"I can attack with sound and lightning, so probably"
"I can probably work something out." Luca waves his hands as if he's shaking off water.
Well I can blast with lightning, or fire if you think that would be more effective. I can also attempt a more direct, mental assault.
Or, if you wish, I can port one of you guys up into the sky before we start where it is probably safer. Or if someone like Luca desires, I can port him directly into melee range of one of the shadows.
Midioto fidgets a bit, not desiring to get half-eaten again, and fiddling with his left arm a bit.
Also, if anyone wants mobility or to be placed somewhere at any point, just ask. Midioto would LOVE to feel useful and show off his powers a bit, and it makes it easier for me to know.
"From what I know of them, it will be best for those who can attack at a range to do so for as long as possible," Lwazi responds. "Let them come to us while we weaken them with magic."
"I do not happen to be in any rush to drop into the center of a hoard of undead. Please excuse me for a moments time. I must commune with the moth."
"Once preparations are done then let us approach with stealth as long as we can to limit whatever preparations they might make. I have very few to undertake myself. And yes, I am aware that some of us are not greatly stealthy; this merely allows us to approach closer than openly walking to our original camp."
Lwazi nods. "Then let us begin. I will lead."
He starts heading back to the camp, moving slowly and cautiously as they get nearer.
The group soon slinks near the camp. The shadows do eventually turn to look at the group once they draw close enough. Then they turn back and seem to continue thier silent discussion.
Luca bows his head and mutters something with whistles interspersed between words. Walking by the others he taps their shoulder allowing a wave of holy light to wash over and stick by them. The black-feathered tengu stands beside the rest of the group. He tenses his right hand claws and pulls them down through the air in front of himself, dragging inky blackness over to his being, almost literally wearing it.
"They are aware of us, and they don't attack? Interesting, maybe diplomacy will be possible? Within a shadow of a doubt at least. Eh?"
The shadows seem to be mostly ignoring the group, at the moment...
Lwazi nocks an arrow in his bow. "I would not trust them even if they could speak," he growls. "If you would speak with them, do so quickly."
"I suppose we should attempt conversation..." Rivet sighs, "Hullo shadow-people! What are you doing with our camp there?"
the shadows look to the party again, and silently creep closer. they are expressionless figures, with little to distinguish them from each other, and they are totally silent.
Luca stands firm. Possibly hoping for non-hostile behavior. Possibly in defiance.
Lwazi, uninclined to trust shadows in the best of circumstances, interprets their approach as a hostile action and responds appropriately.
He fires an arrow at the nearest of the shadows.
Before they head towards the camp, Roy cracks his neck and rolls his shoulders as waves of green energy start around his body like sparks, coalescing into a stacked set of plate armor with greaves and bracers built around his clothes. A sturdy circular shield made of the same green energy grows out of the bracer on his left arm in in an arc. A helm with something resembling tusks surges over his head, as he produces a large Cutlass in his right hand with a wide blade and thick hand guard. The blade seems to have some frost-like energy along the cutting edge.
As soon as the percieved group leader makes the first hostile move, he follows up hurling his sword at one of the shadows after moving to 15 feet away to be able to do so.
Damage Cutlass + cold damage
Bareth is freaking out to some extent by the sudden advent of combat and begins to play his instrument aloft, playing a high intensity piece to excite the fighters and pep them up, but beyond that the smell of ozone enters the air.
Advancing in the half-orc's shadow, some of Rivet's tattoos detach and float in the air around him ready to catch attacks. A black flash of energy shoots from his hand as he leans around Roy and fires at the same shadow that caught a flying sword, missing cleanly.
one shadow fades away, then another. The remaining four dart over to Thorak with remarkable swiftness, and drain him of his life in moments, leaving nothing but a husk. The shadows take a white ball from the corpse and toss it into the mist, before turning back to the rest of the group.
Luca flashes in gold and streaks of deep purple shadow of his own swirl with it as he roars his battle cry.
"Thorak!" Rivet cries out in shock. Oh dear, this is exactly why I feared shadows... He fires another blast of black energy at a shadow regardless.
Lwazi snarls in rage, drops his bow, draws his falchion, then charges forward with a roar, seeking to cleave one of the shadows assunder with the enchanted blade.
The half orc growls and seeing the creatures go down with just one or two blows, he pulls a a force-made throwing axe from thin air, tinted red instead of green, as he was so angered by the casual nature the shadows destroyed his comrade with.
to-hit
damage ice
With one axe thrown in an up swing, he pulls another and chucks it in the down swing.
to hit
damage ice
soon enough, only one shadow is still floating about. It quickly attempts to flee.
