Play-Test Episode: "Ariel's Fate"

[Legendary Sidekick]

((Actually, Ruby, you killed the ass-hat with the 19. Amazons hit hard! If you want, you can go through the cave and back-stab the donkey man with the 8. Amazons don't have great aim, but the 8 might hit a quick enemy if you attack from behind.))

 

[Ruby]

Fenella

I think I may have killed him! I climb out of the water and into the cave. My dress feels heavy as it's weighted with water. I leave a trail of puddles behind me.

It's cold in here and dark. A donkey man is standing with his back to me. I hit him from behind and he falls to the ground. He makes a braying sound as he lands.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

((@Ireth, one new ability I added to Huntresses: they can charge a shot. The only catch is that you can't do an aimed shot from your position. You'd have to light an exploding arrow. If you light an exploding arrow, and roll less than 10, there's a chance of friendly fire.

Normally, I'd say you can't stop an exploding arrow from exploding, even if you don't want to fire it… but now you're in water! So if you do light an arrow and roll less than 10, you can decide to fire the arrow anyway or you can dunk it so it doesn't explode on you or your friends.

You can't see the map in progress, but I moved your character to where the dead ass-hat in the water is. From there, you can shoot the rocks between the orc and the pink-eyed donkey man. Your character would need someone above to confirm the shot, but Ariel's been around Lily to know she pays attention to her. (She climbed up to finish off the other normal ass-hat.)

Ariel would have seen her go up there, so you could RP asking Lily if there's a shot (and if you want to, you can add her response—not god-modding when you have permission). Shed tell Ariel to aim at the crack in the ledge. I mean the crack under the orc's right (your left) foot.))

 

[Noma Galway]

I begins to sing, and hit my note this time.

I aim for the orc that's under cover. Not getting away from me!

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

After finishing one ass-hat, Princess Fenella backstabs another. He takes a swing at her, but Fenella leaps onto a high ledge to safety.

The brown haired orc is struck by a powerful bolt of lightning. He leaps off the ledge, and drop kicks Princess Fenella, then just stands there with his hair smoldering.

There is a rumbling sound. The orc boss' kid shouts, "Daddy!" and leaps off the cliff. He rakes Ariel with his claws, but actually hurts himself when Ariel's arrow pokes him in the eye. ((Ariel can get her dagger out in time to fight up close, or she can kick.))

Dila sees the wall in front of her start to crack. She hesitates momentarily, ducking into the tunnel as rocks come tumbling down, plunging into the water below—and taking the only surviving ass-hat with them! ((Dila can attack twice, which I think will be the standard allowance if a player misses a post.))

Lily's about to throw her victim at someone, but she sees the orc boss step out of the cave. The brown-haired orc shouts, "Great Scott!"

The fallen ass-hat struggles in the shallow end of the natural pool, barely managing to roll a boulder off his chest. Mariya hears him mumble, "This is heavy," but everyone else has their eyes on the giant orc. ((Maybe to Mariya, he's simply a bigger giant.))

 

[Ireth]

Ariel

I squeak in fright as the orc jumps at me, and yank my dagger from its sheath to stab at him. Those claws are nasty, but this lioness has her own!

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Lily hears Ariel's frightened sound. "Leave her alone!"

Lily hurls her opponent downward, forcing the donkey man and the orc to butt heads.

Lesser Scott is dazed from the blow. His arms go limp as Ariel thrusts her dagger toward him. When it connects, a stream of blood shoots past Ariel's line of vision. The dying orc doesn't make a sound, but a booming voice grunts, "MY SON..."

The large orc turns his head toward the gap at Lily's feet.

 

[Noma Galway]

That giant orc is scary! I begin to sing.

Not the best note, but I release it anyway. If nothing else it will hurt him a little. I hope.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Target:

Attack:

Attack:

Mariya zaps the large orc with a powerful bolt! Ariel lashes out with her dagger, finishing off the large orc's son.

"My son… you will pay with your life, huntress!"

It is unclear who the large orc is talking to, though maybe a little more clear when he knocks Lily over the cliff's edge with his hammer. Ariel sees no sign of her trainer, other than some speckles of blood on the log hammer that confirm Lily's sudden absence is not due to an acrobatic dodge.

The burnt orc's attack on Fenella is far less effective. His claws connect, but fail to even loosen a thread from the tailored gown.

