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Long Game 18: Holly and Iron

little wilson

By little wilson
in Sanderson Elimination

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little wilson
little wilson

Welcome to The University! You’ve heard about the famed institution your entire life, dreaming of attending and possibly even learning the arcane arts. Well, congratulations! You’ve finally made it. Y

little wilson
little wilson

Section 3: The Arcanum The Arcanum is where all the fun happens at the University. Led by the nine Masters, there are many different fields of study in which for students to try their hands: Sy

little wilson
little wilson

Player List Clarifications The GMs Aonar and Orlok are helping me GM this game. We're each handling a different part of the game, so make sure to include all three of us in any PM you create. I'

little wilson

little wilson

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Wrap-up: Finality, Skeletons and a Head

 

A young man stood in a cemetery, amidst freshly made graves, and he was angry.

 

First came the Wind, with a soft word. The sky darkened with storm clouds, darker and darker until nothing could be seen. Within moments, the city fell silent in fear, and Sev smiled.

 

Next were the bones. Clearly and distinctly, Sev spoke, and they came. First, the oldest bones, along the edges and the back of the graveyard. Then those who’d died more recently, mothers and daughters and sons.

 

Then the students. Kipper. Ashad, Delta. Marcos, Sasuke, Neo. Silverblade. Amari. The Mind of Akasha rose and took the form of a ghost among the skeletons.

 

Sev sent most of the army out on the simple task of killing the mercenaries plaguing the streets of the town. But the murdered students stayed, staring at him with hunger for revenge.

 

He gestured, and they formed up around him as he walked from the cemetery, an honor guard of the dead.

 

He walked through the streets of Imre, through the dark and stormy night. Too dark. He wanted his target to know what was coming.

 

So he summoned Fire. A vortex of flame sprang into existence around him, lighting the skeletons (and the faces of the few terrified townsfolk who poked their head out of windows) with a hellish red glow.

 

He proceeded to the main square, where a pile was already being built from mercenary bodies and iron chains. A pyre fit for a fae.

 

Passing on, he came to a particular dwelling. The lead skeleton kicked the door open.

 

Inside, a Bodyguard started up from leaning against a wall. Before he could even speak, Sev’s dark servitors killed him as if they could still feel the anger of their own deaths. Perhaps they could.  

 

He continued inside, up the stairs, and into Haelbarde’s domain. An elaborate chair sat facing the other way.

 

“I suppose you’ve come to kill me,” Sev heard. “Well, let it be so, then. Kill me with your fire, and put me out of my grief for my fellows. I’ve taken nahlrout to dull the pain.”

 

Sev walked forward, confident that he could stop any traps that Haelbarde had set. “You killed people,” he said. Fire flashed bright in anger. “You killed my friends. You killed those I have brought with me today, and I want revenge!” He ordered the skeletons into a circle around the chair. “Any last words, fae?”

 

Silence. Long silence. Surely he had some last words? Sev finally shrugged.

 

“Then you shall die.” All of the skeletons crashed toward the chair, stabbing into the body as if they were truly avenging themselves.

 

After a moment, Sev stopped them. His final death was not to be here. He lifted the headless body with Wind...

 

Wait. Headless? Sev walked around to the front of the chair. Haelbarde’s body was most definitely headless, yet he’d been talking just moments ago.

 

The chair had a deep line burned into it, just at Hael’s neck.

 

Sev looked over at the Mind of Akasha. “Wait. Did someone just come and kill Haelbarde, and take his head, while I was talking?”

 

The Mind shrugged.

 

“I- Um. I suppose he still needs to be purged from the earth.” He gestured for the skeletons to form an honor guard around him, and walked out, Haelbarde’s headless body trailing behind him. I suppose I’ll have to pretend that I did that, Sev thought.

 

He came to the main square, where the pyre of mercenaries was topped by three bodies surrounding an enormous iron stake. Touka. Pyra. Wilem.

 

The skeletons lifted the body up to the stake and bound it there with iron chains, paying no heed to the burns that appeared on Haelbarde’s skin.

 

When it was done, they stood back from the hideous work of art, and Sev stepped forward, putting out the fire vortex which had been writhing around him. The city stood in darkness for a single moment.

 

Then he called upon Fire, and the sky answered.

 

An enormous band of pure white lightning slashed through the darkness, striking the stake, and the pyre instantly burst alight. The lightning bolt remained at its center, a conduit between earth and sky, and Hael was incinerated.

 

Sev watched the pyre burn for a time, until every mercenary was reduced to ashes, but for their bones. The Skindancers don’t even have that much to show that they’d ever existed.

 

The lightning faded as the fire slowly died down. Sev gestured, and the bones of the mercenaries rose to join his army.

 

As the sun showed its first light on the horizon, Sev marched out of Imre without looking back, followed by an army of thousands of invulnerable warriors. He laughed, high and clear and completely mad. Behind him, wind comes and scatters the clouds and the ashes that are all that remain of the Skindancers.

 

In ages to come, legends whispered of him: the Necromancer.

 

 

Haelbarde has died! He was a Skindancer who was Master of  Rhetoric and Logic, and had studied in Arithmetic!

 

Wonko went insane!

 

Clanky was brought on the Horns, charged with Conduct Unbecoming, and expelled!

 

That’s game! The Students have won!

 

Master Spreadsheet

Skindancer Doc

Dead Doc

Spec Doc

 

I'll post my thoughts on the game and balance in a day or two.

 

Once again, Elbereth is to thank for this writeup. She's been an amazing help with the writeups here at the end, and a million times, thanks to her.

