Setsuna casts Black Tentacles on the two stone giants and the two zombies. With her invisibility broken, she then flaps her wings and flies away.
The giant reaches into a pouch at its side, and retrieves a pair of rocks the size of small boulders. It hurls them both, one at a time, at Zoli, but both crash harmlessly, but heavily, around her.
The animated corpses of Vale and Jakardros shamble forward and swat clumsily at the large owl in front of them. However, their feeble attacks do not manage to finish off the avian.
Barl steps away from the black tentacles around his throne, and points a finger at Morythine as he chants some dark words. A black ray soars forth from his finger and hits Morythine square in the back, knocking the wind from him and sapping his vigor!
Lucrecia cackles as the fight breaks out. "Oh, little one! Aren't you just precious! Let's just see about that!" she says before slithering back a bit and casting a spell. Morythine tries to disrupt her, but cannot penetrate her arcane defenses in his weakened state! And then, she vanishes in a cloud of purple smoke!
__________
Eugeni tumbles off Olympus, freeing the bird to do its work, and sprints into one of the alcoves, quick as the wind. He snaps off a single shot at Barl, which buries itself in the giant's leg.
Zoli hears Setsuna begun to swear loudly in Thassilonian. After a few seconds, the Oracle finally says something coherent.
"She used Dimension Door! She's getting reinforcements!" Setsuna yells loudly in Thassilonian.
She promptly vanishes from sight and flies to another location.
The Black Tentacles continue to hold the zombies in a iron grip.
Rilee completes her spell and in a burst of brilliant verdant energy, tigers appear on the floor, arrayed in a charging pattern. Rilee screeches and the tigers launch themselves at the giants. One she sends toward Barl, the other three go at the other giant.
After watching the tigers maul the giants, Rilee quickly casts another spell, bringing into existence a minute portion of the storm that birthed her. It materializes right over Barl's head, raining down lightning strikes.
Clacking its beak, the giant owl tears into the zombies, its uninjured claw tearing the corpse of Jakardos into pieces.
Ki points: 4 remaining
Spells: cause fear (domain spell),
Channel energy: 3 remaining
Orisons: detect magic, detect poison, guidance, resistance
Gravely debilitated by Barl’s spell, Morythine staggers across the cavern to where Rilee and Olympus have made their stand. Lungs heaving, he can barely expel the words of his dark prayer, but presently one of the shadow’s in the throne room leaps into life, taking the form of a spiked chain that lashes ineffectually at the mighty Barl.
Ki points: 4 remaining
Spells: cause fear (domain spell),
Channel energy: 3 remaining
Orisons: detect magic, detect poison, guidance, resistance
"Awww, come on!" Zoli groans as Lucrecia disappears.
With a shrug, she decides to charge the giant lord. As she does, she passes on Setsuna's message: "Lucrecia 'ported away, probably getting reinforcements."
She nimbly avoids his blows and then slices up into his thigh. "Take that!" Then she stands there, realizing just how tall this giant is. That 'the bigger they are, the harder they fall' thing, let's hope that works out here, eh?
___________________
AC 27
HP 67/67 +11 THP
Luck 10/11
Panache 4/4 (-up to 3 for parries)
Charmed Life 4/4
Luck o’ the Scene 1/1
Buffs False Life: +11 THP
Expeditious retreat (round 3/10)
luck (round 3/3): +2 to hit, damage, skill rolls, saving throws
Despite the tentacles clutching at it, zombie Vale reaches up and grabs hold of the stone owl. He manages to bring it down to his level and drive a fist through its skull, searching for brains but only releasing more of the vapors filling the statue, causing it to dissipate entirely, all the way down to its original figurine form.
Meanwhile, Barl sighs heavily as it becomes clear that he is going to have to engage these pesky runts physically himself. He swings his massive two-handed hammer and strikes Zoli once hard in the shoulder, but she is able to easily deflect the remaining two attacks, as well as retaliate with a vicious riposte of her own!
__________
Eugeni moves closer and fires another arrow at Barl.
The chain of shadows lashes at Barl, its barbs scratching the stone giant’s granite skin. Meanwhile, Morythine draws his crossbow, tentatively places one of the poisoned quarrels retrieved from the Grey Gardeners in its groove and let’s fly. Unfortunately, his profound exhaustion prevents him from holding the crossbow steady, leading him to miss even such a massive target as Barl.
“Setsuna, Rilee,” he calls out raggedly. “Do you have any magic to undo Barl’s curse of exhaustion? I’ll be useless in this fight in my present state.”
Ki points: 4 remaining
Spells: cause fear (domain spell),
Channel energy: 3 remaining
Orisons: detect magic, detect poison, guidance, resistance
The Oracle calls out to the others in Thassilonian, "Two more ogres heading this way!"
