HI! MY NAME IS.... (D&D Play-By-Post)

[pwallace]

Moderated Thread: HI! MY NAME IS.... 

This is a moderated play by post Dungeons & Dragons game. Please only post here with permission from the Dungeon Master (Pwallace). Everyone is welcome to follow along with the adventure as well as to post and discuss the game over in the Out of Character (OOC) Thread.

 

Now that that is out of the way, LETS GET THIS ADVENTURE STARTED!

 

 

Your world is dark. You don't know how you got here. As you start to become aware of yourself, you feel cold circling your neck and hands. Loud sounds slam into your ears Crash! Bang! Crack! Clang! Boom! A rancid smell assaults your nostrils as anew sound comes into your dark world. "WakesSs up little oneSsssSs. MissSsstressSss wantsSs you up. You have Ressted enoughsSssss."

You struggle to open your eyes, but they feel as though sand has been poured into them and the lids seem too heavy to lift. Struggling you lift your head when a sharp pain blossoms against your jaw, bright colors invading the inky blackness that dominated your sight. Forcing your eyes open, you sit up and lift a hand to your jaw. You stop, your hand raised half way to your jaw, your eyes focusing on the creature in front of you .Where the legs should have been, there is instead a large tail, covered in scales. As your eyes travel up the creature's body, you see that the upper half is also covered in scales, but two arms sprout form shoulders, ending in clawed hands. The creatures head reminds you of something that you have seen before but can't seem to pin down the memory. A large hood of scales fan out from the either side of the creatures face, two yellow eyes stare at you, their vertical slits narrowing, like a predator watching its next meal, a forked tongue slithers out of the slit mouth and tastes the air.

"AHHHH good you issSss awake. Report to Shanasta for work ordersSs. Getss out of line and you will regretsssSs it." Turning to leave, the creature slithers away, taking the 3 other reptilian creatures with it, each of whom have two legs ending in clawed feet, a shorter tail, and a single top knot of hair, their entire body covered by overlapping green and yellow scales.

Looking around the room, your see you are in what appears to be an old cellar. The walls appear to be old worn stone blocks, with a large Iron banded wooden door set into one wall. On the wall opposite the door, the blocks of the wall have been pulled away and a rough tunnel burrows down into the darkness. The crashes and bangs rise from the tunnel, occasionally a loud crack breaks the silence. Looking around the room, you realize that you are not alone. Lying strewn among the broken crates and old furniture lay two humans, dwarf, a half elf, one gray elf, and a regular elf (including you). Each one of you is dressed in rags, and wear a pair of heavy iron manacles, and a metal collar fastened around your neck, worn leather sandals cover your feet.

You shake your head, trying to clear the fog from your mind. As your attempt to remember what happened, you realize you can't remember anything. You don't even remember your own name!

[Oramac]

[Half-Elf Male]

 

Ugh.  Where, WHO, am I?  What is this place?  As I look around at the other downtrodden creatures with me, I ask if they remember anything before waking up.  Sadly, none of them seem to trust me enough to share, or they also don't remember anything. I suppose I can understand that, being slightly taller than the average Half-Elf, with deep green eyes, sandy hair, and a hard, chiseled jawline.  But, seeing their weary faces staring back at me, groaning as I get to my feet, I try to give some encouraging words: "Not to fret!" I say, "We're all clearly captives, but there has to be a way out!"

 

Taking stock of the situation, naturally I try the heavy wooden door.  It doesn't budge.  Having no tools, I can't even attempt to pick the lock.  Besides, the lock appears quite sturdy.  Giving up on the door, I muster all my might to attempt to free myself from the manacles......

[starpuck]

(Elven Female)  

 

A soft groan escapes from one of the other occupants in the disheveled room.   As a hand attempts to come to her brow, the clinking of metal alerts the others to her waking.   Stark black hair is perhaps the first feature to grab attention, followed closely by the presence of long but slender, pointed ears to mark her an elf.   When her eyes fully open they reveal a crystalline emerald green in color that adds to the initial contrast of midnight hair upon alabaster skin.

 

"Lle lakwenien?"    Annoyed sarcasm hangs heavy in her tone; an uncommon mingling into the Elvish tongue.  "Umin hanya.."

Translation for those who speak Elven:  "Are you joking?  I do not understand."

 

She looks around to take notice of the others there as her jaw sets with angry uncertainty.    "Where are we?"  

