Call of Colthulhu: Team One's Adventures

"What are you talking about? Serpent eye? You're not making any sense...Still, that doesn't seem like a fair trade, something that's offering so much for so little...I do have to admit, it's tempting..." Arcane trailed off, thinking for a moment...Surely it wouldn't hurt, would it? It would be worth it if they could figure out what Mirrored-

"Or are you planning in letting him suck the life out of all of them first?"

Wait.

"WHAT!?"

No. No, no, no! Arcane shook her head, refocusing herself mentally, nothing was adding up, and if she'd missed something so obvious..What else had she overlooked!? Her eyes darted around with an almost manic intensity, her ears swiveling as she tried to re-evaluate the situation!

---
So Perception time!

1d20+8 = 1+8 = 9 and a Crit Fail...BUUUUUT!!

Disaster Averted (6) – Magic
Trigger – You or an ally you can see rolls a natural 1.
Effect – You may treat the result as if the triggering creature had rolled a natural 20.

So REALLY, it works as 20+8 = 28 AND a critical success.

Lyntermas wrote:Rolling Perception...16 (1d20) + 8 = 24

A1C Bronymous wrote:Perception: 18+11=29, though he isn't paying attention to much more than the board and the Zebra.

Caden2112 wrote:So REALLY, it works as 20+8 = 28 AND a critical success.

Without even noticing, you find yourself trying to recall some little tidbits of memory from back home... and you can't. All three of you seem to have forgotten... something...

Aurora in particular figures that she is missing no less than exactly as many bits of memory as questions she has asked throughout the discussion.

You know that most of the memories are inconsequential, but... still.

Zanbar frowns. "What do you mean... I don't... how long have I been doing this...?" He jerks, and a bit more strength returns to his voice. "Bah, it matters not. Trivial matters that are easily discarded."

When Flashpoint snaps at Torque, and Aurora speaks up, Zanbar grins. "Life? Hardly. Just... knowledge." The two other students, who had, over the course of the conversation become more and more dull looking and withdrawn, perk up at the mention of knowledge. "Knowledge lost in pursuit of greater knowledge."

Skyline shifts, his voice a whisper. "Knowledge? You mean... memories?! Just how... much have you given up?"

Zanbar blinks. "How much have I given... up...? I don't... I... Who...?"

For just a moment, the zebra seems rather flustered. But just as quickly, whatever calm that he possessed seem to take hold again. "That was... interesting. I must note that for further study. But that is neither here nor there. You need to know where to find Mirrored Clear, and I can help you in that endeavor. Does it matter what my intentions are, if it aids in your pursuit of knowledge?"

"...So that's how it works, then. I get it. NOpony crawls around in my head, steals with my memories and gets away from it, I don't care what they are. Twist my body, fine. I've done that to myself. But it's MY mind, MY self, and your spirit is NOT welcome in my mind!" Aurora's tone was...Well, she was trying for neutral, but she was furious. "I'm pretty sure I know how you bound something so out of your league to the board. You used yourself as the receptacle. And you've gone and let it consume your memories to the point where you're nothing more than a shell for it. Pitiful. Just pitiful to lose sight of where you started, and why. Everypony! Flash is half-right. Every question we've asked in here has been interpreted as being to that board. Dunno about you, but I like my memories precisely where they are. Not sure how to go about breaking this board, though, short of pummeling our striped 'friend' here into unconsciousness to buy time."

Caden2112 wrote:"...So that's how it works, then. I get it. NOpony crawls around in my head, steals with my memories and gets away from it, I don't care what they are. Twist my body, fine. I've done that to myself. But it's MY mind, MY self, and your spirit is NOT welcome in my mind!" Aurora's tone was...Well, she was trying for neutral, but she was furious. "I'm pretty sure I know how you bound something so out of your league to the board. You used yourself as the receptacle. And you've gone and let it consume your memories to the point where you're nothing more than a shell for it. Pitiful. Just pitiful to lose sight of where you started, and why. Everypony! Flash is half-right. Every question we've asked in here has been interpreted as being to that board. Dunno about you, but I like my memories precisely where they are. Not sure how to go about breaking this board, though, short of pummeling our striped 'friend' here into unconsciousness to buy time."

"And the mage takes the cake." Zanbar says, throwing up his hooves in mock celebration. "But now they are faced with another quandary. Without harming the students, there's no way you can break the board. I will not be robbed of my ascension, not today, not by you blind fools. Our relationship doesn't have to be hostile, seekers. I can even release these two pittances, their drive to learn is barely worth the compulsion charm I put on them anyway. Just... ask the question." 

