Lureene nearly shouts through her mental link to Grak, "Yes, Grak, because we ARE ONE!!"
She turns and flies towards the tower, eyes burning with a feiry glow. As she closes in on the eriynes, a spell bubbles to her lips. She points at her 'friend' and lightning streaks forth!
In the morning:
Darvesch wakes with a sense of relief and accomplishment. His forge is operational, his altar (albeit makeshift) is up, and his focus is trained on one singular purpose. Today would be the day he blesses Grimnon's axe, and make it his own.
He sits and thinks a moment, "What am I going to need to do this? Think. What was the first thing grandfather did.. Right, that's it.."
He deduces he'll need to get the magical energy from something, and the only way he knew how was to hammer it out of something else. So, he sets to the tower, where Alis has kept her chest full of stuff the group has collected, to see if there might be something more useful as enchanting material. "Nobody's going to use this hook.. he says after digging through the chest, finding the mythral hook.
Back to the altar, hook in one hand, axe in another, and hammer at his belt. He lays everything out, axe to the side, hook in the center, and hammer in hand. He prays aloud for each hammer strike.
"Kahn, grant me the energy I require to bless this axe.
STRIKE
"Kahn, strip the energy from this hook, so that it may be used to serve you."
STRIKE
"Kahn, reforge the magic of this hook, so that it may serve me to be a better instrument.
He continues this until the hook is destroyed, and the magic lingers at the altar. Once the hook is destroyed, he raises his axe and prays for the magic to be used to bless the axe he holds in his hand.
"Oh SHI–"
Lureene's lightning bolt streaks towards Sasha who ducks down behind her wings. The bolt impacts her dead-on, yet seems to warp around her leaving the flying ranger no worse for wear.
"That was... weird!"
As the lightning clears her and crashes below, Sasha turns to find that she now fights 2 on 1. Frowning, she draws back a bit from Grak, and draws her bow.
"Hey Grak, really don't want to have to fight you too, but you're not leaving me a choice here..." Looking at the succubus, she calls out, "Sorry EL, I can't figure out how to get my sword to work so I'll just have to shoot you instead. Hold still, OK?"
DR 5
, Sasha;
MAP: Lureene's Soul: The Lightning-Struck Tower, (Round 07)
As Lureene smiles in return, she flys in an erratic pattern more to frustrate the flighty eriynes than to present a harder target to hit. She flies in closer behind one of the pillars while mentally instructing to fly behind her so they can truly work together to destroy their common foe.
As Grak complies, several bolts of magical energy fly towards the ranger striking at her body!
Grak hisses in anger at the winged ranger and streaks above her and again bites at her shoulder blade!
Grak's jaws snap shut just inches from Sasha's shoulder, barely missing. As he flies by, the ranger, pulls back, beyond his reach and takes aim at at him, zeroing in a heart on where his heart should be. The shaft strikes home with unerring precision, yet Grak is spared a mortal blow due to a last-second twist in mid-air.
Without waiting to see if it hits, Sasha fires another arrow, creasing Lureene's left bicep. "Back atcha, Ellie!"
no
, Sasha;
MAP: Lureene's Soul: The Lightning-Struck Tower, (Round 08)
Sooo...she thinks she has us figured out...
Lureene glares at Sasha and chants another spell. Even as the missiles erupt from her fingers, she flies directly towards Sasha!
"NOW GRAK!!
Grak wastes no time, moving to flank with his mistress.
"WHOA!" Sasha recoils as the gets bum-rushed and turns away from the on-coming missiles which fizzle against her wings. Seeing their plan come up short, Grak just barely pulls-up in time to avoid colliding with his mistress.
Not sticking around to give the two another chance to outflank her, Sasha tries to dive out of the way, cursing as she does so, "Crap, I know this trick!"
Lureene sees her opportunity to strike...
Grak lunges for Sasha's throat...
While his mistress distracts Sasha, Grak's lunges with blinding speed jaws clamping down on the side of Sasha's neck, tearing and shocking her even as he flies off!
"OWW!!! Motherfu–"
Looking back over her shoulder, Sasha pulls up the moment she's out of Lureene's view and fires a devastating shot at Grak catching him square in the chest with a caustic arrow.
