The first jab of your trident didn't kill the Skum - the second one did. That was half of the near-immortal creatures down, excluding the big one, even as your bluffed minions maneuvered to the side. They'd need a moment longer to get into range, and the big one was still lashing out wildly.
Both of his targets went down with cries of agony as the huge Skum's greataxe slashed out, and the crazed creature let out a roar of triumph before looking around for its next target. Even as the two remaining Skum jabbed out with their own weapons-
-and pathetically missed the big guy, one of the corners of the room began twisting in a now-familiar way. The remaining minion you'd brought was the higher-ranked of the two, and he was now providing flanking... for whatever that was worth in a situation like this.
Sevia was grateful for this beast simplifying things for her. At the very least the others were providing a solid distraction. Now though she felt she should go in for the kill that really mattered, and jabbed her Trident at the beast, using some of her ki to get an extra attack in to cripple it.
Attack:1d20 + 20 ⇒ (13) + 20 = 33 vs AC SA Dmg:1d8 + 4d6 + 11 ⇒ (7) + (3, 6, 5, 3) + 11 = 354 bleed Attack:1d20 + 15 ⇒ (4) + 15 = 19 vs AC SA Dmg:1d8 + 4d6 + 11 ⇒ (2) + (3, 6, 3, 3) + 11 = 284 bleed Ki Attack:1d20 + 20 ⇒ (13) + 20 = 33 vs AC SA Dmg:1d8 + 4d6 + 11 ⇒ (4) + (4, 1, 2, 3) + 11 = 254 bleed
The creature's weapon darted through the air, but failed to block yours, and your two more-accurate attacks managed to jab into its hide. Even as you struck, you could tell that the creature was tougher than normal - not enough to block your sneak attacks, but each successful blow was definitely somewhat less damaging than they should have been.
The creature's gaze fixated on you a moment later, and you could tell that it was studying you somehow.
EW:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12
It didn't seem to have learned what it wanted to, though, and just let out a howl in its foreign tongue as it whipped its weapon towards you.
The two surviving Skum darted backwards a moment later - only to let out a scream as an older hound literally came out of the corner and tackled it. A duplicate of the dog appeared on the Skum's other side a moment later, and together, they (or maybe just 'it'?) ripped out the small fishman's throat.
So... that left you, the big Skum, one Skum, the surviving priest, and one of the freaky dog-things, apparently none of whom were truly on the same side here - for the moment, anyways. The dog hadn't shown any hostility towards you. Heck of a mess, but the large Skum was definitely the primary threat - every missed swing of its weapon had cratered the ground around you, turning it into difficult terrain, and it was clearly tough enough to withstand several more blows before you could fell it - especially when you were hampered by the inability to display your full power. Of course, that was an optional restriction - you could probably triumph here without blowing your cover, though that would take longer and be more difficult. As always, the choice of continuing your bluff or dropping it in the name of expediency was yours.
"What in the gods is going on?!" Sevia hissed, now quite confused, as this turned into a four way fight. Five way if you counted the fact Sevia was just using the other priest. Still, she was at least coming out on top so far. She might as well take advantage of the confusion to get a few more good hits in on the big guy though before she had to drop her act, stabbing out with the trident again in rapid succession.
Attack:1d20 + 20 ⇒ (15) + 20 = 35 vs AC SA Dmg:1d8 + 4d6 + 11 ⇒ (3) + (1, 1, 1, 6) + 11 = 23 Attack:1d20 + 15 ⇒ (5) + 15 = 20 vs AC SA Dmg:1d8 + 4d6 + 11 ⇒ (8) + (6, 5, 2, 5) + 11 = 37 Ki Attack:1d20 + 20 ⇒ (16) + 20 = 36 vs AC SA Dmg:1d8 + 4d6 + 11 ⇒ (5) + (3, 4, 6, 4) + 11 = 33
Once more, the big creature failed to block your strike as it attempted a parry with its weapon - and two of your blows landed successfully against it. It was definitely injured now, but let out an angry growl even as the hound tackled the other Skum and brought it down, chomping at its legs to hamstring it.
"Th-that's what I want to know!" Your clearly-frightened cohort shrieked. "B-but Dagon will protect us as long as our faith is strong!" ...Even if he was evil, there was something nice about seeing people so strong in their faith.
