Almost in range of the masked wikkawak, Hinagiku slows down in her tracks. With the alarm sounded, they needed to change their approach in order to reach the wikkawak druid.
"Ary, do you want to push forward or take down the golem and wikkawak before continuing.?"
First, Xanderghul moves away from the melee with the hornsman, hoping that Ary can keep him where he is and knowing that Isilme can maneuver with no problem in the darkness. He weaves some darkness around himself and, squinting in the dim light for aim, casts it at the flesh golem, hoping that its large size and mindless nature make it easy to ensnare.
"Hinagiku, we can't outrun these combatants easily. Perhaps if we had wall spells at our disposal or if we could teleport, we could disengage, but unless you have a plan to escape I think we have to finish this one."
"Xander's right. Val may need your help on that end more than I do on this one... I'm not really sure." Ary responds.
"Flesh golems..." Ehren mumbles, loathing the very thought. At the moment he could not see the grotesque construction, but it was not hard to imagine the hideous statue moving of its own volition. He recalls that the last time they faced such constructs, their reaction was to run. "Does it look as dangerous as Jorsal's handiwork?"
Xanderghul flicks a critical eye in its direction. "It's likely to hurt us, but I believe we can handle this one. Plus, if you'll look, the roof isn't collapsing on us this time."
The golem lunges forwards at Valaria at just the right second to avoid Xanderghul's shadowy projectile - more luck than skill or grace on its part.
"Alright." Hinagiku simply answers to Xanderghul.
Following Ary's answer, Hinagiku takes a quick look back into the dimly light room. However, unable to see the golem because of the wall, she chooses to head for the wikkawak first.
"Miss Valaria, miss Ayavah, can you retreat toward us?"
She then quickly covers the distance between herself and her foe and attempts to strike at its solar plexus, but the wikkawak brings up its own weapon in defense just in time.
Valaria is up!
Val looks up at the monster, then at her friend who still seems half dazed from the stench of carrion. She tightens her grip on Ayavah's wrist and all but throws her back from the monster, keeping her body between the golem and the sorceress so it doesn't have a chance to lash out at her. "Go," she says, reminding Ayavah to keep moving before the statue figures out what's happening. "We're on our way," she replies to Daisy, relying on the message so her voice doesn't carry. "But big, ugly, and smelly is going to be right behind us." She rolls back and bolts, getting some distance from the construct and setting herself up between it and the spell casters again.
With the horn having been blown, there was little point in attempting to be stealthy. The sounds of battle and the warning would likely be drawing even more combatants into the fray, and would likely give the crone time to prepare for their arrival. Given that, Isilme decides there is little point in holding back. "Get closer Val, I am going to haste us. We cannot afford to get mired here when the remaining wikkawaks will be preparing for us."
"Remember those who fell trying to carve out this foothold for the crusades! Though their fate was gruesome, they call upon us to reclaim this place, and along with it, their honor! Even the very world calls upon us to intervene here to free this region from the horror that has befallen it. We cannot back down, and we cannot fail here!" Isilme calls out to the group, attempting to instill a sense of urgency and inpsire them to greater feats in the name of those who came before.
As she recites, she readies herself, preparing to unleash a haste upon the group the moment everyone is within range.
Ehren is up!
While the actual power behind Isilme's words was all but wasted on Ehren, her call to action was not. He had intended to conserve the rest of his magic for their inevitable confrontation with Ugmitok, but under their present circumstances, he could ill afford to hold back. They were going to need all of the help they could get. The druid murmurs and gestures with his free hand, conjuring up numerous swirling starlights that dance in between his fingertips, coursing with the power of the ley.
Ary watches as Hinagiku's normally well-placed blow misses their foe by... quite a bit. She nods, and focuses on Radiance, willing the blade to brighten once more as she callously moves around the wikkawak to pin it in.
Ary attempts to move around the wikkawak, but is caught up when the creature swings a blow with his morningstar that would fell her cleanly... he oversteps his mark and misses. The crusader slowly shrinks to normal size and rights herself, readying to counterattack.
Variska hesitates for a moment, turning to face the monster behind them, but then decides to step forwards to address the wikkawak guard first. She swings again, and again, but her opponent spins away from her well-placed swings with only the strain in his face showing how close to connecting she came.
