[Mafia] Witch Trip 2: The Witch is Back

[Mr. Lee Hammer]

The night falls once more. Again, you all have another vision in your dreams.

ELEANOR VILLAGE, LATE 17TH CENTURY

Agatha sat at her rocking chair, looking into the morning sky. The sunlight warming up her skin as she pondered what to do next. Her husband just got murdered. Just prior to his death, he would have woken up by now, start gathering up his hunting supplies, saddling up in the wagon to find more game. It wasn't unusual to hear the sound of gunpowder being inserting into the rifle, the sound of horses galloping away as John Bancroft left with his wagon. But now with him gone, there was pure silence. Not even so much as a mouse pattering around. Just nothingness throughout the house. That is, until it was interrupted by a few knocks on the door.

Agatha got up and answered it, to find a few of the Watchmen. "Mrs. Bancroft. I hope you are holding up well after everything." "It does not get any easier. But I pray to God everyday to give me the strength to go on." "The Lord knows your pain. And remember, you remain in our prayers." "Thank you, gentlemen. But I trust this is not a casual visit?" "You are correct, Mrs. Bancroft. We must request your assistance in your husband's death. We have a few questions, if you feel up to answer them." "I can do my best to assist. What do you need?" "Mrs. Bancroft, we have a woman named Lara Brown in custody right now. We found evidence in her house. Books of spells. We are interrogating her right now over witchcraft. She is quite resistant. But we also found something unusual. We found this rifle in her house with the spells. Does this look familiar to you?"

And there it was, John's hunting rifle. With gold embedded on the stock, as well as the initials "JB" and "AB" carved right into it. A very strange sight to see the Watchman present it to her. How could Lara Brown have gotten a hold of it?

"That would be my husband's rifle." "Mrs. Bancroft, prior to your husband's death, was the rifle stolen?" "No. John had it on him when we went on our ride out on the forest." "Forgive me, Mrs. Bancroft, but there is something peculiar about this case. The weapon was not stolen, yet we found it in Lara's possession. And our investigation has led us to believe the rifle was used in Mr. Bancroft's murder. Is there something else we need to know?" "I admit, I was shaken up over everything. But during John's death, I recall someone took the rifle from the wagon. The person sneaked inside and jumped out. And then, the killer fired at us. John was hit in the back, but I evaded the gunfire until  it ceased. I do apologize for not informing you of this sooner, but as I said, I was traumatized over the affair." "...I see. There is still something unusual about this story. But I thank you for your information. We do suspect Lara to be your husband's killer. We do hope to get a confession over this. But more than likely, Ms. Brown will be executed due to her witchcraft. Hopefully, some justice will be served." "Please keep me informed. Good day gentlemen." "Good day, Mrs. Bancroft."

The Watchmen left as Agatha spotted them walking away through the window. She gazed in the direction long after they were gone before closing the curtains.

---

As the others sleep for the night, the surviving possessed hear Agatha's words. The one called Dorothy is being tortured right now for her failures to remain under suspension. For the two survivors, do not fail me again...

NIGHT PHASE IS HERE. DUE TO MY SCHEDULE BEING BUSY FOR THE NEXT WEEK, THE GAME WILL GO ON A HIATUS THAT WILL END FRIDAY AT THE EARLIEST

[Mr. Lee Hammer]

As you all get your last hours of sleep, another vision comes. In it, you see Claudette tied to the tree, burning alive. She screams as the fires get hotter until her body disintegrates and crumbles into the smoking pile of ash at the bottom. Popo looking at his mother Ai with hatred and bloodlust right before he rips out her throat. Then you see Popo choking on his mother's on mandible before it tears through his neck. Now you see Dorothy pulled into the hole where the dark souls chew into her until she's reduced to giblets, which erupt all over the camp like a volcano. The last thing you see is Konji choking and convulsing before he too dies.

One of you will be next....

Daytime has arrived and you all wake up. Looking around to see if anyone has died, you stumble upon two corpses. First thing you see is a motionless Konji.