But though his faith was strong, his body? Not so much, and there was a sickening squash as the massive Skum's greataxe came down on him and rather permanently removed him from the fight. The axe struck at you a moment later, backed by all of the massive creature's physical power. On the bright side, with the priests dead, there was no need to keep up the charade - and you could fight at your full power.
While Sevia respected those who took up their faith so militantly, it was a rather poor substitute for real skill at arms. As evidenced by the sudden wet thud of the man's body hitting the ground as the Skum's axe made short work of him. She guessed he was likely dead. And she supposed even it should finally get lucky enough to hit her, nearly knocking the wind out of her as the massive thing struck a powerful blow.
Now that the other one was down though, she felt it time to back off. Calling on her ki, she vanished from sight and repositioned around the side of the beast, casting Infernal Healing on herself. As she moved, Sevia discarded the unwieldy trident in place of her finer blades.
Next Round
As soon as she'd completed her spell, she launched another attack against it, slashing away with her blades.
Spoiler:
Shadow Stryker +15/+10 (1d6+9/15-20x2 P or S, Deadly) Wyroot Primary
+1 Keen Wakizashi +15/+10 (1d6+9/15-20x2 P or S, Deadly) Adamantine Secondary
Despite how ridiculously lucky the beast would have to be, she simply couldn't afford to take another blow. So as her attack finished, she once again used her ki to become invisible and backed off - this time taking a circuit of the bodies to determine who was alive and whom dead. She checked the clerics first, seeing if either of them made it, and looked to the two skum she'd felled earlier, hoping one might not have bled out.
Sevia spends a few rounds checking the bodies, she Lays on Hands a skum she thinks might make it. As well as the clerics
The attempted critical failed to connect, and the third attack you made was likewise a miss. The Sneak Attack, perhaps unsurprisingly, was the only blow that did significant damage to the creature - the others barely scratched its tough hide. Unfortunately, neither of the two clerics seemed to have survived the creature's brutal blows - they were normal men, not heroes, and simply didn't have that kind of durability.
One of the Skum was barely clinging to life, and even as you laid hands on him, the canine charged the massive Skum and jumped onto its back. The beast let out a hoarse yell, then slowly started shrinking towards a more normal size. ...Well, shrinking might not have been the right word, actually, since the beast actually looked like it was getting younger... and weaker. There was no telling how long the vulnerability would last - but it probably wouldn't be forever.
Sevia wasted at little time as possible checking the clerics. They served their purpose though so she wasn't worried about their deaths. That did mean less sources of information, which she hoped meant that this skum knew at least something. She gave herself a boost of lay on hands as well while she tended to him, looking up to the larger fishman as it was assailed.
And while she'd prefer to just let them fight it out, she didn't want to let that window of opportunity slip by either.
LoH:1d6 ⇒ 1skum LoH:1d6 ⇒ 6sevia
Darting forward, she once again attacked.
Not sure if I'm flanking, this is the damage if I'm not. If I am...well that's a lot more d6s and +4 to-hit for any attack other than the first
The first strike struck the creature, sinking deeply into its hide - unfortunately, given the hound's position to the side, you weren't able to flank it. The second hit missed, deflecting off of the creature's armor, but the third attack managed to strike as a (non-critical) blow and deal a little more damage to the creature.
It retaliated a moment later, but its weapon moved slower and less accurately than before as it tried to cut out at you, screaming what were probably obscenities in its native tongue.
That... was reaaaaaaally unimpressive - and the ground wasn't breaking this time, either, possibly because the weapon was starting to look too big for the Skum. On the downside, its body started getting bigger again after it attacked, and the age reversal it had gone through seemed like it was wearing off. Yup - definitely a temporary change.
Meanwhile, on the wall across from the beast, you could sense your Shadow moving around and remaining hidden as you had commanded.
Sevia side stepped the beast's poor swings. It seemed like the hound was having a profuse effect on its ability to attack back. A fact she was going to take advantage of. "Shadow! Flank it!" Sevia called out to her cohort, intending to end this fight. Hopefully before its momentary weakness passed away.
The shadow of course darted out from the wall, behind the skum, giving her just enough distraction to hit its weakpoints.
