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The city of Kibwe in the Mwangi Expanse has recently seen a surge in both population and attention. As a well-fortified waystation for traders with huge, ancient granite walls, it is both safe and prosperous.
The Representative Council that rules the city works to balance its fractious factions while preserving the open trade that brings in wealth from the Mwangi Expanse and greater Garund alike. But unease in the city of Usaro has sent many hundreds of refugees to seek shelter behind Kibwe’s walls, and the council’s recent ban on buying and selling slaves doesn’t sit well with its established slave traders. The greatest threat to Kibwe, however, might be an organization that’s been present in the city for many years
In the central market of Adayenki Pavilion, in the heart of Kibwe, our collective of misfits are nearby.
Arkon the Liberator is currently watching a street game of dice going on with many enthusiastic worksmen and laborers excitedly exchanging money with peddlers.
Clynter, dressed in deep robes to hide his less than living appearance, also resides nearby watching for easy marks to leave the little gambling ring. Anyone who appears to have been taking their earnings and drinking in earnest.
Kazavel sits in a nearby outdoor section of an inn and watches the streets hustle and bustle, sipping on what some would presumably guess is a glass of wine. Kazavel resides currently under an umbrella while an overcast hangs high in the clouds, but no rain yet pours.
An Azarketi stands nearby a building that recently took some damage from flames, conducting an investigation. Typical minor issue of someone tripping with an oil lamp and starting a small fire, but was put out before lighting the entire outer wall ablaze.
A creature appearing to be made of strange stonework, what some have learned to acknowledge as a Conrasu, having just finished up a street stitching on a person who recently got their arm badly cut open counts the coins that it could collect from the patchwork job.
Sitting under a merchants stall, unbenownst to the merchant, lays a wolf made of machine. The creature appears to be resting from the bustle of the street. It doesn't stay off guard though, instead it eyes all the individuals it can from its little hiding spot. The creature appears to be learning faces, just incase at some point a contract might happen. Right now, it appears off work.
Plausibly deniably dot
Dry lips make contact with a glass, its swirling red contents lazily drifting towards them. The moment that red, viscous liquid makes contact, the pale elf lets out a delighted little shudder. No matter how many times, it always tasted good. Thirst was also a considerable factor. It had been... what, a couple of days since his last meal?
Drinking from a glass like this reminded him of the Old Country. Surprisingly, it didn't fill him with that much disgust. Must've been the blood. No matter the mood, no matter the sin, it could always wash the taste of regret out of his mouth.
Tilting his head back, the undead allowed himself the indulgence of taking the rest in one big gulp. All the better to finish his meal and raise less suspicion, after all. He makes sure to drag his tongue across his face as well as the inside of the glass. The last thing he wants to do is wander the town in the middle of the day with a blood mustache plastered over his lips, after all.
With that out of the way, Ashes carefully tucks his prized Brooding Glass into his robes and huddles up under the umbrella. It's a nice day, or at least as nice as a day can be, and he may as well keep up his search for a mortal that shows promise.
Stokes offers sloppy, wet high fives to the line firefighters leading from the river to the smoldering house. They were, of course, moderately wet from passing down buckets of water, but being around Stokes was a completely different experience. The man was just soaked, from head to toe, with little jets of water eternally orbiting his body.
"Great work, fish boy," the lieutenant said, proud of all the work that he'd take credit for. He offered his dry hand to shake Stokes', and as they hugged, he slipped a pouch with a fistful of coins into Stokes' pocket. The kickback was usually pretty seamless, but this time the metal hit a metal object in Stokes' pocket - an oil lamp, which Stokes had used to start the fire in the first place.
It was the worst time to draw attention. The chief was standing nearby, and heard the noise. "What's in the pocket, Celerity?"
Stokes decided to run.
Clynter's fleshless fingers itch as he watches the porters and longshoremen bounce their crude dice off the wall. The pot looks meager so far; just a sad little pile of worn out copper coins. Its not that he has any compunction about taking these fools for everything they are worth; but he just arrived in town and is not sure he wants risk getting noticed yet. Things didn't go too well for him in Bloodcove and he barely escaped from that den of vipers.
