Starknife retrieved and Pezock healed, Douena tries to get a glimpse at whatever everyone's looking at over in the corner, but she'd have either to swim or to backtrack to the first bridge to get over there. "The banging on the ceiling ought to have summoned all of them in the area, so there shouldn't be any more of them waiting around to jump out at us. Let's go down this way and see how far it goes; then I can say a funeral for the rest of the wights." She points to the southeast passage, where she can walk along the edge and maybe come back on the other side. Asking Pezock to retrieve her light stone, she carries it down toward the bend in the tunnel to see what's around the corner.
Mahjik will go investigate the mining-equipment/pump/whatchamacallit.
Not having any interest in mining equipment, Lorenz decides to follow after Douena, if only to ensure she doesn't get eaten by something. He keeps his bow out and an arrow ready.
"Leave it, Mahjik. We're only here to see if this is a short cut to our destination." Urza stays there to keep an eye on Mahjik.
Mahjik moves towards the strange equipment in the northeast while Douena moves to the southeast (Pezock follows her), each taking one of the two light sources and leaving the rest of the party with very little light. :)
In the northeast, a closer examination of the machine reveals that it's definitely mining equipment of some sort. It looks like it's meant to swing the big blocks to smash the walls or something similar. Mahjik notices a small leather satchel stuffed in the basin.
To the southeast, Douena sees a small island that rises out of the shallow water in the centre of the drift. Part of a large, translucent blue orb protrudes from the surrounding earth, pulsing with a pale blue glow. The globe is cracked in several places and shards of the strange, glass-like substance lie scattered across the islet’s surface. A sizable hole is smashed into one side, revealing a hollow interior. Inside, she can see two more wights staring out at her and Pezock. They don't make any immediate moves to come out, however.
"Um, friends?" Lorenz says. "There's more trouble over here. And that blue orb thingy that we heard about."
He keeps an arrow ready as he presses his back against the wall of the cavern, not wanting to excite the two wights until the others are ready for them.
Mahjik moves towards the strange equipment in the northeast while Douena moves to the southeast (Pezock follows her), each taking one of the two light sources and leaving the rest of the party with very little light. :)
Douena tries to figure out what the blue orb could be and how safely to shut it down. She uses her message ability to contact Jask.
She grabs hold of Pezock's hand. "Listen, Pezock! This is important! We don't know how that thing works or how close it's safe to get to it. You don't want to be a wight. So stay away from the orb, and let the undead come to us if they're going to."
Mahjik moves towards the strange equipment in the northeast while Douena moves to the southeast (Pezock follows her), each taking one of the two light sources and leaving the rest of the party with very little light. :)
Pezock bristles a bit at being held back (as he was about to charge in). With a grumble, he stays put.
Jask makes his way close enough to get a look at the orb . "I haven't seen anything like it before," he says quietly. "But if I had to take a guess, I would say the glow is negative energy. It would make sense and explain why all these people were turned into wights. I'd recommend staying outside of it."
Inside the globe, the two wights continue to peer out. One of them calls out in a raspy voice, "You think you're special because you're still alive? Come to me if you dare." Beside him, the other wight, a female, hisses.
"We can't kill them as long as they're inside it. Or, you know, un-undead them. The negative energy will heal them. If Lorenz could shoot fast enough, that might work eventually, but he's liable to run out of arrows." She glances back at the glowing orb. "More important than putting the wights to rest, how do we shut that thing off? As long as it's in here, it's going to keep killing anyone who wanders in. Anyone have any ideas?"
"Smash it to pieces!" Pezock declares in a surprisingly quiet voice.
Watching Douena, Lorenz holds his breath to see if he can hear what they're saying. Remarkably, every word each of them whispers comes clearly to his ears and he nods.
"I can do that," he says quietly. Then he turns and aims his arrows for the orb.
Douena isn't at all sure that shooting arrows at a magical orb of negative energy is a good idea, but as it's too late to stop him, she watches what will happen with Lorenz's arrows with interest.
Mahjik pulls out the satchel, "Wise man climbs the tree of knowledge, as it will grow and increase his efforts. Guys! I don't know if this will help - but there's some little satchel here - I'll bring it. What's down the other way?"
Lorenz fires a pair of arrows that streak straight into the side of the orb with loud smacks. Small cracks appear around the areas where the arrows hit. The wights within hiss with anger.
Order: Urza, Sasha, Wight #12, Pezock, Mahjik, Shokambe, Lorenz, Ishirou, Orb, Makoa, Wight #13, Douena, Jask.
First Up:
Urza will move until he gets to a point that he can see the orb.
Urza hurries over towards the excitement, moving briefly through the water and then edging past Lorenz . Sasha follows behind and edges just past Urza .
With a snarl wight #12 leaves the protection of the orb and cross the bridge to the south side . Seeing a target, Pezock hurries to meet her .
He swings his sabre, cutting a gash across the wight's chest.
Next Up: Shokambe, Lorenz, Ishirou, Orb, Makoa, Wight #13, Douena, Jask, Urza, Sasha, Wight #12, Pezock.
"More undead?!" Mahjik hurries at full speed to rejoin the fight - err the new menace can close in too much.
"See? I drew one of them out from the orb!" Lorenz says. Pleased to see that the orb had suffered some damage, he decides to continue attempting to destroy it, not wanting to upset Pezock by stealing the birdman's kill.
Mahjik hurries in closer, then splashing into the water to get to the south side. Behind him, Shokambe moves more slowly and cautiously .
Lorenz fires off another pair of arrows. The first deflects off the side of the dome without effect , but the second creates another pattern of cracks where it strikes.
With the large number of people crowded around the finger of rock on the north side, Ishirou waits for the time being.