Spoiler:
Shadow Stryker +15/+10 (1d6+9/15-20x2 P or S, Deadly) Wyroot Primary
+1 Keen Wakizashi +15/+10 (1d6+9/15-20x2 P or S, Deadly) Adamantine Secondary
Your first attack - a successful critical blow - slammed into the creature and wiped out a major part of its vitality. The second strike wasn't successful, but the third definitely was, and managed to serve as another successful critical. Yet the last of your four attacks was deflected as well... and the creature was still alive, though clearly badly injured, even as your Shadow struck out at its vitality. Given time, that was something that would heal, but time was something it didn't have.
Instead, with a bellowing roar, it turned to face your Shadow and struck out with its massive weapon, trying to eliminate at least one threat before it was dispatched from this realm.
Total... 65 damage out of its 68 health, I believe.
After the blows, your Shadow appeared to be little more than a tattered remnant barely hanging onto this world - but it hadn't quite taken enough damage to dismiss it, and it was still strong enough to keep fighting. The canine, on the other hand, just hopped a few feet backwards, away from the huge Skum that was continuing to hemorrhage blood onto the floor below.
Incidentally, you have an old copy of the Shadow Stryker hidden in your Shadow's spoiler. Might wanna get rid of that next time you update your alias.
Sevia grit her teeth, she'd expected that massive assault would've taken the beast down. But clearly it was tougher than she thought. Luckily it seemed more interested in her shadow, and watched as it bore the brunt of his attack. Luckily though where its ease to hit made it vulnerable, its natural resistance to attack helped it weather the giant fishman's attack.
Sevia replied by returning the favor, again attacking deeply into its hide and hoping that would be enough to fell it. She was doing a massive amount of damage. "Shadow, hide and avoid further combat!" Sevia shouted through her attacks, worried another blow would completely discorporate it.
Your second hit was the one that managed to fell the creature - the first had narrowly bounced off of its armor, and the ancient monster finally fell to the ground, shaking the earth beneath you.
3200 XP.
The time-shifting dog looked at the mountain of flesh for a moment, and its tail started wagging back and forth as it began nudging at the creature's body. Meanwhile, the Skum you'd saved was still unconscious, but could probably be roused by some shaking (or further healing) - and your Shadow murmured a few words of thanks as it hid. There was a distinct tone of fear in its voice - not for itself, exactly, but of the idea that it might be unable to complete its mission.
These dogs...were quite confusing. Casting Detect Magic she quickly checked the body of the beast for anything of value and lifted away what she could...then gesturing for the dog to simply go ahead. Were she anyone else she might turn her head away, but she'd seen far worse. Moving on, she examined the bodies of the clerics and the rest of the skum, also looking for valuables, and made a cursory run of the room in case there was anything she'd missed - she also made sure to grab up the trident again. As she did, she cast another bought of Infernal Healing on herself.
Having finally swept the room, she left back up to the northern chamber and quickly retrieved the book she'd noticed but left behind earlier. Pulling it open as she walked back, Sevia leafed through the pages in hopes that it might be written in an understandable language. She set aside the book long enough upon her return to grab the surviving skum and lash him to one of the stalagmites on the floor with some of her rope. A poor hold but serviceable.
If the book is readable, Sevia will read it
Returning to her procured book, she continued looking through all she could understand before returning it to her pack. At which point, she cast Drench on the skum to wake him up. [b]"Now, now. Do you speak common skum? Or will I need use the tongue of Undercommon"? Sevia asked as she leaned forward to tower over the prisoner, hands poised on her hips expectantly.
The treasures of the Skum were limited, but the big one's large-sized greataxe was clearly magical, and just as clearly fairly valuable. Large +1 Defending Greataxe.
The others seemed to have nothing more grand than basic tridents. As for the book itself, its contents haven't changed from the last time you tried to read it - it will take magic or a long time deciphering it to understand the contents. The Skum you haven't killed (yet?) let out a hiss at your first choice of language - but the second one seemed to get through to it.
<"Just kill me already - it's better than staying here!">
You mentioned there was a book in area F22, that one was what I wanted to take and read
<"So eager to die? The big one is dead. So what is worse here than me? Hmm? The slugspawn perhaps? Where did they come from? If you wish to remain obstinate I will gladly grant your death. Cooperate and I might let you leave."> Sevia said, trying to bargain out the information she was looking for. It'd be no use to threaten him, anything unafraid of death wouldn't buckle for that. Still, this guy seemed to think there was something worse waiting for him. She wanted to know what.
