Session Notes for 2005-03-11

Map of the basement where we woke up.

I calm down and look around.

Where the turtle fell is an older man in a watchman's uniform. Odd.

Now that I've calmed down, I look around. The room is full of long rows of shelves and large crates. The shelves have vases and random artifacts. There is a complete chariot standing on end by one wall. There is an anvil labeled "AVINIS IX"

There are some short swords on the other side of the bars. Anna slips through the bars. Beyond the bars are an alcove holding short swords. There is rope. There are spots for crossbows and bolts, but they're empty. Anna hands the rope and some swords over.

Sen puts the rope over my shoulder. I guess I'm carrying it.

As Anna is fetching more swords, two more hyena headed things charge down the hall at her. They're shouting something about putting weapons down. Anna dives through the bars to rejoin us.

One of the hyenas calls Ernie "Jack". I notice for the first time that Ernie is dressed the same as the hyena headed folks. They're asking what is going on. They ask why the old guard was killed. Ernie tries to bluff to get through, saying he wants to get away from us. They refuse; they're waiting until the reinforcements come.

Hearing that reinforcements are coming, the group heads off. Ernie follows, "to keep an eye on us." We head up the stairs.

(OOC: The stairs lead to a large room. The room is lit with a shiny chandelier. The room is decorated with pitted swords, partially restored pole-arms, and armor. A trebuchet sits in the middle. The room is filled with well dressed people, lords and ladies. A large party of some sort? A hyena-headed fellow is talking to a lord in the back of the room.)

Ahead of me the group turns around. Someone yells at them to halt. Sen sees some of the party headed folk changing form into animal headed people.

Mad Dog summons a mist in the stairs and heads in. He sees a woman standing above him, she reaches down and touches his head. She fades away.

The group was barely up the stairs, and now we're heading back. Well, okay. I follow. They head to a new door. Ernie tries to open it, but maybe it's locked. I slam into it, but fail to open it. Anna pokes around with some bits of metal and unlocks it. She pushes it open, it seems to want to close.

The room beyond is octagonal and grey. A statue of an armored knight leaning on a sword hilt stands in the middle of the room.

The rest of the group pokes around, the doors appear to locked. I try to get the sword from the statue. It's stone and apparently part of the statue.

Eventually Ernie tries the door the statue is facing. The door opens.

Beyond is room with shelves and a weapon rack. The rack has guisarmes. The shelves hold green and black bits of cloth, perhaps surcoats.

I push at the statue, it creaks. I push a little harder. There is a crack followed by a whirring sound and a thunk in the wall.

Oooh, everyone wandered off. And there are pole-arms! I grab one.

The next room has some more short swords, leather armor, and wooden shields. I grab a shield.

Ernie scouts down the hallway. He hears something about guarding and wanting a shield. He hears four voices chattering. He warns the group, then heads into the next room. "Why don't you have a shield? Get in there and get one!" Four hyena headed folks turn around to see him. They greet him as Jack and suggests that he see the Sergent. Ernie suggests that they get armor. They stop, apparently three must be present at all times. Ernie bluffs that two should get armor while Ernie and the remaining two wait.

We hear two hyena folks approach. They round the corner. The group lays into the hyenas.

The guards with Ernie hear the noise. He suggests they should rush to aid while Ernie tells the Sergent. As they head off, Ernie does... something to the second fellow, injuring him.

Sen shouts at them and they run. Anna kills one as he runs. The reach Ernie and shout to him, "Jack, get the sergeant." Ernie tries to bluff them into turning around. They rally and turn around.

I chase after an kill one. As they try to advance on me I kill another. Ernie sneaks up on the last guy and stabs him from behind. He falls.

Now that I look at them, they look like human corpses in studded leather. Odd.

A table in the room has several swords on it.

Ernie smears blood on himself and staggers through the next door. "They're right behind me! Help!"

The next room is filled with a large, odd shaped column. Another hyena-man is waiting, wearing studded leather and wielding a long sword. The hyena orders "Jack" to guard the door.

Someone in the room beyond says "Open the trap." The columns slide down in segments, forming stairs up. Two guards work machinery in the back of the room. The guard with the long sword orders two guards even further in to get help from the lords in the party.

Anna throws a knife near Ernie. Mad Dog turns into a tiger and charges Ernie. Ernie falls back and Mad Dog charges past. Sen moves in. I guess everyone is moving on, I follow. I see the hyena guy and attack; they've all hurt me. I get two strikes as he runs away. He calls for his compatriots to "close the trap", they run up the stairs.

One hyena hangs back to pull a lever on the machinery. One stone column in the back starts to sink into the ground and the stairs rise back up.

The tiger-Mad Dog pounces on the hyena headed fellow as he heads for the rising stairs. The man is shredded.

I leap onto the stairs, chasing the long sword. The stairs shut.

Above there is a long hallway. Three sides have railings. There are dark stained glass windows to the fourth side. Rich white and red marble columns hold up the railings. The floor is black and white checkerboard marble tiles. The railings are decorated with flags and banners. Two hyena fellows, including the one with the long sword, point at me and run away.

Ernie runs after the dark shapes. I chase. The archway is very thick. Beyond is a large, very high ceilinged room. There are ferns and palm trees in pots. Statues of warriors and nude women are in niches and on the walls. Above are balconies and stairs, but no stairs reach that level. A score of footmen and servants are in the room.

Ernie asks one of the servants if someone just ran through. He points toward a wide arch. The servant sees me and shouts. Ernie runs to the arch. I continue to chase, hoping Ernie will lead me to a long sword.

Anna pulls a lever and the stairs come down. Mad Dog/tiger heads up the stairs, but is momentarily distracted by a vision of a drainage grate with something inside growling. The rest of the group follows.

Chasing, Ernie reaches a room filled with lords and ladies. About two-thirds of the lords and ladies have animal heads. The lords have fierce animal heads. The ladies have bird heads. A set of particularly fierce ones, wolves, tigers and bears, head toward me.

Ernie/Jack turns around and runs away. I follow Jack, I don't want to face a pack of these things.

Map of the city. Copyright © 2005 Eric Schnarr.
This image is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

The door leads outside. We're on the main steps in front of a grand building. A main tower is covered with icons and gargoyles. Paving heads off, curving around a large dark pool. The pool is perhaps two hundred yards across. A castle floats in the distance. The city rises on a hill toward the castle, but doesn't reach it. Plain warehouse-like buildings are to either side of the grand building. Off to the right is a clock tower.

The clock tower's face glows. I feel watched, almost threatened, by the face. It's about 7:30 in the evening.

There are footmen running away to the sides. Three wolf headed men turn and run when the tiger/Mad Dog growls at them. Two tigers and a bear continue towards us.

We run off to the left. The animal headed creatures stay near the doors, they don't give chase. We duck into an alley.

A dog pads into the alley's entrance. He looks friendly. (Mad Dog also sees a tiger approaching.) Mad Dog approaches the dog. Mad Dog turns back into a human. Mad Dog pets the dog. Mad Dog thinks the dog is his pet.

5

I wander deeper into the alley. I start feeling nervous for no particular reason. The alley opens to a cobblestone street. Mad Dog thinks an inn might be nearby.