"JUST FOR THE RECORD, I DON'T LIKE GRAK ANYMORE!"
, Sasha;
MAP: Lureene's Soul: The Lightning-Struck Tower, (Round 09)
Injured and strength flagging, Grak hisses quietly, "Missstressss, sssend Grak sssome of your ssstrength, rejuvenate usss. Grak can hurt her..."
"The feeling's mutual, Sash!"
Lureene understands instantly what Grak is referring to, a spell for rejuvenating eidolons. She nods mentally in response and summons her spell energy even as she moves out of the line of fire. Even she is surprised by the energy that flows from the ambient energy into Grak.
With a single touch, Grak a wave of light spreads across Grak leaving him whole, his scales unblemished! From in the distance, you can hear Sasha protest, "Oh come on, how's THAT fair?"
"Thank you, Missstressss! Pleassse, direct usss..."
Grak nods his head in appreciation, then takes off like a bullet towards Sasha!
"Dammit, get away from me!"
Sasha ducks Grak's charge and tries to back off again to make another attack.
Grak snaps at Sasha's head, but the agile ranger evades the blow.
Escaping a safer distance, she circles around to where she remembered seeing Lureene, the succubus' beating wings giving away her position. As soon as she has clear the column Lureene is hiding behind, she fires, hitting her in the side but not penetrating deeply enough to do serious damage..
"DAMMIT! Why– won't– you– DIE?!"
DR, Acid
, Sasha
MAP: Lureene's Soul: The Lightning-Struck Tower, (Round 10)
Lureene lets loose another volley of missile at Sasha before flying on the other side of the pillar.
C'mon you f+!$ing b&++$, DIE!
Grak shakes his head slightly wondering what his mistress sees in the red-haired lady. He then charges her once again.
Grak swoops to Lureene's aid once again, chomping down on Sasha's wing and tearing free a hunk of bloody feathers even as he shocks her. Gritting her teeth against the jolt she just received, the young erinyes realizes she hasn't exactly been making the best use out of her wings. She tries to give Grak the slip but comes up short leaving her back open.
Even as Grak makes Sasha pay for her mistake, the redhead escapes and takes a cue from Lureene gliding around the column she ducked behind. Finding her once again, she opens fire, but her shot barely phases her prey.
Breathing heavily, she gripes, "For the– What are you made out of anyway? It's not like you're hard to hit!"
, Sasha;
MAP: Lureene's Soul: The Lightning-Struck Tower, (Round 11)
Lureene knows the eriynes is close to 'death' or whatever passes for such in this place. She again calls on her magic to destroy her foe! She then circles around to rejoin Grak.
Sasha just barely has time to react to Lureene's spell, yet she still doesn't escape unscathed. Her wings smoke from the impact, and it's clear that it's just about everything she can do to remain flying.
"Th– th– that s– sucked!"
Grak on a silent signal from his mistress waits for Sasha tro make her move.
The moment Sasha tries to continue her pursuit, Grak charges. The erinyes manages to avoid him, but once again can't quite get the hang of dodging while airborne and exposes herself to attack as she tries to get past him.
With a growl of frustration, Sasha flies up and around Grak, trying to find Lureene. Grimacing with the effort, Sasha tags her friend with yet another arrow, shaking her head in frustration at the lack-luster results.
In a hurt tone, she says, "This really isn't my day, is it?"
, Sasha
MAP: Lureene's Soul: The Lightning-Struck Tower, (Round 12)
Lureene feels bloodlust take over her vision and she feels a burning need to destroy her 'friend'. Then from the depths of her soul, a vision of a pair of violet eyes looking at her, gently admonishing her.
"You know you need answers more than vengeance, right 'El?"
Lureene shakes her head and the anger flows from her body leaving her calm and collected. She calls out to Sasha, while chanting another spell, "Surrender, Sasha. I have no wish to prolong this struggle."
Theme: Nothing Can Be Explained
With a sigh of exasperation, Sasha lands on the floor and her wings break up and blow away, coalescing into another form nearby. Exhausted, she looks up, and smirks. "Nice going, Ellie, but you know that the fights are only going to get tougher, right? Don't let your guard down, because I'll be waiting for when you mess up..."
