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Ep. 9, "The Curse of Connelly Fortress"
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Lebrenth



Joined: 29 Dec 2005
Posts: 1483
Location: Utah

Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 2:12 pm    Post subject: Episode 9  

Episode 9a, “Best read while listening to jazz”

For the first time since coming to the island, the rocs do not screech into the night. The effect is mixed, some of the hunters are relieved and feel they’ll finally get some proper sleep. The others find the silence strangely uncomfortable. The wind wisping through the hollowed fortress doesn’t help ease the haunting feelings like something was missing that should not be. Or maybe it was something else. Maybe it had nothing to do with the rocs, and everything to do with the deserted fortress.

After a day of searching, the hunters huddle on the bottom level in a room near the front gate. It’s spacious, perhaps a greeting hall at one time, in the center there is a large fireplace under a chimney in the ceiling. With a collection of chairs, a warm fire is built to combat the chill of high winds. The lackluster search has subdued the treasure hunters enthusiasm. A few supplies of gunpowder, water, bug-infested wheat, lantern oil, a nice but heavy armor breast plate, and a dozen swords is all that was found. With FITH refusing to buy anything but specific treasures, all of the supplies and such are essentially useless. At least the extra roc eggs are tasty. The crew eat to their content, and still have enough to waste. Ethan tests the keenness of his purchased sword on them, placing them at shoulder height and cutting through any number of them with one slash without disturbing them, but with one touch, they fall into two cleanly edged pieces. He’s tested the blade all day, on wood and rock and metal, anything really since it is clear that no amount of abuse will dull the blade. On flesh and wood its ability to cut is startling, but though it does not dull, it has no great effect on stone or metal. An effect that puzzles him after looking at the severed sword of the dead soldier in the chapel. Perhaps he has not mastered the sword’s full potential, he considers.

Anyone asking to borrow the sword for any purpose, or even just to see it, gets nothing but smirk from Ethan, and the brusque explanation, that they could have bought it for themselves when they had a chance. For now Ethan puts it in its proper sheath, the only sheath that will contain it, taken from the strange man they killed earlier that day.

Aspi sits by herself, pondering the fortress and all of the places she looked. There must have been something they missed, some secret passage or hidden cache. They checked everywhere, climbing to receded rooms, knocking walls to listen for hollow spots, and even cleared rubble to get into deeper places where it became darker than night. Jeremy insisted all day that the soldiers took everything of value with them when they left, but she didn’t argue… but then, she hadn’t bothered to say anything since she left the boat, though everyone heard her speak before. The fortress was large enough that they could search for a week and still have places to look, so even if she was of the disposition to speak there would be nothing to speak of. It made sense that the captain would stay if he was defending something. She even insisted checking every nest before letting anyone set fire to them, especially the very large one in the chapel. Jim joined her for that, trying to be friendly the whole day.

Jim couldn’t see why she wouldn’t talk. Surely her voice must be back by now, and she doesn’t seem that traumatized by the quarantine on the boat. Nonetheless, he talked to her, and she seemed to listen when it was anything interesting. She paid special attention when he told her the chain of events that lost him his place on any ship and forced him to find other means of supporting himself, bringing him to the island. He hadn’t told anyone and has no plans on telling anyone, but if Aspi wasn’t going to speak to anyone, she ought to be a safe confidant. He was just finishing his story with “And now I’m here,” when they searched the large roc’s nest in the chapel.

All of the nests were large, but this one was unfoundedly so. Ethan took another look too, and asked himself if he’d ever seen one of that size before… but not even Redgar rocs make them that large. The roc that slept there must be a different species, a very large species that couldn’t have hid anywhere, so why hasn’t anyone seen it? Aside from that he is also certain that a human slept in the nest too, not just a roc with a human for food, although there are human bones amongst the pile of remains cast out of the chapel window. After a good look, Ethan set fire to the large nest himself. The ensuing bonfire grew like a demon in the quiet chapel, it roared and towered, then quickly died.