The wikkawak doesn't pull his mask back down, revealing a set of sharp teeth in a wide smile - he swings the weapon again and again at Ary. Hinagiku intercepts, managing to pull his wrist away and stop the first blow, but with a heavy and meaty thud his mace rends through Ary's body on the second attempt, splitting her flesh and quite near shattering bone. Her body frail since her reincarnation, she feels the blow begin to swell up and throb under her armor.
Meanwhile, the enormous meat statue lumbers slowly and stupidly towards Valaria. It swings a patch-work fist at her - she ducks right in time.
Round 166!
Xanderghul is up!
Xanderghul steps away from the flesh golem, not liking how close it had gotten nor how it had avoided his glob of restricting darkness. Knowing that Valaria maybe isn't going to get away from it, he steps up behind her and lays a hand on her shoulder. "Ayavah's away, go for it," he says. He weaves an illusion, speaking arcane words of misdirection and confusion, and scribes a symbol on Valaria's shoulder. As the symbol fades from sight, so does Valaria, and a blurring obscures her location for a moment, and then she re-appears two feet to her own left.
Hinagiku is up!
Having failed to stop the blow aimed at Ary, Hinagiku quickly follows the commander, she wouldn’t let her come to more arm if she could help it.
”Ary, you have to retreat, staying in melee would be unwise….” she says, in an even voice as she strikes multiple time at the wikkawak, first to bring it down, they to reader it unconscious.
Hinagiku sweeps the wikkawak to the ground, then grabs its arm and twists it, breaking his wrist and causing him to drop his weapon. She follows this up with two swift chops to the neck and face, before withdrawing to Ary's side.
Valaria is up!
"That should help," Val says as Xan casts his spell on her. She's not exactly sure how well her knives will do against the thick meat covering the construct, but it's better than leaving the spell casters at the monster's mercy.
The rotting monstrosity isn't bright nor fast enough to protect itself from the ruthless spike of Valaria's well-aimed attacks, though its lack of internal organs makes up for it - it doesn't even seem to notice her strikes, until she manages to cut through some of its stitching, destabilizing its construction somewhat. The whole fleshy mass starts to quiver violently with every move.
Ayavah backs away from the melee, pressing her back against the icy wall of the tunnel, gasping for breath.
Isilme is up!
Isilme sighs as Val settles down to fight over near where the statue had come from, thus preventing her from hasting the entire group. Moving closer towards the wikkawak hornsman, she draws her rapier and imbues it with arcane power. She then begins waiting for Ehren to finish channeling his spell, by now used to identifying his summons.
Ehren is up!
A large cluster of spiraling starlights abruptly manifests in the empty space near Ary and the grounded hornsman, forming the shape of a rather large creature. The light soon fades, unveiling a grizzly bear of prodigious size. Its fur shimmers unnaturally, its claws and teeth bear an almost metallic sheen, and its eyes blaze like tiny suns. Without anything in the way of instruction, the beast takes one look at the fallen wikkawak and proceeds to tear it into it.
Ehren watches with grim satisfaction, taking out his healing wand again so that he can tend to the wounded.
The grizzly bear shreds through the wikkawak, spackling him with his own blood and gore as he falls unconscious from his many wounds.
Ary is up!
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"There's not really anywhere to retreat-" BOOM. Crash. Groar. "I think it's safe right here." Ary says watching the bear absolutely shred the Wikkawak and leave it in a small pile on the floor. She nods slowly and digs into her belt pouch to produce one of the topaz potions they'd looted previously, before moving back the way they'd come. If anyone needed to get out, she'd need to be closer to cover their escape.
Round 167!
Variska turns to face the corpse-monster and sighs, hesitating before resolving to enter the fray herself. "Okay. Never a dull a moment," she mutters. She circles around to its other side, quickened by Isilme's spell, pausing right out of its reach, before mumbling, "F#*$ it," and lunging in to strike. With some fancy footwork she manages to evade the massive golem's mighty swing, and as she brings up her shield to deflect another, she takes the opportunity to plunge her blade deep into it.
he battle was turning decisively in their favor with the wikkawak down on the ground, but he shakes his head with disappointment at Isilme's premature usage of haste. In fact, he shakes his head at his own decision to use displacement as well, which also probably wasn't necessary. They did still have the flesh golem to deal with, but Xanderghul doubted it would take long once Valaria got into her stride. He repositions again, moving away from it before curling another blob of liquid shadow in his palms and hurling it at the golem. It hits one of his flailing arms, but fails to ensnare it fully - it drips off to the ground and vanishes.