Meanwhile, there was the other book - bound in sharkskin, and appearing to be an old journal of a man named Cassius Undiomede that had been well-preserved in this area. The early entries were fairly basic and straightforward, but eventually it explained the first meeting with the Neighbors - never quite describing them, but it was clear they weren't human.
Perhaps more importantly, it noted the location of the Neighbors' home: Submerged tunnels at the bottom of Avalon Bay, at the base of the Tern Rocks. Later entries detailed Cassius’s eventual lordship, and the institution of the Fostering Pact between Cassius and the Neighbors, including the line, “I can only ensure the health and prosperity of Baytown and my own line by giving the Neighbors what they require, even if that means giving up my own daughters, and those of my heirs and my people. Regardless of my personal feelings, it is a small price to pay for such security.”
The Skum, meanwhile, just stared at you. Then, slowly, it smiled. <"I am afraid of color."> it said. <"And you will be, too, if you dare to go further inside.">
Sevia tilted back up, her face flat as she looked down on the skum. <"That is doubtful. Death fears nothing."> She said, drawing her Wakizashi and in one clean cut sliced through the neck of the skum. She obviously wasn't going to get anything out of him. Besides which, it seemed clear though the true nature of what was really going on in Illmarsh...though that did little to explain where the slugspawn had come from. Perhaps unleashed by skum...
She returned her sword to its sheath and turned toward the western cave. She wasn't really in any shape for another fight, so she stuck to the shadows as she approached - looking for any signs of more skum or anything else.
As you come to the next chamber, you're able to note a soft, violet glow coming from the western passage.
This large, high-ceilinged cavern is mostly dry, faintly illuminated by patches of violet fungi growing on the walls and ceiling. A wide pool of clear water stands just inside the entrance. A pair of ledges run along the chamber’s north and south walls, accessed by wooden ladders. At the far end of the chamber, the floor drops into a pit, the top of a ladder just visible at its edge. Scattered across the floor of the room are a number of bedrolls and assorted personal possessions, including, strangely, a number of dressmaker’s dummies, some of them child-sized. The low, haunting melody of a woman singing carries through the chamber.
Sevia could guess who was singing. Likely one of Illmarsh's 'fostered' children, for no skum were women. Sevia walked about the room, keeping to the shadows as she checked both the ledges and the pits, also looking into each of the side passages to determine where they went.
The ledges to the north and south are 8 feet off the ground. A row of wooden cradles, all currently empty, sit silently on the southern ledge. The northern ledge holds a cauldron hanging from a metal tripod above a sunken cooking pit and a table containing other food preparation utensils.
The pit at the western end is considerably more interesting. Crouched at the very bottom is a young human woman who's cradling one of the dummies in her arms. Closer investigation, however, reveals that what she's holding isn't what it looked like from a distance - and you're close enough to the dummies on top to see that they're dried and dessicated bodies, blanched of all color and elasticity until they became little more than hard, shrunken, human-shaped shells of crumbling, parchment-like skin curled into fetal positions. There are perhaps a dozen of them, ranging in age from adult all the way down to children as young as two months old.
The woman in the pit glows with an eerie radiance - and like the corpses, she's almost totally lacking in color, even as she cradles the dead infant. "You're happy, so happy, we're all so happy. Don't worry, the pretty colors down the tunnel will make everything even happier..." she crooned softly. However, she didn't seem to be the one singing.
The northern tunnel from this room goes further than you can see, apparently heading elsewhere - the one back by the entrance seems to go to a midden area. The southern tunnel from this room drops down a long cliff - so far down that your darkvision can't see the bottom.
Knowledge Nature:1d20 + 14 ⇒ (6) + 14 = 20What is wrong with the woman? Perception:1d20 + 17 ⇒ (1) + 17 = 18where is the singing coming from?
Sevia sighed remorsefully as she looked into the pit. A lesser being probably would've been driven to the brink of despair by such an appalling sight, though that didn't make what she saw any less biting to herself. Still, she was worried about what the woman had said, was there something here which had caused this? Before she could tend to the woman, she should make sure the area was safe.
