Simon groans and spits blood, then fixes an intense stare on Mol Kor.
"This battle has been tainted," he says. "You thrive on battle, Mol Kor, and I respect your straightforward love of it. But this fight is tainted, both by interference and by the intent of your current compatriots.
I bid you abandon these wretches and seek me out in one year, on the hills that surround the Greer estate on Avistan. I will meet you there with honour -- and with bared steel. Just you and me, two men fighting to see who is superior with the blade, or the fist, or the spell, or whichever other weapon we decide upon. Witnesses will be allowed, but interference will not.
Will you take this offer and abandon the filth to us?"
If Mol Kor agrees (
If he does not...
"Then I can only say thank you for the attempted warning. And we continue," the old man says, as he lashes out once again, his blade abruptly wreathed in arcs of lightning.
[ooc]Attack roll for damage, with another electricity damage added, as Grovnaidel uses a charge of Shocking Grasp.
Another sense of foreboding comes over Risha and Kaditula, as Poog continues to pronounce their dooms. "Someone shut that little snot up!", Risha cries.
"Kill Zak! Kill Poog! Kill everybody!", Kaditula calls back, mocking her tone. "You're not half the leader you think you are, Coaltongue."
Mol Kor laughs heartily at Simon's suggestion. "That's not combat!", he says, looking around the swirling chaos of the docks. "This is what combat truly is, and it does Gorum greater favor the longer it goes! For his glory!" The half orc arcs his sword towards Simon again, a flurry of vicious strikes.
A flurry which Simon could not have hoped to have avoided. Mol Kor's blade wounds him grievously, but Simon sacrificed his safety to get close to the priest. He shoves Grovnaidel into a gap in the half orc's armor, and a snap of electricity discharges inside the man's body. He shudders as a spray of blood escapes his mouth, his eyes rolling into his head. "For you, Lord..." are his last words as the mighty priest falls, dead before he hits the ground.
Simon stands over the fallen body of Mol Kor -- and whips up his lightning-wreathed rapier in a salute.
"Vaer Lucis!" the old man shouts, as the Half-Orc's blood runs down the blade, then turns around and points his weapon at Risha.
"Your mightiest warrior has fallen!" he shouts. "Flee to save your craven life, criminal!"
Zarina moves to Kaditula and swipes at her with a flaming claw.
Attack with Power Attack
Damage
plus Fire
Risha ducks out of the way as Zarina swipes a burning claw at her throat, knocking her jingasa to the ground. "Hey! That was my favorite hat!" She glances to Kaditula. "A little help?"
"Fine," he replies through gritted teeth. He sidesteps for a moment, then attempts to roll himself over Simon's back in order to get closer to Zarina.
The move is well-executed, but the dock makes for a very unstable platform, and he stumbles slightly as he lands near Zarina. He swings his chain in circles, and lets it fly towards her. Rather than slash open her flesh, he aims the barbed links lower, trying to bind her legs.
A grimly satisfied smile inches its way across his face as the powerful warrior slams into the dock. "Stay down, if you know what's good for you," he hisses.
Asha twitches when she sees Mal Kor fall, and there is no mistaking the sadness in her eyes. But it doesn't keep her from following Pirin with her glaive flashing.
When the sorceress falls, Asha spins in the air, looking at Risha. "End this, now. Before you all die." She still does not focus her attention on Kadi.
Pirin crumples under Asha's mighty blows, and she floats unconsciously to the water. Rather than sink, she lands atop it, some sorcery keeping her afloat on the water's surface.
A grave look of concern crosses Risha's face as she sees Pirin fall, and glares up at Asha. "You don't know much about the Consortium, do you?", she snorts with derision. "I'd rather die to your blades than what they put me through if I surrender." She grabs a second short sword and leaps upon Zarina as she lies at the woman's feet.
With a veritable flurry of stabs, Zarina is able to roll out of the way of many of Risha's blows. An increased look of fury and frustration mars her face, and a final strike pierces the dragon woman's side. As she does, she howls in pain and clutches the same place on her body, her hand red with her own blood. She glances from her hand to Poog, a look born of desperation on her face. "What did you do to me, you little rhyming snot?!?"
Round 4
Zak uncorks his bottle of smoke and vanishes into a billowing cloud, then slowly draws an arrow and takes aim on Risha's heart.
Poog winces as the tentacles continue to wreak havoc, then grins, spitting a mouthful of blood. "Poog am killing you, you stupid human. You am dead and am not even knowing it yet!"
He spits another mouthful of blood toward his two targets, calling down more of his dark power on them.
Standard action: Use agony hex -- The target is nauseated for 12 rounds. A DC 21 Fortitude save negates this effect. If the saving throw is failed, the target can attempt a new save each round to end the effect. Whether or not the save is successful, a creature cannot be the target of this hex again for 1 day. Both should still have -2 to saves, and have to roll twice.
Move action: Continue cackling.
Zarina grins at Risha and lashes out at her with two hands covered with claws and a fierce bite.
Claw
Damage plus
fire
Claw
Damage plus
fire
Bite
Damage plus
fire
Simon whirls into action; a flip and a cartwheel put him in position to take best advantage of his allies' positioning around Risha -- and his slender blade lashes out again, the steel crackling with electricity.
"If surrender is not an option, madame, then speed you on your way to Pharasma's judgment," he says, his voice sombre.
Simon and Zarina maneuver to put Risha between them. Unfortunately, the woman is quite adept at fending off attacks from both of them, and their harrying tactics don't seem to put her at any disadvantage.
