From: Doug (gryphon4101_at_comcast.net)
Date: Wed Oct 29 2003 - 16:55:34 GMT
Maerath, while although still wounded and scratched up a bit, will take towards the outer circles should it look like the creatures are advancing inwards. He will take a defensive stance and start hacking as best he can using karma with each melee weapon test. Various cuss words will also come from his mouth as he hacks at the creatures. :)
"Hey guys...should the worst come, and any come out of this except for me, please find out who I was. That is all I ask." Maerath clenches his sword as he waits to see if he is going to need to start meleeing with one of the creatures.
----- Original Message -----
From: Naron
To: PBeM
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2003 6:50 AM
Subject: Earthdawn PBeM BN 6.2 The horde advances.......
You stand, readying your weapons for the onslaught. Those of you with ranged weapons reach for them as you stare at the creatures coming down the ravine. You also see them start to crest the top of the ravine and move down the sides. There are at least a thirty on either side and they continue to run into the ravine.
Temorya leaps into the hole as the creatures bound toward you. Angavorn urging him to hurry as well as offering to help Pean, in his mind deciding that either one of the options may work. Elklisee crouches low and you see her draw a veil of black from under her shirt and pin it across her face, allowing only her eyes to appear above the hem. She grasps daggers in either hand and watches the creatures advance.
You look to the sea of creatures and realise as they close that they are not natural creatures. As they get closer you can see their heads are far too disproportionate to their bodies and their heads appear to be one large open mouth of teeth. You watch in amazement as some of the creatures take bites out of anything as they advance, the ravine wall, the shale ground and even each other. If these creatures are not horrors or horror constructs you don't know what is. The creatures seem to have scaled skin that sags into creases at their legs and necks. Small horns cut through their skins along their eye ridge and they move in a direct line toward you all.
Thankfully you see the swarm cease and the tally seems to be about fifty to sixty of the creatures, though they advance relentlessly and swiftly toward you. Still three quarters of a mile or more from you they are moving quicker than any of you could maintain without a mount and you know they have you trapped. Pean continues to cast spells in the area, having you all move onto the door. You have heard little of Temorya since he slipped through the hole, except for a slight crash and a muffled yelp soon after he disappeared.
The creatures are distant and you have plenty of time to prepare for the onslaught. You realise that as a group you are very poorly equipped for long range combat. Elklisee being the only one who draws a ranged weapon in the form of a crossbow when she realises that there is some time to go before they arrive.
Pean wastes no time. Ignoring Lenora's good humoured banter he spits on his hands and traces out a circle roughly ten yards in diameter and then casting his spell. He invites you all in the circle and as he repeats the process but traces the circle inside the last, he tells you that each of the spells should stop one of the beasts from attacking you. But with so many of you in an enclosed space some of you will be protected by fewer of the circles than the others.
You see Pean continue his furious casting in the next couple of minutes as the creatures close, bounding toward you. He is on his eighth circle (as they take some time to cast) when Elklisee decides the creatures are close enough to fire at. The crossbow bolt hisses against the air as the string snaps forward. The shot soars into the pack and strikes the creature in the fleshy part of the hind leg, bypassing its scaled skin. The blow is only a minor scratch however and the creature continues unperturbed by the attck, its jaws hanging open in a toothy grin.
You hear Pean muttering under his breath as the proximity of the creatures closes and he loses focus. Pausing he continues to draw his ninth circle, keeping an eye on the creatures as they approach. Elklisee drops another bolt into place and aims for the same target as before. The bolt strikes this time into the scaled flank, some of its force removed, but the blow is more square and seems to sink in as well as her previous strike. The little creature turns and bites the shafts of the bolts in twain drawing a hiss of derision from Elklisee.
Again Elklisee reloads and fires. She stays ahead of you, just inside the furthest circle to get the cleanest line of sight, focussing on the one creature with her crossbow. The bolt this time strikes deeply and causes the creature almost to fall in its advance. The sheer strength in the little body manages to catch its footing as it heads forward. If these creatures had anything to do with the fall of Barsaive, you are not surprised. Already three bolts have failed to down one of the creatures and their number are so vast. Their relentless advance begins to tremble in the ground you stand on and the sweat from your palms begins to moisten the haft of your weapon. If only Temorya would answer your cries, or if you knew that this battle would be with some hope.
Again a bolt and a strike on the creature but it fails to fall. The creatures are now just a little over 50 yards away when you hear Pean let loose a sigh of relief at the completion of his last circle. Elklisee looses another bolt and you all breathe a sigh of relief as it actually fells the creature! Elklisee drops her crossbow and reaches for her throwing daggers as the creatures close further. Pean is weaving magical energies to yet another matrix as the creatures close. Just before they swamp you you look in amazement as the first few strike the circle that Pean has put in place. With a dazzling light the creatures are thrown backward with a flash of energy. Elklisee moves back as she tosses her daggers forward.
6 daggers shoot forward, five finding their mark. The first four fell a creature that was aimed for the Ork and had made its way through most of the circles unharmed whilst the fifth shoots out and strikes a new target once the first falls at her feet.
Pean lashes his arm back and whips it forward toward one of the closer creatures. A spear of energy leaps from his hand, quite insubstantial to look at, however, as it strikes the creature it picks it up and throws it back a good four yards where it scrabbles around, trying to get back on its feet.
<Well, you are about to be overwhelmed....>
<Battle strategies please.>
<No sign or noise heard from Temorya as yet....>
<Temorya - there is a post coming direct to you.....>
<Cheers>
<Mark>
If you are into role-playing, check out http://users.bigpond.net.au/naron/
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