Lord and Ladies

[Fragrance of Mtn Dew]

Iston almost coughed up the pint he finished when he heard what the minstrel yelled before beginning to perform loudly. "Damn him... Have I been recognized?" Iston muttered as he considered his next move in this situation. He could always just let the old man and Zyphe talk and then follow Zyphe to Keech. Or he would have to find a way to stop that damned bards racket so he could continue to listen in on the conversation. Fool! I will NOT allow you to tail that stupid knight like a little *****! Stop that minstrel immediately!

Iston winced in pain as Reynard took out his anger on Iston's mind. "Yes, yes. Hold on and I'll think of something." But what? He could always slip out and set the tavern on fire. That would certainly attract more attention than he wanted. Whatever he did had to be discreet. Iston's mind raced with ideas as he stared down into his empty mug and then a simple but effective idea came to him. He looked around to make sure no one was watching. All eyes were on the minstrel, so none of the villagers would see. That was the least of his worries though, with the tavern slowly filling up with champions.

"Now or never I guess..." Iston muttered with a shrug and chucked his empty mug at the minstrel, specifically aiming at his lute. If he could damage the instrument the song was over and even if he failed to do that, perhaps the bard would stop playing after being attacked. Quickly after making his move, Iston dropped to his knees and quickly crossed the room while hiding behind the crowd of people in order to get as far away from where the mug was thrown as possible. Once he had made it a safe distance he popped back up and pretended to look shocked that someone would do such a thing.

 

[ThreeWords]

Spoiler: On PvP

Here's how we're gonna run the inter-player contests. For actions like the thrown mug, you will post your atempt, and I will decide the result and Pm the 'defending' character. I will offer them a selection of countermeasures, whose effects I will work out, and so on and so forth.
Combat, being made up of more, shorter actions, will work slightly differently. You will decide the winner by Pm (or refer to my judgement if need be), then sort out the details also in Pm. The result will then be posted by one of the fighters.

All good?

 

[Avayu]

Spoiler: OOC

Sounds good to me. Now, as the "defending" player, I Will have to wait for your PM, right?

 

[ThreeWords]

Spoiler: OOC

Whoops, little mix up there. Sorted.

In other news, I've got us a user group [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/Lords-and-Ladies] set up at last, so we can get rid of these pesky OOCs...

 

[Avayu]

Lyrus had seen many a bar fight. They were part of what he did and sometimes, he had been the one to bring them about. Even a thrown mug was no uncommon weapon in such a situation. What made this situation different, though, was that the mug was flying towards him. Someone attacked him during his song. That was something that had never happened before. In his surprise, he nearly acted too slowly. Only with great difficulty he managed to dodge the thrown item, swiftly turning away to the side. Still, the mug grazed the body of his lute and together with his own movement that made him lose his hold on the instrument. With an unmelodious noise, the lute fell to the ground. The song stopped abruptly.

"Now that's just rude!", Lyrus called out. watching for any reaction in the crowd. He couldn't see anything and also couldn't tell who had thrown the mug. Most of the villagers looked just as surprised as he.

Lyrus threw a quick glance to his lute on the ground. It didn't look particularly damaged, but he didn't want to climb down from the table to pick it up, afraid he would lose the hold on his audience, just like he had lost the hold on his instrument before. So, after a few moments of silence, he continued to sing. Instead of playing the lute, he now used a rhythmic stomping of his feet on the table to back his song. The song itself changed, too. It became a little bit slower and less wild, as he tried to calm the crowd down. This made it easier for him to watch out for any suspicious behaviour.

Singing, stomping and watching, he also thought about what had just happened. He had been attacked by someone. He knew, most mortals weren't able to withstand his songs and he had never been attacked during one because of that. That left two possible conclusions for him: Either one of the other champions in the room had thrown the mug in an attempt to stop his song. Or, and this thought was much more worrying to him, the same thing that had happened to Sable just happened to him. Lyurs decided that the first option was far more likely, but couldn't stop a nagging feeling about the second one.

 

[RootbeerJello]

Simon made a show of thinking about the information he'd been giving, keeping up his normal-child act. After a few second he looked up at the boy who'd just spoken, "Who was she? The girl, I mean." He made sure to tint his speech with the right amount of childish curiosity to make the question seem innocent.