Still, Simon is able to stab her again, and she leaps backwards as Grovnaidel sends another jolt of electricity into her. This proves her undoing, as she leaps directly into Zarina's claws. The Avistani woman falls to the ground with a scream, though she continues to draw breath.
Kaditula's eyes roll into the back of his head, and he doubles over in pain, violently vomiting upon the dock. "Wh-what have you done...?", he croaks, slowly backing away from the remaining Warriors.
Asha watches Risha fall with a look of anguish, although the expression is muted when she realizes the rogue is not dead. She floats over to the end of the dock, behind Kadi, and places the edge of her glaive against the side of his neck.
"It's over, Kadi. You've lost. Stop now, or I will put you down myself, and we both know that you can't hope to beat me in your current condition - let alone all of us."
"This is your last chance, it seems, young man," Simon says, his voice gentle. "Quit now. There are ways out of any trap, especially if you help to unravel the Aspis Consortium's and the Golden League's plot instead of helping them."
Kaditula freezes as he feels the glaive's blade at his neck, and winces as he hears Asha's plea. "When have I ever had a chance to beat you, sister?", he says, he voice quavering. "You're right, we've lost this fight. It doesn't matter if I keep fighting or surrender now. Except, like I said last night, there is no escaping the Golden League so long as I live. If I surrender to you, I'd suffer a fate much like the one waiting for these four if they failed their masters. Would you condemn me to that?" He turns to look Asha in the eye. "Where do we go from here?", he says, and Asha can see his eyes misting as he meets her gaze.
Asha meets his gaze firmly with her own, and there are tears in her eyes as well. She smiles, though. "I will never allow that," she says firmly. "I will protect you, no matter what. We will win you free of the League." She pauses, biting her lip speculatively. "Even if your death is what it takes..."
There's a long tense moment as the two siblings match gazes, and the only sound on the docks is the gentle lapping of the waves against the pier. Even the gulls have quieted. Eventually, the silence is broken by the clattering of Kaditula's chain as he lets it fall to the ground, followed shortly by Kaditula himself, as he drops to his knees, his head bowed in defeat.
"You win," he says, his voice cracking. "I surrender. The Golden League will try to kill me for my failure. I have little faith that I'll survive long enough to see home." He looks up, twin teardrops streaking down his cheeks.
"But you've always had faith to spare, haven't you, sister?"
"Do not despair, young man," Simon says. "Those criminals are neither all-knowing nor all-powerful. And speaking of criminals..."
Grovnaidel's tip has been hovering over Risha's throat the whole time, and now Simon's pale eyes meet those of the young woman. "Will you surrender now, madame?" the old man asks. "Or do you prefer death?"
Without looking away from the prisoner, Simon calls to Zakarras and Zarina. "Someone needs to check whether the Champion is on board or not."
"But you've always had faith to spare, haven't you, sister?"
Asha sets aside her glaive, laying on the dock before crossing to Kadi and kneeling down to wrap him in a hug. "I have, Kadi. And if you have faith in me, my faith will see us through this."
She glances over at Risha and Pirin. "Already the price has been too high," she continues softly, "but I will pay however much more it takes."
"Hmmph," Poog snorts, as he moves out of the black tentacles.
He pulls out a wand and begins healing himself.
"Poog told you you would not win. You am lucky Poog am probably not allowed to finish you."
He looks hopefully at Asha.
Zarina waits for word from any other surviving members of the other team before retracting her claws.
Taking stock of the situation, it's clear that both Darys and Mol Kor are both deathly still. Risha still breathes, as does Pirin, though the sorceress is still floating atop the brackish water of the bay.
At Simon's request, Zak's cloud of smoke drifts toward the ship to investigate for any signs of the Aspis Conts or Marythsan.
Asha binds her brother's hands sadly, but thoroughly. "There will be questions you will need to answer," she murmurs to him. "But my oath holds to the end. I will protect you."
"I'll answer what I can, Asha," Kaditula says, offering no resistance as she ties his hands. "And...thank you."
Zak drifts towards the boat in his cloud of smoke, and as he approaches, he sees the sailors on board tossing down their weapons. "We surrender!", one shouts frantically. "Please don't kill us!" He sees no obvious signs that this ship has any affiliation with the Aspis Consortium, nor does he see Marythsan on deck.
His wounds closed, Poog flies after Zakarras, ready to handle any threats that might present themselves. He grins toothily as the sailors surrender.
"Tell us where am Marysthan and we am maybe letting you live!" he calls back.
"Belowdecks!", one of them shouts. "They took him belowdecks!"
"Hmmph," Poog grunts, only slightly satisfied.
He nods to Zakarras, heading belowdecks when with the archer when he's ready.
"Hold, Poog!" Zak's voice drifts from the cloud of smoke. "This enemy hides in shadow and strikes without honor, we need to investigate below decks with care."
Poog sighs as he realizes he has to wait for everyone else. Seeing it will take a moment, he flies closer to Zak and quickly casts a curative spell on the archer.
The sailors do not attempt to obstruct Zak as he and his black smoke cloud heads belowdecks. In short order, he finds Marythsan behind some crates in the hold of the ship, bound and unconscious.
Zak will administer one of his potion of cure serious wounds to Marythsan, then carry the man out from the hold of the ship to the fresh air of the dock.
"Not the tournament you were expecting, eh?"
Poog will look around at the area where Marysthan was found.