Another strange thing Ethan found in the fortress was the design of the top of the tower. It was like the chapel, both for human and roc… there was a common bed and a wardrobe filled with fine and unspoiled clothes on one side and a stand with an impressive breast plate of armor on the other.

All perfectly normal, but then the windows are as wide as a rowboat is long and scratched logs set into the walls would seem to be perches. It’s beyond coincidence in his mind, the tower was built to accommodate the rocs. Ethan doesn’t like thinking about what this captain’s obsession with large birds was about, but in all likelihood, he’s the reason the rocs came to the fortress in the first place. Ethan shakes his head in disgust.

While the others were searching, the wounded did nothing but rest. It has been a wearisome few days for everyone, but only the injured feel they have a real excuse to take it easy. Ross redresses his own wounds with a little more dignity, then wanders the fortress and surrounding area. He considers it resting because he does not exercise (as much) that day. For a while, while outside, he looks down at the smoldering volcano. She’s taking it easy too, lazily spilling a constant stream of lava. It’s almost like wax melting off a candle, dripping off the lowest edge of the crater, off to the south. A roc that Thomas shot down lays dead at its northern brink, near to Ross, so out of idle curiosity, he gives it a firm push and watches it drop into the volcano. For a moment it almost seems as though it wakes up before crashing into the hot rock. It does not quite reach the molten lava, but it is plenty hot. After a brief pause, flames burst and consume the feathers. The muscle and bone burn like wood, charring black, then cracking and turning to ash which carries up on the wind. Ross finds the smell appetizing. When he returns to the fortress, he takes an undercooked meaty chunk from the breast of a smoked roc.
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Lebrenth



Joined: 29 Dec 2005
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Location: Utah

Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 2:15 pm    Post subject:  

Episode 9b, The Curse of Connelly Fortress


With good meat so readily available, several treasure hunters took time out of searching to arrange a makeshift smokehouse from a small room. The rocs were hung from the ceiling, then a wide bed of coals was made to cook and preserve the meat. Four rocs were hung, though three would do plenty to replenish the crew’s supplies with something fresh. As the evening moves in, the crew spends more time with preparations for the next day, feeling a little wiser about travel and camping in general. When they finally settle and have their beds ready, they sit quietly, watching the crackling fire and thinking of the homes they’ve left. It gets so quiet, Jenn begins to think of it as a waste of time. Taking it easy all day has felt good for her muscles, but it’s also made her feel a little restless.

“Where do we want to go next?” Jenn asks, though she’s not really concerned about the where. So far things have unfolded all right on their own. One part of the island is as good as another while they know so little about it. The sentiment is mostly shared.

“I still think the lava field sounds like a good place to search,” Jim says calmly. “Maybe even find the Heart of Akala.”

“It doesn’t make sense,” Ethan says without explanation.

“What doesn’t?” Jim says with waking interest. “The clue? It’s supposed to be cryptic. He wouldn’t be able to sell secrets if he told everyone exactly where it was.”

“That’s what I mean. If you lived off of secrets, you wouldn’t tell anyone anything real. For all we know, he’s got the Heart in his pillow and he’s sending everyone on goose chases with his impossible hints while he sleeps on it.”

“You didn’t see where he lived,” Jim says, though he has to admit to himself the old man could be lying. “If you lived in a tree, you wouldn’t sleep on something that could keep you warm and comfortable for the rest of your life.”

“Then why doesn’t he go after the treasure himself, if he knows so much?” Ethan replies.

“He’s blind, stupid,” Jenn says goadingly, but not very seriously.

“The next time you call me stupid will be the last time you say anything,” Ethan says with deadly seriousness. After a reflective moment, Thomas chips in,

“Is that what Aspi did?” he says, chuckling mildly. “Did she call you stupid, Ethan?” He continues to chuckle, even as Ethan lightly places his hand on the pummel of his sword. Thomas seems to be the only one finding the comment amusing. The one who finds it least amusing is Aspi, and just seeing the blank look on her face is enough to lighten Ethan’s mood.

“Why don’t you ask her?” Ethan says with a smirk.