 

 

 

Reference Pic

[erosan]

{human male}

"So disoriented. How come I can't remember anything? how did I get here? and what the hell was all of that about?" he was thinking so many things at once... all of them questions, none of them answers. But somehow thinking before acting felt natural and like the right thing to do, so without moving much, and ignoring for now the noises coming from the other occupants ("prisoners" his mind offered, noticing the manacles and collar) he kept thinking.

"Focus on what we know: We are in some sort of cellar, presumably made prisoners or slaves... what "Monty" the python there hissed sounded more like an order than a request."

Now he turned his attention to the others: another human, a dwarf and 3 "elvish" creatures... one had just tried the door and it was locked apparently.

"Oh, and there is a woman (most likely another reptilian she-snake-thing) called Shanasta. She seems to be in charge here, and is looking for us. She is important enough to have her minions summon us instead of asking herself, and we know there is at least 5 of them (the 4 that came and Shanasta). I'd wager there are more around. If you only have 4 minions you don't send them all at the same time for such a simple errand." Then again, with so little information, all of this were only working hypothesis and for all he knew he was wrong on all of them. It was a bit discouraging to know that was the extent of his knowledge.

He wanted more information (actually it felt more like a need).

He stood up, an above average looking human, with black hair and brown eyes and a beard (he also made a mental note to try to catch a reflection of himself on a mirror or something, the length of it might give him a clue as to how much time this has been going on).

Finally speaking out loud he claimed "I think we ought to play along for now. Are you coming?" and then started walking slowly towards the tunnel.

[joedog]

[dwarf female]

 

 

The female dwarf sits up and slowly looks around the room, taking stock of the beings who share her space. A couple of humans, some elvish types. She realizes that she doesn't recognize any of them. On further reflection she realizes that she doesn't even remember her own name. 

 

The clink of metal draws her attention to the manacles on her wrists. She considers trying to break them and decides against it. "Since I don't even know these chaps' names, I should probably not be too hasty in my actions" she thinks. 

 

She sees the human male start towards the tunnel and decides to get up and follow him. 

[Kishi]

[Human Male]

 

The clink of chains and the stiff cold of the stone are all he needs to know that it's been a bad, bad night. If only he could remember why it was and what he's doing here. It's all so cloudy, but try as he might, the fog just will not dissipate.

 

He rolls onto his side and notes the scalies talking to an Elf. A young half-elf appears to be attempting to overcome his manacles. The human wishes him well, but he has a faint sense that this isn't going to work. It would be a welcome surprise if it did.

 

Another elf looks up and angrily asks where they are. He wants to answer, but the fog clouds in again, and he shakes his head, trying to clear it.

 

A human and a dwarf both start toward the tunnel that the Scalies left through.

 

He vaguely senses that he should be able to do something, but he can't remember what.

 

His curiosity is tickled. It puts him on his feet, and he begins down the tunnel after the others.

[mitch_dee]

(Male elf)

 

With the fog lifting and the world finally starting to right itself the elf looked around the room taking stock of what appeared to be his fellow captives.  Sitting against the wall he watched the others to see if any of them looked familiar…they did not.

 

The female elf’s voice cut the silence and he snickered when he realized what was said in their native tongue.

 

Unconsciously his hands where rubbing the iron manacles, something about them seemed so familiar but he could not figure out how…something told him he was thankful for that right now.

 

He lifted himself up slowly.  Noting the other approaching the opening, he strains to hear (listen skill check) what the sounds were, again hoping that something might bring a sliver of familiarity to his now unknown world…

[pwallace]

As the fog starts to clear from his head, the Male elf pushes himself into a sitting position. Being the closest to the opening, he hears the clanging and cracks the clearest. There also seems to be a muffled scream every so often following a loud snap. He continues to shake his head, attempting to clear his head as the Female Dwarf and Male Human #2 (Kishi) follow the Male Human #1 (Erosan) towards the tunnel entrance, leaving the female elf and male half elf in the room.

            Left alone in the cellar, the half elf attempts to remove his manacles, earning him chafed wrists as a result of the rubbing and twisting. The female elf continues to mutter under her breath and glare around the room angrily.

            As the trio descends down the tunnel, the walls are roughhewn stone, angling down sharply in places. The tunnel doubles back on itself several times, all the while going down into the bowls of the earth. Ladders are used at times to climb from ledge to ledge as the party travels on. After a while of traveling (feels like hours but was closer to half an hour) the floor levels out and tunnel opens in a large cavern, in the middle of the floor, fire erupts from a pit in the middle of the floor.