 

[Ireth]

Ariel

I cringe as Lily vanishes from sight with a sweep of the huge orc's hammer. It turns to a snarl as I line up my next shot, aiming for Great Scott himself.

"Not if I make YOU pay first!"

 

[Noma Galway]

When I see Lily vanish, I react far too quickly.

My voice doesn't hold, but I keep singing. Hopefully the lightning will stabilize soon.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

		GM: 1D20 => 5 #Roll for Fenella
		GM: 1D20 => 9 #Roll for Fenella
		GM: 1D20 => 9 #Roll for Dila
		GM: 1D20 => 8 #Roll for Dila
		GM: 1D20 => 2 #Great Scott
		GM: 1D20 => 3 #Doc Brown
		GM: 1D20 => 16 #Lily

Princess Fenella and the orc slug it out on the mountaintop, while Dila takes a couple of shots to aid her. The rest of the ladies are focused on the very large orc boss. Ariel's arrow hits the orc right between the eyes. He leaps down to take a swing at her, but after being shot in the face, Great Scott lacks coordination. His gigantic hammer clumsily bounces off the low ceiling of the cave.

As Mariya's voice echoes, she sees Lily's hands reach over the side of the cliff she had toppled over seconds ago. She stops to catch her breath, but suddenly she feels strength surge through her body. She leaps to Ariel's aid and clings to the orc boss' face, making sounds of an animal as she rakes Great Scott's eyes with her sharp fingernails.

 

[Ireth]

Ariel

I can't help but cheer as Lily reappears, taking the humongous orc into her own hands -- literally. As she claws at his eyes, I aim another arrow. Another good shot might finish him off!

((I knew my luck in Dragon's Egg was too good to last... *sigh*))

Okay, so that's not the good shot I was hoping for. But I've got lots more!

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Lily sees Ariel's shot whiz by. She turns to her, even while pounding on her foe. "How're you holding up there, kid?"

 

[Noma Galway]

((I rolled twice on accident :/))

I keep singing and soon my voice stabilizes on a low note. I release the magic, again directed at the giant orc.

 

[Devor]

"Tell me truly, one coward to another, this isn't on your head to heal . . . . but can't anything be done?"

When Lorenzo shakes his head, yet again, Furtano hurls the sheath of his rapier into the rock wall. It sticks like a stalactite, and an amused whistle brushes through Furtano's mustache before he remembers his grief.

Spells on the mind. Alchemy through the blood. Golden wires through the heart. Even cracking Leppy's gem might kill the poor Leprechaun.

"Couldn't you - bloody hells! At least couldn't you find a way to get some rum in his veins or a tickle between the legs? He's trapped and wretched and the only company he keeps isn't much cheer to a spritely leprechaun. I need - the little guy needs something from you, something from someone besides my worried scoundrel self."

Lorenzo didn't make much of a response.


- - - -

Was there a moan in the tunnels? They hadn't been trekking but for a few minutes when Furtano thought he caught the faintest echo from the rock. He drew his sword. Then he looked at Lorenzo and sheathed it again.

"Let me do this properly, brother . . ."

He raised his staff and whispered into the gem. "Leppy, catch the sound on the winds in the dark."



Around the wand, and then around the tunnel, the air began swirl as if a child were holding out a blanket and spinning around in circles. After but seconds, as though caught in the wind, the sound returned and echoed loudly in the tunnels.

"Lorenz-*cough*"

Furtano looked at his comrade, whose face had turned pale.

"We will find this survivor, you and I. Your cowardice will be redeemed when you save his life."


- - - -

"I hear the singing! Let me tell you again brother, I do not need to bother Leppy to know that the muse is singing."

Furtano raises one hand and stops for a second, looking off through the tunnel. He turns back to Lorenzo and the man steadied against his arm.

"It's battle that's ahead of us. Linger here, my dear Lorenzo, and you, my limping comrade. I've no time to - hrumph."

He cuts himself off mid sentence and runs off through the tunnel.


- - - -

Furtano didn't think of stealth. He didn't think of concealing the wand that found its way into his hand. He didn't think of anything but his comrades in danger.

That was so unlike him. Wasn't it? How long has it been since he's had comrades he didn't want to kill himself?