He felt he could protect all his friends with his mere hook. But he greatly underestimated what he went up against. And one poison dart was enough to end a mighty dragon warrior such as himself. Konji was the Vigilante.

The second body you see is Phikul. He appears to have his neck ripped out, if the teeth marks were anything to go by.

As the Unliving Phikul has lived up to half his bargain. Now it is time for the other half.

The Ranger raises his/her arm up and the wounds on Phikul's neck heal up as he rises again, fully alive once again. Afterwards, blue souls rise out of the ground and revolve around him.

Phikul, since you died in the night as we have agreed, I will spare your life and give you clearance to escape. But in exchange, you must choose one to die in your place. Make your decision... And only Phikul can choose who can die in his place. No one else gets a vote. We can all escape and defeat the Witch. Just choose wisely...

[Florien]

...So it is time to see the choice. Who shall die by the hand of the third spirit of the forest?

[Kennifer]

"Hopefully you can nail another one of the possessed ones!"

[wingedcatgirl]

"Oh, huh. Good job, I guess? You wanted to bait the killers for some reason and you managed to do that." Maryann frowns. "... do you actually have a reason to care which way things go after that?"

[noodlesnook]

“Ye don't have to worry, naang Veronica. I absolutely will.”
Phikul somehow seems more bold than he normally is.
“Because I choose naang Talantravi.”
He waits for a reaction from the crowd before continuing.
“She'd made a deal with me. Offerin’ to let me win if I did some business for her. Gettin’ naay Shin killed, to be exact. But she gave herself right up as one of the Witch's agents. Thought yeh were clever, eh, Tal? Well, know this: ye may say yer the ruler of all the forests, but yeh ent the ruler of me. And if in some other life, ye ever pass through my realm, I'll make sure neither the Linn below nor Heaven above will have mercy on yeh.”

/vote Talantravi ( if that wasn't clear )

[Florien]

You.

You betrayed the Wolf.

Talantravi is oddly quiet, yet clearly seething with rage. Then it pours out.

I should have left you to die. You needed me for victory, I held up my end of the bargain, and you defied me, and for what? Petty praise? You would be freed either way, and you will never see ONE of these people again. You traitor. YOU TRAITOR. IRANOVAHKOL! I could have saved you all, I could have brought the witch to heel, but you would not trust me. You would never accept the aid of the Wolf. I curse you in death, across all realities and domains, my own and others, that you and all like you shall be tormented and defied until the end. You have made an enemy more powerful than you can comprehend tonight, Vahldahlkhin, Iterkhin, No one shall ever trust you again. I shall make sure of it, as sure as the story is told.

Something shifts for a moment and she starts rhyming again for just a moment.

A bargain struck, a bargain broke, The Wolf Betrayed by deer, from this moment ever more... you'll ALWAYS LIVE IN FEAR. Your friends shall flee, you'll die alone, none shall trust you in the end, you crossed a line "for good" you claim, but you can't cross it back again.

the moment passes.

We knew who you were. We could have let you lose, yet we offered you a gift. But you ungrateful creature, you took our gift, promised to reciprocate, and SPAT on us. You could not trust the Wolf to break her chains? You have seen my power first-hand! You knew I could have saved you all, but you cast me down? You call me cruel, you call me evil, but I am no OATHBREAKER. You swore up and down, you swore on everything there was, all you hold dear and much you do not. You all know me as the one who has slain many of you. But you know that I keep my word, I never, NEVER betrayed anyone. You know now that this coward will betray you without a second thought, and expect PRAISE for it! If he thinks it will get him ahead, he would cast you down. A vile, worthless creature, not worthy of any of your times. If any of you walk free, you should kill him yourselves. He is a being of great evil, as wicked as the witch, for both are Oathbreakers.

But you have underestimated the Brilliance of Alksorkhin. You will soon witness the true power of the story that you have been told by her. There is nothing you can do to stop our next attack, no matter how hard you try.