Aspi takes her spear and leaves, followed by the concerned Chia. A little later Father Charles tries to slip away casually, though it’s of little consequence he is easily spotted and clearly meaning to offer consolation to Aspi, if he can. Problem is, he can’t find her, just Chia who also lost sight of Aspi in only a few seconds. After a few minutes of searching and calling her name, she doesn’t appear. It’s as though the dark walls swallowed her and left no trace, but in the dark and eerie fortress, it is easy for one’s imagination to get carried away. They decide to let her take care of herself and return to the camp.

Father Charles finds sleep very quickly, but Chia does not. Again, violent memories disturb her too much to relax enough for sleep. Thomas also does not sleep for the first part of the night, appointing himself the first watch in case the rocs decide to return. After an hour, Chia decides to get up and tell him she’ll take over… she’s not sleeping anyway. Thomas is apprehensive of leaving her with such an important duty, but she doesn’t appear sleepy in the least…. He goes to bed, giving her instructions to shoot off her pistol if anything dangerous comes around.

As she watches the fire with her pistol in hand, a fierce wind blows against the updraft of the chimney and makes the flames gutter. It’s only a moment, but enough to remind her of what Jeremy said about the place being haunted. They may have found the man alive at first, so he couldn’t have haunted the place then, but now he’s dead… maybe he’ll come for revenge. As she’s thinking along these lines, she thinks about Aspi’s disappearance… it was so sudden and quiet. Strange images appear in her mind, images of Aspi trapped within the walls, unable to move or scream, barely able to breathe. The sound of the wind begins to sound like labored breaths, fighting against suffocation. She keeps telling herself to calm down and stop thinking crazy thoughts, but they won’t go away.

Eventually she shakes Father Charles awake.

“I think Aspi is in trouble,” she says quietly. He looks around in confusion, then looks in her face, sees the worry, and decides he’d best get up. He says nothing as he gets out of bed, neither honored that Chia chose to wake him instead of the others nor upset that she disturbed him. He is still very drowsy, but each of them with a torch in hand leaves the rest of the crew asleep on their own.

The crew rests soundly, oblivious to everything but their passing dreams. The unfed fire dies down to smoky coals, and though the sleeping crew can perceive the changing light and a creeping chill, it isn’t enough to wake anyone. They also do not notice the chaotic winds, the feeble rumblings, or the black smoke from Noburu’s mouth. Instead they’re reliving memories of home or war, or trapped in illogical facsimiles of the island. Helpless.

Chia and the priest search quietly, for though they wish to find someone, they don’t want to risk drawing anything dangerous to them. They go level by level, spending hours in their search, without a sign. When they climb the stairs to the roof, they hesitate. The sound of flapping wings and roc calls are absent… only a wide open sky, full of brilliant stars. Still they feel like mortals climbing Olympus when they step up, feeling as though a god would strike them down for their impetus. The winds push them, taunting them with threats of throwing them off the fortress to their doom. They feel much better to enter the tower, the last place they haven’t checked for Aspi.

As they climb the stairs they find where Ross and the ragged man drained their blood. They say nothing when they realize the body of the ragged man is not there. Perhaps one of the others moved it… but they refuse to acknowledge any phantasms that suggest it moved itself. They climb to the top of the tower, and open the door to the highest room, where the perches were found. Opening the door proved a very fateful moment.

… At first it seemed calm and friendly, the next moment Chia was running for her life….

When the door slams, the camp jumps like a pile of mousetraps. Chia leans against the door crying. In the dark, no one can see the gashes on her arms, but they soon feed the fire and light their torches. The blood has wept onto her dress and she’s smeared some on her face trying to clear her eyes of tears so she can see. But she seems to be all right other than a few cuts.

“What happened?” Jenn asks urgently, forgetting the pain in her side.

“He--” Chia starts to say before choking up. She tries again, “He-- …,” but again she can’t finish the sentence. The crew looks around. There’s only one ‘he’ missing, and that’s Father Charles.

“Father Charles?” Jenn asks. Chia nods. “What did he do?” Jenn asks angrily. She shakes her head. Another violent gust of wind blows and the roof creaks under a new weight. The clacking of claws hops across the roof. The crew follows it. Suddenly Chia bursts out.