 

 

Player List:

  • Wilem (Mailliw73)
  • Kipper (Kipper)
  • Touka Kirishima (DeathClutch19)
  • Acaelus Starfire (Kynedath) Insane
  • Amari (Araris Valerian)
  • Ashad (Mashadar Mistborn)
  • Varda Elentari (Elbereth) - Expelled
  • Haelbarde (Haelbarde)
  • Pyra Ghetti (Burnt Spaghetti)
  • Reader (The Only Joe) - Expelled
  • Mind of Akasha (Bridge Boy)
  • Delta (Paranoid King)
  • Marcos Mayweather (Mark IV) 
  • Corrin (TheMightyLopen)
  • Klin (Clanky) Expelled
  • Aeaieis (ostrichofevil) Insane
  • Wilhelm Mint (irulelikeSTINK) Expelled
  • Sasuke Uchia (Weaving Webs)
  • Sev (Wonko the Sane) Expelled and Insane
  • Mac n Cheese (Thisismyusername)
  • Danosaur (Danosaur)
  • Neo (Neodymium)
  • Dow (Dowanx) Expelled
  • Silverblade (Silverblade5)
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Haelbarde

Haelbarde

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Hah. I got Clanky expelled as my last act! Woo!

 

Good game guys! With only 3 students left unexpelled, the game game was close, methinks. And if I'd been able to remove Lopen, unless Wonko worked out that he could target me at the uni even though he was expelled, I'd have been able to take the game!

 

So where exactly did my head end up? It was rather heavily contested over. Which leads me on to my next comment.

Usually, when you're revealed to be a member of a hidden faction that the other players wish dead, the best thing is the trolling you can do before you kick the bucket. This time, that wasn't quite the case.

 

This time, the best thing was getting everyone to fight over my head. Lopen obviously wanted it, and was the player most likely to get it. But I wasn't about to let that happen. So I moved to the streets, so that Wilson could have OW turn up as a mercenary, and take my head. I contacted Wonko, asked if he was willing to Troll Lopen by killing me first, and both told him how he could have hit me while I was at the university, and made his job easy by going to the Imre. And lastly, I got contacted by Orlok, who wanted to troll Wilson by him getting the head. I didn't mind this plan, but suggested he get it, return it to me, and then I could do what I wanted with in - potentially trading it to Alv for Wilson's profile and then sharing it with Orlok. Truth be told, I don't know if I'd have actually done that, and I probably would have kept the head, trolling Orlok. But all this was the best part of being outed.

 

And woo! Death #11.

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little wilson

little wilson

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Lopen got your head, yes, but I'd been under the impression that he arranged to give the head to Orlok, who was then going to keep it safe from a certain someone who wants it for their golem (or something), because Orlok is my Grandmaster and a Real Wizard to boot, and he protects those who follow me as any Grandmaster should, especially when the person who needs protecting is the One True Herald, Haelbarde. (Yes, that's right, Alv. I said Hael's the One True Herald. Whatcha gonna do about it?)

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Alvron

Alvron

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Lopen got your head, yes, but I'd been under the impression that he arranged to give the head to Orlok, who was then going to keep it safe from a certain someone who wants it for their golem (or something), because Orlok is my Grandmaster and a Real Wizard to boot, and he protects those who follow me as any Grandmaster should, especially when the person who needs protecting is the One True Herald, Haelbarde. (Yes, that's right, Alv. I said Hael's the One True Herald. Whatcha gonna do about it?)

You shall see.  Oh yes, you shall all see......

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TheMightyLopen

TheMightyLopen

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Lopen got your head, yes, but I'd been under the impression that he arranged to give the head to Orlok, who was then going to keep it safe from a certain someone who wants it for their golem (or something), because Orlok is my Grandmaster and a Real Wizard to boot, and he protects those who follow me as any Grandmaster should, especially when the person who needs protecting is the One True Herald, Haelbarde. (Yes, that's right, Alv. I said Hael's the One True Herald. Whatcha gonna do about it?)

 

Well I had arranged to give it to Orlok, but the transaction has yet to take place. He doesn't seem to want it now, for some reason. Hm. I may give it directly to Alv, unless something new pops up.  :)

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little wilson

little wilson

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He wants it. I talked to him about it because he said that maybe we don't need it now and I told him that of course we need the head because if we don't have the head, Alv will get the head and that's completely unacceptable! So trust me: he wants it. He's asleep right now, because it's absurdly early in the morning for him, but I'm his Goddess and he's my Grandmaster, and therefore I can speak for him on this matter.  :)

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Elbereth

Elbereth

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AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

He was supposed to die on the fire, though. Who took his head?

Sorry, but I couldn't hgave it go completely your way. You had enough awesomeness as it is. :P

Apologies to everyone who got expelled and sabotaged, but not killed... By not killing you all, we deprived you from the joys of the dead doc. We didn't have enough attacks, was the problem...

Oh, I had no problem with being expelled! Except for the fact that I had storming 14 EP because you took exactly 2 DP off of me and the NPC master took just the right amount that I couldn't be Master. And the fact that I didn't ever get the redirect, which was going to be amazing. And the fact that I had to have 30 PMs running for a few days because of contacting everyone still alive here plus LG19 plus QF14.

...I was somewhat irritated. But being expelled wasn't really all that bad.

I'd guess that a very controlled use of Fire could cut right through a neck and leave the head disconnected so one could run off with it....just saying. :P

That's how I thought of it, yes. A little laser cut to the neck. Edited by Elbereth
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TheMightyLopen

TheMightyLopen

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Lopen, do you mean to say that we let you take Hael's head and now you're going to turn your back on us? The GMs? Is this wise? You'll end up with a bounty on your spine no matter which course you take with that attitude. :P

 

Well if I give in to every little threat, I wouldn't have a spine to begin with!  :P

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