She falls to one knee, and lays her axe and bow in front of her, her quiver of arrows at the side. She bows, but her arms are stretched out to each side, her palms raised to the sky, as if daring someone to strike her in her defeat. It is a gesture of surrender yes, but it is just as much a display of dominance.

Strike me down, Witch, and you shall understand true fear yourself, and face a thousand torments in the clutches of The Wolf, as safe as you think you are. Release me, and I shall kill you first, sparing you the pain of watching me destroy everything you have ever held dear. You shall be driven from this land all the same, whoever wins this fight. It cannot be any other way. It never could have. The story that has been woven demands that you will lose this place, whether by choice or through force. But know that the Wolf can be Merciful and spare you the pain of your own story. It is your choice, some would say, but I already know what you will choose.

[Zanreo]

Shin looks towards Talantravi at the mention of his name. "...Me. You plotted to take me down in this way. Really... even after I likely prevented someone's death last night. I'm not sure what you thought you'd get out of this - well, if you were indeed on the side of the innocents- but..." He briefly adjusts his sunglasses. "Let it be known you can't get rid of an Amon that easily!"

[NebulaChimera2211]

Ting-Lu looks around, somewhat surprised to have survived the night. It watches the scene of Phikul condemning Talavantravi to death with confusion. It's kind of pleased someone dealt with that rabble-rouser, though, and nods appreciatively.
Thank you for your co-operation.

In response to Shin proposing that he stopped a death last night:
Oh? Whose death, and who did you jail?

[Florien]

Oh yes, yes, I was out for all your blood, so that I could rise in power and defeat the Witch, while pretending her orders bound me. Perhaps this would have failed, but in truth, it would not have. You know of my power, you know of my capabilities.

But nonetheless, HE is an OATHBREAKER. That is the WORST CRIME. To break an oath in the Alksor Vahl, that would mean death, and it would mean death for the oathbreaker's immediate family, and it would mean shunning for their families. To break an oath is truly evil. He must be destroyed, and I will make it my mission to ruin what's left of his life, and not even in death will he escape me. No torment inflicted on me can be worse than the ones both he and the witch will suffer by my claws.

[Mr. Lee Hammer]

Phikul has made his decision. But I shall make you a deal, Talantravi. You boast yourself to be such a great warrior. If you can defeat my army of undead, I shall let you do battle with me. Are you ready to put your skills to the test?

Talantravi agrees.

Very well. Let us begin.

A dozen of undead warriors -all of them looking like zombie versions of fallen knights from the middle ages- teleport in. They all charge at Talantravi. But Talantravi, thinking she's the most fearsome warrior there is, one who thinks her skills are superior to everyone, charges right at them. While she manages to get a few good hits into the knights, it seems like the more she contacts them, the faster and stronger they get. She tries everything, even resorting to arrows. They do not phase the zombie warriors any as they make hits of their own. Talantravi feels like her bones are being shattered with each hit, but she keeps on fighting, all to no avail. The knights group up and surround her, taking their turn stabbing her with their swords, beating her. After what seems like several minutes, it's all halted by the cry of Enough!

The warriors back away from Talantravi, who lies crippled on the ground. Unable to move, but still somehow clinging to life. Still trying to defy the Witch.

This is not the first time I have dealt with your types. Ones who are delusional enough to think they can kill me and escape with their lives. Ones who think they are superior enough, no one can stop them. It is all amusing, but it ends in the same way. Death by my hands. But it is only the beginning. As my souls will be sure to humble you.

The Witch grabs a hold of Talantravi's neck. Talantravi tries hard to fight the Ranger off, but her bones are too immobilized to do anything as the Ranger lifts her up. She pulls back Talantravi's head in one direction, then quickly snaps her head back in the other direction, making a crunch that echoes throughout the camp. She throws Talantravi's body to the other survivors, now motionless for good.

Talantravi's spirit rises out of the ground and finds herself greeted by the Witch's spirit form. She charges at the demonic being but the Witch raises her arm and freezes Talantravi in place.