Looking into the pit, Sevia cursed her lack of foresight to prepare alternate methods of lighting. Luckily the priests she'd been with had provided such means when they'd entered this cave. Sevia left behind the pit and returned to their corpses and retrieved whatever items they'd used to see with. Then turned right back around.
I'm assuming objects with Light cast on them or sunrods
Though she could've just flown down with her armor's special ability, she did not want to fight whatever might be lurking down there. Instead, as she cautiously approached the edge, she tossed down the light sources and peered into the pit.
The two clerics had used Sunrods - just as well, for spells would have lapsed with their deaths. Meanwhile, the odd hound had been following you around - and it whined nervously as it looked down the big pit, then backed beyond the line of corpses and sat down.
The rod you'd grabbed tumbled down for quite some time - and with some rough estimating when it finally stopped moving, it became clear that the pit went about two hundred and fifty feet down. It seemed to open up into a tunnel at the bottom - there was no way of seeing further without going down there, given the angle of your view.
Sevia wondered for a moment what she might find down there, and seeing the dog's reaction, decided it would be prudent to rely on more powerful stealth before heading down. Casting Invisibility on herself, she vanished and flew down to the tunnel entrance, peering inside.
Littering the sides of the room are the pale, dessicated corpses of perhaps a dozen Skum - the walls behind them have been similarly leeched of all color. An eerie radiance, a glow unlike anything else, suddenly suffuses the area, bringing with it a stifling sense of latent malignancy. The light pulses as if somehow alive, but your mind momentarily blanks out as you try to find a color that could be applied to it. Nothing fits - but whatever is here seems like it's being restrained by a small device on the far side of the room, which is currently emitting some kind of leash made of pure force. Various treasures lie in the far corner of the room - though to gather them, you would have to somehow deal with the creature, and it's almost impossible to know if your well-honed powers of invisibility would work on a thing that may not even have senses as mortals understand the word.
Whatever this creature is, the only thing that's truly clear is that it doesn't belong on mortal worlds.
Also, I didn't get any feedback from my earlier rolls
Sevia considered what might be appropriate to do in this situation. At the moment she was feeling rather weak, but on the other hand - this...whatever...was very clearly dangerous. Though thankfully contained.
You were unable to identify the specific problem - though the source should be fairly obvious by now - and the singing continues to have an indeterminate origin - like there's no specific source. Also, Dungeoneering.
The creature was towards the middle of the room, but there was also a lot of slack in its leash - it could easily reach anywhere within the chamber, and probably a good ways out of it as well before the leash went tight.
Mortals would be unlikely to recognize this creature, but finally a few bits of information trickle back into your memory. The creature is a Colour Out of Space - that's the only name anyone has ever given this type of beast from the Dark Tapestry, and this particular creature seems even stronger than most after all the feeding it's done.
Sevia was rather alarmed by the sight of the creature. These...were quite dangerous. Looking at how much it had fed, judging by the bodies at least, it could even reproduce soon. Left unchecked it would devastate the area of Illmarsh.
She sheathed her sword - it wouldn't help her here anyways, and pulled out her staff. Considering her options a bit as well, she flew back up the tunnel and called out to her shadow, instructing him to head back up to the manor and communicate to her familiar to come down to her, and that he should use his invisibility to bypass the giantess.
Sevia waits for her familiar to show up, under the effects of greater invisibility
"Epyon, we are going to destroy a color out of space. Keep away from it at all costs, do not enter the cavern for any reason - it will sense you. We shall keep at a distance and bring it down with Magic Missiles." Sevia explained, leaving her familiar the staff, which he put a charge into. As for herself, Sevia healed a number of times with lay on hands before both descended back into the pit. Epyon renewed his greater invisibility as they did. Sevia also instructed him to cast Mage Armor on her just in case it was able to reach her.
LoH:4d6 ⇒ (4, 3, 3, 2) = 12
Reaching into one of her scroll tubes she produced a scroll of Exploding Runes, floating it over to the color and opening it up right in front of the creature.
Force Damage:6d6 ⇒ (6, 5, 4, 2, 1, 6) = 24None of these spells give saves
Initiative:1d20 + 19 ⇒ (18) + 19 = 37Even with a roll of 20 you can't beat that initiative - even accounting for mythic initiative
While the creature still reeled from her attack, both of them cast Magic Missile against it, eight multicolored bolts slamming into the beast.
