"I'm sure as hell not going up where all the damn akatas are scrambling to go..." yells Pluck just as the tower lurches and drops to its side. Somehow he manages to keep his feet, making a somewhat ungainly but effective step onto the now wall as things go sideways. Recognizing that things are probably about to get a lot worse, he wishes for a moment that he had prepared levitate again this morning and then decides he'd better take advantage of his last resort. Focusing on his ring, he tries to ignore the motion of the tower and summons the arcane will to cast levitate.
'Levitate'? Really? That will work--'when horses fly'.... Waitaminute!
"Everyone, try to get the injured out! 'Bratlar, Kino, yip-yip!" Nel shouts as she attempts to get the horses to run along the walls. "If we don't get them out, they'll get their brains jellied!"
Setzer pales (if that is actually possible) as things quite literally go sideways. Following Nel's shouted commands he quickly darts upstairs to see what he can do to get the injured to safety.
"Where can we take them? If you did not know, there are a swarm of akatas outside. Brains jellied in here, brains eaten out there. Kino! Nanika ni tsukamimasu!"
The horse comically looks around and then spreads his legs out, bracing.
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Upstairs, Lina and Sam tend to the injured, applying healing magic as quickly as they can. Some of the injured groan awake, their wounds looking better. One of the men sobs, though his wounds are healed.
However, just as suddenly, the tower starts to move. It's nearly imperceptible at first, only really seen by loose bits scattering toward the edge of the tower, but it quickly speeds up, beginning a rapid roll. A few akatas spill into the tower as a window shatters on a branch, caught up in the roll of the tower.
Nel, Pluck and Setzer find the tower's rolls to be predictable and strangely calm. Setzer walks around the tower as it moves comfortably, finding a quick pace with the curved walls. Nel's position in the stairwell keeps her solid and anchored into place.
Tamiro and Rilia safely roll with the tower, but parts of the tower begin to crack near them. These cracks are close enough that both think they can slide out through them.
Rilia shouts across to Lina, Samaritha and company. "There is a way out here! Follow my voice!"
Pluck floats toward Rilia's voice, watching for any akatas that make their way into the tower and planning to blast them with a magic missile if they do. He waits to see if others can get clear before trying to make his own way out.
"What of the injured? How do we get them out safely?" Tamiro yells over the din of the rolling tower. The samurai tries to make his way to the area of the tower that the injured are at.
"Kino! Kono basho kara nigemasu!" he yells to the horse.
Kino gives an incredulous look to Tamiro as he tumbles around the tower, but Tamiro cannot pay attention to it as he himself begins tumbling around the tower.
Burn: 2/7
Temporary hit points: 8
Non-lethal damage: 8
Hit points (including temp.): 55
Digging her heels into Gabraltar's side, Nel attempts to steer him around the rolling building. "Come on boy, we can do it." However due to the debris of what they had blocking the door, Nel is unable to keep a good pace with the moving building.
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The tower continues to roll sideways down the hill, occassionally bumping and jostling upward. The rumble grows louder, accentuated by cracks and pops as trees break under, as well as several akatas being crushed to death.
Setzer continues to his fancy walk-dancing over the tower, using his telekinectic bursts to help him past particularly troublesome barriers, including Nel.
Rilia rolls freely in the now-OSHA compliant stairwell, her body bouncing across the walls, then on the stairs, bruising her smooth elven skin. However, she get pushed into a small nook in the stairwell
Nel, Tamiro, Kino and Gibraltar jumble about the bottom floor, being buffeted by the former barricade's materials. Crates crack against the horses. A blast of debris hits Tamiro squarely in the face
As Pluck floats through the chaos, Tamiro passes right pass him.
The tower does seem to be slowing somewhat in its wild descent.
Drifting close to Tamiro, just as he gets the crate right in the face, Pluck reaches out to try to grab him and help the samurai get oriented in the crazy tower. He grabs a fistful of the straps holding Tamiro's armor together and holds on for dear life.
