Eldramin continues his assault on the one remaining near him as his spectral blade harries the Mistress.
Kierdan and Eldramin disappear in the column of fire, their flesh blackening and cracking beneath the unholy blaze. Kierdan cries out to his god for solace, and the inferno dies, the flames transformed into healing warmth that allows the priest and warlock to emerge refreshed, if not entirely unscathed.
With all attention on the fiery aftermath, Rolen slips from hiding and launches an arrow at the Mistress. Catching her off guard, it sinks deep between two scales. She screams in surprise and pain.
Alistair launches a lightning bolt but the naga is on guard now and easily dodges, letting the stalagmite she hides behind absorb most of the damage. .
As she readies a counter-attack, Koralyn and Eldramin use their enchanted blades to cut down the remaining cultist and the entrapped wight, leaving the party alone on the field with the Mistress.
No longer playing, she spits out the words of another spell -- and disappears from sight.
As she readies a counter-attack, Koralyn and Eldramin use their enchanted blades to cut down the remaining cultist and the entrapped wight, leaving the party alone on the field with the Mistress.No longer playing, she spits out the words of another spell -- and disappears from sight.
Unsure what to do Koralyn casts Invisibility on herself and her closest ally before moving at a diagonal towards the pillar where she last saw the enemy.
Not sure where the creature has disappeared to, Alistair throws a firebolt at where he thinks she might be lurking.
Attack:
Attack:(Disadvantage):
Damage:
Not sure what is going to happen next, Kierdan calls upon his god to illuminate his friends with his grace, Blessing there actions, come what may.
Rolen pops from behind cover and fires this time at the Mistress, after trying to discern her location.
He then cunningly hides behind one of the stalagmites again.
= 20
= 25
Mimicking the incantation used by the naga to fade from sight, Koralyn casts an identical glamer upon herself and Eldramin, hiding both within a cloak of invisibility as they advance toward the pillar from different directions.
Dragomir advances between them, in plain view, but has little luck spotting the concealed naga, swinging his axe in frustration.
With a mental command and the aid of Kierdan's blessing, Eldramin directs his spectral blade to slash at the space where the naga was most recently seen -- a spray of blood shows he guessed correctly.
Alistair also manages to catch the naga with a firebolt, but the blast was a glancing blow at best. Rolen, aided by keen eyes that spot the dripping blood the naga has shed, sinks an arrow deep into unseen flesh, eliciting another howl of pain.
"You fools! Strike me down and I will only return, again and again, to wreck vengeance upon you and devour your offspring. But not all of you will live that long!"
The threat is followed by sibilant whispers that echo most strongly near Dragomir. The big fighter shakes his head, desperate to fight off the mental attack, but his will is insufficient. He bows his head in defeat, and when he raises it again, he turns and heads toward Kierdan and Alistair.
"The priest and the wizard must die," he says, his black axe held aloft as he moves.
~~~~~0~~~0~~~~~
Rolen pops from behind cover and fires again at the Mistress, after trying to discern her location.
[
He then cunningly hides behind one of the stalagmites again.
Seeing their friend succumb to the evil naga's will, Alistair attempts to place him into a deep sleep, so as not to harm him.
Sleep (2nd level):
Koralyn looks for where the naga might be.
Eldramin inexplicably wipes mud in his eyes and can't see his own hands in front of his face.
Koralyn and Rolen's more acute vision is able to pick out the Mistress's coiled form behind the jagged ruins of a wall 30 feet north of the pillar it was wrapped around before.
= 23
= 15
Kierdan concentrates on his prayer, continuing to implore Pelor for his Blessing. Into the prayer he weaves a brief request to the Sun Father to restore some of his priest's vitality.
Normally, I would tend to others first, Kierdan says to no one in particular, but this creature seems to have it on for me!
Koralyn sees the enemy and move in to attack. As she appears she has a quiet look of determination and begins her blade song.
Having spotted the naga's now-visible form among the ruins, Rolen let's fly another arrow that, yet again, strikes true and deep.
The Mistress cries out in pain, guiding Koralyn as she stalks into the ruins after it. Wielding Namarra in a two-handed grip, Koralyn thrusts the blade between two lines of scales, the bloodied tip emerging from the far side of the naga's body. Wrenching free, she rears back as blood streams from half a dozen grievous wounds. It is obvious death is almost upon her, but her mouth stretches into a fang-filled smile.
"I will eat your young when I return!" she says.
You are reminded of your many conversations with Ramne, the sage of Orlane:
"I know a fair bit of this Mistress -- I saw her killed, some 30 years ago. Looks like it didn't take ... but I've an idea or two how to spoil the trick this time."
"A monstrosity with the body of a snake and a woman's head, spouting blasphemy and dark incantations. I can't say I remember much of the battle. My wife fell before we had managed to cut through the fiend's protections. I must have gone a bit mad after ... the next thing I remember I was standing over the scorched body of the monster, hacking at it with a broken axe."