 

[Fragrance of Mtn Dew]

As the song and dance continued, Iston moved through the crowd and sat back down at the nearest table. With a slight frown, he watched the minstrel's performance. He was clever and quite determined apparently but only a fool resisted Iston so. The more his target tried to resist the tricks being played on him, the more violent and horrible a fate usually befell them.

Iston's frown quickly turned back into a grin as he reached for the amulet around his neck and held it slightly away from his chest and towards the minstrel. Using the amulet on a champion, eh Iston? Even I don't know what effect that will have but it certainly should be interesting. Iston ignored Reynard for once and continued to focus on the minstrel. Reynard was right though, there was no telling what the amulet would do. It wasn't called the Amulet of Chaos for nothing after all. Hopefully, if it did have an effect it would be one that stopped the damned song finally. Or maybe nothing would happen. And in that case, Iston was almost out of options.

 

[ThreeWords]

The boy who had been speaking looked uncomfortable and muttered something, but an older boy who was more of a young man smiled condescendingly and said "Just one of the more friendly girls of the village, is all." he smirked, and nudged another, then continued, "I reckon she'd take a liking to you, my lad"

The other boy grinned and nodded, "Sure, she love boys any which way."

 

[RootbeerJello]

Simon smiled. "Thanks for telling me about him. It's great that someone found out how to stand up to the champions." He walked away from the group of boys.

That was close , Simon thought to himself. He had to be careful about arousing too much suspicion. I shouldn't go back to the tavern while the other champions are there. He walked down the street, looking for any other areas of activity.

 

[ThreeWords]

As the music took hold of the crowd, a hand took hold of Zyphe's and he was led through the throng of people. Guided out the back of the tavern, he found himself facing a young woman who looked at the floor, then asked softly what he wanted to know about Keech.

--

As the Amulet takes hold, the song begins to change, channeling the minds of the people into new directions. Lyrus responds by pouring in more power, using sheer brute force to try to win back the song. This will not be remembered as a wise move.

As the power increases, so too does the deviance. Suddenly, the song is spinning out of control, and the music breaks free of Lyrus' control completely. The mental whiplash has literally physical force as it sends him staggering, and he falls off the table. Around him, the other mortals suffer similar effects, knocked down by the sheer storm of chaotic emotion that washes over them. protected to a certain degree, Iston remains standing, but still feels the mental blow.

In the corner of the room, the guitar screams.

Mortals begin to stand, and seem somewhat numbed. One by one, they flinch away form the unearthly sound coming from the guitar, and their eyes fix on the champions. Pain and confusion turn to anger, and they stumble forwards...

Spoiler: OOC

You are essentially dealing with zombies here. But be careful, they are still innocent mortals...

Zyphe and Simon are not hit by the blast, but hear the noise. WIllis will be struck by the blast to a certain extent, but certainly no worse than Iston. Keefe, on the other hand, will suffer about the same as Iston, or perhaps a little worse.

 

[KronosTalon]

Zyphe eagerly followed the hand through the crowd, and once they made it out back he found himself facing a younger woman. He took a second to gather his thoughts before taking his helmet off and giving her a smile, his other hand he put gently on her shoulder. "Did you know Keech better than the other villagers? I am guessing I would not be talking to you about it if you did not. I have two questions, do you know in which direction was Keech headed? What was your relation with Keech, that I am now talking to you about him?" Zyphe asked, the smile still on his face.

As Zyphe was asking his questions he heard a large noise back behind him, along with a few screams, inside the tavern he had just left."I leave for five minutes..." He mumbled to himself as he put his helmet back on and put his hand on his long swords hilt dangling from his side. "Young lady, please stay close to me, I need those questions answered still." He said, motioning for the woman to stand behind him as he turned around and walked back into the tavern.Hopefully the other champions have not had some sort of disagreement... He thought as he walked in the tavern, shield and sword at the ready.

 

[ThreeWords]

A man turns to face Zyphe; despite being dwarfed by the armoured champion, his eyes narrow and he squares up.
"What do you think you're doing, coming in here with that sword drawn?" he demands, "I'll teach you a few manners!"

He lurches forward and swings a punch, but the blow bounces harmlessly of Zyphe's breastplate. It would have been funny, if a woman hadn't struck him from behind with a chair.
At the same time, two men make a move toward the girl.