He made quite a killing at the gambling houses there, but of course he stayed too long and pushed his luck too far. Clynter has never been good at knowing when to just cash in his chips and head home. He won a greater fortune than he has ever seen in those mob run casinos and then he spent it all bribing some Aspis silver servant to help him get out of the city when the time came to go. It turns out the owners talked with each despite being business rivals and they all realized that the same rail-thin Pharasman cleric was having an exceptional lucky streak.
Clynter then spent the last two weeks trekking through the sweltering jungles of the Mwangi Expanse. He is glad to finally be back in a real city, even if its not as impressive as some of the places he has seen and for now. And since he doesn't want to be back in the jungle or out to sea gain quite yet, he is chosing to watch and observe for now.
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Everyone conducting their activities, or their schemes for wealth, or day in-and-out jobs. Excitement is currently at mundane levels. What it would be to have a little bit of fun.
Well, fortune or misfortune favors the freaky.
Near you all a merchant cries out in pain before his cries are rapidly swallowed by a thick choking noise! Suddenly his body is growing fluid like and his eyes melt out of his face. Within a matter of just a moment his body has turned into some strange kind of ooze!
Your paths away from such a creature are blocked by shipping containers and crowds of panicking people, the only way out of this is with a fight!
You all are talking to this merchant and he explodes into a slime before you.
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Light Condition: Daylight
Active Buffs: None
Active Penalties: Crowds blocking exits!
Kazavel "Ashes" Aldaris(-0,Fine)
Clynter "Glittergrin"(-0,Fine)
Ooze(-0,Fine)
Stokes Celerity(-0,Fine)
Arkon the Liberator(-0,Fine)
Rakdon Tripus(-0,Fine)
Black Pudding
N, Huge, Mindless, Ooze
Most often found below ground, these oozes scour caves for objects to dissolve with their corrosive secretions. This caustic acid is particularly dangerous to creatures that attack a pudding, as it can quickly damage and destroy gear.
Ashes reels back in horror as the man dissolves and implodes before him. Such a disgusting display, and a waste of good blood at that. Before deciding what to do, the pale elf flips through his mental library to figure out what to do.
He considers for a moment. It came from a person, yes? Well, an ooze made out of a processed person must CERTAINLY have a condensed version of the human's nutrients. Perhaps this could make for a new form of blood preservation? Yes, that must certainly be it!
Ashes makes a mental note to gather a generous sample for a taste test as soon as the battle concludes. For the time being, he decides to take advantage of this chance to play at being a hero, the risk of sunlight be damned.
"Oh no, a monster! Everyone get back!"
From around the fountain he gestures with a thin finger and concentrates, firing a beam of red-hot light right towards the massive ooze. As the spell goes off, gray ashes fall out of his white-and-gold robes in such abundance that one may think that it accidentally shattered a burial urn that he was carrying.
That's not something you see everyday
Clynter calmly moves into position to get a clear line of sight, then pulls out a bow from underneath his robes and fires an arrow at the writhing mass of slime. Then not even bothering to look at whether the arrow even hit he darts away from the creature before it can retaliate.
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Light Condition: Daylight
Active Buffs: None
Active Penalties: Crowds blocking exits!
Kazavel "Ashes" Aldaris(-0,Fine)
Clynter "Glittergrin"(-0,Fine)
Ooze(-16,Fine)
Stokes Celerity(-0,Fine)
Arkon the Liberator(-0,Fine)
Rakdon Tripus(-0,Fine)
The fire blasts into the ooze and causes it to bubble and boil in damage! An arrow flies swiftly afterwards into the ooze, but it floats uselessly in the oozes form.
The ooze grows a pseudopod towards Arkon, ignoring all the other nearby creatures. It swipes down hard with the pseudopod, missing with its first attack!
The ooze then grabs tight onto the Orc Teifling!
Light Condition: Daylight
Active Buffs: None
Active Penalties: Crowds blocking exits!
Kazavel "Ashes" Aldaris(-0,Fine)
Clynter "Glittergrin"(-0,Fine)
Ooze(-16,Grabbing)
Stokes Celerity(-0,Fine)
Arkon the Liberator(-19,Grabbed!)