"Epyon, stay behind me, I'll draw it to the entrance." Sevia said, using a point of ki to turn invisible, backing up just a few dozen feet from the base of the tunnel, her familiar behind her.
The runes were your surprise round. The first magic missiles were your first attacks.
The creature's body shook wildly as the force blasts struck it - and though it had no eyes, you clearly had its attention. An aura of listlessness pulsed through the air a moment later, and while you'd already resisted it, the same wasn't true for Epyon.
Will DC 23:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16(While affected by this power - which I should've rolled for earlier, actually, since I only did it for you - creatures are staggered, take a -4 penalty on will saves, and don't willingly travel more than a mile away. With a successful roll, Break Enchantment or a similar power can end this effect.)
The radiant creature abruptly shot upwards, merging into the stone and bleaching it white as it passed through, concealing itself within the physical structure instead of remaining out in the open where force effects could target it - though it probably wasn't going to stay there forever.
Sevia grimaced as the beast disappeared into the ceiling. Sevia had expected it to attack, not set up an ambush. "Epyon, pull back from the entrance as far as you can while maintaining sight with me." Sevia said, her familiar sluggishly flapping away from the cave while Sevia pushed ahead, flying right into the cavern and setting on the ground. As her feet touched the ground, she took a defensive stance, simply preparing herself against attack and hoping to lure the thing back down.
Sevia uses Total Defense Action. Epyon moves at least 50ft from the cave entrance, more if he can still see me.
The only warning you had was the stone turning white. An instant later, the huge form of the creature came out of the ceiling like a palm trying to crush an insect by smashing it against the ground. Despite the creature's prodigious size, it might be possible to dodge to the side and completely avoid the blow (Reflex DC 30) - or you could stay in place and attempt to make an attack of opportunity, trying to hit the creature as it passed by. There wasn't enough time to do both.
For clarification, it's still the Colour's turn, but you can take your next round of actions after you decide on your response to its attack. Either way, it's not going to be able to stop you from doing that.
Sevia vaulted to the side as the creature attempted to slam down on her. It was going to have to catch her seriously off guard if that was ever going to be successful. Still, goal accomplished, while it was still in the open Sevia dodged backwards and made for the cave again, trying to avoid further attack.
Not sure if I provoke an AoO if I move through threatened squares
Acrobatics:1d20 + 20 ⇒ (1) + 20 = 21 vs CMD If moving away does provoke, it gets an attack
Epyon meanwhile, saw his chance to fire another round of Magic Missiles.
Force Dmg:4d4 + 4 ⇒ (1, 4, 1, 3) + 4 = 13
Once Sevia had gotten twenty feet inside she turned around and drew on her Mythic Power, casting Force Anchor to cage the Colour into the room.
Force Anchor:1d20 + 18 ⇒ (12) + 18 = 30 vs TC Force Dmg:4d4 ⇒ (3, 4, 3, 3) = 13Not sure if it counts as FF since I'm invisible. If that still doesn't hit I'd surge.
Spoiler:
Dex +8
BAB +6
Heroism +2
Invisibility +2
If Force Anchor does hit, it can't move into the tunnel or into the walls
As you dodged away from the creature, it sunk into the ground, turning the stone white as it passed through. Hidden as it was within a physical object, moving away from its position was easy and didn't provoke an attack - but it also prevented Epyon from firing magic missiles, and you from hitting the creature with a Force Anchor. With the speed the creature had shown, you'd have to ready a casting of the spell and hit it as soon as it appeared - any slower and it would likely dodge into the stone again.
Don't forget that there's basically an L turn at the bottom of a large pit - if Epyon's flying up it and out of the room, he can't target anything within the chamber.
The creature re-emerged from the stone a moment later, but this time you were ready for it - and Epyon fired out a series of magical missiles that impacted against the creatures amorphous hide and dealt visible damage to its... er... area. As the Force Anchor shot out, however, the creature's body suddenly wavered and surged with potent energy - and a hole opened within it, allowing the force anchor to pass through without striking it. The malevolent Colour focused on Epyon a moment later, churning the space it occupied as it attempted to feed on your Familiar.