Across the room, the Lyrus' instrument shrills hysterically.

 

[KronosTalon]

Zyphe adjusted to the chaos quickly, allowing his protective nature to quickly take over as he saw the two men walk toward the girl he had brought back in. As he was about to bring his sword down he stopped himself. These were still villagers, and still innocent people. He sheathed his blade quickly and grabbed a nearby chair, and sweeped the two men off there feet with a quick movement of the chair, and they fell to the ground. "Young lady, step in front of me." Zyphe said as he pulled her close, and put his large shield in front of her, protecting her with his body and shield.

All the while he was gazing around the room, and hearing the annoying scream of an instrument. "I knew you would complicate things, Bard!" He yelled as he pushed his way through the crowd of crazed people toward the sound.

 

[Fragrance of Mtn Dew]

Iston barely had time to register what all was going on before he felt the swift, painful effects of his mischief ravaging his mind. He couldn't help but growl and flinch until it passed. "Shit! What the hell was that?! I knew this amulet was unpredictable but why didn't you tell me it was capable of this?!" Iston yelled as he waited for Reynard's usual snide remarks.

But Iston didn't hear his Lord's voice. "HEY! I know you're listening, you fool! NOW GET OFF YOUR ASS AND TELL ME WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!!!!" Iston was practically bellowing now, but his cries went unanswered once again.

He had attracted the attention of the villagers, however, who were now lurching towards him and looking none too pleased. Across the room, he saw the other champion, Zyphe fighting his way towards the bard and his instrument. These people were out for blood it seemed, and the song had driven them mad enough to take on champions for it. "I doubt even this entire village could stop that man. I'll let him deal with the lute and make my getaway while he's distracted. It's better than letting him know of my involvement." Iston turned to the nearest exit, which was blocked my a crowd of people of course, and made his way towards it. As he took a swing at the nearest villager he couldn't help but notice the blow he took earlier still had him a bit woozy apparently, as the man's skull wasn't totally crushed by the blow and he merely received a broken nose instead. "It's your lucky day, peasants... Looks like I'm forced to play nice." Iston muttered as he continued to the door, knocking aside any who crossed his path.

 

[ThreeWords]

As Iston moves toward the door, he is mobbed by people. No danger in themselves, but they slow him down enough that a thrown bottle connects with his head

Meanwhile, the crowd are like a tide against the knight, but they crash harmlessly against his shield. However, as he nears the guitar it seems to focus on him, staring at him without eyes. It snarls, playing a chord with teeth that sink into Zyphe's mind. The pain is not so damaging as the sudden storm of emotion that only worsens as he draws nearer. Around him, mortals fall twitching under the psychic ravages.

 

[RootbeerJello]

Simon heard screams from the tavern. He switched directions, and as he approached the building, the screaming got louder, along with the sounds of fighting. Looking in a window, he saw that the throngs of people appeared to be possessed, the champions were now fighting openly, and the bard's lute appeared to be playing of it's own accord.

A nasty chord rang out, and many of the mortals fell. It took a second for Simon to realize that his status as a champion was the reason the chord didn't disable him. Still, it was painful.

 

[KronosTalon]

As Zyphe grew closer to the noise the crowd thinned out a bit, but mostly because they were falling on the floor. Zyphe felt what they were feeling, less so of course, but he still felt it. He looked down to the girl he had been protecting and knew that she was feeling the effects of the noise. I must turn back now, I can not afford to risk this girls health... He said as he suddenly turned around and forged his way back out, pushing and shoving people aside, making sure the girl was still with him, dragging her at times, but she was still safe. "You had better fix this Lyrus!" He barked out quickly as he shoved.

It was at this point his gaze shifted to the man that was trying to beat his way out of the tavern, not a mindless drone like the villagers, but a more built man, with some trinkets and a pair of heavy gauntlets. He shifted toward him while still pushing the drones away, and called out "You! Stop right there!" as he got closer and tried to question him.

 

[Fishtie]

Willis had just been settling into his place to at least enjoy a little quality music when it was suddenly interrupted by the horrific screech. Surprised at the mental attack Willis twitched a bit and his staff fell over beside him, but it didn't even get a chance to hit the ground before Willis locked a hand around the wood shaft.