Somethings wrong here.
Lwazi, caught up in the throes of his battle trance, pursues the shadow.
the shade takes the slash, and just continues to attempt to flee.
Bareth preforms an elegant piece on his violen and elictricity gathers on the strings and launches after the foe
the shadow fades away in the assault, the dark cloud fading when the last one is defeated.
Lwazi snarls wordlessly at the air as the cloud fades, baring his teeth and growling in frustration that there is nothing left to kill in vengeance for Thorak.
"Something is not right here," he opines after he has control of himself again. "To kill so swiftly and yet be banished so easily themselves... but we should look to Thorak's body."
Roy stays on guard, keeping an eye on where the cloud vanished, as well as stealing glances at the perimeter. He had drawn another red Cutlass as soon as he threw the axes, but it soon fades back into a green color as well as the threat of return fades.
"Is he completely gone? I don't really know much about funerals. Dwarves and humans bury their fallen, right?"
"Devils usually eat or burn their fallen"
Orcs don't have even that much respect for most. Any kind of ritual was reserved for the important tribe members. The rest... Not so much.
He actually shudders a bit.
Rivet shrugs. "Boggles vary. I had an aunt who insisted on her bones being made into the keys for a pianoforte. Dwarves though, they like to be buried under stone from all I've read. I believe we have the means for that available?"
"Yeah, I can have a place in just a couple minutes. The mountain sound right? I didn't know him that well. I don't think I heard a word out of him.
Lwazi frowns. "I would think it better not to risk untested terrain. We have stone here--these walls are no longer needed. Will they suffice?"
"On a battlefield might suit him well, and with that globe of energy I expect the necromancer commanding those shadows must have all they need to create another undead and won't need his body. We must do something about that, by the way. Though perhaps not this moment."
"I'm on it. Won't take long. Since we're going to be here for the foreseeable future, I'm sure he'd be fine with us getting any of his stuff we might need."
The half orc's armor and weapons fade as he pulls his enchanted pick out, going towards the center of camp and starting to dig.
soon enough, a makeshift grave has been made for the unlucky dwarf, the elemental simply watching in curiosity.
Lwazi looks over their handiwork with sorrowful satisfaction. "The question is, what to do now? Clearly we must be wary of further attacks, but in truth our situation is changed but little, save for the loss of one of our number. We have no time to mourn if we wish to live."
With the work finished, Roy returns the pickaxe to his back, reforging his armor around himself in case another conflict arises.
I believe there was a bunker we were going to investigate. We need to keep going and discover as much around here as possible. Also let me know if you find any sources of water around here. I have something I'd like to try.
After it's pointed out that there is water directly behind him when he asks that, he takes the water skin out of his pack and fills it from one of the least clean looking parts of the river.
I'll see what I can do with that later.
Lwazi nods. "Yes, that is right. I remember now. We should go to that place as soon as we are done here."
"I am ready to head out."
Gin says looking at the grave, then sighs
"No matter how much death I have seen, I don't believe I will ever get used to it."
He grumbles.
THORAK!!! Midioto calls out from the back where he had been watching the groups rear.
After the shadows dissipate, Midioto rushes over to the fallen Dwarfs body.
Sniff. Looks like hes gone :,(
Midioto then helps with making the grave in any way that he can, but he is mostly just uselessly in the way.
After they had buried him Midioto turns to the group
We should probably say something over him. Who knew him the best, or longest?
Afterwards;
OK. Sniff, lets get going we should be moving on. Quickly.
The loss of a partner seems to be weighing heavilly on the young lad.
Rivet steps up since unless Berath had a previous encounter, none here knew the dwarf longer than any other. "I did not know Thorak before seeing him in the offices of the White Butterfly Company, but wherever your spirit is Thorak: know that you are not and will not be forgotten. That of your story which I have been privileged to see I will write to be carried to your relatives, once we leave this strange land." He looks around. "And to that end, we are off to that metal room now."
the party sets off again, towards the metal location, but is rather soon interrupted by a three horned quadrupedal creature with a thick hide and Kong tail. It's skin seems to shift and shimmer. It looks to the party and snorts, stepping closer.
This is a triceratops, but soemthing about it seems... Off. (Typing is magical beast.)
Lwazi, in his customary place at the front of the group, moves swiftly to try to calm the beast.
"Easy, now," he purrs, trying for a calming tone. "We are not here to harm you. See, we will go around."