Chapter 5a - Of Ancient Days and Long Lost Nights

If it looks like Inigo can't see Metron, Octavian will try once more to grapple him and then end his invisibility spell so he reappears. He will then inform Inigo that he's holding Metron.

Attack Roll: invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1932247/ Total 14 I miscalculated my bonus as I forgot my specialty in grapples. I will spend additional confidence if necessary to hit.

Metron suddenly and immediately melts away into nothing. That's what it looks like anyway. He is gone. His house is still in flames, and he left behind the bag he dropped.

Vares, you were ordering the men to head out, and I presume Ludovicio has headed out on his own. But before you take the lads out, what do you do with the child and the woman tied to the chair?

(OOC: Would this have happened before or after Inigor and/or Octavian's actions?).

He scans the area quickly for any signs of the magus. He reappears if he has not already so that he is visible to Inigo. "It is likely he will try to make an escape. I ordered the others to remain once my suspicions of Metron's presence here were confirmed." He approaches the bag and picks it up.

OOC - Inigo keeps using the wrong spells :laughing:
Metron is immune to cold and he has a ward against heat & flames. And he can't see either of you. My best guess at a reasonable cource of action would be for Inigo to use that spell that covers and area in ice (or is that this spell? I get them confused). Octavian would fast cast Wizard's leap to get out of the way, and the bag would be frozen in ice. But regardless of how it goes down, Metrom has the power to instantly dissolve into nothingness, specifically in order to avoid harm or hazzard.

The bag contains Metron's Lab Texts from the past few years, including his Magic Realm Transformations.

Vares and the troops have left the guest house. I am waiting on Arwan to tell me if they left the woman there or if they took her with them. But he cannot undo the decision to leave. I am already exploiting his tactical error.

OOC: Vares' instructions to the guards were chosen to minimise apparent conflict, since Ludoviccio appeared determined to leave, and sparking yet ANOTHER fight would be counterproductive.

I didn't realise that the woman and child were tied up. Are they in the main room, or a smaller room?

Vares would not leave them there without some guard to watch over them, and would cast a concealment spell to keep them from being spotted readily ("Aura of Inconsequence"). Someone searching for them consistently would probably be able to know that they were there, but anything short of that, they'd be overlooked.

Okay, you left poor Roger behind then.

Octavian and Inigo are sorting out the confusion of what just happened when the entourage comes around the corner. Octavian slaps the front of his head with an open palm.

Then BOOM, the guest house explodes in black fire. Metron multi-cast "Ball of Abysmal Flame" as he retreated through the Portal, the blackness is his exaggerated sigil. That and a remnant Taint of Evil.

The Portal is gone.
The woman is dead.
Roger crawls from the wreckage holding onto a burned and screaming child, then collapses dead.

On the bright side, the demon shows up and it is utterly ineffective. A Vessel of Iniquity, representing Horror and Despair, manifests in the road where you all are. It is a shapeless horror without definable dimension. It exhudes a power that causes panic and hysteria, but it bounces off of everyone's Parma and the grogs all make successful Brave personality rolls to resist it.

The village children are immune, because the Demon and Metron both share the same weakness in that they cannot harm children.
But the few surviving adults that remain in town, they have not acquired a might score as the children have. They go nuts.

One man and his wife had been cowering in their basement for years, and they were only just now begining to feel safe. But then he became convinced she was plotting to kill him, so he snapped her neck.

And it gets worse. But my morbid creativity is not up to the task. Use your imaginations.

(OOC: If I may, I'd change the description of Octavian's actions as below)

Upon sighting the group approaching, his eyes widen and he immediately sprints back towards the guest house. He ignores the magi and custos as he runs past them, occasionally casting wizard's leap to hasten his speed. He stops in his tracks to shield his eyes from the explosion. Spotting the demon from the corner of his eye he turns. His eyes glow malevolently towards the creature as he prepares a spell, reaching into his sleeves for pawns of vis.

Done deal.

Don't panic guys, Metron may be attuned to magic, but the demon cannot be. You are in the Magic Realm, it is at a great disadvantage (which is why the shadow spirits he was using are Magical).

Octavian is closes, I am giving him the first shot at it. Followed by whomever replies next.

On the other hand, yeah, you should panic. I have no idea how you guys are gonna get out of this :smiling_imp:

(OOC: Marko, does the contents of the bag (lab texts written by Metron) count as a penetration modifier for the demon since it has some form of connection to Metron?)

OOC: Having just noticed how weak vis is for boosting spell casting in 5th ed, Octavian will try to see gauge the strength of the demon first. He casts Demon's Eternal Oblivion PeVi 10 on the demon)

His casting roll is:
invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1933318/ +1 for Loud Words + 1 for Exagerrated Gestures = 14

His Penetration is 3 * by either 1 or 3 depending if the lab texts would count as an arcane connection. Will blow confidence if it helps.

He lifts his left hand to point at the demon. The creature will see a murder of crows appear to emerge from his billowing sleeve and fly towards it to to peck at it to reduce the magical might.

