Shadowland - The Vanguard Issue #1B The Lion and the Lightning

Admin wrote:"Ha!" bellowed the Wizard. "Ain't no way no how ye're gettin' me magic now!" he started to glow with sparkling energy whilst the Golem strode towards its foe - Lionheart!

Lionheart realised mental attacks were as good as nothing on this man, his crazed delusion meant that he had to go physical. Well at least that meant his resources wouldn't be depleted so fast.

Dodging as only he could, Lionheart sped toward the man, aiming to grab his Staff and knock him aside, before he was swatted aside by the golem creature.

OOC:
Ok so move, make a grab for the staff and try and get it from the old man. Since that seems to be the focus of his power. As regards combat reflexes dodge where I can parry where I can't.

Sj

Lionheart sped like the wind across to where the old man stood... only to find his hand pass through the fellow as if he were ghostlike! He was reminded of his friend, Frostbite...

Even as the vast stone creature closed in on him, Lionhearts mind raced! How could he defeat a man who could not be touched?

His eyes widened, even as he stepped back casually, watching a huge stone fist THOOM! into the floor and move (to Lionhearts point of view) at slow motion. The old man could only affect him if he were tangible... but first Lionheart had to survive long enough to watch and wait for the man to become vulnerable!

OOC Initiative... Lionheart 10, Crazed Wizard and his Golem, 2. Lionhearts 5 frames. The old wizard is Intangible... The Stone Golem, less so. It is within 1 frame of movement to strike physically, but its reach is such that it can hit you (it's as big as a house). Your attempts at mind blasting the wizard may have failed... but you have hero points aplenty to roll extra dice if need be, so that's your call...

Admin wrote:Lionheart OOC Initiative... Lionheart 10, Crazed Wizard and his Golem, 2. Lionhearts 5 frames. The old wizard is Intangible... The Stone Golem, less so. It is within 1 frame of movement to strike physically, but its reach is such that it can hit you (it's as big as a house). Your attempts at mind blasting the wizard may have failed... but you have hero points aplenty to roll extra dice if need be, so that's your call...

Moving quickly a thought occurred to Lionheart as he sped under the legs of creature and took a might swipe so that he could knock the golem down ontop of the man. He knew he couldn't possible be affected by it but he would be distracted.

OOC: Assuming a massive strength chop to the leg doing all HTK damage gets past its massive dividers and it either falls on the man, or a chunk of him flies his way...

Then Lionheart sought to try and overcome the mad man's defences once again with another mind blast.

OOC:Ok this time I will use hero points to overcome his defences and give him a much sturdier reason to stop ignoring me. I will use 2d10 HTC, to increase my damage and as many hero points as needed to overcome his defences, whilst hopefully he is distracted.

Actually for that matter throw a few hero points in at the Golem attack to make that more effective as well. Since I've hardly used hero points now would a good time to make up for lost time.

Sj

OOC Nothing fancy but it does the trick for now. You have (by my reckoning) 46 strength at the moment and Grade 3 Force Field up. To attack the rock guy you'd need to drop the force field (you can't attack through more than grade 1) so I'll assume you do that. Also assumed you used 3 Hero points on the stone man attack, 3 on the wizard. Rolls Attack on Stone man 7,8,6,5,3 (15) + WC3 + DC6=24. Hit for 7 accuracy doing +10htk and 6htc + 31 from strength for a total of 48htk. This thing ignores HTC. Dividers are 5 for Htk so it takes 9htk. Chip off the old block.

Lionheart slammed a kick into the stone leg of the creature only to see a brick sized lump break away! With a frown he aimed another attack at the mad wizard, this time with his mind!