"Please, oh please, let me have at that bastard. If what I'm understanding is correct, the board has... what, eaten his memories? No matter how we do this, the students are getting hurt. Better physical harm that can be healed now, than mental harm that's permanent." Skyline says, growling and stepping forward. "No way in Tartarus I'm negotiating with... with... this, magical terrorist!"

Flash watches Zanbar the whole time, not bothering to respond to anything, but waiting.... and there, Zanbar throws his hooves up. Off the board. Flashpoint snatches it and retreats to the door. "I'm betting I can find a teacher or two that knows what this is, maybe even how to break it. I don't think we'll be needing it, we can find her on our own, no demons required. Shall we?"

A1C Bronymous wrote:Flash watches Zanbar the whole time, not bothering to respond to anything, but waiting.... and there, Zanbar throws his hooves up. Off the board. Flashpoint snatches it and retreats to the door. "I'm betting I can find a teacher or two that knows what this is, maybe even how to break it. I don't think we'll be needing it, we can find her on our own, no demons required. Shall we?"

(...you sneaky bugger.)


Roll a flat d20.

(19. Thank you dice gods, did not need a bad roll here.)

The board comes off the table cleanly, with a little resistance as though there is a weak force holding the board to the table. Like breaking an invisible thread, the resistance fades abruptly once the board is moved far enough from the table. 

Under where the board was is a small, green and purple iridescent gem, set into the table, as well as a few dusty gambling chips.

Zanbar blinks, clarity coming to his eyes for a fraction of a second. "Huh. I was wondering where those went."

Then he falls forward, bouncing painfully off the table and landing in a crumpled heap on the floor, entirely motionless: like a stringless puppet. The other two students, too, slump forward, though they appear still in control of their movements as they catch themselves before they hurt themselves.

"There, see, I knew we could solve this without busting the Zebra's skull." Flash says, holing on to the board. "...His skull isn't busted, right?"

A1C Bronymous wrote:"There, see, I knew we could solve this without busting the Zebra's skull." Flash says, holing on to the board. "...His skull isn't busted, right?"

Skyline shrugs, cautiously looking over the body. "He's... uh... dang, that's unsettling." He flips the body over to reveal that Zanbar's eyes are wide open, but blank and unseeing. "This... is far beyond the emergency treatment we're trained in. Still, nicely done, Flash. I didn't think it would be that easy."

"I...That...Can't say as I've ever seen or heard about a possession being dealt with that way. Note to self: Stealing the offending magical item works on occasion." Aurora blinked, caught off-guard for a moment. "Simple solutions to complex problems, as my instructor said...The board is...Well, it's mostly harmless by itself. If you want, I can make a, ah, carry case for it...Just need some wood or stone or something and I can wrap it up. Just...Given what we've seen, if you hear any unusual voices in your head, just say no and warn us, huh?" With that, she lowered herself to take a look at the zebra. He may have been a thrall, but that just meant he wasn't in his right mind. He might know something if he wasn't busy letting that Xenith thing stick its tentacles in...Places. "Let me take a look, I've had a few magical mishaps in my time, he's...Probably fine. In shock, but fine. Maybe."

---

Heal Check on Zanbar to assess/treat his condition:

1d20+10 = 17+10 = 27

Caden2112 wrote:Heal Check on Zanbar to assess/treat his condition:

1d20+10 = 17+10 = 27

Immediate observation: Holy crap, Zanbar's brain is virtually fucked.
With a cursory magical examination, it would seem that his biological functions are intact. However, a deeper probe tells you that while his physiology is undamaged, his mind suffered heavily during... whatever the heck he was involved in. You suspect that the only thing sustaining him was the entity using his body, and with the spirit evicted, he's essentially a body without a mind. All trace of personality and memory was probably traded away for knowledge, leaving, quite literally, an empty husk. Even normal demonic possessions leave some trace of personality in the victim: traumatized, perpetually in fear, and terribly warped, but still there. This is... the total destruction of a soul. He wouldn't even pass on to whatever spirit realm souls went in death, as his very soul was siphoned away to feed this, Xenith.

You might as well be staring at a corpse, but at least a corpse doesn't stare back with empty, uncomprehending eyes, alive but unseeing.

(Could I also get an arcana check?)