"After burying my wife, I consulted with some peers in Niole Dra, trying to identify the thing that had killed her. What I found left me filled with dread. The Mistress, by all appearances, had been one of the naga, serpent creatures possessed of great intellect and arcane skill. The ancients used them as guardians and gifted them with a rather persistent form of immortality. Even if they are killed, burned to ashes and scattered, their bodies will reform in a matter of days, none the worse for wear."
"A formidable foe, and not one to succumb to anything so pedestrian as fire or holy water. Only the most powerful magic is sufficient to prevent a naga's revivification, on the order of a wish granted by a genie or a miracle called down by the most favored arch-priests of the gods. The ancient Suel knew something of such Power Magic, as do a few living archmages like Mordenkainen and his circle ... But such power is beyond me, or anyone likely to take notice of Orlane's plight."
"But while ending the fiend may be beyond our abilities, there may be a way of preventing her return ... I came across a book a few years ago that went into some detail regarding certain theories of necromancy -- soul magic, essentially, and the various methods of trapping or transferring the ethereal essences of living creatures. As far as I can tell, the naga's ability to reform its body requires that its soul be snuffed out, as well. If the creature's soul could be trapped, instead, its body could be destroyed, leaving it in a sort of limbo as long as the soul was contained elsewhere."
And then, after making "improvements" to the cracked, rune-covered crystal found in the tomb of Dalvan Meir:
"There were too many cracks in the aetheric superstructure for it to contain a soul again, but enough of the separative magics remained that the gem can still be used to split a soul from its body -- just point, focus on the target and complete a Suloise counter-benediction with the left hand while uttering the command word. It will be easier to accomplish if the target is wounded, as the connection between mind and body becomes strained the more the body is deformed."
"Once you've severed the connection, the body and soul will be separate entities. I expect the body will simply collapse, with nothing to animate it. The soul, if strong enough, might fight on ... I guess. Truthfully, I have no idea what will happen -- I can't wait to find out! It will certainly make for a fascinating story, if any of you manage to survive."
Near the center of the circle, Kierdan calls upon his god's aid to renew a portion of his own strength, as Alistair attempts to halt the dominated-Dragomir's advance with a spell of slumber. The incantation has no effect, however, as the hale warrior accelerates into a trot, and then a charge that takes him past Eldramin toward Kierdan.
The sun-priest manages to raise his shield to block the first blow of the black axe, but the reverse strikes batters past his guard, cleaving through chain and leather to gouge a brutal gash in his side. Even as he circles, readying another attack, tears fall from Dragomir's face as he mouths a silent apology.
Cackling now as bloody froth drips from her lips, the Mistress spits out a few crackling words of power before vomiting a bolt of inky black energy at Koralyn, whose skin immediately begins to blacken and slew away in rot where the foul magic strikes.
~~~~~0~~~0~~~~~
Intelligence:
Tearing the artifact from his pouch, and focuses on the Naga and completes the Suloise counter-benediction with the left hand while uttering the command word.
Rolen pops from behind cover agsin and fires again at the Mistress.
He then cunningly hides behind one of the stalagmites again.
Koralyn recalls how to trap the naga's soul and is about to call out to Alistair when she sees he is ahead of her.
[dice=Int]1d20+4
Koralyn recalls how to trap the naga's soul and is about to call out to Alistair when she sees he is ahead of her.
Stunned by Dragomir's brutal attack, Kierdan ceases his concentration on asking for Pelor's blessing and immediately pleads with his god to hold his friend in place until whatever curse or affect he is under can be peacefully resolved.
Be still, Dragomir, you are not yourself!
The soul gem pulses with green light and the air is drawn from your lungs as Alistair completes the incantation. Silence reigns for a heartbeat, then two, before the Mistress looses an ear-splitting shriek. The skin of the face splits, torn to either side as glowing, dark-hued column of energy emerges from within like an insect from a chrysalis. Coiled and lithe, the energy form twists into the air above the Mistress's body, which stitches itself back together immediately -- at least until Rolen's black arrow buries itself in one eye socket.
The glowing energy trail screams again, the echoes reverberating within your skulls as the naga's body collapses to the stony ground. Dragomir falls to one knee, free of the Mistress's domination.
Unmoored from a mortal form, her spiritual aspect continued to shriek, then streaks into the air, spinning in circles, before turning back toward your group.
What have you done? I am sundered! But you, you I will eradicate utterly!
Seeing the spirit of the foul Naga ripped from its body, Alistair quickly summons a number of force bolts that streak unerringly towards the tainted soul of the Naga.
Magic Missile (2nd Level): damage
Eldramin, remaining invisible, moves to Alistair's side and holds his shield aloft seeking to defend Alistair against any retribution from the naga.
Was that suppose to happen that way Alistair? I thought the gem was suppose to capture the spirit, not free it? Koralyn watches the magic missiles dart into the thing and tries to decide if they hurt it.
Calling back to the elf, Alistair confirms that it worked as he remembers.
"It was to split the soul from the body. Because the crystal was already damaged, it could not hold a soul, but could pull it out of it's physical form for us to destroy once and for all!"