitely more going on here. He looks across the crowd and can feel their unease. The priest makes his way up the scaffolding around the golem to get to the back of it. He lays against it and listens intently.
Dorian interrupts the whole ritual. “I came here to treat with you as a courtesy. I’m taking the box”.
The gnolls seem unimpressed about being ordered around by this human, chosen or not. In a weird turn of events, the priest says that “The altar says you are telling the truth. You are the Chosen. But it also told me how it ends. It ends in blood and fire”.
Dorian accepts. Narcel’Uss does not. This doesn’t make sense. Nurzhan is not about chaos and fire. THIS is heresy. Nurzhan is about power and gaining power. The priest appears to be leading them astray and some of the gnolls seem to know this. Narcel’Uss sidles up next to Dorian and advises him that these words are false and the Chosen one must show them the right path.
“Who wants to rule ashes?!”, Dorian demands.
“On these ashes we will build an empire”, chants the priest.
Ren is somewhat confused about these turn of events but feels her eyes drawn towards the female gnoll warrior. She sees an opportunity to get closer to the gnoll since everyone is generally distracted. She makes eye contact with Ren and just nods.
Dorian thinks about his religious background. He understands that Nurzhan is a temptress and a destroyer but is not chaotic.
The priest threatens, “We will build on your ashes if we must”. Narcel’Uss advises Dorian that he needs to win them over. He begins a speech about the frivolousness of following this wrong priest.
The priest is tapping his staff furiously on the golem. He wails, “We are the vanguard! There will be ashes!”
“Conquer not destroy,” advises Dorian instead.
The female warrior gnoll suddenly speaks up, “The Chosen speaks. But actions speak louder than words.” A challenge!
The Chosen Fights! (kind of)...
Dorian throws off his cape. He looks like “the prissiest Riddick”. The priest declines but the gnolls are whipped up and calling for a fight. The priest realizes he’s not getting out of this without making a show of it so he slowly makes his way down to meet Dorian. Everyone backs away and a rough circle appears around the fight. The TIP realize this is Dorian’s show and he needs to pull this off on his own.
The priest makes a spiritual flail except it is… green. Narcel’Uss knows that Nurzhan’s colour is red. Green is the colour of baelfire and chaos. Something is not what it seems.
The flail strikes Dorian and the priest follows it up with a blow from his real flail.
Narcel’Uss tries to get the TIP on board with sewing the seeds of discord within the crowd as it is clear that this priest is channeling some other power than Nurzhan.
Dorian meanwhile is grasping at straws and throws forth one of his new defenses. He flicks his wrist and a greasy wave sloshes along the ground. The priest somehow stays on his feet.
While the TIP chants “heretic!” within the crowd, the gnolls seem to be arguing amongst themselves but are not taking any clear action.
The priest has a single focus and knocks Dorian another time with the flail, wiping him out. The Chosen one is defeated. Ren starts rushing in but the priest scrambles up on to the golem. He screams, “If you want to power of Nurzhan I will give it to you”. He thumps the golem with his staff and the its eyes glow green. Ren is close to the golem and smells something noxious.
TIP to the Rescue!
Ildan takes up a defensive position at the bottom of the stairs, sensing that he should block the path into the room and prevent anyone else from entering. Ren runs in and stabilizes Dorian by kneeling down and taking him in her arms. She consoles him, even though he is unconscious, but it seems to have some positive effect on him! Amazing! She stands up and defiantly faces the heretic priest, glaring.
J still feels worn out from the earlier ambush in the woods, but is still motivated to save her cousin. She uses her thorny whip to destroy Julia’s bonds and she lands lightly beside J. She immediately begins questioning her, “I’m so glad you are here, but what are you doing here? How did-”
Narcel’Uss’s voice booms through the room, commanding the priest to “HALT!” He resists her command and rebuts, “I will not listen to your words.”
Ildan starts getting smacked around by the gnolls near the door but holds firm. The warrior gnoll, surveying all of this begins participating by shouting out that heretics must pay!
Julia goes back to questioning J. “Is that guy important to you?” J nods and even though Julia is still curious and speculative she heals Dorian somewhat and he revives on the ground.