All round the cave, creatures are attacking the walls and floor with pick axes. Goblins, elves, dwarves, humans, and gnomes make up the majority of the workers, with a few ogres moving the rocks into the fire pit. All of the creatures wear the same rags as you, and are all collared.  More of the reptilian creatures stand among the workers, some on legs, some on tails, some have two arms, some no arms, some snakes where their arms should be. Whips, cudgels and knives hang from belts and baldrics on the reptilian creatures.

            Directly in from of you, edge of the pit, a figure is stretched between two poles. Wearing only their small clothes, slashes cover their back. A reptilian creature leans down next to the creature and says appears to be saying something in the creature's ear before backing away and cracking a cat-o-nine-tails across the figures back, causing a howl of pain to erupt from the victim.

[Oramac]

Massaging his wrists, convinced that his manacles aren't going anywhere, the half-elf resigns himself to his [current] circumstances.  

 

He looks over at the only other person in the room.  In good, but not perfect, Elven, he says to the female elf:

Friend, it looks like we're captives here for the moment.  Best we tackle it together.

 

Offering to help her to her feet, he moves towards the tunnel to catch up with the others.  After what seems like ages, he reaches the end of the tunnel and takes stock of the situation.  The guards are armed; we might be able to lift one of their daggers, or their keys.  And, those ogres certainly have the strength to make a ruckus, if they could be persuaded.  (not actions, just thoughts)

 

As he sweeps the room, he sees a prisoner scream as a whip cracks against its back.  

[starpuck]

As the rest of the captives stir and begin to make their way down the tunnel, the female elf resigns herself to the same fate.   It's only when the half elf attempts her native tongue that she lifts her head up and rises to her feet, purposefully avoiding the help offered.   

 

"It is far too early for such terms half-elf."   A tight lipped frown settles over her as she looks around.    "Still.   Better to go down fighting than whimpering.   Let's see what the others are walking themselves into."

 

Shoulders rolling back and head rising in a show of defiance to her circumstances, the black haired elf begins walking down the cold, oppressive tunnels.

[erosan]

{Human male}

He made a mental note as to who followed him down the tunnel... the others would most likely follow after a minute or two (it was after all, the only way out of the cellar), and he definitely did not intend on moving forward alone (he would've waited for others about a minute walk into the path), but he was happy to discover himself in company of others, whatever their motivation to follow him (bravery, curiosity, need of leadership or stupidity).

When they got to the big chambers, and saw the number of prisoners working, his mind started milling again. So many of them! How did they captured so many? How did I get into this?

And also, where should we head to?

The time in the tunnel was enough for him to make up his mind. Telling the others about his amnesia was not something he wanted to do, as this was telling complete strangers that he was vulnerable. But seeing that he would need support to do anything (gathering info, escaping or maybe even surviving), he saw no other choice.

"Any of you have a clue as to where can we find this Shanasta? I... uhh... can´t remember a thing. Not even my name. First thing I remember is waking up in that cellar just some minutes ago."

[joedog]

[female dwarf]

 

As they emerge into the room, the dwarf wonders how far under ground they have traveled [racial ability to sense depth under ground]. She takes stock of their mining practices and sees several ways the process could be made more efficient. She thinks to herself, "Don't be silly. This is serious business, not the mines back home." 

 

She hears the human male's query and is somewhat relieved to learn that she is not the only one who can't seem to remember certain little details like her name and how she got in this predicament. Still reluctant to engage she simply shrugs and says, "Not a clue." 

[mitch_dee]

(male elf)

As the last two occupants walked by him and down the tunnel he gave one last glance around the room to see if he had missed anything...turning down the tunnel he followed the other two at a distance close enough for the others to realize he was there but far enough as to not invite unwanted conversation.

As he descended he realized he may not remember who he was but he definitely knows whoever he is does not like the confined space, not to mention the fact they were getting deeper....

Following the others he resigned himself to ignoring these feelings...he did however keep a watchful eye on the tunnel behind them...

[Kishi]

[Human Male]

 

The other two in front of him begin to talk to each other. But his thoughts are more concerned with the surrounding area, with the slaves and the work and the sharp ping of picks against the walls.

 

The sharp crack of a whip draws his attention. He looks over and sees one of the scalies beating a slave. And through the fog, something tries to burn. A warmth, like the sun, or is it a fire? He does not know.

 

"Something's... this..." he mutters, shaking his head. "It's wrong. It's all wrong."

 

The words come from a true place inside of him, but he can't find where. He trudges along, wincing as the whip cracks again.