Next Up: Wight #13, Douena, Jask, Urza, Sasha, Wight #12, Pezock, Mahjik, Shokambe, Lorenz, Ishirou (subject to delayed action), Orb.
Y-56
Dropping his axe in the water, Makoa grabs a javelin as he moves up next to Mahjik. Taking just a moment to aim at the newest Wight, Makoa launches the javelin straight at the undead.
Makoa's javelin arcs across the water and slices across the head of the wight, taking the wight's ear and a chunk of skull with it.
With an angry yell, the other wight exits the orb. It ignores the bridge and wades through the water to the north side of the chamber, then moves up towards Sasha. This wight's body is not Mwangi like the other wights, and it carries a nasty-looking heavy pick.
Next Up: Jask, Urza, Sasha, Wight #12, Pezock, Mahjik, Shokambe, Lorenz, Ishirou (subject to delayed action), Orb, Makoa, Wight #13.
"Sasha!" Douena calls out in alarm. "Be careful! That weapon won't just hurt you; it will drain your life energy as well. Lorenz, forget the orb for now and stop the wight!" She moves down the narrow dry walkway along the edge of the water carefully and pats Pezock on the back. "Hurry and finish this one, Pezock, so you can go help Sasha with the other one."
Douena moves up and bestows Desna's luck upon Pezock. Jask moves up a little bit closer and calls out to Nethys again.
Both wights reel at the warm, tingling sensation.
Urza moves forward and shoots off a beam of energy at #12. It catches the wight directly in the face. With a screech, the wight topples over. This is followed by another screech from Pezock at the loss of his kill.
Sasha gulps slightly at Douena's words, but presses her attack nonetheless. The wight deftly avoids her rapier thrust, but moves into line with her kukri. At the last moment, the wight spins to the side, turning a potentially heavy blow into a light scratch.
Still grumbling, Pezock wades into the water and starts crossing .
Next Up: Shokambe, Lorenz, Ishirou (subject to delayed action), Orb, Makoa, Wight #13, Douena, Jask, Urza, Sasha, Pezock.
Mahjik propels himself through the water, moving surprisingly swiftly given the resistance the water offers. He closes around to behind the undead creature and tries to elbow it on the knee - but here finally the water catches up with him and he doesn't manage quite the force he was hoping for.
The wight is momentarily startled as Mahjik leaps from the water, past Sasha along the shoreline and back into the water on the other side of the wight.
Next Up: Ishirou, Orb, Makoa, Wight #13, Douena, Jask, Urza, Sasha, Pezock, Mahjik, Shokambe (subject to delayed action).
Now that Sasha was in danger, Lorenz forgot all about destroying the orb. Instead, he turns his bow on the armed wight, only to realize that the wall is in the way.
Cursing to himself, he steps into the water and tries to get a clear shot through the crowd of people in his way.
Unfortunately, the half orcs between him and his target block his aim and in an effort to avoid the both of them and still get the wight, his arrow is shot uselessly into the darkness.
"Damn it!"
Urza winces. "So sorry, Pezock. I wasn't thinking. It won't happen again."
Lorenz moves into the water and fires off an arrow at the wight, but it unfortunately goes quite wide of its mark.
With a bit more space now available, Ishirou moves up and around the corner, then partway into the water and up beside the wight .
Next Up: Wight #13, Douena, Jask, Urza, Sasha, Pezock, Mahjik, Shokambe (subject to delayed action), Lorenz, Ishirou).
With so many of his group around the wight, and the ease with which they have fallen before, Makoa holds back. No sense in tiring himself out if there would be more.
The wight, seeing that it is becoming surrounded turns on Mahjik and drives its pick deep into his shoulder. In addition to the pain of the wound, Mahjik feels something cold reaching deep within him and sapping away his energy. As he weakens, he sees the wight's wounds close over. The wight looks more vibrant and oddly more alive. It smiles.
Next Up: Jask, Urza, Sasha, Pezock, Mahjik, Shokambe (subject to delayed action), Lorenz, Ishirou, Orb, Makoa (subject to delayed action), Wight.
With it looking like they have the upper hand, Urza sees no reason to change spells now.
Disrupt Undead: RTouch, fire into melee
to hit damage
Douena dashes past the fallen wight on the shoreline and onto the bridge to get a better view but still finds herself unable to contribute to the fight.
Douena hurries onto the bridge. Jask follows behind her .
Urza shoots another beam of undead disrupting energy. Unfortunately, the wight moves at just the right time and he ends up hitting Mahjik instead. Fortunately, the spell has no effect on the living.
Sasha stabs at the wight as it avoids Urza's spell, catching it in its thigh. It easily avoids her follow-up with her kukri, however.
Pezock continues to slog through the water .
He swings his sabre. The wight ducks, but not quite far enough and the tengu's blade cuts off a thin slice from the top of the wight's head.
Next Up: Shokambe (subject to delayed action), Lorenz, Ishirou, Orb, Makoa, Wight, Douena, Jask, Urza, Sasha, Pezock.
Urza shoots another beam of undead disrupting energy. Unfortunately, the wight moves at just the right time and he ends up hitting Mahjik instead. Fortunately, the spell has no effect on the living.
And that's why I like the spell so much. If only there was a higher level effect that did the same thing.
Mahjik blinks as the bolt of undead slaying energy leaves him feeling none the worse for wear. "Wise man embraces confirmation," he smirks to himself.
Mahjik strikes at the wight, but the weakening he's suffered from the wight causes him to misjudge his strikes. The first is just short of being able to catch the wight; the second goes far wide.
Next Up: Ishirou, Orb, Makoa (subject to delayed action), Wight, Douena, Jask, Urza, Sasha, Pezock, Mahjik, Shokambe (subject to delayed action).