“He’s dead!”

Then they hear a rough clawing sound, accompanied by cracking at a certain spot in the ceiling. Huge claws tear away a large hole in the ceiling before the head of a titanic roc cranes down through it and looks at the treasure hunters. No one with a gun wastes any time. It is shot in the eye and beak and neck and brain… the breaks bone and shreds muscle and tissue. With so much damage, it couldn’t possibly live. Its head hangs limply and blood drips down. But as everyone is taking an easy breath, the head snaps back to life, tearing a larger hole in the roof. It screeches with such intensity that everyone drops to their knees in pain, covering their ears as though on fire. The roc continues to tear at the roof, with claws and beak, but the crew is dazed and completely deaf except a high pitch ring. All equilibrium is lost, even standing is difficult and almost impossible to maintain. They feel as though spun in circles, and then, without the sound to go with it, watching the roc drop through the ceiling seems unreal, as though not really happening.

Unloaded guns are left behind as they scramble on their hands and knees for the door. The ones who are close get out in time, but a few of the hunters are still inside when the roc comes for them. It is Ross who grabs a flaming log from the fire, burning his hand as he throws it at the Roc. The flames startle it, then when its feathers catch on fire it goes into a frenzy trying to put itself out. It buys enough time for everyone, even Ross himself, a man who refuses to run from a fight. They shut the door quickly. They hear its powerful screech again, but it is the only sound they can hear.

Aspi drops down and joins the crew from her hiding place. She helps them block the door, but when the roc begins to claw at it, they wonder how long it can hold….

Bereft of most of their equipment, panicked and nearly deaf, the crew look to each other for a plan of action.
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LordoftheNight



Joined: 11 Aug 2005
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Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 5:25 pm    Post subject:  

Woo - Ethan's cool.

Maybe the shiney new sword might stand a chance of hurting the bird. And if not, it'd certainly be less dangerous without it's various wings/claws/beak. In fact - leaving it a nice torso could be amusing.

Of course, Ethan would need a distraction of sorts to get close enough. Prehaps opening the door - while one person flees? The others could potentially hit it as it chases after the lone one, giving oppurtunities for limb removal.
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Masterweaver



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Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 5:29 pm    Post subject:  

Sacrifice somebody.
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D-Lotus



Joined: 21 Oct 2004
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Location: Hollywood, USA

Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 7:17 pm    Post subject:  

No more sacrifice, please. Enough that poor Father Charles died.

Quote: couldn’t have hide anywhere

I think this has been your best chapter yet. There is suspense and terror, and characters who are afraid. Maybe you could have capitalized more on the initial appearance of the roc and the fight- using colorful words to describe the scene.

If Ethan still has his sword, he should use it. Approach the roc with the unsheathed sword, and maybe it'll recognize it. If it thinks it's the old man's, it might be startled or it will obey Ethan. Or it'll think that we killed the old man. It's worth a try to see what the roc's reaction to it will be. Maybe it'll get scared, knowing of it's power when the old man wielded it.

A distraction is good for Ethan or anyone to attack. If there's any eggs or rocks around, throw them at the roc and see what happens. Ha-ha, throw rocks at the roc. :P
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LordoftheNight



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Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 9:25 pm    Post subject:  

Btw - could we have a list of what exactly the group grabbed on their way out? Weapon wise I mean.
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Kalanna Rai



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Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 10:11 pm    Post subject:  

The weapon list would be very nice but I wonder...is there any way to calm the roc down? It seems like the man we killed might have been bonded to the creature. If so isn't there some way we could take advantage of that rather than try to kill it outright.

And I agree with Lordy, enough death for the moment.
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Lebrenth



Joined: 29 Dec 2005
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Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 10:29 pm    Post subject:  

Quote: Btw - could we have a list of what exactly the group grabbed on their way out? Weapon wise I mean.

I'd be happy to.

