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Post by Jynx on Jul 22, 2008 23:08:51 GMT
Jynx, having fallen to the ground when the explosion came, painfully pulled herself to her feet. Choking down her panic, Jynx made a movement to pull out one of her stilettos she always had hidden on her person... but realized with horror that she had forgot to incorporate it into her courtiers outfit. Trying to stay calm, She slowly started to move towards the building that had held the onlookers she briefly thought of joining. Keeping her wits about her as she moved, Jynx racked her brain for a plan.
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Post by Maerin on Jul 23, 2008 2:56:06 GMT
The courtyard was completely enshrouded in a dense, white, powdery fog. The fog was so thick that, combined with the inability of anyone to really hear, made everyone feel like they were completely wrapped in dusty, yet still white, cotton.
Karsten and Lord Nathor attempted to assist the eight guards in what remained of the enclosure. Most of the men are alive, though some are badly bruised. One was killed, apparently breaking his necking on the wooden railing of the execution area. The nine men, helping one another, began picking their way back towards the Citadel doors.
Sir Ector located the stairs he had used to climb up on the Citadel’s west wall previously. However, as he started to blindly descend them, he realized this would be dangerous. The stone felt slippery under his feet, he could only see one step in front of each foot, and he quickly discovered he was a little dizzy, perhaps from the near-fall over the side of the wall.
Jynx and Zohar both slowly picked their way blindly towards the doors they remembered at the base of the Citadel, in hopes of at least escaping the blinding dust.
***
Quickly stepping adjacent to the wall of the nearest building and finding a closed door with a relatively large threshold, Ageal manages to avoid being swept by the crowd into the white fog of dust. Visibility is no more than a half dozen feet, and the Vakeros quickly realizes that climbing at least this building was beyond his abilities.
However, upon trying the door, Ageal found it unlocked and the townhouse empty. No one responded to his call. Sighting a set of narrow wooded stairs against one wall, he quickly whispered an apology for the trespass and ran up them.
Not entering any of the rooms he found, he instead looked out a hallway window. The clear glass nonetheless showed the same white-out conditions, he had left on the street. Glancing around the hall, he saw a ladder leading up into the ceiling, and climbed up into what appeared to be a merchant family’s attic. Dim light showed through a dirty window at one end of the debris-strewn room, and Ageal jogged over to it.
Though the window showed only a narrow view of the roofs of a couple buildings across the street, the Vakeros could see that the city was mostly enshrouded in a heavy fog of white, which seemed to hug the ground rather than occupy the sky above. Its source, however, could not be made out through this little window.
OOC: Update is up. All except Ageal are still deafened.
The following rolls are needed by the following:
Perception skill checks from Jynx, Zohar, Karsten, and Ector. Subtract a -4 penalty from this skill check to represent the conditions.
Acrobatics skill check from Ector, if you decide to chance the current stair decent. You are at an additional -2 penalty to represent the conditions and your currently disturbed sense of balance.
Ageal, if you return to the street or otherwise re-enter the dust cloud, you will need to make a Perception skill check as the others, with the same penalty.
If any of you elect to stay put and wait things out for a bit, post accordingly (including what you might be waiting for or until).
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Zohar
Hardened Gamer
Is Mr. Handy
Posts: 453
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Post by Zohar on Jul 23, 2008 3:22:12 GMT
Zohar blindly tries to make his way through the courtyard back to the Citadel doors, his arms outstretched in front of him to feel for any obstacles, watching the ground beneath his feet. With the fog this bad, he might as well have been blind as well as deaf.
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Ageal
Gamer
Vakeros Trainee
Posts: 268
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Post by Ageal on Jul 23, 2008 4:37:26 GMT
Ageal knew there would be no way of getting on the streets without being lost and useless. Looking for a way onto the roof Ageal kept to the attic with an eye out the window for any sign of Zegron taking to the air. He also kept an eye out for any change of chaos on the streets. Any extra waiting time he sat in meditation at the window.
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Post by Karstan on Jul 23, 2008 6:43:06 GMT
Karstan had to be careful as he helped the guards to their feet the cuts and bruises from whatever had caused the destruction of the square had left the guards in great pain and he had to pay close attension to them with his eyes as he struggle to gain any information from his muffled hearing, he could see the pain in one soldier's eyes as he placed his arm behind him to help him to a standing postion, the soldiers back obviously was badly bruise so Karstan readjusted his arm to hopefully a some what better postion and begun to help him towards the main doors where they might find a healer inside.
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Post by Ector Symir on Jul 23, 2008 7:54:49 GMT
Ector pauses on the stairs as the extent of his concussion becomes apparent. In his bulky armour, attempting a descent immediately would almost certainly result in a broken neck. Frustrated, the knight has no choice but to wait until his head clears.
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Post by Jynx on Jul 23, 2008 22:44:05 GMT
With her arms outstretched, Jynx moved toward the direction she thought the building doors might be in. She strained her ears and eyes hoping to acquire any sort of hint as to what was happening around her.
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Post by Altor "Al" Cloudscraper on Jul 24, 2008 2:09:28 GMT
Alba knew that this victory seemed too good to be true, picking himself up he could not see a thing in the dense cloud of debris, so he knew that he would have to rely on his senses. In the woods, this would have not been an issue, but here in this building, his natural senses were muddled with the unnatural stone. Saying a quick prayer to Mother Forest to help him find Ector, he made his way to where he thought his ally would be.