Setzer begins to laugh heartily to fend off the terror of the situation as he dances along the rotating walls. As Nel tumbles close by - almost taking him out at the knees - he makes a desperate grab for her and manages to grasp her arm right above the elbow. "Steady my lady, I've got you. For now..." He gives her a shaky grin.
Temporary hit points: 8
Non-lethal damage: 8
Rilia stands and tumbles 5-feet toward the door to the make shift infirmary.
"I think we're slowing!" She yells over the noise.
Taking Plucks aid, Tamiro tries to stabilize himself again, "How is the tower not crumbling?!"
Getting some hand holds onto the wall, he looks over to see how Kino is fairing in his escape attempts, only to see the horse continuing to tumble around.
Grasping Setzer's arm, Nel grits her teeth as she watches her horse attempt to run along the wall again. "SAM! Are you-" Nel's call is cut short as she bounces off the wall, that she was attempting to brace on.
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With a loud splash, the tower comes to a quick stop. White sand and the murky expanse of the bay begin flowing in through the cracks and windows of the tower. From the upper floors, Sam helps a man with leg bent at the shin toward an exit. The other cyphermages, while battered, pull themselves out of the rubble of the tower with their own body.
The man with the broken leg sighs and looks at Pluck, "You had the right idea, kid. Coming down with a proper adventuring crew instead of a bunch of wizards. I see what Tammerhawk sees in you now.
The akatas that had been crowding the tower lay everywhere - some squished by the tower, and the others withering in sea. One laying on the beach attempts to walk back to the forest, but can barely move with a shattered leg.
Rilia hauls herself out of a crack in the tower.
"They can't take the salt water. It kills them." She looks up and down the coast. "They are trapped here."
"Thanks mate. Glad you made it though, can I lend a hand in getting some of you out?" Pluck uses the remaining time on his levitate spell to help get people out of the tower and comments to Rilia, "A good thing then that we landed in salt water. I hope we took most of them with us. Otherwise we might have a nasty surprise waiting at the top of the cliff."
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Pluck helps pull the rest of the Cyphermages out of the tower. The man who spoke to him earlier, Silas Aegreen, is by far the most injured. The bruises fade from the Cyphermages' skin, and Sam looks a bit more hopeful.
"Well, you said your ship will be back later? Just gotta survive until it comes back. Shouldn't be too hard."
As Setzer emerges from the tower he sighs as he sees their crew escaped the wreckage mostly unharmed. The shrieks of the akatas soon begin to taper off as he systematically puts them out of their misery with a blast of telekinetic force.
That done he approaches the group with a somewhat dour expression, "Are we abandoning the idea of riches here? Are we under the impression the other expeditions have fared as badly as us? Surely there is much more of this island to explore before we tuck our tails between our legs and sulk back home." The glint in his red irises appears to be equal parts bravery and insanity.
"I'm all for continuing to explore the island, but we should make sure the Cyphermages have a safe place to wait for the ship and I'm not sure this is it. What do you all think of trying to get them back to where we were dropped off before continuing on?"
"Perhaps we could take the long way round to stay near the salt water?"
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Rilia knows that "taking the long way round" will involve scaling the island's mountains - difficult to do with a man who has a broken leg and no proper climbing gear. Rowing around the island, scaling the cliff and walking back from Witchlight, or searching for a game trail to get back to the path are probably you best options.
Rilia looks meaningfully a Setzer .
Nel emerges from the tower looking askew. Her normally well maintained armor is slightly twisted and her hair is sticking up at an odd angle. To make matters worse, a nice egg sized bump is already forming on her brow. "That's correct, our vessel isn't suppose to return until morning at the earliest." Patting her steed's side, Nel observes the tree line.
"I agree Pluck, we should at least try to find the lib- a safe place for our friends to rest the night. I wonder where those blue lions came from? You said they are not normally found in this plane, right?" As she talks, Nel subconsciously prods her wound only to wince as she applies pressure.