Thomas has his long knife, but left his prized rifle.
Jeremy has a sword.
Jenn has 5 knives.
Juan has a machete.
Ross has a sword.
Jim has a knife and the only pistol.
Chia has a knife.
Ethan has a hunting knife and the Carlisle Sword.
Aspi has a spear.

All other possessions are in the greeting hall with the roc. For that matter, Jim has only one shot with the pistol.

(And thanks for the critique, D) :)
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Kalanna Rai



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Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 10:37 pm    Post subject:  

Lebrenth wrote:


Ethan has a hunting knife.
All other possessions are in the greeting hall with the roc.

Which means he doesn't have his 'magical' flesh rending weapon. Time for plan B...erm whatever that is.
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Lebrenth



Joined: 29 Dec 2005
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Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 10:39 pm    Post subject:  

Kalanna Rai wrote: Lebrenth wrote:


Ethan has a hunting knife.
All other possessions are in the greeting hall with the roc.

Which means he doesn't have his 'magical' flesh rending weapon. Time for plan B...erm whatever that is.

That's a typo! Ethan definitely kept the enchanted blade on him while he slept out of suspicion that someone might try to steal it in the night. He has it still... I'll fix that real quick.
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Kalanna Rai



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Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 10:41 pm    Post subject:  

Thank the gods! I was going to geld the person that suggested I retrive it...with a dull table knife no less.
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LordoftheNight



Joined: 11 Aug 2005
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 6:07 am    Post subject:  

Well shooting it is definately not going to work then - especially after we already know it fails. However the bird evidently feels pain, and bleeds - so I'm assuming it can lose limbs.

I'm going to stick with my original plan, just with less shooting of the bird. Chia - no offense - seems to be the one with the least (or least effective) weapons, so I'd nominate her as bait.
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Draven Bones
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 9:16 am    Post subject:  

First off, Cap´m, I have to say this chapter was impressive! :tu2: For my tastes, you paid perfect attention to details throughout the chapter, except in the part about the Roc breaking through the roof. A little more firelight reflecting off the blood as it drained from the exploded eye ball...maybe too graphic for some.
Anyway I loved the balancing of attention given to each persons thoughts and motives. I believe you brought the story to the intense horror that it is catagorized to be. I loved the firelit dialog between the hunters.

:nono: I personally blame Chia for the death of the father due to the fact that the point of taking post/watch is to protect the whole and not go wandering off in the dark! If you go wandering off she should have alerted someone else as well, to let them know she was wandering off with the father. I mean None of these people know one another before the island, hence the fact that she left with the father without alerting anyone else raises suspicion that she might be seeking to kill off one by one and take larger portions or the whole treasure for herself. I would expect distrust in regards to Chia.
All of which would be delt with after the current events of the massive monster posessed into bringing to pass our demise.

In regards to Chias weapons, she was on watch, did she drop weaponry on the way or does she usually only carry a knife around?

The dead/ now disapeared old man....hmmm, we should have thrown him into the lava, which might be our only way of killing him, if indeed there is such a phantom running around in league with the invicible bird from hell. Good idea to have in mind if we ever do get our hands on him or blades in him.

Cap´m

What are our surroundings? are we outside or what? I didn't get that part. we ran into the door and then what? :drunk:
Assuming Aspi has been in this room for some time, she should know the surroundings quite well, and probably the most ready to take first action since she didn´t suffer trama of the rubber chicken falling through the roof. :neutral:

DP

I like the using someone as bait idea, and I am agreed with using the person with the least effective weapons. Using someone with fire power would be my idea of the best, hence they could run and cause the decoy and if the turkey happens to get close they could stun it with the round(s) that they have to buy them enough time to get out of harms way.
After We know the surroundings in the room I will be able to form a more informative conclusion of future actions. Does anyone happen to be wearing armor? Aspi perhaps?

Cap´m
would you show us that map of the castle again to be able to know where we are exactly?

best chapter yet, I have been checking my screen for any updates like every fifteen minutes.

BONES
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Lebrenth
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 2:06 pm    Post subject:  

I like the cut of your jib, Draven.