OOC Another 3 Hero points used. Roll is Ego 18 + 6,6,7,2,7 (14, double) plus 5,4 total 41. Wizard gets Ego 20 (effectively, thanks to his insanity) plus roll 9,8. Lionheart attack successfully for 4 points (x2 for 8htc total) and takes 9 damage himself. He used a frame to move, one to attack the golem, two to attack the Wizard, and has one left - get some distance, hold the frame or take another swing at the Golem? He needs an action to swap his powers around again. Stats after taking 9htc extra:

Admin wrote:OOC Another 3 Hero points used. Roll is Ego 18 + 6,6,7,2,7 (14, double) plus 5,4 total 41. Wizard gets Ego 20 (effectively, thanks to his insanity) plus roll 9,8. Lionheart attack successfully for 4 points (x2 for 8htc total) and takes 9 damage himself. He used a frame to move, one to attack the golem, two to attack the Wizard, and has one left - get some distance, hold the frame or take another swing at the Golem? He needs an action to swap his powers around again. Stats after taking 9htc extra:

OOC:
Sorry mate didn't see this updated and another email didn't come through, hence no reply till now. Ok I will move a safe distance back so I've got room to run and dodge if the Golem comes for me.

Once he's attacked, if I'm hit I'll dodge or parry whatever seems most expedient. And then on my turn go for attacking teh Wizard guy with another 3d HTC and 5 hero points - I figure if I can take him the golem will be no problem. If I take the Golem, I'll still have the wizard to face, so sort of two birds... After that I think I'll just repeat and rinse until I drop him, not much else I can do otherwise.

Sj

Lionheart was gone in a blur of dust!

The Wizard looked about, shouting "Ha! HA! I told ye're! Ye're on MY island now, laddie, an ye finally realised that I...eh?"

He turned and saw Lionheart stood on the ruins of a castle wall some 100' above where the Wizard stood!

"...fast... fast, I'll give ya that" he muttered. He turned and gestured, commanding his Stone Golem to turn and move in the direction of where Lionheart stood. Even the Wizard could see his tactic was hopeless - the Golem, whilst huge and powerful, was ponderous!

The Stone Golem seemed to move in slow motion towards Lionheart. He glanced at the Wizard... and gave a slight smile.

The Wizard muttered "Send a massive stone golem ta do a mans work... ain't never gonna get done!" as he switched to a tangible state. With a snarl he waved his staff in Lionhearts direction...

Lionheart, with his superhuman senses, watched every movement of the Wizard... the staff, waving, the hands gesturing... what was that? He'd seen a slight tip of the hat - a momentary hand gesture that seemed to leave the faintest trail of sparkling energy from his fingers... Suddenly the ground - the rocks, rather - shifted beneath him! The entire wall was falling down!

With amazing reflexes that would have astonished a cat, Lionheart considered flying up... then tried something else...

Even as the 100' high and wide section of wall collapsed, rocks tumbling and crashing downwards, the Wizard yelled out "You heard o luck a the Irish, boyo? I hate ta bear th' bearer o bad news but I can flip that th' other... way... too?"

The Wizard watched as Lionheart stepped from rock to rock, ducking and weaving individual stones, somersaulting throughh the air, vaulting off a larger section of wall, leaping from rock to rock to rock...

There was an almighty crash, and huge cloud of dust billowed outwards in every direction...

The Wizard coughed, then leaned against a rock. He dabbed at the nose bleed and winced against the headache. Damn but the boy had spirit! He swayed as he rose to his feet. The magic required to hex the wall was more than he could stand, but the boy had been...

"Well I'll be..." he muttered, as Lionheart stepped from the dust cloud, using the fallen rocks as steps and dusting his hands off with a grin, not a mark on him.

"Ready for round 2?" grinned Lionheart.

He was prepared to pounce... then watched as the crazy Wizard fell forward onto his face! The Stone Golem, some 20m away, tumbled away into a shapeless pile of rocks!

Admin wrote:LionheartHe was prepared to pounce... then watched as the crazy Wizard fell forward onto his face! The Stone Golem, some 20m away, tumbled away into a shapeless pile of rocks!

Unsure if the canny old man was luring him into a trap, Lionheart let his heightened senses dictate the way, as he moved cautiously forward. If the old man had done himself in, then all good and well. But he knew better than to trust himself to arrogance and overconfidence. Moving cautiously he let his other psi sense, his intuition or danger sense guide him. Was this a bluff, if so he wanted to be ready not to be caught off guard and attack so as to make sure that old man didn't suffer unduly from this fight.