Hinagiku is up!
Hinagikku’s sole acknowledgement of Ary’s joke is a small nod, which is also meant to approve of the woman healing herself. Then without a second look to the shredded wikkawka or the … indescribable … bear, Hinagiku rushes towards the golem, stopping right within its reach.
Valaria is up!
Thankfully, Val's speed and ability to hit weak points seem to be effective at dealing with the rather clumsy golem, especially with the support from Isilme and Xan's magic. She goes in again, hoping to actually get in a few good slices this time.
Seeing the two guardians fall, Isilme wastes no time pushing people to get moving. "Let us get moving quickly. There is little point in proceeding stealthily now." With that she turns and continues down the passage the hornsman had been guarding.
With deft skill Valaria's blows snake past the golem's meager defenses - with a few well placed cuts the monster collapses to the ground, inert.
Combat ends!
1. Variska (grazed, fatigued, haste)
2. Wendigo Statue (wounded)
3. Xanderghul (EE, longstrider, -1 STR, -3 CHA)
4. Hinagiku (EE, haste)
5. Valaria (Mythic Heroism, Displacement [173]) <--- You're up!!!
6. Ayavah (1 NL, -3 STR, -2 CON, -3 CHA)
7. Isilme (EE, CL, -1 STR, -3 CHA, -4 CON, Arcane Pool [176], haste [173])
8. Ehren (greater longstrider, EE, -3 STR, -1 CON, -2 CHA, haste) + Grizzly Bear (Haste) [173]
9. Ary (EE, longstrider, critical, haste)
In the darkness just past the light of Radiance is another wooden gate made of spears. The cavern that the group stands in continues on in the darkness to the south.
Round 168!
"Okay, that thing was significantly less durable than I thought it was going to be," Val says. She pauses for a second and pulls out a scrap of cloth to wipe the bits of rotting meat from her knives. "So through the next spear gate then?"
Isilme cuts open the rope binding the gate, revealing yet another long, icy stairwell that leads deeper into the darkness. Forgoing stealth and subtlety, the group moves in unison with one another, though Isilme and Valaria are at the lead. It is only a few more moments before they see yet another wikkawak emerging from the darkness.
Round 170!
The wikkawak doesn't seem at all surprised - he could see the brightly illuminated heroes from far away, after all. He grips a large axe in his hand and slowly moves up the slippery steps towards the heroes.
Initiative Order!
1. Wikkawak #1
2. Ehren (greater longstrider, EE, -3 STR, -1 CON, -2 CHA, haste) + Grizzly Bear (Haste) [173]
3. Ayavah (1 NL, -3 STR, -2 CON, -3 CHA) , Variska (grazed, fatigued, haste)
4. Valaria (Mythic Heroism, Displacement [173])
5. Hinagiku (EE, haste)
6. Isilme (EE, CL, -1 STR, -3 CHA, -4 CON, Arcane Pool [176], haste [173])
7. Ary (EE, longstrider, wounded, haste)
8. Xanderghul (EE, longstrider, -1 STR, -3 CHA)
Ehren is up!
"My friend here won't be around for much longer," Ehren says to the others, patting his conjured bear on the back. He nudges his head toward the approaching wikkawak, conveying some unspoken message to the furry beast... a message that it evidently picks up on. The grizzly bear trundles forward with unnatural quickness, skidding around on the ice but managing to keep its footing.
Ehren prods Ary with his wand of cure light wounds, healing over more of her wounds.
As Variska advances forward, another wikkawak emerges out from the darkness, slowly moving up the slippery steps.
"We got another one down here," calls back the mercenary.
Valaria is up!
Val shifts forward and draws one of her regular daggers. She flicks it through the air at the nearest wikkawak , not able to get close enough with Ehren's friend filling most of the hall. Not that she really minds. Having a giant angry bear on their side this time is rather nice.