Tamiro wrenches himself free from the tower and goes to tend to Kino to make sure the animal is not too injured. Helping to lead the horse out of the tower, he resecures the gear and such on the animal, as he straightens his armor.
Nodding to Pluck he says, "Domo arigato, wizard. Thank you for the aid."
Looking around the beach and at the sunken tower, he grunts, "Lets hope the next safe place we find does not get pushed over and rolled into the sea. Kuso akuma..."
Setzer's eyes light up as the realization dawns on him. With a sly wink to Rilia he walks over to the injured man, setting his pack on the ground and pulling out his folding chair, "If you need some help getting around my new friend, I can help you with that." He unfolds the chair and after a moment of concentration the chair lifts easily into the air.
Smiling, quite proud of himself, he continues, "Let's get you all to safety, shall we?"
Nel takes a look at the sheer cliffs and the already injured horses. "I don't think that this is such a great idea. How will we get the horses up? Plus I didn't bring anything to scale mountains. If we are worried about the akata's, I think Tamiro and I can handle them." Patting her sword, Nel waits for a moment before moving to the front of the group to lead him back to a safer area.
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One of the wizards laughs, "At this point, we would be better off sleeping in this tower all evening. Let me know when we've got a plan."
Sam shoots him a dirty look before saying, more diplomatically, "We do have time in abundance at this point. It's interesting to see the salination process on these creatures. Though, I wonder..."
She begins tapping her finger against her chin, lost in thought. "We could fill our waterskins with water from the bay. It'll be a last defense if we get ambushed."
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It's slow-going, and climbing the mountain is not an easy task. Setzer is able to assist as needed, and the wizards safely make it back to the abandoned wharf.
"Thank you," Sam says seriously to the group. "We never would've survived without you. Pluck, keep that wand as a gift. We can safely make it through the night on our own. If something happens, I'll send up a flare. Please come back if you see it." She looks into each of your eyes, clearly pleading and scarred from this misadventure. "I'd like it if you could check in with us as the ship departs. If not, I understand. I just will worry if you don't. Anything you would like me to tell the captain?"
"Perhaps we could thoroughly explore some local structure--something near the sea?"
"Thanks Sam. Be safe over here. If we see your signal, we'll try to make it back as quick as we can. I agree with Rilia about our next move. Let's go check out the crater. Then we can make our way over to those other locations."
"Sam, just tell the captain that we're still alive and to keep watch. We'll figure out a signal that he can't miss." Patting her friend on the shoulder, Nel cracks her neck before heading over to the small expedition.
Nel shrugs at the suggestions and ensures that the gear is secured. "Sounds reasonable enough. We can also look for more leads on the other rumors while at the crater." Tightening a loose band, Nel pauses for a moment, "I would, at some point like to go farther inland. Clinging to the shoreline is leaving a salty taste in my mouth, and it is not just caused by the seawater." Mounting her horse, Nel waits for everyone to prepare to leave before taking the rear.
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Though the crater is clearly visible from the sea and the wharf, actually reaching the crater site is easier said than done. None of the trails lead to the site, and the forest turns harsh within half a mile of the crater. Fallen trees, loose soil and unstable footing makes the journey a harrowing one of near-slides down steep inclines, tripping over unseen roots and a few near-encounters with the blue-skinned akatas and their void zombies. The only signs of true life are the ever-wheeling flocks of turkey vultures.
The crater itself is barren and scorched. The trees that one stood are now piles of charcoal in the ruin. The smouldering tang of ash carries on the wind, though no fires seem to be burning now. No birds call in this area, and only the distant lapping of the sea makes sounds beyond the clang of Tamiro's armor or the delicate brushes of Rilia's jewlery.
Looking over the carnage of the landscape from his saddle, he leans forward a bit, resting on the pommel, "It seems nature has yet to return to this destruction. That could be good...or bad."
Looking around, he looks to Nel, "Care to dig up some metal, or do you want to camp here the night. Firewood seems plentiful, and the view is excellent to see if anything comes upon us."