[pwallace]

The reptilian creature with the whip cracks a final time across the victims back before coiling the whip and placing it at his hip. Drawing forth a wicked looking curved dagger, the other clawed hand grasps a handful of the victims hair, wrenching their head back as far as it will go. Lowering its head to the victims ear, the creatures tongue snakes out, licking the side of the victims face. “Your fear tastes delicious!†with that, the reptilian creature pulls the knife across the victims throat, slashing through to the bone. As blood pours from the now victims thrashing body, the restraints holding him upright are cut and the scale covered murderer grabs a hold of the dieing man. “For eternal Salmissssra! May your blood run warm and your fangs sink deep into the bodies of our enemies!†the creature yells and the bloody corpse is thrown into the fire pit, causing a geyser of flame to erupt forth.

 

“ADNAR!† you hear someone scream. 

(for those that speak elvish open spoiler)

 "UNCLE!!!"

 Looking to your right, you see a young elf (late 20s) sprinting across the cave, pick ax raised to strike. Fire dances in his eyes, and he rushes the murderous creature. As the elf came within striking distance he starts to swing the improvised weapon with all of his might. Quick as lighting, the creatures tail lashes out, catching the elf across the face and spinning him away. Before the elf can react, the creature's tail wraps around its new victim's throat and lifts the elf clear off the ground. Pummeling the suspended elf with its fists, the scaly monsters laughs all the while. Finally, after it has gotten its fill of beating the young elf, the creature tosses the unconscious body to the side and strides over to your party, entirely assembled now at the mouth of the cavern.

“Why doessSss you not workssss? Thinkssss you isss too good? All of you will reportsssss to Shanasssstassss†The creature says geasturing across the cavern to a large reptilian creature. Standing close to seven feet tall, to describe the creature as large would be an understatement. Legs the size of birch trees, shoulders wide enough to carry a man across then, and arms sinewy and powerful enough to break anything they grasp, Shanasssta made an imposing sight. “Now you goessss over there and startssss digging, of you ends up food for the missssstressss like nasty lazy elfsssâ€

 

(those of Elven or ½ elven race please roll a spot check and post a picture of your roll to the OOC board)1

[erosan]

{human male}

As horrible as the sight was, information was information and he almost grinned at the juicy tidbit of info: They had clearly just witnessed a ritual sacrifice of sorts (half punishment, half religion related). Of course this meant "SSShanasssssssta" and "the mistress" were different uhh... entities, which meant he had gotten that part wrong. Cest' la vie... The mistress was some kind of evil deity, most likely (not that he hadn't been wrong previously). Shanassta was... well huge. And apparently, the one in control here.

This particular human was not feeling terribly excited about having to go there, but then again, he didn't want to be punished either. As little as he could remember about himself, life was still something valuable and the survival instinct was kicking in full gear.

Hoping no one noticed a delay of couple of seconds (maybe thinking it was the fear that paralyzed him) he looked around, searching for potential exits, corridors, doors, or any other landmark worth noticing...

[Oramac]

[Half-Elf Male]

 

As he watches the prisoner's gruesome death, the Half-Elf feels an anger rising inside him.  Exercising restraint, he resists the urge to spew curses at these reptilian monsters.  But that doesn't mean he can't think them.  

 

Noticing the Human Male checking the surroundings, he thinks he ought to do so as well.  Slinking off to a corner of the cave, he begins searching the wall for any sign of a hidden door, or compartment.  Reasoning that these reptilian kuu'dattoin use their tongues for nearly everything, the Half-Elf tries licking the wall in a few places.  Unfortunately, they either require a particular saliva, or there simply isn't anything there, because nothing happens except the half-elf's tongue getting a particularly bitter taste in his mouth.  

 

Giving up testing the walls, he reluctantly follows the human male to begin heading towards the huge reptilian xhan issuing orders. 

 

[for those that speak/read Elven]

kuu'datto means bastard (adding -in is plural), xhan means bitch, according to this site.

[starpuck]

[Female Elf]

 

A tick of fierce emotion brings a narrowed slit to the Elven woman's eyes as she watches the proceedings.   She remains coldly still though; quickly restraining any further show of a reaction to either the other captives or their assailants.  Her attention swivels ever so subtly to one of the other captured Elves and doing her very best to move slowly and without drawing notice, joins the woman who beckoned her.     In whispered Elven she offers her words to the other.

 

Elven:

Honored elder.   What can you tell us of where we are, and how we got here.   If there is hope of freedom, even small, I will fight to see us freed.

[joedog]

[Female Dwarf]

 

The female dwarf feels a strong urge to fight but realizes that one dwarf will end up much like the young elf. She really doesn't like the look of this Shanasssstas creature but decides to move in that direction along with the human male and the half elf.