Rakdon Tripus(-0,Fine)
"Hey ... HEY! What's going on here?" Stokes asks. Watching the ooze grab a nearby orc, Stokes walks up to the creature. The ooze, that is. Everyone's a creature, hmm?
◆ Stride
"SIR, ARE YOU HURT? DO YOU NEED ASSISTANCE?"
Stokes suddenly begins sweating profusely - so profusely that a whole puddle of water emanates in a 10' emanation around him. A wave of water strikes the ooze.
◆ Channel Elements / 1-action Elemental Blast
vs flanking
Stokes backs away when he realizes that the ooze is alive.
"Stay back, everyone!"
◆ Stride
ONLY SUCCUBI GET TO GRABBLE ME GET THE F+## OFF ME AND F&$$ JUBILEX IN PARTICULAR! The burly tiefling shouts!
Redeemer queen, bless my escape!
Action 1:
The Thiefling struggles quite ably against the grab of the slime thing.
Action 2: BOINK
Action 3: Raise shield
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Rakdon launches a slug from the taw launcher at the ooze, and it connects!
As Arkon slashes his axe down deep into the pudding, the ooze splits into two! Then a horrifying realization dawns on the liberator; both halves of the ooze are alive and are both still very deadly.
Light Condition: Daylight
Active Buffs: None
Active Penalties: Crowds blocking exits!
Kazavel "Ashes" Aldaris(-0,Fine)
Clynter "Glittergrin"(-0,Fine)
Red Ooze(-22,Fine)
Blue Ooze(-22,Fine)
Stokes Celerity(-0,Fine)
Arkon the Liberator(-19,Fine)
Rakdon Tripus(-0,Fine)
"And they reproduce?!" Ashes grits his teeth before channeling another, weaker spell. A small sphere of flame appears in his hand and he hurls it at one of the slimes, hoping to incinerate it before it can split again!
Then the agile elf curls up behind the fountain, not wanting beams of light or tendrils of ooze to make a mess of his good robes.
Vile heresy, they reproduce without intercourse! Unless...
The powerfully build thiefling looks questioningly at his axe
Koschthies phantom balls, Qlippoths beneath bugger my barely-existent lovelife did I just...
Some quite colorfull swearing emerges from the mercenaries mouth.
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Vile heresy, they reproduce without intercourse! Unless...
The powerfully build thiefling looks questioningly at his axe
Koschthies phantom balls, Qlippoths beneath bugger my barely-existent lovelife did I just...
Some quite colorfull swearing emerges from the mercenaries mouth.
Replies with an idea. That's alright, now the wizards in this party can hit both of them with burning hands. Or fireball. If we come across more of these things, Split them 2 or 3 times to make 3 or 4 of them, then burning hands or fireball them for triple or even quadruple the effect. That is of course if your axe really did cause that. I wonder if swords would do the trick too.
Clynter considers walking away from this fight, but then he remembers that it was a merchant who suddenly burst into slime and wonders how much money the man had in his purse.
I'll be damned to the Abyss if I'm going to let these other people get my share of the loot!, he thinks to himself as he moves back into position and fires a pair of arrows at the red ooze.
"Hey, do you think this thing has a brain, or is it completely mindless?"
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Light Condition: Daylight
Active Buffs: None
Active Penalties: Crowds blocking exits!
Kazavel "Ashes" Aldaris(-0,Fine)
Clynter "Glittergrin"(-0,Fine)
Red Ooze(-22,Reflex Save)
Blue Ooze(-22,Fine)
Stokes Celerity(-0,Fine)
Arkon the Liberator(-19,Fine)
Rakdon Tripus(-0,Fine)
Flames consume the ooze, blasting it with immense heat that it bubbles and squeaks from. The arrows fly from Clynter, but once again they appear to be ineffective against the slimes.
The oozes move into position to lash out against targets that are deemed the nearest, Ashes and Rakdon!
Ashes is smacked by the Pseudopod, and acid burns the vampire! It then wraps its pseudopod around Ashes, gripping tightly!
The ooze lashes out at Rakdon, smacking the Conrasu and gripping tightly!