Sj

Lionheart trusted his instincts as he closed in on his enemy! He got up close until the Wizard started to groan and move. He turned over, saw Lionheart was close and coughed "Ye'll take... me magic over me dead body boyo..."

He coughed some more, then smiled "Which wouldn't be long. Dey told me I was pushin' too hard. All dese years. The demons came. I fought 'em off. I did! I kept de land safe and people was none the wiser. When de land called I answered. Again, and again. Dere are tings out dere boy which normal folks t'weren't meant to know about, see? An' I was dere, time an' again."

He coughed once again.

"Dey told me, even dat upstart Earl. 'ye've pushed de power too far! It'll do yer head in!' dey said. And dey was right, damn them. I feel it growin' in me skull, and you think I'm crazy, but I'm not. It's de power. Someone said power corrupts an absolute power corrupts absolutely. Dunno bout that but I used me magic. Dere's a growth in me head. Seems that I was usin' magic an power normal men weren't meant..."

*cough, cough*

The old man sagged back. "Here..." he took the hat off, and with faltering hands passed it to Lionheart. On the old mans head there was a bulge in the skull which no hair grew from. It was dark purple, angry looking, and pulsed. The hat shimmered and changed as soon as it passed into Lionhearts hands, becoming a sword once more...

"I tried, but ye bested me lad. I can only hope... de magic of de sword..." he glanced at the sword, then at Lionheart, and smiled. "If ye was o evil intent, de sword woulda disappeared! Seems... I handed it ta de right guy. Not so... crazy... after ... all..."

The Wizard gasped, breath rattling in his lungs. The he died, quietly, as the sea crashed against cliffs and the wind blew around the hero who held one of the famed swords of Albion in his hands.

Admin wrote:Lionheart
The Wizard gasped, breath rattling in his lungs. The he died, quietly, as the sea crashed against cliffs and the wind blew around the hero who held one of the famed swords of Albion in his hands.

Lionheart bowed his head, even as the shock of what had taken place settled over him. In the short time he had left, he found a quiet sheltered spot and dug a deep grave for the old man. He wasn't sure if he had family, or anyone else should be there, but somehow it felt appropriate to set the man to rest. He attempted a few words, but for once the normally glib silver tongued speedster, felt in the circumstances silence was more dignified.

After setting the old man to rights, Lionheart took the sword, now ever more aware that possessing one of these items was a burden for anyone, all of them...that was a different matter entirely. Turning toward Wales, he floated up into the sky, picking up speed as he let the final memories of the old man drift away with the wind.

OOC:
ok head back to base and see what's next...

Sj

Lionheart takes the time to bury the old man. With his madness stemming from the magic corruption and resulting brain tumor, the Wizard was doomed every time he used the power, and yet the compulsion to use it more and more drove him to exceed the limits a normal human mind normally employed.

Dusting his hands off, he looked about. The pitch darkness reflected Lionhearts sombre mood. He took up the sword, switched his energies to Flight and thundered off into the black western sky.

=========

In minutes, paying heed to the environmental effects of high speed atmospheric flight, Lionheart landed in the grounds of the mansion

He'd been gone only a short time, perhaps an hour or so, but felt drained by the death of the old man. He'd not been evil, merely misguided, and corrupted by the magicks that gave him his power. With a sigh he walked through the front door of the mansion and into the hall, from there into the drawing room...

Instantly he knew something was wrong...

The lights were dimmed, the fire low. There was no sign of the Earl nor of anyone else, though he expected them to be retrieving the lost swords as he had been. And yet... he looked about.

Then the air grew colder, the lights from the candles dimming, and he shivered involuntarily. His force field protected him from the cold, but this was something else...



"You are the Earls champion." said the womans cold voice as she spoke as if from in a tunnel, or a cave. "If you wish to save the Earls life, and that of his worthless servants, heed me! Journey to Kirkjuvagr and take the sword from the Guardian! Leave the sword you have retrieved..." she gestured with a hand "...here." and she smiled. "Fail, or think to thwart me, and the Earl dies! After that? I shall take the life of the Elf girl! Ah... you are not the one she feels love for... where is the cold one? No matter. Do not fail, ah... Lion... heart?"