A sharp u-turn, and the light caught him by surprise. His eyes needed a moment to adjust. But the large mossy green rock across the water had a funny wiggling leopard moving on top of it.

An arrow zipped past the green rock and caught in the wall of Furtano's cave. Why would Ariel -

"Damned davy hells, that's an orc!"

He raised his wand and nearly fumbled Leppy out into the seas because he was shaking so much. Didn't nature have any laws at all anymore?

"Steady, lad, steady you sharp-witted scoundrel. They're counting on you."



"Let the faerie fire rip it up, Leppy!"

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

GM: 1D20 => 8 #Lily
GM: 1D20 => 3 #Fenella
GM: 1D20 => 8 #Dila
GM: 1D20 => 17 #Great Scott
GM: 1D20 => 1 #Doc Brown


Lily cannot keep a hold on Great Scott. The gigantic brute hurls her forcefully into her student. For a brief moment, the two huntresses are just two more bodies in a heap of corpses. Ariel is the quick to come to her senses. She uses her free hand to pull Lily out of the water by her hair. In her other hand is her bow–which she also had to pull to of the water.

Great Scott turns his head to the sound of rapid splashes coming from behind, but what he sees–or thinks he sees–is a swarm of butterflies engulfed in flames. They dance around his face, singing his beard, searing his skin. He doesn't see Mariya's bolt of lightning at all, but he certainly feels it!

Fenella and Doc Brown dance around each other, but haven got leap from one ledge to the other makes close combat tricky (especially in heels, notes the princess). Dila manages to graze the orc, but Fenella leaves herself wide open as she jams her sword in a crack near the mouth of the nearby cave. The orc leaps to attack, but in his haste he missteps and breaks his pinky toe (orcs call it the greeny toe) as he struggles to maintain his balance.

Dila decides to rush in with her dagger. As she volleys to the upper ledge she sees three green limbs flailing wildly. Behind the orc is a very pretty view of the island. Dila suspects it will be the last thing he sees…

As for Brother Lorenzo, only Furtano knows his story. Thanks to Leppy's spell, Brother Pickard–youngest of the order–was found unscathed. He explained that he stalled the donkey-men claiming that he had the stomach flu. Furtano didn't stick around for the details. The apparently-deceptive young monk used his healing touch while he spoke, so a fully-healed Furtano rushed into action.

Perhaps Lorenzo is the coward that Furtano says he is; perhaps Lorenzo and his fellow monk are only a few steps behind, prepared to sacrifice their own life force to heal those who are avenging their fallen brothers…

 

[Ireth]

Ariel

The huge orc stands right in front of me, looking pretty badly burned. I'm not sure what happened, but I know he's distracted by it, leaving him wide open to attack. My bowstring is wet and useless from falling in the water, so I leap forward with my dagger instead.

 

[Devor]

He didn't even know how he had gotten so close to the orc. The last few moments had been such a haze. But it was attacking Lily and Ariel and it had to go down.

He drew his sword.

"I have already been more intimate with an orc than I care to be," he says, getting a tingle in his fingers as he remembered the slime of the orc underarm. "But I shall be a smiling face for you in the weakest moments of your death!"

As Ariel lunges with her dagger, Furtano charges with his sword, hoping to flank him.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Lily and Ariel waste no time. They rush the big orc, figuring if they go down, they'll go down fighting. Furtano remembers what the pirates taught him to do in the confusion of clashing swords on deck: flank the distracted opponent rather than take him head on.

But it seems Lily wants to take the guy head on! Furtano uses the higher ledge to avoid Lily's charge, but judging from the distance down the scenic waterfall, fighting on the rail of a ship would be wiser. Instead, Furtano uses the ledge to leap. He takes a wild swing—

Ariel means to sever the spine when she sees her opponent's back, but instead she stabs the right buttock. She expects to hear a scream, but then sees her opponent no longer has the means to scream. Ariel has no idea where the head could have gone.

Doc Brown finally finds a foothold, but as soon as his guard is up he finds a large object whirling toward him. He catches it—the severed head of his boss. "Great Scott!" The orc-giant's head is the size of a normal orc. Brown isn't sure he can keep his footing while bearing all this weight. "This is heavy," he gripes…

((Noma can choose to zap the remaining orc, or Ruby or Aspasia can shove him, or maybe he'll just fall.
Anybody can react/RP.))