[pwallace]

Looking up from the unconscious elf, the old woman smiles at the use of her native tongue. She tenderly runs a hand over the young elf's hair. Not looking at you she whipsers in Elvish

Esta sii'amin ai taren.Lye vara lle vee' lle kaima. Rata lye nauva varna n'alaquel eska,wanwa tuulo' sina gorgorath

Rest now my little prince. We will protect you as you sleep. Soon we will be safe back home, away from this nightmare.

Turning to face the newcomer, the older elf says in common “ My name is Elasha Talanashta, I am the chief Cleritas to the Talandren house. What is your name and how did you come to be among the pitiful souls trapped here?

 

On the other side of the cavern, the rest of the party moves towards Shanasta. “Why doesssSss we alwaysss getsssSss the simpletonsssss?†Shanasta asks, looking at the male half elf. Then with a sudden crack, the end of his whip coils itself around the half elf's throat. Tightening the whip aroud the half elf's throat, Shanasta lifts the kicking form off the ground. “You will keep your nasty tounge in your head or elssse you will lose it!†He then thrown the half elf back to the ground, uncoiling his whip as he does. “Now get to work over there. And remember. Step out of line, and I will send you to meet the MistressSSss embrace.†Shanasta points to a pile of pick axes and pry bars lying in a pile near one of the unbroken rock outcroppings.

[Oramac]

[Half-Elf Male]

 

Rubbing his neck, glaring at Shanassta, and reluctantly walking towards the tools, the Half-Elf begins thinking to himself.  'So, these monsters think us simple, do they?  Good.  Let them think what they want.  The less they think of us, the better to surprise them when the time is right to attack.'  Grabbing one of the pick-axes, hefting its weight, the Half-Elf feels the balance of the tool.  'A half-gram heavy on the back end, but not bad'.  Looking around, he begins to think about how best to use the weapon those Reptilian haaku-ra foolishly put in his hands.  Noticing the female Elf talking to one of the other prisoners, he decides to wait and see what the others do, though he still isn't sure what to call them.  Friends? Enemies? Companions?  Time will tell......

 

haaku-ra = idiots

[erosan]

{Human male}

 

The plan was to look for possible exits, but he got distracted when he noticed the elves from the cellar had caught up and were talking to another prisoner.

 

Then he heard the crack of a whip, and Shanasta getting annoyed by the half elf (who might have lost his mind because he was licking the walls. Maybe that was an elf thing he had never heard about).

 

Gathering information was top priority, so well aware that he might regret this, he set off to distract Shanasta in hopes the other group across the room would have enough time to get something out of their conversation.

 

First he tried to position himself in a way that would have the snake thing looking, if not away, not directly at the elves.

 

"Master Shanasta, sir, excuse me." the human said with a shaky voice "I was told to report to you, so here I am... uhh... wondering which area of this cavern would Mistress Salmisra would be more pleased with my manual labour."

 

He really hoped he had remembered correctly who these snakes were and who the deity was... his memory was not trustworthy as of late.

[pwallace]

Shanasta turns his attention on the human, fixing him with a deadly stare. Lashing out, he backhands the human across the face, splitting his lip open and causing the human to fall to one knee. "If you ever utter the missStressss' name again, I will make you curse you mother for ever batting her eyes at your father!" He sends a swift kick into the humans ribs to drive the point home. "Now grab a ssSshovel and start feeding the SssSacred Flames before I feedsss you to them!"

(Erosan lose one hit point for the beating)

Sent from my phone, through the banging of weights, to the chimp translators aboard the tardis powered by the dylithiam crystal flux capacitor.

[Kishi]

He looks over at the other human male who's been struck. An impulse takes him. He walks over to the man and kneels down to help him up.

 

"Come on, now," he says softly. "On your feet. You can do it."

[starpuck]

Turning to face the newcomer, the older elf says in common “ My name is Elasha Talanashta, I am the chief Cleritas to the Talandren house. What is your name and how did you come to be among the pitiful souls trapped here?

[Female Elf]

 

A tight lipped shake of her head is the first answer that she gives the woman.   Her voice lowered, her choice of language returns to Elven as she whispers back an almost inaudible reply.

 

[in Elven]

"That is just it.  I don't remember any of it.   Not just how I got here, but who I am... where I come from.  My mind is like a dark void right now and it angers me so intensely I can hardly keep my fists stilled."

 

As a commotion erupts behind her, the female elf turns her attention that way as a flush of color heats her cheeks and her hands ball into tight fists.