Her view hardened. Lionheart instinctively raised mental shields to defend from what he assumed was a mind probe...

"Lionheart indeed. There is no give in you. Nonetheless, do as I order! Or the Earl, aye, and this whole land, will perish! Haaaaahahahahahaha"

The apparition fades, leaving Lionheart to wonder if she were ever there at all!

Lionheart

Lionheart took a moment to adjust to the room, the setting. He was no detective, but surely the Earl and the others were not so easily blindsided? Their forces were divided, perhaps that is how they've been made vulnerable.

Taking his time to look about, after all if he had to leave the sword someone must be by to collect it, he looked for clues as to what had happened.

Then something the old man had said to him struck him, the sword would disappear from anyone that it sensed to be evil. Either that meant this sorcerers had a way to fool the swords or else she wasn't aware of the fatal flaw in her plan. Either way, stacking the odds in his favour was something Lionheart had to do. If all else failed and lately that was happening a lot, he wanted to make sure that Earth's chances of surviving weren't further crippled.

OOC:
Ok so looking around for clues as to what has happened here, second looking to see who might show up to take the swords and if I can find any way to find out more about how the swords can serve if they do not go willingly with someone evil. Also looking for ways to stack the odds in my favour should leaving the sword be the only option. I'm not sure I want to leave the sword, after all giving it over gives over all my bargaining power as well.

Only when I think I've gotten and done all I can, I'll head off to get the next sword. Either way I don't trust Morrigan and do no want to just willinging hand over the swords without some means to make sure she keeps her side of the bargain.

Sj

Lionheart glanced about. There were no signs of a scuffle. The Earl was an old man, but not a weak one. Therefore he must have gone willingly or under some kind of duress - perhaps to save the lives of his trusted servants. The woman had said to leave the sword here, so someone was coming to...

Lionheart turned, then stepped behind the door. Moments later a man stepped in, looking about. He held a flat cap in hand, and wore the attire of a farmer. "M'lord?" he asked and looked about. Lionheart watched him step into the room. "Th' door was open an' I was told to..." he glanced at the sword, then started to reach for it...

Admin wrote:Lionheart Lionheart turned, then stepped behind the door. Moments later a man stepped in, looking about. He held a flat cap in hand, and wore the attire of a farmer. "M'lord?" he asked and looked about. Lionheart watched him step into the room. "Th' door was open an' I was told to..." he glanced at the sword, then started to reach for it...

Lionheart wanted to find out what would happen, if the sword did fall into the wrong hands. Hands such as might be those before him now. If this man was up to no good, then might the sword prove that it was far more capable than anyone thought? Or was it simply another weapon, dumb save to the way its user used it?

He waited, sure that if this man was all he seemed then it would be fine, however if it turned out he was an agent of the Dark Queen, then this might prove far more interesting.

Sj

The fellows hand closed around the sword - Lionheart expected fireworks, something dramatic, even the sword vanishing, but there was nothing...

The Farmer held the sword up, turning it slowly and admiring the blade. He looked worried and lowered it, pulling out a sack from inside his jacket and stuffing it in. With a quick glance around the empty study, he made to leave, paused, looked again and swigged the half empty glance of the Earls brandy, wincing and admiring it as he put it away. With that he made for the hallway and walked out, ignorant of Lionheart hiding behind the large door.

Crunching across the gravel drive in the darkness, the Farmer looked up and shivered. The snow had stopped falling but more would come. Though it was winter none had been forecast and it was clear the plummeting temperature was to blame. Why some had even predicted the coming of a new ice age! Already riots and looting had broken out in cities across the world according to the weather, but Britons stayed curiously calm. Most wrapped up, threw more logs on the fire or worked harder to keep warm.

Climbing into his truck he started it up, glanced about, then drove off down the lane through the grounds, out the gate and to the road where he turned left and kept going.

