[ We find Our Heroes tromping through a familiar part of the Underworld; a tunnel leading to the Canyon of the Weird Old Cleric. ] [ They still have a few minutes before they exit out into the sweet, sweet sunshine, after which things will doubtless happen. Session Start! ] * Alcinoe is clanking along. She's pretty quiet. Not too surprising, really, given how she's been acting lately. * Max drifts along, book automatically following along in the middle of the party while he makes lots of ink marks in it. THey probably mean something, if only to him. * Seylin is likely scouting ahead to make sure that everything is okay. * Tia trails along, her eyes fixed on the cave butterfly that has been fascinating her for the past few episodes.' * Istvan is idly reading a scroll as he walks, glancing up every few seconds so he doesn't trip over a rock, a person, a dragon, etc No no... lost an 'i' back here somewhere...and a minus sign... *mutter, mutter* * WillS clanks along in the back, glad to be away from those trolls. Mr. Butterfly...! * HKenji is walking along calmly at the head of the party, wondering exactly what's going to go wrong. Things are too quiet. Come back, Mr. Butterfly! * Tia trots along behind the butterfly, oblivious to anything else that might be going on. * Istvan mutters as he reads. "So that's how they do it..." * Patrick is being himself. Smiling and walking along. * Seylin comes flying back to the group. "There's some sort of symbol on the ground ahead." I couldn't quite make out what it was. * Istvan stops, puts away his scroll, and looks up. "Symbol on ground. That's my cue to pay attention." * Tia suddenly forgets about the butterfly. "Huh? Symbol?" * Max looks up, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Do you want me to take a look?" Yep. Could be good, could be bad. I didn't want to touch it. Symbols can be dangerous. * Alcinoe looks over at Seylin and speaks! "That's a good idea." One way to find out. ^_^ Sure, Max. I'm sure you can tell what it is! * Max blushes. "Well, maybe. I can try. Lead on, please." He drifts forward so she can point it out to him. * Tia blinks. "I wanna see! Can I come?" * Seylin leads Max to the symbol, stopping before she reaches it. "No, Tia. You stay there until we see what it is." Let's wait a bit Tia. Let Max see what it is first. * Tia looks disappointed, but she nods. "Okay. I'll stay here." * Max pushes his glasses up his nose. "Um, just to be safe, you might want to stand back, Seylin." * Istvan moves to get in front of Tia... then pauses, realizing how bad an idea that it. Still, he moves a bit closer to her to make sure she doesn't go running ahead. Okay. * Seylin moves back a bit. * Tia nudges the axe resting against her shoulder. "What do you know about symbols, Mr. Axe?" Er, um, further, probably. These things tend to have a good range, if they're magic. * Max peers over the edge of his Book, adjusting his glasses as he focusses his glowing blue eyes on the symbol, trying to decipher it. * Seylin gets back even further and makes sure everyone else is, too. * Istvan reaches back for his pick. Just in case. * Max drifts back away from it, a bit leery. "This one's mean. And triggered by getting close." Is there a way to disarm it? What's it do? Um... maybe... Define 'mean'. Death. It's a symbol of pain. Would leave us disabled in agony for a while. * Seylin blinks. "How'd it get there?" * Tia blinks a couple more times. How close, Max? * WillS shudders. "Yeah. That wasn't there last time." * Alcinoe shakes her head. Not sure. Not as close as I was. But... I'm going to try to dispell it. Unless... I wonder what happens if the surface upon which it's inscribed is destroyed... People shouldn't leave things like that on the floor. Someone could get hurt... That's probably the point. Indeed they could, Tia. I think that's why it was left there. Why would someone want to do that? * Tia looks puzzled. Ah. *pauses* Have I mentioned that magic can really suck? They're bad people. I don't know. This really worries me. * Max stands up on his book and looks down at Istvan. "No more than a sword can." Point. No pun intended. Very