Will 23 Partial:1d20 + 7 - 4 ⇒ (5) + 7 - 4 = 8
Even at the best of times, resisting the effect would have been difficult, and Epyon had already been staggered by the earlier blast from the creature. Now, the color was starting to vanish from the bird's body as the alien creature fed.
Constitution Drain:1d6 ⇒ 3 Charisma Drain:1d6 ⇒ 5
On the bright side, you were able to recognize what the creature did to avoid your spell - dodge in a way most mortal things couldn't. However, even the strongest creatures could only do that so many times before their energy ran out - the real question was whether or not you could last long enough to make it vulnerable.
Sevia cursed as her force anchor missed, simply passing through the creature without even scratching it. She hadn't expected that, and frankly if it kept doing it she'd never hit the damned thing without godly luck. "Epyon! Retreat!" Sevia called out, blasting the beast with Magic Missiles as her familiar ascended away, at least protected by its invisibility.
Luckily, she had another trick up her sleeve and the beast was now right where she wanted it. Remembering her headband, she tapped into its power as she again cast Force Anchor, except this time she'd could rapidly fake where the bolt was going to go and nail it with a good hit.
Swift action feint
Feint:1d20 + 20 ⇒ (10) + 20 = 30 vs DC 25 Colour is denied dex
Force Anchor:1d20 + 16 ⇒ (16) + 16 = 32 vs TC-Dex Force Dmg:4d4 ⇒ (2, 4, 4, 2) = 12
After a brief moment of considering tactics, several magical missiles struck the Colour's body - but what it did next was unknown as you fled up the pit and broke your line of sight with the creature. Fortunately, you still had a few minutes of flight left, so you were in no immediate danger of falling to the bottom of the pit.
Sevia turned around as she flew up and descended right back down to the enterance, holding out her hand to once again blast the Colour. If she could just keep this up she'd chip away at the thing until it finally died.
If the Colour is not inside the room, Sevia readies a Magic Missile to attack when it emerges. Epyon readies one as well from the top of the pit if it enteres the pit as well.
The Colour was not visible within the room. What could be seen was the damaged wreckage of the enchanted item that had been producing the leash of force that had kept it in place... and the walls of the room all seemed somewhat whiter than before.
Epyon landed at the top of the pit a moment later - staggered as he was, there was no way to both ready casting and fly at the same time. As the seconds ticked by, however, there continued to be no sign of the creature.
Well...that couldn't be good. "Epyon! Tell Shadow to take a peek above ground!" Sevia shouted up the hole, concerned that the Colour might be escaping. Instead of lingering down below, she began flying up the pit toward her familiar, keeping ready to blast the creature with more magic missiles if it emerged while her familiar kept watch.
The warning came just a few moments too late as the Colour erupted out of the wall at the top of the pit. The hole itself was two hundred and fifty feet deep from top to bottom, and Epyon was at the top - your Fly spell, from the armor, brought you up thirty feet, and your natural range with Magic Missile was 170 feet. All together, that was still fifty feet short of where the Colour had gone, and it wasted no time at all in springing out of the wall and spreading wide. Invisibility still guarded Epyon from normal attacks... but with the creature's spread so wide, only total evasion could stop its strike from hitting.
Reflex DC 30 (Epyon):1d20 + 10 ⇒ (18) + 10 = 28
It was a very impressive dodge... but not quite enough as the Colour continued forward and swept over your Familiar, chaotic energies lashing out and working to disintegrate the raven's flesh.
The Colour continued moving, plunging into the floor beneath Epyon and hiding in the stone once again. It probably wouldn't be long before it reappeared... and things were looking increasingly bad for your Familiar. Unless you found a way to boost your speed, you could only ascend so quickly - though Epyon could also drop down towards you, helping to close the distance between you before another attack could be made.
(Currently, the Colour is roughly in the tunnel before the drop on the map)
(Also, I just double-checked, and you'll level up if you win this fight. ^^ So there's a DEFINITE value to success here.)
Epyon at least gets to fire his readied magic missile
As the Colour emerged from the wall her familiar at least was prepared, swinging to the side and delivering another round of colorful blasts as it tried to dodge. Unfortunately he wasn't as nimble as her.