Chia is a beautiful and petite woman who has a lot of possessions but unable to carry most of them. She relies on a mule to carry most of her things, and she didn't bring her mule out of fear of losing the mule to the rocs. Thus she brought only the minimum. She did have a pistol when she started her watch, but no longer, and if asked she couldn't tell you where it went.

As far as 'firepower', Jim is the only one with a pistol and it's a one-shot jobby. ... And don't waste time looking up the word jobby. I don't think it exists. And only a few people have hard leather vests. Heavy armor wasn't favored since it was expensive and heavy to wear and carry in the tropical climate. But for comfort while sleeping everyone took off whatever armor they had on. So currently no one is armored.

The map I drew earlier is of a different part of the fortress (fourth level up, southeast corner). Sorry I left out the details for that: the greeting hall is on the bottom level on the west side of the fortress. The door that the crew escaped through goes into the center of the fortress. As you may remember, the center is a collapsed wreck of the higher levels. The bottom level, where everyone is, the large stone bricks have nearly blocked the passage to that door, but you are by no means trapped. From where you are, you could go to any part of the fortress and have dozens of escape routes to choose from. The thing is, if you just escape, you leave your equipment behind.

The last details you need about the greeting hall:

It's long, high, and fairly wide. It has many wood columns, which would give you a little more to hide and dodge behind. There are many doors into the greeting hall, most of them small, but it would be Ethan's confident opinion that the roc, in spite of its size, could squeeze through them. There is a dead end and a platform on the south end of the hall, the north end is a large corridor that leads to the foyer and the main castle gate. If the roc takes the long way around, it could reach your position without going through a single door.

There are no windows in the greeting hall. The windows on the floor above the greeting hall, however, is probably where the roc came in and started clawing the floor.


... Do I need to draw another map?

Quote: Thank the gods! I was going to geld the person that suggested I retrive it...with a dull table knife no less.

I looked up what 'geld' means and I recommend that no one else looks it up if they want to rest easy on the island. ... Well, I guess it would be all right if Chia did.
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D-Lotus
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 4:02 pm    Post subject:  

Quote: I'm going to stick with my original plan, just with less shooting of the bird. Chia - no offense - seems to be the one with the least (or least effective) weapons, so I'd nominate her as bait.

Shouldn't the strongest person be used as bait, because he/she has more chances of escape?

If Jim has a shot, I think he should use it at the closest range possible, although that's probably not going to work since the roc has already been shot everywhere. Since it's been shot in the eye, shouldn't the roc be blind at the least? Maybe it still has one eye intact, in which case Jim should shoot the remaining eye and blind it.

Once we know its blind, we don't even need bait. Ethan can slice it's head off. That's probably the only way we'll kill it.

Or here's another option. Leave. The roc can't stay there forever, and it'll probably die from its wounds. So the treasure hunters leave and come back later and get their stuff. Simple, isn't it?

Gelding: "To deprive of something essential." :shock:
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LordoftheNight
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 4:28 pm    Post subject:  

Did you not know what geld meant? I suppose the word is no longer used, having being replaced by a more techniqual one. I guess I'll have to blame the books I read for teaching me what it means.

As I understood it D, the treasure hunters are currently stopping the bird from getting out by holding the door shut. Should we leave it'll fly out and be among us.

As for sending the weakest member - it could go either way. By having a weak bait, the aggresive party members would be free to do damage themselves, and seeing how we're not planning on letting the bird reach her, she should be safe. On the other hand, if the bait does get snatched up, then at least we've lost less with the weaker member. But she should be safe.

I wouldn't fancy my chances shooting out a rabid bird's eye personally. Plus - though obviously weakened blind - the Roc would be thrashing about wildly, and it could actually be harder to get close enough to cut it.
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Kalanna Rai
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 11:32 pm    Post subject:  

Honestly...I never thought such a short word would cause so many problems.

I'm not up for throwing anybody to the wolves just yet, even if it is Chia, and I still think there might be some way to use the bird. Maybe try and see if Ethan can get it's attention with the sword, if the bird and the man were close the bird might take it as an authority symbol.