As Lureene watches, 'Sasha' winks and disappears into dust as she blows her friend a kiss...
Even as Sasha vanishes, the remnants of her feathery wings resolve into the now-familiar black-cloaked form of the man she has met here before — her father. Face grim, he gazes at Lureene with dark eyes full of concern and raises a dark lantern which catches a glint from the now-full silver moon and begins to glow in kind.
"Lureene," his voice reverberates through her dream world, "when you call upon Grak, know that he is part of your soul and trust in him. With that incantation, you can call him more quickly, or increase his strength, increase your strength."
"Tonight you have fought against your terror, the terror of what you may become. The struggle for peace in your soul will always be a war. You must always be vigilant. If you want peace, then end such battles quickly; the tribulations of your battles scar and defile the beauty of this place. When you are in torment, when you are afraid, the red moon grows in strength."
"How I hate that red cast... and the memories it brings..."
Lureene looks at her Father, her mind flooded with questions. Yet she knows...feels...his time here grows short.
"Thank you, Father. I...I will meditate on your words." She represses an urge to throw her arms around him. Instead looking up at the red moon, she asks quietly, "Have I...disappointed you, Father?"
Is there anything I can do to save you, Father?
Five heartbeats seem like five centuries before Lureene receives the answer to her question. "No, Lureene, you have not."
With those words, Lureene can begin to feel herself drifting further into sleep, mentally exhausted. As darkness begins to take her, she can faintly hear some parting advice from her father, "I love you, Lureene. Remember, it is yourself that you must not disappoint. That pride is the light I would shine on your path..."
Time: 2:00db (morning, 8:00am)
After saying his morning prayers, Darvesch breaks fast with Malandraenas and Aerys, Ieana and Alis still sleeping within the lighthouse. Last night, a tumultuous lightning storm rocked Reaver's Shiv for several hours making sleep difficult for most everyone. Even so, none of the three who now sat around, partaking of the sea scorpion that Mal had killed and Aerys boiled were prone to sleeping in as late as Ieana, and Alis naturally kept no schedules but her own.
Even though the skies were still cloudy outside, the morning cooler than usual, Darvesch was too stoked at the thought of enchanting Grimnon's axe to put things off and wait for the temperature outside to only get hotter.
With some help from the big ranger, whom he learned also had a talent for imbuing objects with supernatural enhancements, he soon found that there was sufficient fuel to begin his work. Yet what to use for raw materials? Back in Khelboz, there was no shortage of suitable reagents particularly along a major trade route with the elves. Here though, not only were the plants and fungi in the forest radically different, but so too were the minerals in the rocks.
Perhaps Alis had something stashed away in that trunk she made her bodyguard carry that would be of use...
"Nobody's going to use this hook..." he had murmured after digging through it, chancing upon the mithral hook Sasha found in the nest of the Red Mountain Devil. Certainly, considering the fact that he cleaved the brute in twain with his old axe, no one could object to it anyway. Sasha head had made off with a new bow herself...
After rummaging around for a bit longer, ignoring the grumbling coming from the room next door, the dwarf hurried returned to his forge eager to begin. Yet no sooner was he approaching the broad doorway, than did he hear someone or something rummaging around inside near his tool bench!
As soon as he hears the rustling about in his toolbox, he runs as quick as he possibly can to face the intruder!
"Hey! What do you think you're doing!" He shouts.
As Darvesch rushes thru the door, he hears a surprised, "YIP!" and the clank of metal on stone. On his bench, he finds a small fox with golden coat, a white fur on its underbelly, and ears almost as big as its head. Its tail is poofed-up almost as big as it is, and it looks at the dwarf somewhat sheepishly with large, purple eyes.
Looking down at the floor near his workbench, Darvesch can see that his hammer has been dropped on the ground. The little thing gives a soft whimper that sound equal part disappointed and apologetic.
Artwork: Fennec Fox
"Well.. What were you in my toolbox for?" Darvesch says after he realizes it's not one of his companions. Not really expecting an answer from an animal, he steps to the side to allow enough room for him to get out.