well, Max. Dispel it. Okay. Now... let's see if this works. * Max mutters a short incantation, and flexes his right hand towards the symbol. "[Greater Dispelling]" ...drat. Sorry, that didn't work. Hm... give me a moment... *drifts up to the ceiling, and doodles with some chalk on it for a bit* * Tia pokes Istvan in the shoulder and whispers, "Hey, Isty. What's he doing?" * Seylin waits. It's good to be patient when dealing with stuff that can maim you. * HKenji drops his hand down to his katana and draws it smoothly, raising it above his head, bringing a little slice of sunlight to the darkness. Tryin' to cancel out the magic, I think. There're spells that get rid of other spells. * Tia looks on in wonder. "Wow, cool." * WillS watches quietly as Max draws on the ceiling. I wish I could do that with chalk! Let's see... I think those stop working if you cover them up... If I get as close as is safe, and use a mage hand to drape my travel cloak over it... It will trigger, but we won't be affected. I think. Knew I should have brought an unseen servant... * Max does some qwuick calculations. "I think I can get close enough...yes, I can! I think... 60' range, I can get to it from 75'..." Okay! * Tia sinks back on her haunches and watches with the enraptured expression of a curious puppy. * Max takes off his cloak, and casts a quick spell. The cloak is picked up by an invisible hand, and drifts out as far as Max can send it in front of him. THen he drifts slowly forward, biting his lip in trepidation, ready to cover the Symbol as soon as he can reach it. Weapons ready, everybody. * Alcinoe draws her sword. * HKenji looks around suspiciously in the light before sheathing his sword again. * Patrick draws his bow. * Max sighs as his small cloak covers only one corner of it. "...I need someone else's cape or cloak, please." He looks embarrassed to be asking. * WillS draws his sword as well, and steps closer to the rest of the party. * Seylin draws her halberd. Or does she? It's hard to tell. ;p * Tia jumps back to her paws and hefts Mr. Axe to the ready. * Istvan unholsters his pick, and mutters something under his breath in Dwarven, after which his pick is bathed in flames. "Take mine." *hands it to Max* Keep them. * HKenji reaches into the sleeve of his kimono and pulls out two small, tight bundles, tossing them one after the other to Max. Okay. *puts his cloak back on without setting on fire* * Max takes the things from Kenji, and examines them. The invisible hand helps him open them up, so he can compare size. If those aren't big enough, just say so. What're those? Just plain old sacks. These should do. Thanks! *They're picked up by that invisible hand, and carried over to the symbol. And carefully spread over it, making sure every part is hidden. If possible, he retrieves his cloak, too. No sense getting it walked on if it's not necessary. * * Max throws his cloak around himself again and makes a victory sign. ^_^_v It should be safe, now! * Max demonstrates by flying straight across, to just out of his calculated range of the symbol's effect on the other side. Hurry and cross, guys! Don't disturb the sacks, if possible, so it won't be revealed. [ Max fails to be filled with agony. ] I'd like to retreive them before my mage hand runs out! ^_^ * Seylin flies as high as she can across the area. * Alcinoe clanks across, if she can. * Patrick crosses dramatically! * Tia trots along behind Alcinoe. * WillS blinks and clanks right through behind Tia. Tia, be -real- careful; your claws might snag the fabric. Watch your step. * Istvan crosses nice'n carefully, thankyouverymuch. * HKenji hops across, keeping himself as far away from the symbol as possible. * Tia stops before stepping on the fabric, bunches her leg muscles, and leaps over it. Did I do good? [ As you're crossing the covered Symbol, someone steps out from behind a large stalactite; a nine-foot-tall woman with a jagged sword and wearing the hide of a blue dragon. She speaks a terrible, awful, familiar word, and... almost nothing happens. ] * Tia blinks. "It's...Blue Lady!" * Tia is suddenly unable to move. Aah! * Seylin