There is slight whoosh as Valaria's throw goes sailing towards the center of the closest wikkawak, but yet another one emerges from the darkness behind it.
Hinagiku is up!
With the tunnel blocked by her allies, Hinagiku decides to follow Ehren’s exemple, drawing her own wand of healing and preparing to heal Ary.
Isilme is up!
Isilme watches as Ehren's bear lumbers down the hallway at the approaching wikkawaks. It was unfortunate, to be sure, that the hall was not much wider than the bear. Variska and Val barely had room to squeeze by the creature. Because of that, there was little she could do but cheer them on and hope that they would be able to plow through the incoming wikkawaks.
Ary is up!
Ary moves quickly to the frontlines, but not quite into range of her foes, stopping just short so that she can cover her allies' movement - and flanks - more easily.
Xanderghul squints down into the darkness at the hopefully-not-unending wave of wikkawaks sprinting at them from the bottom of the tunnel. He had not expected there to be so many of these creatures in between them and their goal, and he was beginning to feel the exhaustion set in. Still, he had more in him. Moving up behind Isilme, he unfurls the scroll in his hands and reads its words before pointing at one of the rear wikkawaks and unleashing a black ray that bends and curves, crackling with energy - but he aims too high and it continues on down out of sight and into the darkness.
One of the wikkawaks swings its axe right into the massive grizzly bear's face - there is an audible crack on impact as it breaks her snout. It only seems to serve to enrage the bear further.
Meanwhile, the heroes hear a low, masculine voice chanting somewhere deeper in the darkness.
Round 171!
Ehren is up!
In its pain and rage the bear roars, loosing a wild flurry of swipes at its wikkawak aggressor. A frightening display, if not a terribly effectual one.
Hearing the chanting in the distance, Ehren immediately recognizes the familiar language. While he could not piece together the exact words, the chant did not sound so different from the verbal components of his own spell.
"It's a druid, casting some kind of summoning spell. Be on your guard," he warns everyone, knowing all too well that the enemy could still potentially outnumber them.
Partially blinded by its own bloody face, the roaring bear swipes ineffectually at the wikkawak in front of it - the white-furred goblinoid manages to hold it off using its battleaxe. Purely by luck, one of its swipes leaves a nasty gash in the wikkawak's side. Variska intervenes as it is distracted by the angry bear. Dropping low, then sweeping up with practiced grace, her blade slides across her opponent, felling it cleanly. She then pivots on her heel, keeping her balance despite the slippery ice as she cleanly swings at the next wikkawak to approach. It focuses on Ary, slashing with its axe. CLANG! It hits her square in her breastplate - the shock completely absorbed by the protective armor. - though it leaves a deep tear in her tabard. Meanwhile, Variska's swing embarks towards it from behind with a gentle whistle, its sharp edge shredding through the thin, leather armor on its back and drawing blood. She withdraws with a grin - she's having fun, despite the danger.
"Hah! What is this magic? I feel so alive!" She steps forward, giving her allies a bit of room to maneuever - though the rash mercenary seems oblivious to the fact that she has left her flank wide open.
Valaria is up!
Not having much room to move, Val simply pulls her last few daggers and hurls them at the wikkawak in the back .
Valaria slowly aims, then sends her daggers arcing over the melee chaos, striking squarely through an opening in the wikkawak's armor. Blood drips from its wounds, but it still staggers forwards, eyes ablaze. It swings at Variska, but its grip on its weapon is weak from its multiple wounds, and she is able to easily evade the wikkawak's strike.
About to heal Ary, Hinagiku has to run after the woman when she heads for the melee. When she finally catches on, she whips the wand around and warm comforting and healing energy comes over some of the commander's wounds, closing them in the process.
Isilme is up!
Moving swiftly to enter battle now that there is a gap created when one of the wikkawaks falls, Isilme vaults over the bear and lands on her feet beyond him. Letting the ice and momentum carry her forward, she twists around and leans forward, coming to a stop one step down from where she was and flanking one of the wikkawaks with Ary. From her crouched position she strikes upward at the creature.
Isilme's rapier whizzes into the wikkawak with devastating speed, knocking it down once and for all.
Ary is up!