Still determined to beat me? I am unsure as to whether to admire your determination or laugh at your foolishness. It does not matter anymore. As I said, death is only the beginning for you...

After the Witch finishes her sentence, dark souls rise out of the ground and fly to Talantravi. They flow right through her and yank her away. For the first time, Talantravi has the very real feeling of the one emotion she once struck into her foes: fear. For the first time in her life, she was truly scared. Her own will broken as she screams in vain, begging the other survivors for help. But is unable to as she's dragged to the underworld, to await her new torture.

That was the second of my possessed. Talantravi was the Dark Creature. But do not get cocky. That was Talantravi's fatal flaw. One more of my possessed roams around you. And they still have a chance of slaughtering you all.  Look who's being delusional now, Witch. You're about to lose. Savor that. Silence, mortal! And as for you, Talantravi, if you have any last words to say to these mortals, say them now, then pass through the barrier. The red souls surrounding you will allow you safe passage. Say whatever you wish to say, then leave. Spread the word that Agatha Bancroft will never truly die.

[Dookie]

"...Wow. That was...quick...at least we got one, right?"

[Mr. Lee Hammer]

*meant Phikul for the last part of the speech

[wingedcatgirl]

Maryann scratches her head. "I mean... it is true that you had no need to take out one of them on your way..." She shrugs. "Whatever, this works out for us. Now we just need... literally any idea who the last one is." She sighs.

[Zanreo]

"Alright... we got one left. And Talantravi... whatever other dramatic monologue you got left isn't gonna help you or your team here!" Shin says.

[noodlesnook]

“The witch will die,” Phikul hisses, “Mark my words.”

“And the rest of yeh,” he continues, sounding much more like the calm and collected Prince of the Linn they'd grown used to, “We had a good run. I wish I could stay to help, but the forest is calling me back, and I know ye lot'll be smart enough to find whoever that last Possessed is.”
He smiles in what he assumes is their direction before scrabbling around and eventually making his way through the barrier.

[Kennifer]

"Thank you!" Veronica waves after Phikul with a grin.

"So there's only one left, huh? Just gotta figure out who it is, and then we can get out of this nightmare. I got a couple ideas of who it isn't, but not of who it is."

[Mr. Lee Hammer]

Witch... I should have known this was your doing, the dark-skinned man who came out of nowhere said.

Oh, yes, Gene Sheppard, I remember you. You were the one who came into my forest and ruined my fun. But you were a fool if you think you can completely destroy me. I have had hundreds of years of practice to survive in my spirit form. You cannot possibly dream to kill me.  Please, sir, just get her out of my body. So I can see my family again. You will be bound by me forever, and as for you, Gene, you might have foiled me the first time. But I have grown stronger in the arts since then. You cannot even stop me now, let alone destroy me for good.

We'll see about that, Witch.

Gene pulls out his notes from his jacket. But before he has a chance to go over what he's written - his chants to stop Agatha, "Ranger Mike" raises his/her arm. Strong winds bellow against you all. The force of it all comes close to knocking you all off your feet. But during this frenzy, you see the notes Gene's gotten fly away in a papery mess, spreading all over the camp. Gene needs your help.

1. Withstand the winds that are increasing in strength and recover all the papers for Gene.

2. Attempt to chant with Gene with whatever you recovered and stop Agatha for good.

3. You think this man can stop me? You think this man is your friend? Not if my souls have anything to say about that. Dark souls raise out of the grave and tuck themselves into Gene. And now he's possessed and trying to kill you all. Incapacitate him, but DON'T kill him. If you can find a way to get the spirits out of his body, maybe he can save you all.

[Kennifer]

1. Withstand the winds that are increasing in strength and recover all the papers for Gene.

"Can't blow me over if I'm already down!" Veronica will just crawl low to the ground and pick up the papers as she goes. She will hold them close to her chest with one hand and pick them up with the other for added security.