nearly drops her halberd. * Max whirls about. "Hey! Watch your language, missy!" Whore of evil. * Istvan does what any good fighter type does in this situation, and tries to close the distance. CHARGE! [ Sherincal scowls. "That was disappointing." ] * Patrick knocks his bow and grins. [ And now you all need to roll Init. ] Well, you -did- mispronounce the last three syllables, girl. * WillS jumps back and stares at the lady in hatred. * Alcinoe spots the woman. She actually growls and readies her shield. * Tia shakes her head as she forces herself to forget her fear triggered by her memory of their last encounter with the woman, but she quakes visibly. * Seylin looks angry. Very, very angry. But she also looks like she's having a hard time keeping a hold of her weapon. H-help me, Mr. Axe. I don't wanna die again. [ Sadly, the tunnel here is only four feet wide, so only two of you can get to Sherincal at once. Better decide who now. ] [ Kenji, Go! ] * Tia hugs the greataxe and stands straighter with renewed courage. "I guess you're right. Thanks, Mr. Axe." * HKenji takes three steps foward and leaps, going straight up all fifteen feet to the ceiling, drawing his sword as he twists at the apex, coming down on the other side of Sherincal. Both swords are fully extended, and yet several inches short of her. [ Patrick, go! ] * Tia is once again holding up her axe in a defensive position. "What's a sage?" * Patrick lines up a single shot and grins, waiting for her to do something before releasing it. "Go get her guys." [ Seylin, Go! ] * Seylin prays with all her might! [ A beam of light comes out of nowhere and strikes Sherincal! ...who squints her eyes, but doesn't otherwise seem bothered. ] [ Sherincal turns on her heel and strikes Kenji three times with her sword, which is large, jagged, and crackles with black-and- purple energy as it slices through the air... and Kenji. Yes, it leaves very deep wounds in Kenji. ] * Patrick notices the weakness in Sherincal's turnabout and doesn't miss a beat, sending an arrow screaming through the air straight for her heart. [ The arrow strikes Sherincall in the center of her upper back, and she trembles, but doesn't die. ] [ Max, go! ] * Max jets up, out of reach of her weapon, hopefully, and drifts towards a space that puts him ten feet from anybody. "So, does she like to teleport away when losing?" he asks casually as he points the Staff at her. "[Hold Monster]." [ Sherincal grins, although only Kenji can see it. ] [ Will, go! ] * Will raises his sword of Bahamut up high in the air and chants out in a resolute voice. His sword flares brightly once as he finishes casting the spell. [ Alci, go! ] * Alcinoe raises her sword, too, and chants. Her sword also flares, a brilliant white light taking to it, and this doesn't die as she charges Sherincal, shield ahead of her. [ Istvan, go! ] * Istvan charges at Sherincal, pick upraised, eyes narrowed... [ Istvan lands two hits with his pick, digging holes in Sherincal's back, while the third attack glances off her armor. ] [ Tia, go! ] Pick on someone your own armor type, bitch. * Tia throws back her head in a bestial roar and fixes Sherincal with a searing glare as she swings her axe over Alcinoe and at her foe. [ Tia swings her mighty axe! And never manages to penetrate Sherincal's thick armor. ] [ Kenji, go! ] * HKenji crosses both blades in front of his body then brings them slashing wildly across at precisely the same instant, sending a spray of blood off against the walls. He lets out a scream of primal anger as he snaps his arms back in, bringing the two swords BACK in, just as powerfully, driving the X across her torso even further into her flesh, and driving the blades deep into the ground, fowling his last desperate cut up from the ground. * NinjaDebugger is now known as HKenji We could take her alive! Whee! *cackles in a tiny halfling cackle* [ Sherincal staggard back, bleeding profusely, and looking just a bit surprised. She turns, looks Alcinoe the Paladin of Galahad right in the eyes, and says in a rich, sonorous voice "Well, I'm obviously overmatched. I surrender." ] * Max blinks, pushing his