[OOC: I was waiting to hear the guard's reaction before exiting that room and taking survey of the situation from the stoop of the door there. I also have second sight, so I'm curious if I may have had a chance to spot/intercept Metron as he was fleeing directly through my position to my understanding? Really my next post was going to be a 'standing imperiously on the stoop as he looks around and orders spirits' blah blah. If not, you don't need to explain how... I'll just be more intrigued than before. :wink: ]

[ OOC: Assuming things flow on, Ludo would have been standing right on the porch of the guesthouse when it detonated, so I'd think Ludo would be recovering himself right in that locale? Would he potentially have been harmed by the explosion? ]

You don't even know that there are lab texts in the bag yet, I was just letting you know you found something interesting. And no, there are no lab notes that would provide a Sympathetic bonus, and even if there were, you do not have the time.

Your roll of 14, +10 for the aura, equals 24, minus the spell level of 10 - 14, +3 for Penetration = 17;
Itt has an Infernal Might of 25, -10 for the Magic Aura, equals a resistance of 15.

You pierce its resistance and drain the thing by 10 points of Infernal Might!

LOL, you cant stand half in and half out of the dungeon. (Old D&D joke). You may have proceeded with the group or on your own, but the events described didn't go down until you had gotten about 250 yards away from the house and turned a corner. You prolly did stand on the stoop for a moment acting imperious giving orders to your spirits. Thats all cool. That lasts for about a minute. Then you moved along. There was nothing to see from that vantage point. You could have spotted Metron, but he traveled using a different manner, as he did not want to run into any more surprises.

No, you were about 250 yards away when that happened. And your priorities are backwards. There is a burned child and you are worried about yourself? Typical Ludo :laughing:. But the Demon, you should be worried about that! Two posts in a row and no DoE! What's up with that?

The crows fade as quickly as they had appeared as if sated with their meal. The quaesitore speaks in a firm voice. "Where is Metron?"

If the demon tries to negotiate or parlay, Octavian will simply cast another DEO and add. "My apologies, but I will not ask thrice."

You picked the wrong kind of demon to try to interrogate :stuck_out_tongue:
In this shapeless and dimensionless form, it is unable to communicate.
Also, it can only hold this form for a single round. Anyone wanna take a crack at it before it changes?

Here, I am gonna post the stats I made :smiley:

Gurgorgoloth, Maddening Horror:
Order: Vessel of Iniquity
Rank: Master
Infernal Might: 25
Characteristics: Int -3, Per +0, Com -2, Pre -2, Str +3, Sta +7, Dex -1, Quik +1
Size: +0
Virtues: +1 Berserk, +1 Puissant Brawl, +1 Tough
Flaws: -1 Simple Minded
Personality Traits: Depraved +6, Hysterical +6, Hope -6
Reputations: Insane 3 (Infernal)
Hierarchy: 3
Combat:
Knife: Init +2, Atk +7, Def +10, Dmg +1
Fist: Init +2, Atk +8, Def +10, Dmg +3
Soak: +10
Fatigue: OK, 0, -1, -3, -5, ko
Wounds: -1 Lt (1-5), -3 Med (6-10), -5 Hvy (11-15), Incap (16-20), Dead (21+)
Abilities: Brawl 6+2 (when frantic), Guile 6 (feign concern for the safety of others), Language 5 (other person’s language), Leadership 3 (fearful mobs), Penetration 5 (upon those already afraid)
Powers:
Obsession: 1-3 points, Init -5 (Vim)
Hysteria – related to Fear, Despair, Panic, and Madness; opposed by Bravery, Optimism, Hope, Determination and Confidence.
Form of Wickedness: 2 points, Init 0 (Mentem)
As a Vessel of Iniquity, the demon’s physical form is without shape or dimension or other accidents of form If asked to describe it, it appears as a conglomerate of nightmares (such as Cornelius of Bonisagus described). It is pure solid sin, and the ten closes people to the demon indulge in some form of Hysteria, such as Despair or Panic. They forsake all hope and seek to desperately preserve themselves at the expense of all others, or they simply snap and go on a mad rampage, causing harm or death to themselves and/or others.
Shape of the Scared Simpleton: 0 points, Init 0 (Corpus)
The demon can take on the form of a small, scared, dimwitted simpleton. He is in a frightful and panicked state, desperately afraid of something horrifying coming to destroy him (he of course is thinking of the Day of Judgment). He will act concerned for anyone he encounters, try to encourage them to share his fear, but will kill them at his first opportunity, for he fears they conspires against him.
Contagious Obsession: 1 point per victim, Init 0 (Mentem)
The Fear and Desperation spreads.
Weaknesses:
Protected Group: Children, for children are the embodiment of hope and promise for the future.
Vis: 6
Description: Gurgorgoloth represents an utter lack of Hope and the sins associated with it; Fear, Desperation, Panic, Hysteria, and Madness.

:smiling_imp:

Octavian does not have any infernal lore. For all he knows the swathing mass might just be a demonic illusion that even his eyes can't penetrate. :stuck_out_tongue:

True :wink: