Appario looks confused by Yahirma, then realizes he's mistaken.
"Oh, you *did* cast it on me?! Sorry! Sorry! I was confuzzled. As you were."
Appario is ready to engage the spawn on his next turn.
"Stay close to Appario. Even the lesser of their kind can invade the mind and turn us against each other."
"Yes...and we might want to wait until later to tear into eachother. Maybe we can get the proprietor of the devildrome to make it into a show, fun AND profits."
"Yes, I don't think we need them to instill conflict between us."
Maddok nods.
"We can plan a trip back to the Devildrome after the Lord of Shadows is no more."
The commanded spawn follows Yahirma's orders, and attempts to grapple its nearest former companion. Despite its blindness, the targeted spawn swipes at it when it does.
The commanded spawn seems out of place attempting this kind of maneuver, and is only rivalled in incompetence by its chosen target's poor job at taking advantage of openings in its defenses.
***
The four blind spawn converge on the group's frontline.
All of the spawn miss with their feeble attempts at dealing damage.
***
The formerly-unseen greater shadow swoops in, sends its shadowy tendrils towards Maddok, and swoops away again.
However, in its eagerness to sap such a strong warrior's strength, the incorporeal creature misses.
***
Maddok easily fends off the clumsy blind vampire's attack.
The big Shoanti holds his stake at the ready, waiting for Yahirma's paralyzing salts.
"Hold your attacks!"
"Now!"
Yahirma whispers quick instructions to her shadow before calling out a different set to her new corporeal minion. Then, relying on her broken line of sight to the "great one," she negotiates her way to O-32 and, salt in hand, watches the eastern wall.
To the shadow Yahirma says, "Follow me and stay above me. Disrupt the 'great one's' attacks should it emerge."
To her vampire spawn she adds, "Join me here and do the same: disrupt the shadow's offensive."
The undead have extraordinary spiritual fortitude to resist my abilities. Perhaps I am just out of practice...
Seeing that the magical paralysis isn't coming in the near future, Maddok drops his stake and swings wildly with his hammer.
Appario looks at Maddok, then Yahirma.
"Can I kill things now?"
Looking at the blind spawn and unsure how long it was going to last, Appario tries to take down #1 (N28) staking be damned, this is war.
to hit;
damage;
to hit;
damage;
Edit: potential crit:
to hit;
damage;
"Yes. I don't know what Yahirma's plans are but it appears she does not think it important to destroy these spawn for good."
"Up close and personal? I can do that."
Xerath will just attack one of the spawn, focusing whoever is taking the most damage, still very aware of the shadow that can spring up at any time.
One spawn is smashed into mist by Maddok's hammer, while another is similarly sliced and pierced into mist by Appario's and Xerath's combined attacks. Derek's attacks injure a third.
***
The two misty spawn begin drifting away towards the doors to the north, while the remaining two spawn continue their attacks.
Again, their slams are unable to hit.
***
The greater shadow obliges Yahirma as it swoops in for another chance at drinking in Maddok's strength.
It's stopped dead in mid-flight as the powerful salts remind it of its death.
***
"Hey, Derek!"
Round 2
"Hey, Derek! Derek!!"
Appario swings at another spawn (#2).
"Derek, why are vampires so anxious?!"
to hit;
damage.
"Because they're looking for their necks victim!! Ha!"
to hit;
damage.
I should totally go back into theater...I'm hilarious.
"Very droll Appario, your rapier wit cuts like a knife through hot butter.
The stage lost a true credit to the art when you took holy wows."
Too much? Well, we'll see won't we?
Derek begins to adopt a particularly flashy mode of attack, then suddenly falters as he realizes his opponent is blind.
Right, blind...forgot about that.
Pausing just long enough to do a chagrined face palm, he then instead simply flips the trident up, bends the arm bearing his buckler at the elbow and catches the haft of the trident in the crook of his arm.
"Sometimes the simple way is the best."
With the buckler held steady in front of his heart the thrusts out twice, first at the vampire’s midsection, then at his neck.
"Rising tide , since I know you can't see it."
I've used a rapier too much, this new weight is making me lose my balance...got to adjust for it.
Maddok watches in frustration as the mist drifts lazily away. The big Shoanti lays into the remaining attacking spawn with looping hammer blows.
Appario and Maddok each hit their respective spawn once, while Derek misses with both of his attacks.
***
Maddok notes Xerath eyeing the graceful shadow warily.
"Do not strike it. A single blow will break the enchantment. Focus your attacks in the remaining vampires."
"Yes, I know." Xerath jabs his spear at another spawn.
Xerath's spear pulverizes the spawn to the point where it almost seems as if the forming mist will be sucked in by its power, but the mist finally manages to escape the spear's gravitational pull.
***
Shaking a few grains of salt from her hand, Yahirma admires her handiwork as it sticks out of the wall. She scratches her chin in thought before turning to Derek and trying to get in a word edge-wise as he and Appario banter unintelligibly.
Yahirma gives her shadow quick instructions as she negotiates her way off of the beach. With another handful of salt, she showers the remaining enemy spawn with a purified reminder of its past life.
"Follow the vampire mists and see where they sleep. Report back quickly."
The final spawn attempts to resist the painful reminder of its death, but must finally succumb to the buried memories.
The three misty spawn drift further away, two making it through the doors.
***
Yahirma looks to the stake at Maddok's feet, makes a stabbing motion, and then raises an eyebrow in inquiry. Turning to her coerced ally, she asks a few questions in Infernal.
"Inform us where your coffin or other hiding place is. If you have several or know of your master's place of rest, state that as well."
Maddok picks up his discarded stake and drives it into the heart of the held spawn.
"Once my two thralls are destroyed, I will be able to control the greater shadow. Let the others know that if it is too willful and escapes my control, they should be ready to strike it down."
As Maddok grabs the stake, Yahirma points to the paralyzed vampire spawn. Once Derek has had a chance to related Yahirma's plan (and once the controlled vampire spawn relays what it can), Yahirma will help direct the party in destroying the two creatures under her control.
Though you have been shackled by misfortune, today you are freed.
Appario watches the staking with interest.
Oh, that's how it's supposed to work.
"Yahirma wants to "upgrade" her minion, she wants us to destroy the ordinary shadows so she can focus on the greater one. But she warns us that we should be ready to destroy it too if it proves to..."willfull."
The controlled spawn looks on as Maddok drives his stake into the last spawn's heart, the wooden implement slaying it instantly, then replies to Yahirma's question.
"Our coffins are in Silana's chamber. Through the doors there," it points to the double doors in the northern wall, "then through the first door in the eastern wall. A short hallway leads to a second set of doors, opening into her chamber."
"The master rests elsewhere. There's a place in the hallway outside Silana's chamber. When the master comes, he always enters and leaves through there in mist-form. Silana does the same when the master summons her. Living creatures some times go to see him, but I don't know how."
"I think Silana and the master have other resting places, too, but I don't know where."
***
***
In their place, Yahirma gains the services of the greater shadow.
Maddok watches Yahirma and her new 'pet' with a bit of worry before sheathing Shadowbinder and gripping his hammer tightly.
"So a Silana is through these doors? Is she the lover or the 'diseased one'? We'll see soon enough."
Once everyone's grouped up, Maddok opens the doors.
"It sounds as though Silana is also a vampire or one with the power to become mist. Our new, short-term ally will be little use against a vampire, but it may be useful against the 'diseased one' or the creature that abducted Tarvi. I suggest we seek those out first," recommends Yahirma.
Maddok nods and then opens the doors.
Tarvi!! Yes, that was disappointing. Delivering justice to that one must happen.
Appario nods at Yahirma, anxious to to find the diseased one.
"Agreed." Xerath resists the urge to destroy the shadow and follows Maddok through the doors.
"We have a plan then? Good, no time like the present."
The doors open to reveal a hallway ending in a set of double doors to the north. Two other sets of double doors lead east.
***
Maddok advances down the hallway and opens the double doors at the end.
"Right, so Silas is through the first set of doors here. But we wanted to go further?
I must admit, I hate to have the enemy be able to come up on us from behind."
"Let them come from all sides. As long as we stay together, there is no foe we cannot overcome", Maddok offers.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. You could say the same thing about the diseased one or the creature that captured Tarvi."
Before Maddok opens the next set of doors, Xerath casts a protective spell in the likely chance that he will be in danger.
"Your optimism is unrelenting isn't it." He replies rather dryly to Maddok.