If all else fails, by all means see if you can't slice the tip of it's beak off.
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Draven Bones
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Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 7:52 am    Post subject:  

I know gelding the calf or sheep means to castrate. but that wouldn´t emply anything due to the fact that chia is in fact unable to lose any balls.....HA

Look, we are not blocked in, and this bird is his going to have a struggle getting through the doors. We could block part of the door and run to a higher level in order to fight the thanksgiving turkey from a different angle. or half the group could stay here and destract the beast while the other half of the group rain fire down upon the beast through the hole in the ceiling that it made. We have tons of options and after thinking about it, I don´t think we really need to have bait to kill the bird.
I also don´t believe the bird is going to just go away if we abandon it. The brid is obviously undead or has some magical entity due to the fact that we shot the thing to hell and it snapped back to life. chopping it into peices or burning it to a turkey dinner is going to be the only way of killing it.....Unless it is connected to the old crazy man, in that case our goal should not be killing the bird rather then killing the old man, and if that be the case we should make a run for it in order to search for the phantom or hell let the bird come into this room we can squeeze through the caved in walls and make our way around to pick up our abandon items.

I don´t know, we have a week until we reach a DP so let´s keep discussing it.
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Draven Bones
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Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 8:00 am    Post subject:  

I forgot to add that I doubt the sword will work to calm the bird down, due to the fact that the crazy dude no longer has it and the bird is trying to kill the owner. The sword is magical, and the bird is magical, hence the bird should be able to sense some type of connetion to the sword if indeed they were connected. I however agree that the sword could and should be used to dismember the holiday roast since it cuts through flesh like butter. We could even let the bird try to come through the doorway and have the group run while it´s head is moving to squeeze it´s body through the passage, Ethan can just slice it´s neck in two!

In fact that is what I consider the best idea, at least the easiest with elements of suprise. Ethan could have a hay day just chopping it into turkey sandwich slices. Then we could go on the hunt for the bloody or bleeding bird man!

BONES
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D-Lotus
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Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 4:24 pm    Post subject:  

Quote: As I understood it D, the treasure hunters are currently stopping the bird from getting out by holding the door shut. Should we leave it'll fly out and be among us.

Quote: From where you are, you could go to any part of the fortress and have dozens of escape routes to choose from. The thing is, if you just escape, you leave your equipment behind.

From what Leb said, it seems to me we can probably escape and then later come back, but Draven Bones is right, this roc seems magical or undead, it might not leave. I also agree with Draven's idea- open the door and when the bird tries to squeeze through, chop it off. Maybe even set the remaining treasure hunters behind the door to mantain it halfway open, so as to make it even more difficult for the bird to get through.
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Lebrenth
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Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2007 1:11 pm    Post subject:  

The poll is up!

I hope everyone feels represented without being too spread out. Maybe I'll drop a few IFians a line if it gets tied up.
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Chinaren
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Posted: Wed Jan 31, 2007 12:04 am    Post subject:  

Caught up at last!

Very nice chapter Lebs, though I think Thomas would have taken his rifle along. Still you're the author.

I have to go with the distraction/sword slicing plan. Chia should be bait, 'cos she is the one that LEFT HER POST and LEFT US ALL DEFENCLESS! :mad: Grrrr. She'll be lucky if I don't tie her up and leave her for roc food.

Oh, and I really think Thomas will be making efforts to get his rifle back. Maybe Chia can go and get it. She is good at opening doors.
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Lebrenth
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Posted: Wed Jan 31, 2007 10:09 am    Post subject:  

chinaren wrote: Very nice chapter Lebs, though I think Thomas would have taken his rifle along. Still you're the author.

I debated that. Everyone was in shell shock from the roc's cry, putting them in a painful vertigo. Unable to hear, in shock from the sudden appearance and resurrection of the roc, and having a very compromised sense of balance which forced most to crawl, Thomas lost hold of his rifle just like everyone lost whatever they held in their hands. The guns were lost because everyone shot the roc, so the guns were what they had in their hands. The only reason Jim still had a pistol is that he also had another gun, which he shot and dropped when in vertigo. The pistol was on his belt so he didn't need to carry it as he escaped.
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