Ciaran

🦄 Machiavellian Masquerade - Chapter 1

Master Tack

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Location: Shadowell Manor, Chair 14
Skills: N/A
Hit Points: 5
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As Master Tack took his seat, glad that he hadn't been left behind by this strange device, he was no longer in a rush, and thus, he had a perfect opportunity to take measure of his surroundings and, more importantly, his companions. The small woman ahead of him was already engaged in conversation with the woman ahead of her, and unlike the man further on still, Tack had the sense of propriety not to interrupt them, but decided he would introduce himself to the small one later. Instead, he turned his focus to the eccentric sitting behind him.

A thin man of reasonable height wearing black and red would draw no particular attention, let alone suspicion, were a person described in such a way. But should a person be described as a thin man wearing a beaked mask and muttering in poetry to the raven on his shoulder, it would garner a different reaction entirely. And due to the human tendency to notice the most worrrying elements of a person's character first, it was the latter description that Tack's reaction to the man fitted best. Though he did his best to view this person with objectivity, it was almost impossible not to take an immediate dislike to the man. Tack felt that anyone deserved at least a single chance, though, and so quelled his fears as best he could and spoke to him.

Turning to face the raven-faced eccentric, Tack came up with another verse to his, on the fly, matching the tune to the best of his ability in a smooth voice, but not one accustomed to or particularly skilled at singing:

"I took the seat second from last,
Then heard a voice behind my back,
I turned around to face the singer,
And thought it best that I should linger!"

🦄 Machiavellian Masquerade - Chapter 1

@Lady Amalthea All sorted. Apologies about that, I'm not used to using two forums, it's a good idea but not one I've ever encountered before.

🦄 Machiavellian Masquerade - Chapter 1

Master Tack

≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎
Location: Shadowell Manor, Chair 14
Skills: N/A
Hit Points: 5
≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎≎

The unnatural silence that usually blanketed Shadowell Forest was broken all around Master Tack as he rode forwards. At a full gallop on his horse, with a constant, rhythmic thump-thump, thump-thump ringing out as hooves hammered into the road, hardened in these wintery conditions. The cold air pulled at his skin in the few places it was exposed, and stung his face. Certainly, he shouldn't be travelling this quickly, or at least shouldn't have needed to. Tack had come maybe a third of the way before realising he didn't have his invitation, and so ensued a rush home to retrieve the vital document, and a greater rush still to ensure he arrived on time - which, currently, was failing, but at least not by much. He'd be late, but maybe not so late so as to miss his chance at the Masquerade.

Tack continued to ride, and soon enough the manor was faintly visible through the fog. He couldn't make out details yet, but there was a faint orange glow coming from that direction. He drew his horse to a stop carefully, so that it wouldn't slip, and looked carefully at the light, one hand on his chin, thumb shaking slightly. It was probably safe, right? And if not, he was a long way away. He could always turn around, couldn't he? Anyway, there were other possible explanations. Gas lights made the most sense, yes, that would probably be it. With the days so short and the light already fading, the owners would want their property to be well-lit. That must be it.

Master Tack arrived at the gates shortly afterwards. His horse had barely stopped when he jumped out of the saddle, hitting the ground noisily. Handing off the reins to whoever came to take his horse, he immediately hurried forwards to the gate, procurring his invitation and rapidly saying "Terribly sorry, I was delayed, I left-" before cutting himself off as he realised that the gatekeeper (Leo, though Tack did not know his name) probably did not care why he was late so much as the simple fact that he was late. "Well," he said, "I'm here now."

After being let through the gate, Master Tack would then immediately head towards the strange vehicle, assuming nothing would happen to prevent this. Seeing two seats free and someone else being invited to one of them already, he would make his way to the other seat, between Miss Creme and Master Plum, giving an acknowledging nod to anyone who seemed to pay him any particular attention, but not yet saying anything.

D&D Fifth Edition: Land of the Old Curse

The panic that had previously been present had only been compounded by the sudden attack. Thankfully, this actually helped; people were now afraid enough to run away, and with Milo and Mark shouting at them, they made sure they did. Of course, they didn't actually listen to what either Milo or Mark said, "calm" was the last word that would be used to describe them now. However, it did clear enough space to see what was going on.

Of course, this wasn't necessary for someone with access to a bird's eye view, such as Verdan. He could see the cloud of gas, which had now diluted somewhat as it mixed with air, forming a cloud of larger volume but lower concentration. It was easy to enough to work out from that that there was no source of the gas, in that nothing was creating any more. It had simply been kept at very high pressure within the vial, which had shattered on impact with the flagstones and thereby released a sudden expulsion of gas. It was impossible to tell the effects of the gas precisely, since it was still heavily obscured inside, but the screams had now stopped.

The thrower himself had abandoned all attempts at subtlety - it was no issue at all for either Vlad or Emil to find him. He cackled maniacally, now half-standing with one foot on the front and one on the back of the gable roof, until he was interrupted with a sudden, sharp, gasp as an arrow struck him in his left shoulder. He swayed slightly with the impact, but his balance was extraordinarily good, and he did not fall*. Looking down, he snapped the arrow off while searching for the one who had fired it. His mad eyes fixated on the grey tiefling below him, and between his panting breaths, he rasped "Oh, I'll make you suffer for that," before remembering what his orders were, and added "but not now." And with that, he was a bird again, and began flapping in the direction of the fleeing townspeople, down the main road and towards the market square.