Light Condition: Daylight
Active Buffs: Knowledge: You know that piercing and slashing do not deal damage to these oozes!
Active Penalties: Crowds blocking exits!
Kazavel "Ashes" Aldaris(-19,Grabbed)
Clynter "Glittergrin"(-0,Fine)
Red Ooze(-50,Fine)
Blue Ooze(-22,Fine)
Stokes Celerity(-0,Fine)
Arkon the Liberator(-19,Fine)
Rakdon Tripus(-24,Grabbed)
Between turns as a reaction:
Redeemer queen, free my allies from non-consensual bondage!
Trigger An enemy damages, Grabs, or Grapples your ally, and both are within 15 feet of you.You free an ally from restraint. If the trigger was an ally taking damage, the ally gains resistance to all damage against the triggering damage equal to 2 + your level. The ally can attempt to break free of effects grabbing, restraining, immobilizing, or paralyzing them. They either attempt a new save against one such effect that allows a save, or attempt to Escape from one effect as a free action. If they can move, the ally can Step as a free action, even if they didn’t need to escape.
Ashes takes 7 less damage and can attempt to escape as a free action.
In turn:
In my queens name, I shall provide succor to those suffering from grabby ugly things!
Focus spell lay on hands on Rakdon
Rakdon healed for 18 as its heightened to level 3.
Vile Slime things, I deny you the intercourse of my Axe!
He attempts to shield bash the slime attacking Rakdon
And then brings his shield back up again.
Ashes hisses through his teeth at the searing pain of that ooze's acid attack. As it takes hold, the elf maintains the grip on his umbrella as tightly as a warrior would grip his sword! Thankfully, a divine force seems to lend unseen protection and push him away from the monster.
"Much appreciated, friend!" The elf gives a grateful bow before he realizes the angle of his umbrella and immedietly corrects himself. Wishing to minimize his time in the range of these things, he bolts between the two and towards the larger crowd before letting loose another bolt of fire!
"Not good not good..." He concentrates, placing a hand on his chest and begins to pour dark energies directly into his heart.
The spell is interrupted as the squeezing ooze makes him choke on the words! With his pale flesh singed, Ashes attempts to wriggle free of the ooze's grasp.
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Action 1, stow ranged weapon
Action 2, pull out frying pan
Action 3, swing frying pan at ooze grabbing me blunt
Not to familiar with the manipulate action, but I have a feeling that 1 means I fail to pull out the frying pan, which means my action 3 will be to try to pull out the frying pan again and here is the 2nd flat check
Stokes backs away from the slow creatures ◆, and then sends a jet of water out at Red ◆◆.
plus push 5'
Not wanting to waste any more arrows, Clynter moves up to the closest slime. With a flick of his wrist he has a wide bladed shortsword in his hand, which he uses to slice at the ooze.
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Arkon uses his shield to bash the blue ooze, which proves far more effective than any slashing or piercing, but the acidic nature of the ooze seems to be eating at his shield!
Rakdon feels some magic relief from the healing that the stranger named Arkon provided, and is able to break free from his captor!
Stokes launches another high pressure blast of water at the ooze, and it appears quite affective! The ooze cannot maintain its grip on Ashes!
Clynter attempts to slash at the ooze with his sword, but the issues from before seem to be the same! The slashing deals no damage to the ooze, and then it splits once more!
Light Condition: Daylight
Active Buffs: Knowledge:
Active Penalties: Crowds blocking exits!
Kazavel "Ashes" Aldaris(-12,Fine)
Clynter "Glittergrin"(-0,Fine)
Red Oozes(-32,Fine)
Blue Ooze(-30,Fine)
Stokes Celerity(-0,Fine)
Arkon the Liberator(-19,Fine)
Rakdon Tripus(-6,Fine)
Green Ooze(-0,Fine)
"Much appreciated!" the elf shouts towards the azarketi. Hoping to follow up on that aquatic attack, he unleashes more fire at the ooze. With one hand, he conjures a bolt of fire and flings it at the offending pudding. After unleashing the cantrip, he utters a few more words in a protective incantation.