=========

An hour later the truck stopped. The Farmer got out, shivered, and started hiking up the hill towards the old cairn

Some said it dated back to the Dark ages, others said sooner. It wasn't a place well frequented seeing as a hike of some 40 minutes or so was required through thick gorse and heather. The Farmer sweated and gasped when he finally reached the top, despite the cold and moved closer to the Cairn. There was an area where heather never grew atop the cairn, and in that was a stack of stones laid roughly in a circle to around shoulder height.

The farmer shivered then called out "Alright! I did as you asked! The sword was where you said it was! Now let my family go! Aye, and the Earl, if you're holdin' him! He's a good man and I'd die before I see harm come to him or his!"

Suddenly the temperature dropped and there came a loud hissing voice, as if from beyond the grave!

"THEN DIE YOU SHALL, MORTAL!"

A flame appeared above the Cairn and started to grow, brighter and larger as it hovered over the rocks! Something evil was about to arrive in the word!

From his vantage point behind more natural rocks a hundred yards away or so, Lionheart had heard the Farmers words and realised the man had been forced to take the sword to this place - and was about to become the unwitting victim of whatever supernatural force was appearing!

Admin wrote:From his vantage point behind more natural rocks a hundred yards away or so, Lionheart had heard the Farmers words and realised the man had been forced to take the sword to this place - and was about to become the unwitting victim of whatever supernatural force was appearing!

"Can't have that..."

Lionheart said to no one in particular, he'd seen enough. Racing forward, as only he could he sent his mind out to sense if anyone else was nearby. He wanted to make sure he was fully aware of any other 'agents' to hand. As he closed that he could scoop up the man so that he could get him free.

OOC:
Sure Morragan has the families, but I have the sword so its going to have to take her giving me something in return for the sword. Meanwhile once I've got the farmer away (assuming he doesn't protest and generally prove difficult in rescuing him) I will set him down some distance away. Then I will take the sword and try and have a word with it - try and make it understand that in bargaining for the families lives, in exchange for it, I am giving it to someone extremely evil etc. And of course that is when I find out that the sword is either really simple, like a child or has even more rudimentary intelligence ;-).

Sj

Shifting his powers to speed, the bare minimum of strength and force field, and Telepathy to 'hear' thoughts, Lionheart did indeed discover that they were not alone...

Three... four...? No, half a dozen - at least. He couldn't see them but knew they were there. Some kind of concealment? Yes, but not of the natural kind. Where Lionheart looked (even at super speed) he should have seen someone, but there was nothing save darkness...

No matter! Even as the column of flame grew larger, Lionheart dashed in, plucked the hapless farmer up and left a trail of dust just as the column of fire, some fifty feet high, formed arms, legs and a gaping maw! "NOW MORTAL! YOU WILL..." it roared, then looked about.

It saw a trail of flame through the gorse and heather of the moor!

==========

"What th..?" spluttered the farmer, looking around.

He was amazed at his rescue from certain death - the last he'd seen was a fiery hand sweeping down towards him!

Briefly explaining that he worked with the Earl and was on the Farmers side, he took the sword from the man's nerveless hands and concentrated on it. With a frown he sent dozens of thought questions and statements at it... all to no avail!

It occurred to Lionheart that whilst the sword itself was magical, being able to access that magic would be something unavailable to most people - even ones with such noble intentions as himself!

He turned the sword over, admiring the workmanship and materials used. It was a fine weapon, but lacked finery. No precious gems or embellishment... save for... he turned the sword to angle with flames reflecting from the blade and saw the line of runes carved in the blade. He couldn't read them, but knew they were in some way tied to the swords magic. Whilst the enemy might not be able to use the sword, they might be able to extract the magic from the sword, destroying the weapon in the process.

"It's... it's coming!" spluttered the Farmer, pointing a quivering hand across the moors to the bright fiery light illuminating the pitch blackness! Lionheart turned and estimated its speed - it was fast, travelling at around 100mph... in other words to his enhanced senses it was barely moving! But what could Lionheart do against a creature composed of living flame? And what to do with the sword...?