Ren dodges the spiritual flail expertly only to inhale a poisonous cloud of greenish gas coming off of the golem. Dorian is still gasping on the ground and inhales and chokes on the gas as well. Good to be Dorian right now. Staying true to form, he looks up at Ren and says, “this is all your fault” with a croak.
The golem strikes out at Ren with a giant sword but only manages to sever a few feathers from her hair which float to the ground. She rages and attacks the closest gnoll!
J thanks her cousin for the help then tries to tactfully enter the fight. She throws out an expertly aimed thorn whip at the priest and her vines wrap tightly around his leg. He looks down but before he even has a chance to react, J hauls him off the golem and he lands ungracefully in the grease. Unfortunately, his staff is still linked to the golem’s head with green energy and the golem is still operational. Dorian knocks the priest over the head with his rapier, which annoys him mostly.
Ildan continues deflecting attacks at the stairs but suddenly the female gnoll pushes her way in and snarls, “I hold the stairs” and points at Ildan to join the fight.
The rest of the party continues to deflect attacks, magical and physical, and avoid damage. Rock on TIP! Ren rallies and attacks the priest brutally, severing him into two halves (top and bottom). The spiritual connection is lost but the golem still seems to be active.
The Golem Is Still a Problem...
J takes a chance to scale the golem and try to remove the box that powers it. The golem swats her away and she lands in a heap on the ground. Narcel’Uss impotently fires of a bolt of light that does nothing. Dorian, injured, still manages to sneak up behind the golem on tippy-toe and climb up its back.
Julia rushes in towards J and heals her, “Are you alright? I saw that. You were flat. I’m a bard and I know when someone is flat”.
Ildan is free from his position on the stairs and decides to go face-to-face with the golem. He uses his brand-new sword to give it a good knock. Ren is inspired to join him and tries hacking at the thing’s joints. She hacks into its shoulder and its sword arm becomes compromised. J whips a vine around its neck in a chokehold and yanks on it. Basically, the whole team is physically surrounding it and taking it down piece by piece.
Dorian reaches in and with a mighty yell pulls the box forth and brandishes it upon high. “The Chosen has triumphed!” yells someone in the crowd.
The Idiot has Triumphed…
Ren starts cheering “Dorian, Dorian, Dorian!”. No one joins in except Julia who chants “Idiot, Idiot, Idiot! (I healed that guy!)”.
Dorian climbs down, holding the box and leans up against the golem, exhausted and still shirtless. Some ladies might be impressed by this scene, but no one is this room cares.
The warrior leader looks at Dorian and grunts, “go home”. The gnolls file out in silence. Ren catches the leader before she leaves. “You deserve to know the name of your enemy. My name is Ren.”
She nods and says, “We are not enemies today. My name is Nak’chaal.”
Ren nods, as if to say “Until we meet again.”
Dorian starts getting dressed now that the show is over. He hears an odd noise as he gets on his cloak. The box appears to be making a quiet humming noise. He calls over some of his companions but Julia notices the box and starts yelling a warning. “The box is full of stuff. The stuff wants to get out and into you. Don’t let it get out”.
J and Dorian exchange a glance and ask, “Uhh, hypothetically, if you were to smash a box like this, what would happen to that stuff?”
Julia looks thoughtful and says, “Well it would get out and get into things in a more unpredictable way. Why do you ask?”
“Oh, no reason”, they answer in a not-eluding-the-question-at-all-kind-of-way.
The TIP looks around for loot. They find 200 gold from the gnolls’ previous raids. Huzzah!
The TIP Falls Apart...
The TIP deliberate about what to do with the box. How dangerous is it? They were clearly meant to find it. Can they let it get into the wrong hands? Without a clear answer, Dorian starts explaining to Ren that he is not really a champion of Nurzhan and that he was FORCED to do it because of Ren’s actions. He got caught because of her releasing a gnoll without consulting anyone and he had to improvise! “Did you think, this isn’t enough danger? I need to add another to the mix and then leave?! At least she has a sense of strategy. You are just like GRR ARGH!”, yells Dorian.
“Well things turned out for the best didn’t they?” retorts Ren.
“I have the brand of an evil God for the rest of my life!”
“Is that so bad?!” Narcel’Uss interjects.
An argument ensues and J walks off, done with the whole thing.