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Light Condition: Daylight
Active Buffs: Knowledge: You know that piercing and slashing do not deal damage to these oozes!
Active Penalties: Crowds blocking exits!
Kazavel "Ashes" Aldaris(-12,Fine)
Clynter "Glittergrin"(-0,Fine)
Red Oozes(-45,Dead)
Blue Ooze(-30,Fine)
Stokes Celerity(-0,Fine)
Arkon the Liberator(-19,Fine)
Rakdon Tripus(-6,Fine)
Green Ooze(-0,Fine)
The flames splash the red ooze, and it bubbles and hisses before it pops! The red ooze is now dead, leaving now only the green and blue oozes!
The Blue ooze, having had its annoyance at the meddlesome Arkon, decides to target the follower of redemption. It lashes out!
With its new prey captured, it launches a second pseudopod for its original prey, Rakdon!
Light Condition: Daylight
Active Buffs: Knowledge: You know that piercing and slashing do not deal damage to these oozes!
Active Penalties: Crowds blocking exits!
Kazavel "Ashes" Aldaris(-12,Fine)
Clynter "Glittergrin"(-0,Fine)
Red Oozes(-45,Dead)
Blue Ooze(-30,Fine)
Stokes Celerity(-0,Fine)
Arkon the Liberator(-57,Grabbed)
Rakdon Tripus(-6,Fine)
Green Ooze(-0,Fine)
Stokes sees Arkon in trouble, and moves in to carry him to safety ◆. But first, he lets some water wash over Arkon.
◆
Realizing Arkon is grabbed, Stokes smacks the Blue ooze with a jet of water.
◆
Shield block goes up
Arkon takes 5 less damage
OUCH
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Light Condition: Daylight
Active Buffs: Knowledge: You know that piercing and slashing do not deal damage to these oozes!
Active Penalties: Crowds blocking exits!
Kazavel "Ashes" Aldaris(-12,Fine)
Clynter "Glittergrin"(-0,Fine)
Red Oozes(-45,Dead)
Blue Ooze(-30,Fine)
Stokes Celerity(-0,Fine)
Arkon the Liberator(-39,Grabbed)
Rakdon Tripus(-6,Fine)
Green Ooze(-0,Fine)
You are still grabbed.
Arkon struggles in presumed vain
Blyad, Redeemer queen I call upon thee!
It goes better after he invokes his patron.
May my shield be thy sacred boinkstick!
And may it survive this fight, not looking too good!
Arkon escapes and does some bludgeoning damage!
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Earlier, out in the outskirts, four wagons of students travel from their university to the Kibwe for a class field trip.
The youngest member of the class sweats and fidgets in their seat. "Oh bother, I am most uncertain of travel into the big city.." One of her upper class mates leans over and says "Fear not, I guarantee you nothing bad will happen."
The younger student repents, "I do detest irony."
Light Condition: Daylight
Active Buffs: Knowledge: You know that piercing and slashing do not deal damage to these oozes!
Active Penalties: Crowds blocking exits!
Kazavel "Ashes" Aldaris(-12,Fine)
Clynter "Glittergrin"(-0,Fine)
Red Oozes(-45,Dead)
Blue Ooze(-38,Fine)
Stokes Celerity(-0,Fine)
Arkon the Liberator(-39,Grabbed)
Rakdon Tripus(-6,Fine)
Green Ooze(-0,Fine)
Arkon struggles against the ooze, but its grip is still to tight! He bashes against it's tentacle with his shield, causing damage but also splashing acid onto his shield!
The new green ooze that was split from slashing damage, and turns its pseudopod onto Clynter!
Upon successfully smacking the skeleman, the Pseudopod grabs onto him!
Light Condition: Daylight
Active Buffs: Knowledge: You know that piercing and slashing do not deal damage to these oozes! Metallic and Wooden weapons may take damage from striking the oozes!
Active Penalties: Crowds blocking exits!
Kazavel "Ashes" Aldaris(-12,Fine)
Clynter "Glittergrin"(-27,Grabbed)
Red Oozes(-45,Dead)
Blue Ooze(-38,Fine)
Stokes Celerity(-0,Fine)
Arkon the Liberator(-39,Grabbed)
Rakdon Tripus(-6,Fine)
Green Ooze(-0,Fine)
"What a disgusting thing. Now be a friend and boil into vapor, won't you!?"
