5. Creature(s?) From the Black Lagoon
Posted: Sun May 06, 2018 5:31 pm
Conditions: It is 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the late afternoon. No ley line is near the Tyrannosaur nest.
The Aftermath:
The last Rex falls and an eerie silence falls with it, the swamp holding its breath. The apex predators are down (for the moment), and nature around you pauses as if considering its next action.
Before any of you can so much as ask the sword-wielding newcomer his name, you all feel something foul flit at the edges of your consciousness, giving you all the distinct impression of being watched… no, more than watched. Pursued.
The very air around you turns hostile, pressing down on you with the weight of a mountain (or two, in Tyraxas’ case), driving you to your knees. Images of inky tendrils flash across your vision, and you are all aware of something attempting to probe your minds.
Norona feels the dark force more acutely than the rest of you, and it pushes him down on all fours; were it not for the protection of his environmental spell, he would find the air around his head suddenly too thick to breathe.
His hands and knees sink into the earth, and he struggles to rise. Any who try to assist him will find that the pressure of the air around them increases with each step they take toward their fallen comrade as gravity itself works against them. Trees near him begin to splinter and break under the force of the unseen onslaught, and you are all beset by a feeling of dread and hopelessness.
Quietly, almost unnoticed, a tiny blue light rises from the muck. It is difficult to see, as a penlight might be in the mid-afternoon sun, but it twinkles ever so slightly a few inches from Norona’s face. Through his arms, which are now sunk to the elbows in the mud, and his legs, which are buried practically up to his thighs, a weak pulse of benevolent power reaches out to Norona. It is similar to how he feels when drawing on a ley line, except no PPE trickles from the pulse. Instead, Norona hears a voice in his head and knows instinctively the voice and the power beneath the earth are the same.
The voice whispers to him The Usurper comes. Run!
The little blue light flashes, and the swamp explodes in a cacophony of sound. Birds screeching, trees falling, and (distant) dinosaurs roaring fill your ears. The pressure of the air lessens, and you all find you can move again. The light hovers a moment more, and then speeds off into the trees, pausing at the edge of the nest and pulsing irritatedly. “Hurry up!”, it seems to say.
What Now?
The party has another choice to make: follow the little blue light, stay put, or take some other path.
Norona will need to make a Strength check to get himself unstuck; anyone who wants to help certainly may do so.
Conrad and Jameson did not specify a cost for the “Serious Business” Quick Combat modifier (the +2), so I’m applying 1 level of Fatigue to each of them; Alex, if you would prefer that be a Wound instead, please let me know.
Jareb and Norona each gain a Benny from playing up their Hindrances in their posts.
You will have a few days to post reactions here before we move the scene on. Don't stress overmuch if you can't post in that time period; I'll use the majority or consensus opinion on what the party wants to do in order to decide which potential story event comes next.
The last Rex falls and an eerie silence falls with it, the swamp holding its breath. The apex predators are down (for the moment), and nature around you pauses as if considering its next action.
Before any of you can so much as ask the sword-wielding newcomer his name, you all feel something foul flit at the edges of your consciousness, giving you all the distinct impression of being watched… no, more than watched. Pursued.
The very air around you turns hostile, pressing down on you with the weight of a mountain (or two, in Tyraxas’ case), driving you to your knees. Images of inky tendrils flash across your vision, and you are all aware of something attempting to probe your minds.
Norona feels the dark force more acutely than the rest of you, and it pushes him down on all fours; were it not for the protection of his environmental spell, he would find the air around his head suddenly too thick to breathe.
His hands and knees sink into the earth, and he struggles to rise. Any who try to assist him will find that the pressure of the air around them increases with each step they take toward their fallen comrade as gravity itself works against them. Trees near him begin to splinter and break under the force of the unseen onslaught, and you are all beset by a feeling of dread and hopelessness.
Quietly, almost unnoticed, a tiny blue light rises from the muck. It is difficult to see, as a penlight might be in the mid-afternoon sun, but it twinkles ever so slightly a few inches from Norona’s face. Through his arms, which are now sunk to the elbows in the mud, and his legs, which are buried practically up to his thighs, a weak pulse of benevolent power reaches out to Norona. It is similar to how he feels when drawing on a ley line, except no PPE trickles from the pulse. Instead, Norona hears a voice in his head and knows instinctively the voice and the power beneath the earth are the same.
The voice whispers to him The Usurper comes. Run!
The little blue light flashes, and the swamp explodes in a cacophony of sound. Birds screeching, trees falling, and (distant) dinosaurs roaring fill your ears. The pressure of the air lessens, and you all find you can move again. The light hovers a moment more, and then speeds off into the trees, pausing at the edge of the nest and pulsing irritatedly. “Hurry up!”, it seems to say.
What Now?
The party has another choice to make: follow the little blue light, stay put, or take some other path.
Norona will need to make a Strength check to get himself unstuck; anyone who wants to help certainly may do so.
Conrad and Jameson did not specify a cost for the “Serious Business” Quick Combat modifier (the +2), so I’m applying 1 level of Fatigue to each of them; Alex, if you would prefer that be a Wound instead, please let me know.
Jareb and Norona each gain a Benny from playing up their Hindrances in their posts.
You will have a few days to post reactions here before we move the scene on. Don't stress overmuch if you can't post in that time period; I'll use the majority or consensus opinion on what the party wants to do in order to decide which potential story event comes next.