Torque was speechless trying to process his emotions: the shock and anger over learning that Zanbar (or whatever he was) was stealing their memories, the fear for the safety of the other students, the sudden shock of Flashpoint stealing the board...and it actually working.

"That was...probably the absolute best way that could have ended. Good work, Flashpoint. With that mention of the compulsion spells, I was afraid we'd have to fight the three of them before we could stop Zanbar. That would have been nasty."

"Speaking of which, are you ponies alright?" he asked the other students. "Do you...know what just happened?" He tried to take a look at them to see how they were recovering from whatever enchantment they were under.
Rolling Heal...5 (1d20) + 7 = 12

While he was looking them over, Torque still felt a bit angry. A memory stolen for every question asked? And he had asked quite a few, and gotten nothing in return, the cheat. He wondered if the removal of the board had restored some of them back.
Rolling Perception for memories...17 (1d20) + 8 = 25

"...N-Never mind...Professional opinion? ...Uhm...Make sure he gets some sunlight...Water him every so often...M-Maybe look up a nice fertilizer...He's...Uhm...W-Well, body's intact, but..." Aurora laughed weakly, her stammering betraying her dismay...This was...It was kind of terrifying to see up close, really. "Z-Zanbar's gone. Totally. There's nothing left...Nothing at all...Uhm...I dunno how often you deal with this kind of stuff here, but...That's...That doesn't happen. Demon uses you as a puppet, there's still something there, even if you spend your days in an asylum having to be fed. This is...The body's fine, really. But his mind, his soul...Gone. Entirely. If I had to guess, that Xenith thing ate every last bit of him." She moved to try and close his eyes before getting back up, shuddering a bit. "I'm sorry...I just...I need a moment."

Lyntermas wrote:Torque was speechless trying to process his emotions: the shock and anger over learning that Zanbar (or whatever he was) was stealing their memories, the fear for the safety of the other students, the sudden shock of Flashpoint stealing the board...and it actually working.

"That was...probably the absolute best way that could have ended. Good work, Flashpoint. With that mention of the compulsion spells, I was afraid we'd have to fight the three of them before we could stop Zanbar. That would have been nasty."

"Speaking of which, are you ponies alright?" he asked the other students. "Do you...know what just happened?" He tried to take a look at them to see how they were recovering from whatever enchantment they were under.
Rolling Heal...5 (1d20) + 7 = 12

While he was looking them over, Torque still felt a bit angry. A memory stolen for every question asked? And he had asked quite a few, and gotten nothing in return, the cheat. He wondered if the removal of the board had restored some of them back.
Rolling Perception for memories...17 (1d20) + 8 = 25

The students seem exhausted, not unlike how you might be with an overnight research session gone too far, but otherwise physically they look unharmed. Your own memories still feel a little jumbled, and a couple are still firmly out of reach, but with Zanbar out of the equation most of the memories seem to be slowly seeping back.

Copper Brick coughs, putting a hoof weakly up to Torque's forelimb. "Is... is he gone? I... can't... remember..."

"Well... shit. I'd feel worse, but I have a strong feeling that he knew what he was getting himself into." Flashpoint tucks the board under his wing. "And not that I don't think you don't, Aurora, but... I'll hang onto it. As for the simple solution.... well, I think we can have a team chat once we're away from the betwazzled students here. Discuss something about this."

A1C Bronymous wrote:"Well... shit. I'd feel worse, but I have a strong feeling that he knew what he was getting himself into." Flashpoint tucks the board under his wing. "And not that I don't think you don't, Aurora, but... I'll hang onto it. As for the simple solution.... well, I think we can have a team chat once we're away from the betwazzled students here. Discuss something about this."

Surprisingly, Stone Circle, by far the worse off between the two students, nods weakly. "Don't... feel... bad. He was... long overdue. I always... had my suspicions. Asked... Xenith. Zanbar... was gone... long before... we were born. He fell prey... to necromancy... the lure of power..."

His voice petered off into strangled coughs.

" Look, let's get you guys over to some of these seats to rest up, shall we?" He lead Copper Brick and Stone Circle to the cushioned seats around the table. He then took a step back and sighed.

"Skyline, could you use your communication crystal to get a medic or something for these two? I think they're alright, but it might be good to have someone look them over. Although, I don't know how we're going to explain what happened to Zanbar." He looked over at the crystal on the table. "...We might want to take that with us. I'm guessing that's more of Deep Secret's work. The sooner we find her, the better. Hmm, what kind of gem is this anyway, more Avantine?" He looked the gem over, careful not to actually touch it.