However, even amongst all this chaos and fear, one person still found a way to benefit. Morgan had absolutely no trouble finding a place to focus. The area in front of the manor was designed to have people watching on three sides. The people had all funelled into the main road, crowding the side opposite the manor, and the gas and the blackbird had been at the side on the right when facing away from said manor. Thus, the side on the left was almost entirely empty, ignoring a single malnourished, stray cat that was looking for food there.

Lillith had been about to reply to Emil when the vial was thrown and the hell that had already broken loose multiplied. "We can negotiate this when lives aren't at stake. For now, I'll handle him-" she tilted her head behind her, towards the blackbird "-and I'll give 200 gold to whoever deals with those." This time, she pointed to the cloud of gas. It had almost completely dispersed at this point. Inside were now visible maybe a dozen corpses, all with various cuts and piercing wounds, as though clawed at with fingernails and bitten. In addition, there were six standing, hunched figures, covered in boils and skin lesions, most of their hair having fallen out. They began limping slowly towards the gallows, approaching at their pathetic pace towards the closest food source.

As this happened, Lillith cast Longstrider on herself, and immediately gave chase after the blackbird, her form blurring with the extreme speed. A moment later, flashes of fire were visible shooting into the sky, forcing the blackbird to swerve away from them and therefore the crowds as well, though not a single Firebolt made direct contact.

Hider

All who wish to participate in the fight, roll initiative, and switch to Discord for combat posts. Also, if either Joseph or Vlad are participating, I need an image to use for a token. It doesn't have to be great, it doesn't technically even need to look like the character, it just needs to be something that we all are aware represents that character.

D&D Fifth Edition: Land of the Old Curse

@Torack Still here?

Vivid Recollections: Into the World Unknown (Season 1 COMPLETE)

@Mike73 I should mention that Paige doesn't actually have a free hand for Grant to hold right now. One holding Nate's, one holding her crutch. You'll have to find another way to make that work.

🦄 Machiavellian Masquerade - Chapter 1

@Lady Amalthea Gotta do some reading first. You've written an impressive amount for this. But don't worry, it'll be done soon enough.

🦄 Machiavellian Masquerade - Chapter 1

@Lady Amalthea Hey, would you mind me joining? This looks amazing and honestly I've wanted to be in one of your rps pretty much since I discovered you. I've read the thing about male/female characters; that won't be a problem.

Vivid Recollections: Into the World Unknown (Season 1 COMPLETE)

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Hillview High
_{@Zombiedude101}

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Paige was surprised at how effectively the group seemed to be dealing with Scott. At the cafe, he'd seemed unbeatable, indestructible, but now they had a shot at victory. But just because he was on the back foot didn't mean he wasn't still dangerous. He seemed to identify and focus on her, and a moment later he was running, looking to disembowel her with that wicked blade. And Grant was by her side, now adding his strength to her assault. The motion was appreciated, but it also seemed stupid - he, too, was now rooted in place with a monster charging towards him. That was, until Jasmine froze said monster in place, just in time for some sort of shadow-creature to impact him.

Paige watched as Penny and Claire dealt the finishing blow to Scott. Her face was stone as she watched the pathetic, crying creature in front her. He deserved what he got, and more. He had done and intended to do so much worse, and would have had he not been defeated here. However he looked, man or monster, Paige could have no pity for him, nor could she forgive him or regret playing a hand in his death.

The only noticeable shift in Paige's expression came when Scott spoke about his 'master'. Whatever it was, it didn't sound like something she wanted to meet; something that was capable of driving an otherwise stable person (whatever Paige thought of him, it was clear enough that Scott regretted his actions) to murder multiple people would extraordinarily dangerous, and while she thought that it had no place being anywhere but the spot in Hell next to Scott that it had earned for itself, she also doubted that she would be able to send it there, even with the others.

And then she saw it, and she saw that she was right.

Nothing that the group could do seemed able to hurt it. Paige certainly didn't need Britney to tell her to run, but the part about not saving people bothered her, not only because Paige was probably the one who would need saving, but also because the thought of leaving someone behind to die just seemed wrong.

Of course, Justin and Claire thought they could win this fight. While Paige didn't like the idea of running, either, she knew it was the only choice they had in which anyone would survive. She called out to them, even as she was turning, "What the fuck do you think you're doing? Run or die!"

As quickly as she could manage, Paige moved away from the creature. She heard Nate and, though she didn't know what he was going to try, remembered his ingenuity in the battle against Scott, and decided to trust him, taking his hand as she was told. She looked back in time to see Maddie behind her. Paige wanted to go back and help her, but Britney was right; it was too dangerous to go back now. Hopefully someone else would find a chance to rescue her.

Vivid Recollections: Into the World Unknown (Season 1 COMPLETE)

Apologies for my silence over the past few weeks. I should have something up soon.