Admin wrote:"It's... it's coming!" spluttered the Farmer, pointing a quivering hand across the moors to the bright fiery light illuminating the pitch blackness! Lionheart turned and estimated its speed - it was fast, travelling at around 100mph... in other words to his enhanced senses it was barely moving! But what could Lionheart do against a creature composed of living flame? And what to do with the sword...?

"Right first things first, got to get you to safety. I realise your family, the Earl and everyone is in danger. However giving them what they want provides no leverage for us. Is there somewhere you can go to be safe for now. I need to deal with this here?

OOC:
OK assuming I am now the person of interest, if the farmer can get away safely then I will let him go. If however he will be at risk, then I take to the air and fly him to the flat, I stayed at before so that he might be safe there.

Then its just a question of telling the forces arrayed against me that there is no sword without some exchange and guarantee of any such bargain being upheld. Also just to be on the safe side, I will take to the air, in any such confrontation, but try to pick a spot where I've got cover. I want to make sure I am not a sitting target, but neither am I easily surrounded.

Sj

"Safe? Are you mad? I won't be safe - nor do I want to be, whilst my family is in danger! But... what can I do about that? Call the police? Come to think of it... who are you, how can you do the things I've seen you do? Who are those? WHAT are those? I can't... I'm just an ordinary farmer... I... I..."

Lionheart could sympathise with the fellow, but there wasn't really time to comfort him. Making a decision, he said "Hold your breath! Do it!"

With that he took to the air, soaring through the starless sky, and landed in the village of Caer Alwyn, miles away. The flight had been so fast the farmer hadn't been given time to respond to his inner fear. Lionheart set him down, a quivering mass of jelly, then took to the air again, charging through the darkness towards where the hug flame on the hillside marked his destination.

Holding the sword in his hand, he looked up at the Fire creature and decided to avoid being a target on the ground. With speed and astonishing agility, he flew about, avoiding the wild swings of fire creature.

Explaining that he wanted a trade - the Earl and his people for the sword, the fire creature laughed "I SHALL TAKE THE SWORD FROM YOUR CHARRED CORPSE, MORTAL!" it bellowed...

Minutes later, the tireless creature of fire had turned the air blue with its curses, and the air searing hot with its missed swings!

Lionheart was faster, with reflexes so fast he could literally move to the back of the fire creature in the time the great hand dropped 5 metres to swing at him... but this was getting him nowhere! The creature was obviously of magic, and partially intangible which meant Lionheart might not even harm the thing - assuming that the heat it gave off didn't sear his skin off!

Just then, his superhuman senses picked something else up in the darkness...

Breaking off from the 'fight' he wooooshed! through the night to slow and hover where a dark figure waited...

Nowhere Man - or rather a spectral image of the man in the hood and cloak - waited, hovering a foot off the floor.

"Having fun?" he rasped, voice grim and mirthless. Lionheart wondered if this were some trick of the demon and its allies, but Nowhere Man continued to speak. "Give it what it wants!" he hissed.

Lionheart frowned. This was clearly some kind of trick! "What? Are you mad? Or in league with them?"

Nowhere Man chuckled, the lower half of his face the only part visible, then he added "What does it want?"

"This" said Lionheart, holding the sword up.

"Well, I think we're both agreed that we don't what that thing to have THAT sword, but how about ... one just like it? How's your blacksmithing? There's a smithy in the vil...ah. I have to go. Now."

And with that, Nowhere Man was gone!

The fire creature, some half a mile away, had left fiery footsteps all over the mountain side, and the two foes were at an impasse - the creature and its allies wanted the sword, Lionheart wanted the Earl and his staff freed.

Suddenly a figure appeared from the darkness - or rather a head did, the rest of the body invisible. "Hear me, 'hero'! You are wasting time! Bring us the sword and we shall hand over some of your people, but not the Earl! If you want the Earl you will have to perform more tasks for us! Come back in one hour, and no tricks, or the Earls people die!" The head disappeared as a hood closed over it, and it was invisible to all of Lionhearts superhuman senses!

OOC Big post because I'm squeezed by more 12 hours shifts this week, but we are getting to the stage where all the pieces are coming together for the finale of this story arc. Things can still go wrong though...