Rolling Perception...2 (1d20) + 8 = 10.

OOC: Caden, you've still got an arcana check to do on Zanbar.

Lyntermas wrote:" Look, let's get you guys over to some of these seats to rest up, shall we?" He lead Copper Brick and Stone Circle to the cushioned seats around the table. He then took a step back and sighed.

"Skyline, could you use your communication crystal to get a medic or something for these two? I think they're alright, but it might be good to have someone look them over. Although, I don't know how we're going to explain what happened to Zanbar." He looked over at the crystal on the table. "...We might want to take that with us. I'm guessing that's more of Deep Secret's work. The sooner we find her, the better. Hmm, what kind of gem is this anyway, more Avantine?" He looked the gem over, careful not to actually touch it.

Rolling Perception...2 (1d20) + 8 = 10.

OOC: Caden, you've still got an arcana check to do on Zanbar.

It's... a gem. Torque can't tell much else.

((Sorry, didn't see it. This is what happens when you roll while tired folks.

d20+15 = 14+15 = 29 Arcana.))

"...Bah, my memory must still be jumbled. I mean, I can tell that some parts of it are coming back, but some of it...well, considering what Xenith was fully capable of, I suppose we got off lucky." Torque glanced over at the other students. "Of course, I'm a bit curious as to how much they know about exactly what Zanbar was up to. I mean, Stone Circle admitted to talking with Xenith, and they just had it in the middle of the table when we came in. Had Zanbar enthralled them, or was it like an addiction, or-"

Torque glanced over at a corner of the room, where a white cloth was draped over some sort of pile. "Huh, that's curious." Torque went over and pulled the cloth off to see what was underneath.

Rolling Perception...3 (1d20) + 8 = 11. Bleh.

Caden2112 wrote:((Sorry, didn't see it. This is what happens when you roll while tired folks.

d20+15 = 14+15 = 29 Arcana.))

Skyline edges over to Zanbar's prone form. "What the..." He mutters, staring down at the body. "Hey, Miss Aurora? You might... want to see if you know what this is." The body seems to be crumbling under his hooves, turning grey and cracking in places, becoming almost dust like in consistency. 

Aurora, even in her unnerved state, recognises the traits of a decaying lich form when she sees one. However unlikely, Zanbar... may still be at large.

Lyntermas wrote:"...Bah, my memory must still be jumbled. I mean, I can tell that some parts of it are coming back, but some of it...well, considering what Xenith was fully capable of, I suppose we got off lucky." Torque glanced over at the other students. "Of course, I'm a bit curious as to how much they know about exactly what Zanbar was up to. I mean, Stone Circle admitted to talking with Xenith, and they just had it in the middle of the table when we came in. Had Zanbar enthralled them, or was it like an addiction, or-"

Torque glanced over at a corner of the room, where a white cloth was draped over some sort of pile. "Huh, that's curious." Torque went over and pulled the cloth off to see what was underneath.

Rolling Perception...3 (1d20) + 8 = 11. Bleh.

It's a remarkably detailed model of some kind of... city? Ruins? The architecture is unfamiliar, but it's clear that the city was meant to be functional: there are some sort of aquaducts, housing, larger arena type buildings, even intricate little pathways that snake around the whole city, which seems to be based atop a hill, winding around the slope of the mountain. 
Whoever made that is extremely talented.

Aurora wasn't in a mood to keep looking over Zanbar, but she glanced, and looked surprised for a bit, leaning to check his body..."Well...That's an...Unexpected turn. How did he preserve himself? I couldn't tell the difference at-...Erm." She paused, cutting off her rambling before it could start. "Yes, I...I recognize this. It seems our zebra friend is just full of surprises. Apparently he was a lich as well...No mind or spirit to keep the corpse going, it's kind of collapsing in on itself...Wait...Does this mean he's still 'alive,' somewhere? But...I can't say as I've heard of liches who willingly abandoned their body...Huh...You know, if he wasn't wrapped up in the disappearance and trafficking with that Xenith thing, I would have loved to sit down and compare notes with him?"

Skyline steps up to the group. "I've called in a small group of guards, with medics. The students will be taken to the infirmary, where their condition can be treated. They'll be in good hooves, and if you need to ask any questions we can ask now, or later when their treatment has been completed."