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Post by Maerin on Jul 29, 2008 0:57:21 GMT
The dark grey wall of the Citadel loomed up suddenly before Karsten and Lord Nathor, as they stumbled forward with the surviving guards. Suddenly, first one, and then another bright orange flame also appeared. Torches, held in the hands of guards who emerged from the doors to guide survivors back into the shelter of the castle interior. As the wounded guards, Karsten and Lord Nathor made their way inside and coughed out lungfuls of dust, they were immediately followed by Jynx, who managed to find her way to them. It was only as they started to recover from the coughing fit that they realized they could hear each other. Hearing was still muffled, as if each had a scarf wrapped around their head. But it was a welcome relief from the complete soundlessness of a few minutes before.
Zohar was completely disoriented and lost in the courtyard. Though he was starting to make out his own labored breathing and echoes of many sounds (voices?), he still could not tell if he walked towards shelter, or away from it. Coughing somewhat harder, he also realized the dust was swiftly becoming a problem.
As Ector waited, he suddenly saw a form loom up out of the white blindness before him, apparently where the stairs were located. A second later, and he recognized Alba, the man almost completely caked in white dust, carefully making his way over the top of the stairs. As they recognized each other, both men realized they could also start to hear sounds and noises from around them. Ector realized there was a great, though distant clamour arising from the city behind him.
***
As darkness closed over Garthen, Ageal began hearing horns sounding down the streets. Waiting for a bit further, he could make out official-sounding shouts, though the exact words were still obscured by the noises of the panicked mob in the street at the base of the townhouse. As he continued to watch, a couple lines of bright orange flame appeared to dimly shine up through the white clouds from the street. It seemed as though some attempt at order, possibly curfew, was being attempted by the city guard. OOC: Update is up. Sorry for disappearing last week.
Zohar, make another Perception skill check with the same penalty as before. Also make a Fortitude save to keep going.
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Zohar
Hardened Gamer
Is Mr. Handy
Posts: 453
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Post by Zohar on Jul 29, 2008 1:09:06 GMT
Zohar takes a piece of cloth from his outfit and wraps it around his nose and mouth to keep the dust out, much as one would do in a sandstorm in his native Vassagonia. The tough warrior finds the inner strength to keep going and is able to make out the light of the torches and, at last, the sound of speech. He hastens to the Citadel entrance to rejoin his companions. "We must protect the Queen!" he shouts again, loud enough to be audible in spite of everyone's still impaired hearing.
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Post by Altor "Al" Cloudscraper on Jul 29, 2008 1:34:15 GMT
Alba's hearing returning, he looks at Ector, confused about what was happening.
"Are we under attack, I have never seen anything like this before? We should ensure that the Queen is safe!" I say to Ector, waiting for the more experienced warrior to shed light on the situation.
Looking around in the dust, Alba looks for any indication of other survivors of whatever this could be.
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Post by Ector Symir on Jul 29, 2008 8:16:19 GMT
"Greetings, my friend. You look terrible." Ector says to his comrade, with a look of grim amusement. If Alba expects the knight to provide more information on the current situation, he is in for a disappointment. He briefly assesses what little he knows. On the plus side, the forester's appearance is welcome, as is the return of his hearing. On the other hand, his restored senses tell him the entire city is tearing itself apart. "If this is an attack, where are the enemy? I agree - we should find the Queen, and Kevoan also. Perhaps all this is part of an assassination attempt, rather than a rescue," he adds. "However, I cannot descend these stairs in this damned dust - let us try to find another way down. Use your staff to probe the ground so we don't fall off. We go north."
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Post by Jynx on Jul 29, 2008 17:44:34 GMT
The relief that filled Jynx when she found others was great, but not as great when she realized she could hear muffled sounds. She was also glad that she was now in the company of people who could fight... that is, if there was going to be a fight. This whole thing seemed more like a distraction to get the public confused. Whatever this was, Jynx was not in the position to do much in the way of help. As a resault, Jynx will try stay close to Karstan and Lord Nathor and give what help she could, what little that was. Putting a little shake in her voice, which was a little too easy to do (a fact that pinched at her pride), she said loud enough so that Karstan and Lord Nathor could hear, "W...what's going on?"
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Post by Karstan on Jul 29, 2008 20:03:53 GMT
Karstan moved further from the doorway into the building hoping to find cleaner air, he was glad to be seeing in more colours than just white he had began to think that his sight may have been lost to him much like his hearing, then he realised it was more than just his sight that had eased. "A safe place for these men." he called hoping that he would understand an answer if it was given to him as he continued to move further away from the door. He scanned around for a chair or even a table he could safely deposit the wounded guard he had help into the building.
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Ageal
Gamer
Vakeros Trainee
Posts: 268
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Post by Ageal on Jul 30, 2008 1:58:10 GMT
Ageal sat in his perch, listing and waiting for the right time to go onto the streets. He would be of no use in a city he did not know and asking to preform a task off the record would provide more hassle for the task giver. Looking around the imminent vicinity Ageal inspected the landscape for his companions, Kalos or lord Kevoan if it was possible to see them as the dust began to settle. Ageal also tried to scan for trouble near by that he could give a helping hand in putting a stop to. Through his siting and waiting Ageal put his mind into a trance state, keeping his body at ease and ready to react was his first priority.
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