“I had to pretend to be your slave. That does not come without consequence”, threatens Narcel’Uss.
They continue to argue, with Dorian still trying to convince the members of the TIP that none of this is his choice.
Narcel’Uss still calls out, “You owe me one”, not listening to his arguments.
As Narcel’Uss goes through some of the goodies they got, she notices a chalice rimmed with teeth on the inside, not unlike a pattern she has seen before. She seems pleased about this discovery.
Sir Bart is still hanging out where they left him. They invite him to join the TIP on their journey back to Malkara but he seems uneasy about entering the town. He may travel with them for a bit.
Julia enquires about the box, seeming concerned about who is holding onto it. “Whatever you want to do with it… just don’t. You’ll figure it out”. Dorian takes heed and wraps it in a blanket before shoving it into his pack. The TIP rests, unsure of what tomorrow will hold.
Narcel’Uss and Ildan argue heatedly about whether or not go back to town to further pursue the ring situation. They suddenly realize that the rest of the party has been gone for a long time. Too long. They say a hasty goodbye to Sir Bart and follow the tracks to catch up with the rest of the TIP. They arrive just in time to see them being led into the tower by the gnolls. Why on Earth were the gnolls treating them almost like royalty? They argue about what to do for a while. At one point, a cheer rises up from inside. Narcel’Uss can’t handle the suspense anymore. Are they having a freakin’ party inside? They have to go in!
They waltz up to the guards at the door, who seem confused. “You stand with the chosen?” one questions. Narcel’Uss looks to Ildan and back and says blankly “yes”. They are lead inside.
Lions and Gnolls and Priestesses … OH MY!
Lion-time is almost up. J can feel it. She hears a commotion upstairs. It has a familiar tone to it. It sounds like Narcel’Uss is here. She decides to try to de-lion in the most inconspicuous way possible and also meet them upstairs to try to mitigate the impending disaster. She tries to make eye contact with Julia to communicate with her not to make a big deal about it when she changes. She makes the change and now a gnome stands where a lion once stood. Julia still remarks on it, not showing much tact, but Dorian smooths it over by “It’s okay. She does that sometimes”. The priest accepts it grudgingly, but seems more suspicious even than before.
Right on cue, Narcel’Uss and Ildan show up with their gnoll escort. Ildan waves, revealing the rose sword at his side. Some of the gnolls back up but most seem relaxed and ready to fight. Narcel’Uss’ gaze goes across the room and lands on Dorian.
“Your slave Priestess is here”, the female warrior gnoll announces. A burning hate blazes in Narcel’Uss’ eyes fiercely and directed at Dorian, but is gone so quickly that he wonders whether or not he imagined it. With a placid expression, she says “I am here to serve you my Lord”.
“You stink of heresy”, says the gnoll priest. Narcel’Uss summons her spiritual flail as a show of her faith. The priest speaks of the box inside the golem and how it is the altar of Nurzhan. He is still very suspicious of this rag-tag team and that Dorian, the supposed champion, cannot support himself alone. Dorian says “I know… I have unusual tastes. It gets lonely in the woods”. The party is not impressed at what he is hinting at but they wisely hold their tongues.
The Chosen Speaks...
Dorian looks towards the female warrior as the priest paces around. She is hard to read, yet he can tell that she is tense. She is keeping an eye on the TIP though she seems to more closely be watching the old priest. There is definitely more going on here. He looks across the crowd and can feel their unease. The priest makes his way up the scaffolding around the golem to get to the back of it. He lays against it and listens intently.
Dorian interrupts the whole ritual. “I came here to treat with you as a courtesy. I’m taking the box”.
The gnolls seem unimpressed about being ordered around by this human, chosen or not. In a weird turn of events, the priest says that “The altar says you are telling the truth. You are the Chosen. But it also told me how it ends. It ends in blood and fire”.
Dorian accepts. Narcel’Uss does not. This doesn’t make sense. Nurzhan is not about chaos and fire. THIS is heresy. Nurzhan is about power and gaining power. The priest appears to be leading them astray and some of the gnolls seem to know this. Narcel’Uss sidles up next to Dorian and advises him that these words are false and the Chosen one must show them the right path.
“Who wants to rule ashes?!”, Dorian demands.