glasses up his nose. And eyes her warilly. * Seylin blinks several times. Surrender my ass. Shut up, Istvan. Should I, um, disable her? * Istvan eyes Kenji. "You're kidding, right?" * Tia lets out a growl from deep in her stomach, her axe still brandished. * HKenji is panting heavily as he flicks the blood off his blades and sheathes them. [ Sherincal holds the hilt of her sword out for Alcinoe to take. ] Until and unless she breaks her surrender, you -WILL- honor it, Istvan. ... you never kid. Fuck. * Max drifts just a bit closer, still watching carefully. * Alcinoe glares, brings her shining blade back, and then stops. She nods, sheathing her own sword and taking hold of the hilt. "Will, heal Kenji." [ "Allow me to heal myself," she says, "And as a show of good will, I will heal Kenji as well." ] * Seylin looks wary. ... you can't be serious. ...I wouldn't. No. Don't cast any spells. * WillS stares at Sherincal. "No. I'm healing Kenji." * HKenji raises one hand. * Tia continues to growl, her eyes never leaving Sherincal. * Alcinoe takes the sword from Sherincal if possible. * Istvan still has his pick at the ready, and it's still all burny. * Max drifts up behind Alcinoe. "Should I stun her, just in case?" he whispers, eyeing the enemy -very- carefully. * WillS walks over to Kenji and prepares his spell. Wait, Will. [ The sword is heavy - at least sixty pounds. ] * WillS pauses his hands in midstretch. "Huh?" * Alcinoe takes the sword from Sherincal, nearly dropping it, and she stares at the weapon. * Patrick draws his bow, knocking an acidic arrow and looking out for any funny business. * Max hovers nervously. You may heal yourself, woman. And, if you so choose, you may heal me. ... * Max watches very closely, making sure she's casting what she claims she is, and only that. [ Sherincal mutters an invocation and touches herself - most of her wounds close up. She then turns and repeats the gesture with Kenji, and he is healed completely. ] * Seylin grips her halberd and watches Sherincal closely. * Alcinoe continues to stare at the weapon, how holding it carefully with both hands. * Max drifts over to the wall that Kenji splattered with blood, looking at it wide-eyed while still trying to keep an eye on the woman. So what now? Tea, maybe? Cards? * Istvan is, in case anyone has failed to notice yet, NOT happy at this turn of events. ...we should maybe take her back to someplace we can hold her? *pushes glasses up his nose nervously* * Alcinoe asks, almost wondering, "Why did you surrender?" * Max pulls out some chalk, and does some calculations around the blood splatters, muttering impressedly. * Tia 's hackles are still raised, though she somehow refrains from striking Sherincal. Tia, put the axe away. * Tia shakes her head. "Me neither, Mr. Axe." She turns to Kenji. "Oh, um, are you sure, Kenji?" * Max finishes up what he's doing, dabbing at the wall with a square of cloth and putting it in a small bag. * Max turns back to the scene. "So, um, who is this?" This is Sherincal, the one raising the army to come against the surface. * Patrick nods. Oh. Hello, Ms. Sherincal. I'm Max. Why do you want to attack the surface? Doesn't the light hurt your eyes? * Tia reluctantly shoulders Mr. Axe and sighs, the last of the fire from her barbarian rage finally fading from her eyes. And the one who probably wouldn't be giving out any mercy if the situation was reversed. [ "Greetings, Max," says Shrincal. She bows slightly, and grins, bearing some very sharp teeth. ] * HKenji turns to Sherincal. "Swear to me that you will cease raising this army against the surface world and I will release you immediately." ...what? * Tia faces Sherincal indignantly with her free hand on her hip. [ "Very well. I swear that I will cease raising the army." ] Um... ... oh, right. Like the woman TRYING TO DESTROY ALL THAT'S GOOD IN THE WORLD is gonna keep her word. Ah think she will. It won't stop the problem. You might want to be certain she doesn't have one already raised. By Moradin's mug... * HKenji sighs a little. It's not in relief. "Go, before I think better of this." * WillS says nothing and does