Staunton Bluffs Episode I: To the Borderstone

[Don Fernando]

Lodissio's body is heavy, even with the help of his two other companions making it difficult to carry across the narrow birdge. The wind and ice make the task much more difficult. Jarrryd cannot see the end of the bridge.

Suddenly Avra stops, as if waiting for something to happen. Jarryd looks back at him, and also stops. Out of curiosity he asks "What ..it?....waiting for ...thing?" the sound of his voice soon dissapears in the loudness of the storm. He looks at Nicholas for an answer "What.. he..waiting..??"

The coldness of the wind is making Jarryd's body numb, but no time to think about it, they have to cross the bridge and join the others.

[kintire]

On hearing the approaching hunt, Shana turns and begins moving across the bridge, just on the edge of panic, still moving with a degree of safety, but perhaps a little too fast, desperate to escape this horrible place...

[BigBadQDaddy]

After an initial panic attack, Alain comes to sense and realizes that he isn't under attack. Something ran into him...

A small human bundle, smaller than him, but not as small as Tavian. If he removes the dark cap of from the seemingly unconscious figures that choked with him, he will realize that the reason for his near heart-attack was not a horror of the night, but a palid and half-frozen young girl...

OOC:...Whups!

IC:Alain looks at the young girl(is the bundled up girl on the ground?)
If the girl is on the ground, alain will kneel down to inspect(is she still alive, although half frozen?)

[DamienJ]

When Jarryd stops, Nicolas tugs despeately at Lodissio's inert form.

"Come on! We don't want to be stuck on this bridge any longer than we have to!"

He begins trying to drag the other two forward, catching up to Tavian and Shana....

[Le Noir Faineant]

[I assume Avra hasn't stepped on the bridge yet and waits for Alain. Except these two and the girl, I have understood that everyone else has moved on the bridge.]

Alain checks the girl and finds out that she is weak, but still conscient and obviously alive. Her face has been cut, several times, and Alain perceives the marks of claws on her body. Blood and mud have drained her once white robes ito a dirty brown rag.

Like in a dream, the girl is moving her lips, and her words are barely hearable in the rain.

Help...

Good sir, please...

Help...

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If they care to look back, those standing on the bridge will see a dark colossal shape emerging from the storm, just a few feet behind Alain...

[Tavian]

Tavian looks back towards the group to make sure everyone is coming. Seeing the group moving with him he starts to turn forwards but does a double-take. A hideous beast appears behind Alain.

What is that!?!

"Look out!" he shouts.


OOC: How wide is the bridge? Is it wide enough for me to run around folks? Am I short enough to run between their legs?

[Mad Skipper]

Carefully following the group along the icy bridge, Stocker looks up as Tavian shouts his warning. Turning, squinting, he sees the horrid shape grow larger, as it lumbers forward through the still falling sleet.

"Holy...!"

It is at this moment that he identifies the three other shapes, and realises his mistake in assuming that all of the others were ahead of him on the bridge.

Reaching behind his head he draws his spatha from its sheath and quickly (yet still careful with his footing) begins to make his way back.

[DamienJ]

Groaning in exasperation, Nicolas quickly assesses the situation.

"Here is one, almost dead. And there are two, yet living. Very well." Knowing he cannot stop this monster alone, yet unwilling to abandon Alain to it, he makes his decision. As he takes his crossbow off his shoulder, he yells back, "You others continue on! Take Lodissio - we are not strong enough to fend them off with force. I will distract them if I am able..."

He rushes to the beginning of the bridge and draws back a bolt. Dropping to one knee, he takes careful aim, then looses it at the vile creature...

[Don Fernando]

As Nicholas drops Lodissio's body, Jarryd realizes he saw something back where they entered the bridge. With difficulty he focuses on Alain, the storm makes visivility quite precarious. Jarryd then sees it, a big humanoid shape emerging from nowhere, materializing out of nothing behind Alain.

Before he can react, he hears Nicholas shout some words. Move on..take Lodissio..distract him...

He has little time to think, before Nicholas is out of his reach Jarryd grabs his arm and shouts: "We must not split! we won't stand a chance like this... help Alain...then hurry back!!..."

With this he releases Nicholas and starts dragging Lodissio's body across the bridge. Jarryd knows that Lodissio is not going to survive in this weather, he has to move fast. Good luck my friend, he thinks as he realizes that dragging Lodissio will not be an easy task.

[kintire]

Shana screams at the top of her voice and fires at the thing, reloading with shaking hands as fast as she can, then firing again.

"Run! run for it! Alain! Run!"

[Le Noir Faineant]

OOC: How wide is the bridge? Is it wide enough for me to run around folks? Am I short enough to run between their legs?

The bridge is about two meters wide - enough space for two human adults to stand next to each other without feeling anxiety...

Still, keep in mind that the "bridge", an unnatural formation of rough stone, could be slithery due to the rain, and has no rail or balustrade...

So, better don't run too fast, or you'll fall from it...

So, a quick summary:

Shana, Jarryd, Nathan and Lodissio are on the bridge, five to ten meters away from the ground.

Stocker, Nicholas and Tavian are moving back to the cliff's edge, as fast as they can.

Alain and Avra are still at the bridge's start, attending the girl, still unaware of the monstrosity just behind them...

Shana screams at the top of her voice and fires at the thing, reloading with shaking hands as fast as she can, then firing again.

"Run! run for it! Alain! Run!"

He rushes to the beginning of the bridge and draws back a bolt. Dropping to one knee, he takes careful aim, then looses it at the vile creature...

Your bolts vanish in the dark, but you can hear a sound once that assumes that you've hit flesh. (Still, it's not clear who of you did...)

The creature barks loudly into the storm, a sound of pain and of anger...

[Now even Alain and Avra should notice the threat...]

The creature raises a giant club and swings it into the air, hopelessly searching for that strange sting that has just bitten it...

[Tavian]

After maneuvering around the others to get a clear view of the creature, Tavian focuses and points at its large club, muttering words you do not understand.


Baleful Utterance targetted on the club.

[kintire]

Shana keeps up a steady fire at the thing, recovering a little as it shows signs of pain, backing slowly along the bridge and aiming high.

"Its an.... Ettin... I think... or something... maybe... get back onto the bridge! it might not want to follow... it doesnt look well balanced to me!"

[Boccaccio Barbarossa]

Avra hears an inhuman scream a few feet behind him, loud enough that it drowns out the cold wind... He sees Alain kneeling by the girl. The decision is an easy one.

Avra spins around to face the creature that made that sound only to stagger back a few steps when he sees what beast is so close to him. "Alain! Take the girl! Make for the bridge!" he manages to blurt out. Avra knows there is no way he can take on a foe of this size and likely, superhuman strength alone, if at all! As soon as Alain has been made aware of the threat and seems to be backing away with the girl, Avra will try to shiled them, while he slowly backs away to the bridge, hoping to draw the beast to his friends...

(I will use the total defense option until my friends arrive.... )

[DamienJ]

Nicolas watches as Avra attempts a bold, though ill-advised, attempt to defend Alain and the girl.

"Avra! Help Alain take the girl to the bridge!"

Meanwhile, he thinks to himself, "Ettin? What in the hells is that?" Even though it seems to have had little effect, he reloads his crossbow, and sends another bolt towards this "ettin." "At least it will have something else to think about..."