Before dismissing the spell, Setsuna lets the Black Tentacles make one more attack; even if Zombie Vale somehow survives it, she doubts that he will survive the tigers and Zoli.
"Ow!" Zoli yelps as the earthbreaker rips into her shoulder.
Seeing the animated corpse of the Black Arrow start to come toward her, she lashes once at it, ripping through it's throat. "Vale, I'm so sorry they did this to you." she sighs as it drops. "Does that help your soul rest? I hope so!"
She then pivots and catches Barl unawares, slicing deep into his abdomen. "Now I need to give the kitties a turn, but don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you!" she quips while stepping slightly back.
_______________
AC 27+4=31
HP 57/67
Luck 10/11
Panache 3/4 (+1 for dropping vale, +1 for crit, -up to 1 for dodging panache)
Charmed Life 4/4
Luck o’ the Scene 1/1
Buffs
False Life: +11 THP
Expeditious retreat (round 4/10)
luck (round 3/3): +2 to hit, damage, skill rolls, saving throws
Rilee's summoned tigers leap after the remaining giant once the path is cleared. One has to circle around, but two charge again at Barl.
Barl drops his hammer and holds up a hand at the surging wall of tigers approaching him. "No! Wait! I yield! Spare me and I'll tell yo-AAAAGGGGGHHHHHHH!" he pleads before being cut off, literally, by the claws and fangs of the felines.
"Doh!" Zoli cries as the tigers kill Barl before he can spill the beans.
"Oooooh, now I'm soooo so curious! What was he going to saaaay!?"
Glancing over toward the entrance where Setsuna said more ogres are coming from, Zoli says, "Hey, if there's time, I'll take a little curing. My lucky Sihedron Medalion's false life took part of the blow, but my shoulder's still a bit ripped up.
"And does anyone have anything to help Morythine?"
Eugeni says, "I certainly don't.." Then he walks over and takes shelter in Barl's throne alcove, expecting more enemies incoming soon. He recovers his durable arrows from the giant king's corpse if he has time.
Morythine starts to stagger across the cavern, intent on retrieving his serpentine owl.
As he does so, he reloads his crossbow with another poisoned quarrel.
As Barl falls to the onslaught of tigers before him, several more booming battle yells can be heard being called out further down the cavern. Two heavily armed ogres are rushing up the ramp, with a hill giant hot on their heels!
__________
"I can't do much now," Setsuna says to Zoli in Thassilonian.
Setsuna takes a hop closer to her friends and quickly begins summoning one of her Hound Archons.
Seeing the ogres running up--and feeling a wince in her shoulder from Barl's blow--Zoli digs in her belt pouch and chugs down a potion. Hmmm, WAY too much licorice in that one...but I love that feeling of my injuries fading away. That one never gets old!
She takes a step closer, bracing for the ogres' arrival and craning her neck in the hopes of seeing Lucrecia again.
>>Friend shadow-hunters! More enemies come from that direction! Time for more hunting! That way!<<
From behind the front line of heavily armed ogres, a much larger wave of ogres comes surging into the chamber. Less armored than their kin, these ogres, as well as their armored leader, are moving nearly twice as fast as those that first entered the chamber, the speed of their movements almost a blur compared to the rest.
The front line ogres, however, move up to meet the first of the tigers in their path. The hill giant slams the trunk of a small oak tree down like a club across the cat's back, breaking several vertebrae and ribs! One of the ogres steps up and drives his own club across the tiger's shoulder, breaking one leg easily. As the last of the lead warriors steps up, the tiger feebly lashes out with its claw, only to have another club come crashing down on its skull, causing its body to dissipate into a green cloud of mist.
__________
Lord Azathoth, please don't cook my mind.
Somehow, as she tries to cast a Slow spell, Setsuna manages to hold her sanity together. She targets the three most well-armed ogres and the hill giant.
Three out of the four of them seem to be affected; Setsuna can live with those results. The Oracle then drops prone on her rocky perch and crawls backward to avoid retaliation.
As appears Presley, it is clear that he has been hard at work in the celestial gym. The now very buff Hound Archon grips his greatsword and charges the closest ogre. As he raises his sword to strike, he lets out a menacing howl. Ironically, his target is not affected, but the others seem shaken by his heavenly presence. Thanks to the brute's big size, Presley manages to cut a neat slash across Kreeg Ogre Blue's blue torso.
Morythine drags himself over the lip of the ridge, scoops up his serpentine owl, swivels and fires his crossbow at the hill giant.
That's a mighty big welcoming committee. We've not fared so well against the big guys before . . . I wonder if my companions have enough sense to flee?