nothing. He just stares at Sherincal the entire time. * Seylin seems completely stunned. * Tia 's green eyes flare angrily. "You're letting her go?" ...bad idea. *tsks* Oh well. Good bye, Ms. Sherincal. I hope, should we meet again, it is more peaceably. ^_^ * Alcinoe looks at Kenji. * HKenji closes his eyes. "Alcinoe, return her weapon." I'd just like to say that, when this blows up in our faces, I reserve the right to say "I told you so" loudly and repeatedly. And, um, if you would explain why you want to invade the surface, I'd be most obliged. I just can't make sense of it; the equation doesn't balance, so I MUST be missing a variable. * Alcinoe growls. "Kenji." I'll remind you, Alcinoe, that she surrendered to YOU, not Kenji. * Tia roars in a voice entirely more dragon than woman. "But she killed me last time! It's my turn to hit her!" Tia! No. * Patrick folds his arms. "Kenji, she did not agree to your terms." * Tia stares openmouthed at Alcinoe. [ "Very well," says Sherincal, and heads towards Byron's estate, not accepting the weapon, not looking back. ] ... I do not like this. She plans deception. And won't answer my questions. WHich is just rude. * Istvan looks back at Alci, an almost pleading look in his eyes. "Say the word. Please." No. You will not attack her. *sigh* [ Sherincal soon passes out of sight. ] * Max looks between Alcinoe and Kenji and Sherincal, shaking his head. * Tia 's hands clench and unclench around Mr. Axe, and her lip quivers. * Istvan digs his pick into a wall in frustration, letting out a stream of curses in dwarven. I'll let you know I don't like the sound of that. But... [ Presently, Sherincal's sword vanishes. ] * Patrick shrugs and grins. "It'll make for a nice challenge." * Max drifts over and pats Tia on the shoulder. "It's okay. Revenge really is overrated, Tia. Don't let it bother you." This is, hands down, the goddamn dumbest thing I've ever been a party to that didn't involve a whole lot of bards. * Alcinoe lowers her hands and looks to Kenji. Anger's in her voice, oh yes. "Kenji, just what were you tryin' ta do?" * Tia abruptly bursts into tears, and she bawls loudly, her fist striking the wall of the tunnel in frustration. The only thing I could do, Alcinoe. * Seylin goes off to comfort Tia and hopefully not be crushed in the process. Kenji. Alcinoe. Please explain this to me. It's really quite simple. * Max drifts over, standing on his closed Book so that he's level with the taller of the two of them. * Tia continues to pound her fists vigorously into the wall. * Istvan mutters in dwarven, and the flames on his pick die down. He pulls the pick out of the wall, and wanders over to Tia, reaching way up to put a hand on her shoulder. Why was it the only thing ya could do, Kenji? There are ways around a sworn word. [ Presently, bits of rock begin to flake off from the wall where Tia's pounding it, and her knuckles begin to bleed. ] * Max watches Alcinoe and Kenji, arms crossed. * Tia finally stops and covers her face with her bloodied hands, then sinks down to the floor and wails. What, exactly, do you not understand, Max? * Max holds up fingers as he counts. * Istvan pauses, unsure about how exactly to handle this, before putting an arm around Tia's shoulders and making soothing sounds. "S'okay, kiddo. We'll kick her ass next time. I'll melt down her sword and make it into a hairpiece or somethin' for ya." 1. You allowed her to heal herself. 2. You allowed her to leave. 3. You interefered with Alcinoe's prisoner. 4. You let her go, when she did not even swear the oath you asked of her. * Tia envelopes Istvan in a bearhug and continues to sob. "I h-hate her!" An oath, I might add, that would not have neutralized her as a threat, anyway. * Istvan urks, but takes it for the time being. "I know, Tia, I know. You'n me, nexttime, we'll make her pay." * Max taps his foot impatiently as he waits for an explanation. * Tia nods, sniffles loudly, then wipes her face on the back of her forearm. "Promise?" * Istvan nods. "Damn right. You'n me, kid. She won't have time to surrender next time." * Tia smiles wanly, sniffles again, and hugs Istvan even