Somewhat perplexed, Lionheart shot away to the village. After some fruitless searching that seemed to take oh so long, but in truth was mere moments, Lionheart found the Blacksmiths. "Ok time to forge a new sword, I guess?"

From what he already knew the sword could appear in different ways, after all this one he possessed had been a hat before. Setting to work, he grabbed what he needed and begun to stoke the fire, using inhuman speed, agility for fine precision and strength to get the job done and get back to the meeting place as best he could.

Admin wrote:
OOC Big post because I'm squeezed by more 12 hours shifts this week, but we are getting to the stage where all the pieces are coming together for the finale of this story arc. Things can still go wrong though...

OOC:
Sounds good, I guess for you, as much as for us it would be good to get things down to a more manageable level. Though how you are going to sort out Dave's desire for a more street level and retro feel alongside that of getting me back to my old time line and what not is anyone's guess. Sorry to hear work has been so difficult.

Sj

OOC:
Sounds good, I guess for you, as much as for us it would be good to get things down to a more manageable level. Though how you are going to sort out Dave's desire for a more street level and retro feel alongside that of getting me back to my old time line and what not is anyone's guess. Sorry to hear work has been so difficult.


and of course by street level, I don't mean "Fate of the World Rests on Your Shoulders" type adventures. More like what Spider-man, Batman, Flash, etc. tend to fight most of the time.

OOC Yeah the whole 'fate of the world/universe/everything' was/is more of an experiment as well as 'closure' to the Dark Shadows campaign (and start of a new one, same characters if they survive what's coming) plus I wanted to see if the old GH rules set could 'hack it' at cosmic level, which is clearly can't unless you house rule it to death. Street-Mid level is where I want the next campaign to be too. Superman is fun for an excursion but having that power at your beck and call severely limits the sort of things a character can do and still be challenged.

Lionheart quickly let himself into the old forge and didn't bother for such niceties as asking - the fate of the Earl, if not the very Earth itself, was at stake! He knew that the sword, whilst magical, would only unlock that magic for certain individuals - the so called 'Lore Knights' of which Nowhere Man had been a member once.

The challenge was to create a weapon that would look and feel, to all intents and purposes, like the sword he held in his hand. Of course, to a true expert, and one who could call on arcane powers to determine it's authenticity, it would fail the test. It would buy him time though, and foil whatever plan Morrigan planned to set into motion. Clearly she needed the Earl alive and in one piece or he'd be dead already.

The first attempt came out looking like a metal club. Having stoked the fires to a certain heat, he recalled as best he could his history lessons, as well as using the sword for a guide. He considered other options - making a cast of the blade, pouring in molten metal and cleaning up the result. The problem was time. the resources were here, and he could work at hundreds perhaps thousands of times faster than even the most skilled smith. Unfortunately at this moment in time the skilled smith would have a better chance at getting it right...

Next attempt... it looked more like a sword. He'd taken rods from the stores of the place, heated them up and hammered them out. At least it'd been flat. As he held it up without tongs, his forcefield allowing him to ignore the white hot heat, he had to wonder if a metal cricket bat would be convincing.

A glance at the time showed he was running out of it!

OOC In the absence of stats and skills specific to the task, Lionheart is going to have to rely on lots of practise in a short space of time and more than a little luck. Want to use hero points?

Admin wrote:OOC In the absence of stats and skills specific to the task, Lionheart is going to have to rely on lots of practise in a short space of time and more than a little luck. Want to use hero points?

OOC:
I'm must be getting old, I didn't think of another option which was just to go get another sword, from the Earl's castle. Assuming there is one there, I think that its pointless to try and make a copy badly. So unless I cannot recall their being any swords/armour etc at the castle, in which case yeah going to have to use hero points and a great deal of something I clearly do not normally possess to get anything vaguely sword like.

Then hiding the sword somewhere, on root that I can find again, like a Church bell tower or something, I'll head back to the meeting point to negotiate.

Sj

OOC that's an option I'd not thought of either That said, most of my posts these days are made at some awful hour in the morning. Surprised any of it is legible

Lionheart thumped his fist into a palm then sped off, arriving at the silent halls of the Earls stately home in seconds. The darkness was foreboding, and the only lights that shone were those inside houses.