Ki points: 4 remaining
Spells: cause fear (domain spell),
Channel energy: 3 remaining
Orisons: detect magic, detect poison, guidance, resistance
Zoli gives a little "Eeep!" as she sees the crowd of ogres thundering down the hall toward them.
With a shrug and a prayer to Chaldira, she charges to meet them. OK, here we go! Zoli nimbly ducks under the ogre's hook and comes in close, nicking it in the thigh.
________________
AC 27
HP 67/67
Luck 9/11
Panache 2/4
Charmed Life 4/4
Luck o’ the Scene 1/1
False life / day 0/1
BuffsExpeditious retreat (round 6/10)
luck (round 1/3): +2 to hit, damage, skill rolls, saving throws
Riley's ears droop and she lets loose a pained yowl when one of her tigers gets beaten down. Then she bellows a fierce growl that echoes through the cavern, having the remaining tigers charge the giants. Two charge the big hill giant while one veers off to pounce on the one being attacked by Zoli and the hound archon.
Once the tigers attack, Rilee turns her attention to the advancing horde of ogres. She snarls, growls and flexes her paws in a strange pattern. In an instant, the rocky cavern floor warps and shifts imperceptibly to create vicious spikes rising up out of the ground in a huge swath underneath the feet of the incoming ogres.
Eugeni leans around the edge of the alcove and fires five shafts at leading Kreeg ogre in rapid succession. The last one misses, but the first four find a home buried in its stinking flesh.
The ogre leading the hastily moving pack continues to charge towards the fight, but as he continues to move, he starts hopping along on his feet as if trying to avoid something sharp, leaving large, bloody footprints in his wake. Just as he gets near the closest tiger, he stumbles and falls, impaling himself on the hidden, magical stone spikes! The rest of the ogres also charge forward, but each begin to hop and skip and try to avoid the pain being caused their feet as they try to find safe ground for themselves to stop and check their feet. Some make some awkward paths, partly due to their own confusion, partly due to each other, but eventually they each manage to gingerly find safe, solid ground to stand on and figure out what is wrong.
Meanwhile, the hill giant takes two powerful swings at the tigers near him. Both swings of the giant trunk crash into the feline, causing bones to break and a roar of pain to echo throughout the cave. However, surprisingly, the tiger still appears to have some fight in it!
The nearest Kreeg ogre steps nearer the tigers, also crying out in pain as his heavy feet stamp down into the spikes. However, it does not deter his combative drive, as he brings his own club down heavily towards Presley! However, the well trained warrior is able to nimbly avoid the ogre's heavy-handed attacks.
The already wounded tiger, however, is not so fortunate. The other Kreeg ogre, now moving much slower, winces his way across the spikes towards the cat and drives his own club down into its skull, sending it dissolving back to its prior realm.
__________
.
Setsuna takes a few seconds to reactivate her ring and then invisibly crawls on her belly like an army commando to get a better view of the Thron room entrance.
Presley takes a step forward and makes several vicious attacks against the nearest Kreeg Ogre. He utters another heavenly howl, which seems to shake the hill giant.
There’s an awful lot more of those ogres coming. We seem to be holding our own, but for how long? What happens when Lucrecia comes back? Morythine ponders as he watches the battle unfold in the entrance to the Throne Room. With great effort he labours back the draw of his crossbow. Should I get stuck in with Zoli? I doubt I’d last long afflicted so. Should I use the owl again and take to the air?
His crossbow set, Morythine takes another (hopefully still) poisoned quarrel and fires on one of the ogres. Happily, the bolt sinks in deep.
Ki points: 4 remaining
Spells: cause fear (domain spell),
Channel energy: 3 remaining
Orisons: detect magic, detect poison, guidance, resistance
Rilee whimpers again as another of her tigers is sent back to the verdant realm.
The tigers keep up their attacks, one staying on the hill giant while the other moves up to fight the Kreeg ogre menacing Zoli and the hound archon.
Rilee moves her thundercloud over the ogre (if he's still standing)
If the ogre still stands after her tiger, the hound, and Zoli's attacks, Rilee sends Olympus to keep attacking the front ogre. The roc leaps into the air with a keening cry.
Finally, Rilee concentrates and a bolt of lightning lances through the ceiling of the cavern and strikes the hill giant.
Zoli steps up next to the hound archon, and slices out twice with Baern's Breath. The first cut sends the ogre off balance, causing him to bend over, while the second slices deep up into his gut.
"Unghh! Take that, you brute!"
__________________
AC 27
HP 67/67
Luck 9/11
Panache 3/4 (-up to 1 for parrying)
Charmed Life 4/4
Luck o’ the Scene 1/1
False Life 0/1
Buffs
Expeditious retreat (round 7/10)
luck (round 2/3): +2 to hit, damage, skill rolls, saving throws
Eugeni steps forward a pace and continues firing, this time targeting the hill giant.