Willis quickly regained his composure and pulled himself up to his feet with the staff, sparing only a glance at the young champion that looked through the window next to him.

"Idiots..." Willis muttered to himself as he wheeled about to stand in front of the doorway. He took a single step forward and pushed hard against the doors causing them to slam inward. Willis thought he had a pretty good idea of what was going on, but it was hard to be sure.

Willis's form was now silhouetted in the door and in the open door seemed to flow a sudden gust of unseasonably cool, and hopefully calming, air.

"Silence!" Willis barked into the chaotic room. Scanning the room quickly he spotted the lute that was causing the horrid cacophony. As if in response to his look, Willis felt another wave of pain crash against his mind and ears, but this time he was more ready for it.

Willis considered that getting closer would probably be far worse and so quickly acted. Raising his staff in his hands, he held it horizontally near his shoulder for a moment before launching the wind guided rod like a javelin right for the instrument. Best fight magic with the same.

 

[Avayu]

Lyrus didn't exactly know what had happened. One moment, he had been singing, overcome by the desire to sing as loud as possible, and the next he was knocked off the table as though by an invisible fist. Now, he was lying one the floor and for a few moments he didn't even try to get up, he was so confused by what was happening around him. The people around him where still dancing to a song, but it was no longer his. His lute had begun to play on its own, making the most terrible sounds he had ever heard from his instrument. Lyrus knew how to use the lute, he knew that its music could have incredible power over people, but not even he was immune to the pain and fear it emitted now. Even just looking up, he felt knocked back by every disharmonious chord the instrument played.

Still dazed, he tried to get back up, pulling himself up at the table. The shambling masses around him didn't make it any easier. Somehow, he managed to get up despite their attempts to keep him down. A few quick punches and generous use of his elbows gave him just the quick opportunity he needed to get to his feet. With his back to the table, Lyrus looked around. The whole tavern seemed to be affected by whatever had happened to him. The wild figure at the bar was fighting for himself. The knight Zyphe was moving through the crowd like a ship through the waves. Lyrus heard him shouting his name and over the terrible music and the noise of fighting, he could barely understand what Zyphe had said.

"Hell, if I knew how ..."

The best idea he had was to get back in control of the lute. Of course, he didn't know what possessed the instrument to do what it was doing, but he was sure that he would be able to stop it with a few gentle chords. He could have tried to sing something, too, but that hadn't exactly worked out well the last time, so he decided against it. Lyrus began to make his way towards the lute in the corner, trying to avoid bulks of villagers, dodging their grabbing hands and shoving them out of his way.

 

[Fragrance of Mtn Dew]

Iston was in slightly rough shape. That lute had had a larger effect than he had first thought. Not enough that he would actually LOSE to these villagers, but he could tell he was fighting sloppier than usual. Then the bottle hit him in the head. Iston blinked several times and suddenly his mind cleared. What the hell am I doing? Letting these insects make me panic like this... THEY should be the ones panicking because of ME! It's time to show them why I'm called Iston of Life's End. Suddenly, the grin that suited Iston's face so well returned and he sank from his stiff posture into a much more relaxed pose. Seeing this did not stop the crazed villagers from charging him once more, not that it would have mattered if it had. They were moving in slow motion compared to Iston, who almost lazily tilted his head slightly to avoid a punch from behind, then quickly finished his attacker with an elbow to the throat. A wave of people fell upon him from the front ready to strike, but Iston grabbed the nearest one and used him as a shield to absorb the blows. "Hehehehe! How cruel you folks are to wound your friend like this! I think I'd better help him get back at you." Iston said as he took his human shield's hand and used it to punchone of the villagers across the face. The man was knocked off his feet from the blow and Iston's shield began howling in pain. Upon examiniation, it seemed that that punch had broken the man's wrist and several fingers as well. "Sorry, looks like I was a little to rough with you." Iston shrugged and took the man by the arms, swung him a round and threw him towards the remaining villagers blocking his way to the door.

"You! Stop right there!" Iston heard someone call out to him and turned to see Zyphe coming his way. Iston stuck his tongue out at the knight and sped towards the door, laughing maniacally all the way. "Catch me if you can, loser!!"