Force Dmg:4d4 + 4 ⇒ (3, 4, 1, 2) + 4 = 14
"Epyon! To me!" Sevia shouted, her familiar practically falling down to her. She held out her hands and caught the poor thing in her arms, and took the staff from him. "Hide in my pack." She told him, now more focused on getting him out of harm's way. Opening one of her Haversack's side pockets open, she deposited him inside. While that wasn't strictly safe, this fight would be over long before he ran out of air in there, and he'd be out of the line of fire.
Familiar secure, held the staff up and readied another attack. She was burning through its charges fast but this thing couldn't have much fight left in it. "Now...come at me you abomination..." Sevia whispered.
As always, the magical missiles struck unerringly - and you could see the bright flashes as they ripped into the creature, which looked as if it had lost about half of its brightness to the accumulated damage. Along the side of the pit wall, you could see the color being leeched away, and about a hundred feet of the stone had turned white over the last few seconds... which gave you the ability to track where the creature was. With your height of sixty feet, and the creature dropping at a truly impressive rate, there were still about ninety feet between you - and the creature probably wouldn't attack until it was quite close, which gave you a few precious seconds to continue preparing to attack or to try and implement another strategy.
Given the overall nastiness of this foe, I don't want to rush you when you actually do have chances to do other things. XD; Sorry if it seems a little slow!
Sevia continued to watch as the creature approached and held her ground. It'd either waste time trying to slam her or she'd catch it in the tunnel - either way would work for her.
The stone continued to turn white as the Colour moved down through it, finally coming to a stop across from you - and it erupted out of the stone, taking the blow of your Magical Missiles and again lashing out at you as it attempted to hammer you with its power before darting back into the stone.
As before, Reflex DC 30 negates, or you can make an Attack of Opportunity, after which it will pass through into the stone again and it will be your turn once more.
Times 1.5 is 27 damage... I haven't forgotten that vulnerability! Also, I feel much better about removing its Spell Resistance - if that had stayed, this would have gone from difficult to flat-out impossible.
The Colour seemed to have slowly settled into a pattern, trying to catch you off guard - but each time, your incredible agility was preventing it from landing blows as it moved in and out of the stone. At the same time, your dwindling supply of magic was affecting it, and it had clearly taken serious damage after these latest two sets of magical bolts - but the creature had yet to give up and decide to flee, and it would be only seconds before it struck out again.
I assumed you'd count the force vulnerability. All my damage so far adds up to 147, add in 50% vulnerability and that's roughly 220 damage so far.
Sevia's staff was empty, so she opted to put it away. She'd need to dip into her higher powered spell power just to keep casting Magic Missile, but it seemed to be close to death.
Force Dmg:4d4 + 4 ⇒ (2, 2, 1, 4) + 4 = 13
Reflex:1d20 + 24 ⇒ (1) + 24 = 25Well...b!@*@+~s, I hope an extra 19 damage kills it
Hoping that draws it to keep attacking if nothing else
The latest burst of magical missiles crashed into the creature... and its entire body flowed over you a moment later, corroding your flesh and seeking to rip through your health.
The creature's touch seemed effective at damaging flesh and bone alike, but you yourself were quite tough... and its natural luminescence was almost gone now. One more barrage - two, at most - would probably be enough to eliminate it for good.
Sevia hadn't anticipated the blow, mistiming her counterattack and remaining still for a split second too long. Enough to take a healthy beating from the corrosive power of the Colour.
Luckily her natural vitality allowed her to shrug off the worst of it and blast the creature on its return attack.
Staying the course
Force Dmg:16 = 16Don't suppose 24 damage is enough to get it? If not and it doesn't change tactics I blast it again which should kill it.
For a moment after your last barrage of attacks, the Colour continued forward - then it exploded in a flash of indescribable light and vanished from the air. As it did, the sense of weight and listlessness lifted from the air... though the color didn't return to the walls.
Congratulations on reaching Level 8, and you can make the updates the next time you rest for eight hours. In addition, while a number of the items in the Colour's chamber look to have been drained and destroyed over time, you're able to find 1400 GP in jewelry, as well as a barnacle-encrusted chest with 880 gp, 665 sp, and 2,400 cp in coins.
I'm also considering switching to a story-based leveling format here, unless you particularly dislike that sort of thing. It seems to work better for this game than standard XP gain.