“On these ashes we will build an empire”, chants the priest.
Ren is somewhat confused about these turn of events but feels her eyes drawn towards the female gnoll warrior. She sees an opportunity to get closer to the gnoll since everyone is generally distracted. She makes eye contact with Ren and just nods.
Dorian thinks about his religious background. He understands that Nurzhan is a temptress and a destroyer but is not chaotic.
The priest threatens, “We will build on your ashes if we must”. Narcel’Uss advises Dorian that he needs to win them over. He begins a speech about the frivolousness of following this wrong priest.
The priest is tapping his staff furiously on the golem. He wails, “We are the vanguard! There will be ashes!”
“Conquer not destroy,” advises Dorian instead.
The female warrior gnoll suddenly speaks up, “The Chosen speaks. But actions speak louder than words.” A challenge!
The Chosen Fights! (kind of)...
Dorian throws off his cape. He looks like “the prissiest Riddick”. The priest declines but the gnolls are whipped up and calling for a fight. The priest realizes he’s not getting out of this without making a show of it so he slowly makes his way down to meet Dorian. Everyone backs away and a rough circle appears around the fight. The TIP realize this is Dorian’s show and he needs to pull this off on his own.
The priest makes a spiritual flail except it is… green. Narcel’Uss knows that Nurzhan’s colour is red. Green is the colour of baelfire and chaos. Something is not what it seems.
The flail strikes Dorian and the priest follows it up with a blow from his real flail.
Narcel’Uss tries to get the TIP on board with sewing the seeds of discord within the crowd as it is clear that this priest is channeling some other power than Nurzhan.
Dorian meanwhile is grasping at straws and throws forth one of his new defenses. He flicks his wrist and a greasy wave sloshes along the ground. The priest somehow stays on his feet.
While the TIP chants “heretic!” within the crowd, the gnolls seem to be arguing amongst themselves but are not taking any clear action.
The priest has a single focus and knocks Dorian another time with the flail, wiping him out. The Chosen one is defeated. Ren starts rushing in but the priest scrambles up on to the golem. He screams, “If you want to power of Nurzhan I will give it to you”. He thumps the golem with his staff and the its eyes glow green. Ren is close to the golem and smells something noxious.
TIP to the Rescue!
Ildan takes up a defensive position at the bottom of the stairs, sensing that he should block the path into the room and prevent anyone else from entering. Ren runs in and stabilizes Dorian by kneeling down and taking him in her arms. She consoles him, even though he is unconscious, but it seems to have some positive effect on him! Amazing! She stands up and defiantly faces the heretic priest, glaring.
J still feels worn out from the earlier ambush in the woods, but is still motivated to save her cousin. She uses her thorny whip to destroy Julia’s bonds and she lands lightly beside J. She immediately begins questioning her, “I’m so glad you are here, but what are you doing here? How did-”
Narcel’Uss’s voice booms through the room, commanding the priest to “HALT!” He resists her command and rebuts, “I will not listen to your words.”
Ildan starts getting smacked around by the gnolls near the door but holds firm. The warrior gnoll, surveying all of this begins participating by shouting out that heretics must pay!
Julia goes back to questioning J. “Is that guy important to you?” J nods and even though Julia is still curious and speculative she heals Dorian somewhat and he revives on the ground.
Ren dodges the spiritual flail expertly only to inhale a poisonous cloud of greenish gas coming off of the golem. Dorian is still gasping on the ground and inhales and chokes on the gas as well. Good to be Dorian right now. Staying true to form, he looks up at Ren and says, “this is all your fault” with a croak.
The golem strikes out at Ren with a giant sword but only manages to sever a few feathers from her hair which float to the ground. She rages and attacks the closest gnoll!
J thanks her cousin for the help then tries to tactfully enter the fight. She throws out an expertly aimed thorn whip at the priest and her vines wrap tightly around his leg. He looks down but before he even has a chance to react, J hauls him off the golem and he lands ungracefully in the grease. Unfortunately, his staff is still linked to the golem’s head with green energy and the golem is still operational. Dorian knocks the priest over the head with his rapier, which annoys him mostly.
Ildan continues deflecting attacks at the stairs but suddenly the female gnoll pushes her way in and snarls, “I hold the stairs” and points at Ildan to join the fight.