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Light Condition: Daylight
Active Buffs: Knowledge: You know that piercing and slashing do not deal damage to these oozes! Metallic and Wooden weapons may take damage from striking the oozes!
Active Penalties: Crowds blocking exits!
Kazavel "Ashes" Aldaris(-12,Fine)
Clynter "Glittergrin"(-27,Fine)
Red Oozes(-45,Dead)
Blue Ooze(-38,Fine)
Stokes Celerity(-0,Fine)
Arkon the Liberator(-39,Grabbed)
Rakdon Tripus(-6,Fine)
Green Ooze(-0,Dead)
The flames decimate the green ooze, turning it to a steaming and sizzling puddle!
Glittergrin drops the bow before stepping up the remaining ooze. Then with another smooth movement he pulls out a leather sap and delivers a series of swings to at the remaining ooze.
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Light Condition: Daylight
Active Buffs: Knowledge: You know that piercing and slashing do not deal damage to these oozes! Metallic and Wooden weapons may take damage from striking the oozes!
Active Penalties: Crowds blocking exits!
Kazavel "Ashes" Aldaris(-12,Fine)
Clynter "Glittergrin"(-27,Grabbed)
Red Oozes(-45,Dead)
Blue Ooze(-46,Fine)
Stokes Celerity(-0,Fine)
Arkon the Liberator(-39,Fine)
Rakdon Tripus(-6,Fine)
Green Ooze(-0,Dead)
Clynter whacks the ooze with the sap, and lands both hits! Much to his surprise, the leather sap appears unaffected by the ooze's acidic body, but is able to damage the slime without issue.
The remaining ooze lashes out, striking once at each nearby target!
Left to Right; Rakdon, Stokes, Arkon, Clynter
Arkon, Rakdon, Stokes
With its flailing, it lands a devastating blow against Stokes, but also releases Clynter in the process.
Light Condition: Daylight
Active Buffs: Knowledge: You know that piercing and slashing do not deal damage to these oozes! Metallic and Wooden weapons may take damage from striking the oozes!
Active Penalties: Crowds blocking exits!
Kazavel "Ashes" Aldaris(-12,Fine)
Clynter "Glittergrin"(-27,Fine)
Red Oozes(-45,Dead)
Blue Ooze(-46,Fine)
Stokes Celerity(-60,Fine)
Arkon the Liberator(-39,Fine)
Rakdon Tripus(-6,Fine)
Green Ooze(-0,Dead)
If Stokes took the crit:
◆ Ocean's Balm
◆ 1-action Elemental Blast, melee
◆ Stride 25' south
If Rakdon took the crit:
◆ 1-action Elemental Blast, melee
◆ Stride next to Rakdon
◆ Ocean's Balm
Trigger An enemy damages, Grabs, or Grapples your ally, and both are within 15 feet of you.You free an ally from restraint. If the trigger was an ally taking damage, the ally gains resistance to all damage against the triggering damage equal to 2 + your level. The ally can attempt to break free of effects grabbing, restraining, immobilizing, or paralyzing them. They either attempt a new save against one such effect that allows a save, or attempt to Escape from one effect as a free action. If they can move, the ally can Step as a free action, even if they didn’t need to escape.
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Light Condition: Daylight
Active Buffs: Knowledge: You know that piercing and slashing do not deal damage to these oozes! Metallic and Wooden weapons may take damage from striking the oozes!
Active Penalties: Crowds blocking exits!
Kazavel "Ashes" Aldaris(-12,Fine)
Clynter "Glittergrin"(-27,Fine)
Red Oozes(-45,Dead)
Blue Ooze(-75,Fine)
Stokes Celerity(-0,Fine)
Arkon the Liberator(-39,Fine)
Rakdon Tripus(-59,Fine)
Green Ooze(-0,Dead)
Rakdon, Stokes, and Ashes all launch another volley at the ooze! It appears to be on its last pus puddles! Any more attacks may bring it down!
You are up!