2. Attempt to chant with Gene with whatever you recovered and stop Agatha for good.

Veronica will try communicating a bit with Gene via telepathy to learn the chant, so that they can say it in unison.

3. You think this man can stop me? You think this man is your friend? Not if my souls have anything to say about that. Dark souls raise out of the grave and tuck themselves into Gene. And now he's possessed and trying to kill you all. Incapacitate him, but DON'T kill him. If you can find a way to get the spirits out of his body, maybe he can save you all.

Veronica will knock something down on Gene's head using the combination of telekinesis, gravity, and the wind. Something heavy enough to knock him out but not have enough force to kill him. She'll tie him to a tree just in case he comes to, then will try using the chant she learned to get the spirits to leave his body (and hopefully stay out of hers.)

[Mr. Lee Hammer]

1. Withstand the winds that are increasing in strength and recover all the papers for Gene.

"Can't blow me over if I'm already down!" Veronica will just crawl low to the ground and pick up the papers as she goes. She will hold them close to her chest with one hand and pick them up with the other for added security.

2. Attempt to chant with Gene with whatever you recovered and stop Agatha for good.

Veronica will try communicating a bit with Gene via telepathy to learn the chant, so that they can say it in unison.

3. You think this man can stop me? You think this man is your friend? Not if my souls have anything to say about that. Dark souls raise out of the grave and tuck themselves into Gene. And now he's possessed and trying to kill you all. Incapacitate him, but DON'T kill him. If you can find a way to get the spirits out of his body, maybe he can save you all.

Veronica will knock something down on Gene's head using the combination of telekinesis, gravity, and the wind. Something heavy enough to knock him out but not have enough force to kill him. She'll tie him to a tree just in case he comes to, then will try using the chant she learned to get the spirits to leave his body (and hopefully stay out of hers.)

1. The wind is much too powerful for you as not only do you not collect the papers, they also fly into the barriers, which burn up on contact. And not only that, you get blown into the river, where once again, you get caught in the jagged rocks and drown. The Ranger levitates your body out of the water and resurrects you.

Very pathetic attempt.

Rolled 2.

2. Gene isn't quite used to telepathic messages, so it takes him a bit of time to adjust. But you all manage to work it out together as you do eventually get into a nice rhythm to chant.

Rolled 2 and 3+ for your people skills for 5.

3. That works, sort of. The demons possessing Gene do put up a fight with your abilities. But you managed to hold your own as you do overpower them and knock Gen unconscious and tie him to a tree.

Rolled 6.

Veronica has scored a total of 13 points.

[NebulaChimera2211]

1. Withstand the winds that are increasing in strength and recover all the papers for Gene.
The first part is easy, the second is much harder.
Ting-Lu attempts to scoop up the papers with the vessel on its head. Its massive weight should help it resist the winds if they get really bad.

2. Attempt to chant with Gene with whatever you recovered and stop Agatha for good.
Ting-Lu asks Gene to fill any bits that are missing and attempts the chant with him. If Agatha gets close enough, it will try to launch a surprise attack whilst performing the chant.

3. "You think this man can stop me? You think this man is your friend? Not if my souls have anything to say about that." Dark souls raise out of the grave and tuck themselves into Gene. And now he's possessed and trying to kill you all. Incapacitate him, but DON'T kill him. If you can find a way to get the spirits out of his body, maybe he can save you all.

Why did you alert her to the fact you were imminently going to destroy her? If you had not, perhaps she would be gone forever as planned, you fool.
No rest for the witch's.
Ting-Lu hopes the sheer blasphemous mercilessness of the Dark-type Throat Chop deters or destroys the spirits possessing Gene. OOC: Dark is stronger against Ghost than against Normal, but it's just as strong against Psychic. He's not a psychic or equivalent though, right?
If this kills Gene first, no matter, it thinks. It can just fight the witch itself.