The rest of the party continues to deflect attacks, magical and physical, and avoid damage. Rock on TIP! Ren rallies and attacks the priest brutally, severing him into two halves (top and bottom). The spiritual connection is lost but the golem still seems to be active.
The Golem Is Still a Problem...
J takes a chance to scale the golem and try to remove the box that powers it. The golem swats her away and she lands in a heap on the ground. Narcel’Uss impotently fires of a bolt of light that does nothing. Dorian, injured, still manages to sneak up behind the golem on tippy-toe and climb up its back.
Julia rushes in towards J and heals her, “Are you alright? I saw that. You were flat. I’m a bard and I know when someone is flat”.
Ildan is free from his position on the stairs and decides to go face-to-face with the golem. He uses his brand-new sword to give it a good knock. Ren is inspired to join him and tries hacking at the thing’s joints. She hacks into its shoulder and its sword arm becomes compromised. J whips a vine around its neck in a chokehold and yanks on it. Basically, the whole team is physically surrounding it and taking it down piece by piece.
Dorian reaches in and with a mighty yell pulls the box forth and brandishes it upon high. “The Chosen has triumphed!” yells someone in the crowd.
The Idiot has Triumphed…
Ren starts cheering “Dorian, Dorian, Dorian!”. No one joins in except Julia who chants “Idiot, Idiot, Idiot! (I healed that guy!)”.
Dorian climbs down, holding the box and leans up against the golem, exhausted and still shirtless. Some ladies might be impressed by this scene, but no one is this room cares.
The warrior leader looks at Dorian and grunts, “go home”. The gnolls file out in silence. Ren catches the leader before she leaves. “You deserve to know the name of your enemy. My name is Ren.”
She nods and says, “We are not enemies today. My name is Nak’chaal.”
Ren nods, as if to say “Until we meet again.”
Dorian starts getting dressed now that the show is over. He hears an odd noise as he gets on his cloak. The box appears to be making a quiet humming noise. He calls over some of his companions but Julia notices the box and starts yelling a warning. “The box is full of stuff. The stuff wants to get out and into you. Don’t let it get out”.
J and Dorian exchange a glance and ask, “Uhh, hypothetically, if you were to smash a box like this, what would happen to that stuff?”
Julia looks thoughtful and says, “Well it would get out and get into things in a more unpredictable way. Why do you ask?”
“Oh, no reason”, they answer in a not-eluding-the-question-at-all-kind-of-way.
The TIP looks around for loot. They find 200 gold from the gnolls’ previous raids. Huzzah!
The TIP Falls Apart...
The TIP deliberate about what to do with the box. How dangerous is it? They were clearly meant to find it. Can they let it get into the wrong hands? Without a clear answer, Dorian starts explaining to Ren that he is not really a champion of Nurzhan and that he was FORCED to do it because of Ren’s actions. He got caught because of her releasing a gnoll without consulting anyone and he had to improvise! “Did you think, this isn’t enough danger? I need to add another to the mix and then leave?! At least she has a sense of strategy. You are just like GRR ARGH!”, yells Dorian.
“Well things turned out for the best didn’t they?” retorts Ren.
“I have the brand of an evil God for the rest of my life!”
“Is that so bad?!” Narcel’Uss interjects.
An argument ensues and J walks off, done with the whole thing.
“I had to pretend to be your slave. That does not come without consequence”, threatens Narcel’Uss.
They continue to argue, with Dorian still trying to convince the members of the TIP that none of this is his choice.
Narcel’Uss still calls out, “You owe me one”, not listening to his arguments.
As Narcel’Uss goes through some of the goodies they got, she notices a chalice rimmed with teeth on the inside, not unlike a pattern she has seen before. She seems pleased about this discovery.
Sir Bart is still hanging out where they left him. They invite him to join the TIP on their journey back to Malkara but he seems uneasy about entering the town. He may travel with them for a bit.
Julia enquires about the box, seeming concerned about who is holding onto it. “Whatever you want to do with it… just don’t. You’ll figure it out”. Dorian takes heed and wraps it in a blanket before shoving it into his pack. The TIP rests, unsure of what tomorrow will hold.
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