He's suspicious of the purple eyes, and has a hunch it may be one of his companions pets, or even one of the companions themselves..
Not wasting any time, the little fox races out of Darvesch's forge and around the corner it's panicked cries fading into the distance as it runs away, "YIIIP, YIIP, yiiip, yiiip!"
Darvesch sighs, picks up his tools, and continues with his ritual. Not certain what to make of the fox, he puts the thought in the back of his mind, certain to bring it up later.
Even as Darvesch proceeds with hammering away in his forge, waking a Alis and a very grumpy Ieana, far across Reaver's Shiv, someone else is receiving their wake-up call...
"El... Hey El..., ELLIE... LUREENE!!!"
It takes a few moments, but when she recognizes Sasha's voice coming from right in front of her face and a weight atop her pelvis, the succubus becomes instantly wide awake. There, before her, Sasha is beaming a huge smile, green eyes not even a foot from blue.
"Mmmwaaa!" Sasha plants a kiss on Lureene before sitting up. "El, you'll never believe it, but that scar I got from the ghost is gone!"
Judging by the way the huge smile the red head is beaming, Lureene quickly surmises that isn't all Sasha wants to say, but is desperately trying to contain excitement over something.
Sense Motive Checks:
Lureene shakes the cobwebs out of her mind as her friend wakes her up from her dream.
Was it that long ago when she was trying to kill me?
She returns the hug enthusiastically, and gives her friend a somewhat tired smile. "Is there someTHING you are not telling meee?"
"Mmmaaayyybe?"
In fact as Lureene gives the real Sasha a hug, she can feel for herself what has the once small-chested ranger smiling. With a grin, the red head eagerly pulls off her blouse to proudly show off her new girls.
"Kind of a bit sore right now," she admits, "and they aren't quite as big as yours but... "
From outside you hear sudden crash followed by coughing and sputtering. Priyya gives a shout of surprise and you hear what sounds like someone getting thumped on the back or sternum until finally there is ragged gasping for breath.
Grinning as she pounces on Lureene, Sasha croons, "Maaa– gic fruit... ma– aa– aa– gic fruuuiiiit!"
As Lureene giggles in response to Sasha's antics, she notes wryly,
It sounds like Gel stayed up ALL night to...guard us!
When the two bosom-buddies finally get booted out of their tent by the petulant cleric, Lureene looks about in consternation wondering what happened. The tree where Grak had been keeping watch is now nothing more than a blackened husk! It does take Gelik terribly long to recounts what happened, although he does get distracted several times while looking between Lureene and Sasha.
"Oh wow!" Sasha exclaims at the end. "So Grak got hit by lightning and that tree went up? Damn, El and I must have been really sacked-out if we slept thru THAT! Speaking of which, I don't know about you guys but I had some crazy dreams last night!"
"Lovely. How about you regale us about them after we break camp and resume our survey, hmm?"
Lureene glances about her, looking for any sign of Grak. Belatedly, she realizes her mental link would have informed her if Grak was alive and on this plane. Still, she was not too worried...
She looks back to the priestess, "Yeah, let's get this surveying finished. I think it would be a good idea to get back to the lighthouse as quickly as possible."
For the next several hours, Lureene's group makes their way north along the coast. Only 1 hour into the last leg of their excursion, they come upon another shipwreck, the Bloody Doll, lodges against a tiny island barely 1/8 of a mile across.
Not an hour after fully investigating that wreck, they reach the campsite where you first found traces of Ieana and Captain Kovack — the same site from which Aerys, Gelik, and Jask were abducted by the cannibals. A thorough search turns up more than a few items the others would wish to have returned including Aerys' bow, a few items that had gotten removed from Alis' trunk, and other odds and ends.
Although Lureene was of a mind to turn back at this point, Sasha was quick to point out that you have only glimpsed the two wrecks further north and had not actually explored them. Gelik certainly seemed to think that cataloging them was definitely a must, and Priyya begrudgingly agreed that the two probably had a good point.
The names of those last two wrecks proved to be the Golden Bow, and the Tears of Grog.