[Mr. Lee Hammer]

1. Withstand the winds that are increasing in strength and recover all the papers for Gene.
The first part is easy, the second is much harder.
Ting-Lu attempts to scoop up the papers with the vessel on its head. Its massive weight should help it resist the winds if they get really bad.

2. Attempt to chant with Gene with whatever you recovered and stop Agatha for good.
Ting-Lu asks Gene to fill any bits that are missing and attempts the chant with him. If Agatha gets close enough, it will try to launch a surprise attack whilst performing the chant.

3. "You think this man can stop me? You think this man is your friend? Not if my souls have anything to say about that." Dark souls raise out of the grave and tuck themselves into Gene. And now he's possessed and trying to kill you all. Incapacitate him, but DON'T kill him. If you can find a way to get the spirits out of his body, maybe he can save you all.

Why did you alert her to the fact you were imminently going to destroy her? If you had not, perhaps she would be gone forever as planned, you fool.
No rest for the witch's.
Ting-Lu hopes the sheer blasphemous mercilessness of the Dark-type Throat Chop deters or destroys the spirits possessing Gene. OOC: Dark is stronger against Ghost than against Normal, but it's just as strong against Psychic. He's not a psychic or equivalent though, right?
If this kills Gene first, no matter, it thinks. It can just fight the witch itself.

1. The winds are much too strong for you to scoop everything up. They just blow around and around, not giving you ample time to collect any of them. They all blow out of reach, even for you.

Rolled 3.

2. You all manage to work together well. Gene is more than willing to help you fill in these extra bits you don't know. And you manage to stun the Ranger when he/she goes in for the attack. So much so you go in and whack him/her into the sky, where he/she lands with a hard thud.

Rolled 9.

3. Your Throat Chop releases the spirit out of Gene, who is definitely not psychic, but a mere human who studies the supernatural. But the one thing that happens is the spirit tries to go into you. Seeing as how resistant you are against ghosts, it has a hard time getting into you. Still, it slowly bumps you, making you stagger into the barrier, where you spontaneously combust.

The Ranger points at your charred corpse and you're back to life.

Pathetic. So much effort into preventing the soul to take you over, yet you lose awareness of your surroundings.

Rolled 10 and maxed out to 11 for your resistance to ghost types.

Ting-Lu has scored a total of 23 points.

[Zanreo]

1.You run as fast as you can against the wind, grabbing papers as you find them. You even use a sharp stick to pick up hard-to-reach papers - hopefully that won't damage them too much.

2. "Should be simple enough..." You look over the papers, and loudly read the chants listed along with Gene.

3. "So it's come to this..." You find some thick, heavy rope, then sneak up to him from behind and start tying him up, first arms and then legs. Then... taunt the spirits to have them hopefully get out of Gene to go after you instead, at which point you dodge them and slice them up.

[Zanreo]

oh yeah and for 2 he also strikes some cool poses while performing the chants

[Mr. Lee Hammer]

1.You run as fast as you can against the wind, grabbing papers as you find them. You even use a sharp stick to pick up hard-to-reach papers - hopefully that won't damage them too much.

2. "Should be simple enough..." You look over the papers, and loudly read the chants listed along with Gene.

3. "So it's come to this..." You find some thick, heavy rope, then sneak up to him from behind and start tying him up, first arms and then legs. Then... taunt the spirits to have them hopefully get out of Gene to go after you instead, at which point you dodge them and slice them up.

1. You run up to the papers with the stick, but you skew through them. Proably could have been more careful with them. Do you think he'll have problems reading them? We'll see.

Rolled 4.

2. The papers aren't too torn up and you and Gene manage to read through them and do the chants with no issue. And you stun The Ranger just as he/she attempts to go for an attack.

Rolled 7.

3. However, while you do taunt the spirits out of Gene, you find the souls are more than you bargained for as you all get into a hard-fought battle. But in the end, your fighting skills serve you well as you emerge victorious with the souls dead before your feet.

Rolled 9 and 3- for arrogance for 6.

Shin Amon has scored a total of 17 points.