tighter(!). "Thanks, Isty. You're the best." Bushido, and, as I recall, the code of Alcinoe's chosen Fortune, require one to treat prisoners with courtesy. I released her simply because there was nothing else we could reasonably do. We have no way to imprison her, nor can we bring her with us. ...Kenji. You need to learn to talk to the rest of us. I could have arranged to hold her indeffinitely. * Istvan urks. "Thanks... ribs..." No, quite frankly, you could not have. The academy has means of holding people; if nothing else, there are mages who could manage it. Now. That answers why you felt the need to let her go. * Tia blinks and quickly lets go of Istvan. "Oh, sorry, Isty." She looks sheepish. "Didn't mean to hurt ya." We have no time to make the trip back to your school. Why did you feel the need to interfere with Alcinoe's handling of her prisoner? Time? Teleportation is instantaneous. I'd have been back in however long it took us to get her handed off. * Patrick shrugs. "What's done is done." * Istvan coughs. "s'okay." *looks up at Tia* "Okay now?" It is done, but I WILL understand why it was done, Patrick. As soon as you arrived, she would have killed you, Max. That is why you and Alcinoe would have come, as well. And she'd have been stunned. * Alcinoe looks to Max. "Her sword would've killed me with a thought from her." That is irrelevant, however. You did not see fit to ask if there was an alternative, so it was not offered. I still must know, why did you interfere with Alcinoe's treating with her prisoner? ...impressive. You could not have resisted? * Tia nods to Istvan. "I'm okay now." * Istvan reaches up and ruffles Tia's hair, a small, if somewhat forced, grin on his face. "Good." * Max continues to wait for responses. * HKenji ignores Max's utterly foolish question. "We need to get moving, lest she claim the altarpiece." Yeah, we got work to do. * Max eyes Kenji. "Answer me, Kenji." * Tia smiles a little, then winces slightly and licks her bloodied knuckles. "Ow." * Alcinoe turns away. "I ain't leader. Therefore, anyone who's my prisoner is his." * Alcinoe goes. ...this bodes ill. * HKenji leads the way off into the tunnels after Sherincal. * Istvan looks back at Kenji. "Something else you might've included in the oath she's gonna break, if you didn't suddenly become DUMBER THAN BARDS." * HKenji stops dead in his tracks. This is not sheer stupidity, Istvan. It is a gaping lack of judgement. * Istvan glances at Max as he starts down the tunnel. "You say potato, I say bard." Look man. It doesn't matter IF we killed her or not. We still need to prepare for an invasion because if she was intellegent at all someone ELSE can carry on in her stead. A wise note, Patrick. But not an excuse for Kenji's ill judgement. Enough, Max. * Istvan keeps walking. "It did matter, but we got work to do. Be plenty of chances to go over just how crazy this was later. Trust me on that." No, Kenji, it is not. You have not answered me. Alcinoe did, and thus I understand her reasons. Yours... You ignorant academic. If you had any sense of the power of your enemies, you would realize exactly how pathetic any single one of us is in the face of them. Even with myself, Alcinoe, and you, we would all have been killed as soon as we arrived back at the school. And so, when one is at your mercy, you let her go to recouperate and grow stronger still. * Istvan pantomimes playing a harp as he passes by Kenji in the tunnel. * Alcinoe just walks. But you are correct; this is not the time or place for this discussion. We will discuss this later, Kenji, and you will satisfy me with your explanations. I doubt you can ever understand. * Tia suddenly looks very tired, and she trudges after Istvan. * WillS follows, keeping silent throughout the whole thing. You are beholden to nothing higher than yourself. You have no limits on your behavior. You would have happily slain someone who surrendered to you. * HKenji still hasn't turned to face Max. I have no respect for someone who would not honor the surrender of an enemy, no matter how hated. * Max's eyes narrow. "We will discuss this later, Kenji." [ Session paused. ]