21 for 12
Miss
24 for 51 (crit)
21 for 17
11 for 14
More ogres attempt to force their way into the chamber, as the lead ones continue to try to pick their way through the safe and unsafe terrain to reach the fight. Several fall to the wounds on their feet, impaling themselves on the nearly invisible spikes on the floor, to their demise. Others have found what seems to be a path of safe ground to the north, causing a line of ogres to form along that ridge.
As the others file in, the remaining ogre at the front delivers a powerful slam into one of the tigers there, breaking bone and eliciting a yowl of pain from the predatory feline.
__________
Eugeni steps up onto the dead giant, continuing to fire. Running low on arrows. Gonna have to start smacking b!$!#es soon. At the end of his volley he finds his quiver empty.
23 for 19
17 for 12
21 for 15
25 for 18
22 for 12
"Presley! Intercept them from the north!" Setsuna cries out as she crawls away from the advancing ogres.
Thanks to his Tongues ability, the Hound Archon easily understands his summoned and moves north. He then readies an attack for the first ogre who gets close to him.
Setsuna then recasts Black Tentacles and her Invisibility shatters. Immediately, her eyes are engulfed in thick darkness. The tendrils from her cloak sink into the ground. As Setsuna opens her mouth and begins chanting in incomprehensible Tongues, obsidian-colored mist begins to spew from her mouth. A few seconds later, several massive Black Tentacles erupt from dark portals in the group and violently grasp at the ogres.
Rilee moves her thundercloud over a surviving ogre.
She then growls a command to pull Olympus back and stay ready to attack in case something breaks free to attack Setsu.
Finally, Rilee concentrates and a bolt of lightning lances through the ceiling of the cavern and strikes one of the ogres struggling to get around the stone spikes.
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“Are they still coming?” Morythine complains to Eugeni as he levers his crossbow back again. “I could really use a nap.” Taking aim at an already badly wounded ogre, he opts not to waste a possibly poisoned quarrel, letting loose with a normal bolt. However, the ogre is too far away, and the shoot veers into the depths of the cave without hitting home.
Ki points: 4 remaining
Spells: cause fear (domain spell),
Channel energy: 3 remaining
Orisons: detect magic, detect poison, guidance, resistance
Seeing how well the casters seem to have the ogres under control--and not being sure where she can safely step--Zoli holds back, ready to attack any foe who comes within 10' of her.
AC 27
HP 67/67
Luck 9/11
Panache 3/4 (-up to 1 for parrying)
Charmed Life 4/4
Luck o’ the Scene 1/1
False Life 0/1
Buffs
Expeditious retreat (round 8/10)
luck (round 3/3): +2 to hit, damage, skill rolls, saving throws
The ogres continue to struggle against the various hindrances to them in the terrain. A pair of them manage to wrestle free of the tentacles, while another harms himself further on the spiked stones.
Those on the front lines, however, hear Eugeni cry out, "She's here!" moments before he lets out a pained gasp from behind them. They turn just in time to see Lucrecia's serpentine body coiled behind Eugeni. His body has been stabbed viciously with the twin daggers in her hands, his blood dripping from their gleaming steel blades. As he falls unconscious to the ground, she licks his blood off the daggers and giggles to herself at the look of terror on the faces of those against her.
__________
The Black Tentacles continue to grasp and crush the ogres within their reach.
With her eyes covered in darkness, Setsuna does not see Eugeni fall. However, his screams off pain cause the Oracle to default to summoning more help. She begins to call in another Hound Archon.
"...Zoli, is he okay?"
Presley grips his greatsword tightly and charges the closest ogre. His sheer heavenly presence seems to unnerve the creature and shatter its guard. Throwing all of his weight into his swing, Presley lands an absolutely devastating slash to the ogre's head.
4th - 4/5
3rd - 2/7
2nd - 1/8
1st - 4/8
“She’s here!”
“What’s that Eugeni?” Morythine glances over just in time to see the ranger slump lifelessly to the ground. “Oh crap.”
“Hey Zoli, you might want to get over here!” the dhampir advises urgently.
It seems I might be getting some permanent rest very, very soon Morythine realises grimly as, inspired by Barl’s own attack against him, he blasts of Lucrecia with a sickening ray of magic.
Ki points: 3 remaining
Spells: cause fear (domain spell),
Channel energy: 3 remaining
Orisons: detect magic, detect poison, guidance, resistance
When she sees Eugeni fall, she issues a pained roar that tells her summoned tigers to ::ATTACK!!::
One of the tigers is able to turn and charge the snake woman, leaping upon her with fang and claw.
Then Rilee focuses and moves the ball of electricity to the nearest ogre.
Then she concentrates and brings down a bolt of lightning on the snake creature.