Needing no such illumination, Lionheart scoured the halls, then hovered up and took what he thought was the closest match to the sword from the wall, snapping the wire that held it there without a thought. There were aged swords and shields, but none with the distinctive runes carved into the blade of the Lore Knights sword. Still, he hoped he was dealing with people who were less than expert. Morrigan would know it for a fake upon holding it, but till then it would buy time for the hapless hostages whom the cultists held.

=========

The wind had picked up and flicked at the flaming torch Lionheart held as he stood at the meeting place.

A hint of movement caused him to turn. A face appeared, followed by hands as they drew back the folds of incredible cloth that made the wearer invisible. This one was a woman, long wavy hair, young, in her twenties. Probably not far off Lionhearts age.

"You have the sword?" she said, voice cold. Lionheart restrained his anger. Her eyes were wild, terrified!

She stepped forward, and to Lionhearts senses she was quivering every so slightly. She held out a hand. "Give me the sword. Then you must venture into Ogof Ffynnon Ddu to retrieve another. This is guarded."

"Some of the Earls servants shall be released."

Lionheart looked at the woman, and she stared back, eyes terrified. Even as he watched, a tear rolled down her cheek, and she held a hand out, waiting for the sword. "Do not fail me, or you will know suffering, mortal!"

Admin wrote:"Some of the Earls servants shall be released."

Lionheart looked at the woman, and she stared back, eyes terrified. Even as he watched, a tear rolled down her cheek, and she held a hand out, waiting for the sword. "Do not fail me, or you will know suffering, mortal!"

Lionheart looked at the woman speculatively. "Its all do this do that, or else with you types isn't it? But in the end, you've got as much to loose, perhaps even more than me..." He eyed the woman carefully, OOC:from your description it sounded like despite what she was saying and doing, she was being controlled, - tears down her face etc? Would that be a fair estimation? trying to work out the confusing picture of a woman making merciless demands, whilst appearing to be at another's mercy.

"Now I'll give you this sword, but understand this, we need each other. Without me, you'll have to chance getting the swords on your own. I don't see you having enough time to do that, or else you'd have done it already. So chances are, you need me and are using people as leverage. But I understand that there are a lot more people, whose lives are at stake than just those you've kidnapped. But I'll play along, here is the sword, only be careful the swords will not work with anyone evil. Nor anyone that isn't chosen, I can't even get this one to work. They shapechange this was an old man's hat before he gave it to me. Now look at it, plain old ornamental sword.

Anyway, before I give it to you I want a show of good faith on your part. I want to know that the people will be released or else...."

Lionheart let the bluff hang in the air. He knew he'd not want to risk anothers life, but given the nature of the situation, with time running out for everyone, he had to hope his ruse would buy him time and the lives of the hostages.

OOC: ok assuming she plays along and to my satisfaction I will then go get the next sword. Should she play me wrong, then we'll have to see if I just give up there and then. This negotiation can't be done on trust alone, after all. Lionheart wants a sign of good faith and is banking on the fact he is even in this, as a sign that Morragan can't just ride roughshod over Lionheart and the hostages.

Sj

Lionheart

With tears running freely down her cheeks the woman started trembling. The voice, however, stayed constant, fierce even...

"Understand this, mortal! I will NOT be killed with the others on this world when those Dark Gods tire of the game they play! The Swords will be used to open a gate..."

There was a pause, and the voice became somewhat calmer. "A gate to another land. Retrieve the swords, mortal. Do that, and I will grant you passage through the gate. Indeed, I shall leave it open for as long as I dare for others to come through. I need you mortal. These others... No. You are the one. All I have. And I am your only hope, unless you intend to die here."

"Make no mistake. I foreseen the future. This world has none."

"So. Make your choice."

There was another pause, then "You care for these sheep? They are dead. All of them. I shall free them all. The Earl will stay my ... guest. The others shall be... are... being released. Now."

The woman shuddered, then collapsed at Lionhearts' feet!