"Let's get moving."
Despite the opening being a small archway, space and elevation lend a sense of past grandeur and majesty to this large space. A large, star-shaped fountain with a circular pool in the center sits in the middle of the chamber. Hieroglyphs are carved into the paving stones ringing the fountain. Two rows of columns support the ceiling overhead, which continues to rise to a domed ceiling in the northern portion of the chamber. At the north end of the hall, a massive statue with arms raised overlooks the entire length of the temple from atop a raised dais.
Omen strides into the chamber, looking around and glancing at the heiroglyphs and then the pool in particular. "Another pool for worship? Hmmm."
Yodi's attention is captured by the statue, and the ceiling above. Anything could be hiding in the shadows behind the statue or columns.
Ciyradyl is captivated by the Hieroglyphs and the architecture.
She pauses from looking at the walls and turns towards the others and whispers, "There's someone or something here." She points in the general direction that can smell them from.
The Ancient Osiriani hieroglyphs ringing the fountain identify it as the 'Pool of Protection'. The statue, half black and half white, standing about fifteen feet tall, is clearly a representation of Nethys.
"What's going on? Why is she sniffing?"
Brennan takes a sniff of the air himself, just to be sure he wasn't missing something.
"Her senses are nearly as good as an animal's when she's twined with her familiar. It's saved us a few times."
Satisfied the altar holds no threats, Yodi concentrates in the direction his elven companion is pointing, while gripping his spear in his hands.
Surubi follows the others into the room, having a nervous look around the large room.
Growing less and less impressed by Nethys' iconography displayed throughout the temple, Omen gestures toward the left side of the chamber. "Hmpf. Little more than statues and decoration. Let's move on. There are more chambers to search on this side of the building."
Brennan moved with the others towards where Omen was pointing. Between them, his companions were about as stealthy as a bullette in mating season, but there wasn't much for it. he knew he stood little chance of navigating all of this place's likely dangers alone. He'd just have to ensure that he wasn't the one finding all of those dangers with his face. Unfortunately, he couldn't hear anything over the sound of the others.
Yodi shrugs and follows Brennan.
"You don't find these mere statues impressive? Captivating? The architecture itself is amazing. I could study these walls and statues all day if I had the chance." She sighs deeply and follows the others.
Yodi shrugs and follows Brennan.
Omen shakes his head at Ciyradyl's question. "Perhaps initially, but these empty statues and the haphazard walls and corridors only serve to reinforce that we walk through a hollow shell. If true power ever dwelt here, it abandoned these halls long, long ago."
"Better an empty statue than one that tries to rip your arms off," Yodi observes.
As the group of you round the across the front of the dais, an oddly-glowing, translucent hand appears around behind the northwest side of the octagonal dais. Just behind the floating hand is a strange figure. Draped in rags and hunched over on goatlike legs, this creature possesses a featureless face, save for a large eye ringed by fangs.
"What is it? Some kind of undead cyclops satyr? CIyradyl, behind the statue."
Yodi dashes up the steps with his spear ready.
As Yodi moves up the steps and onto the platform, the creature gazes with it one large eye, the iris fluctuating its shape. The strange appearance begins to creep into Yodi's head, mixing his thoughts. The creature then moves around behind the statue and then up unto the central dais. The odd ghostly hand floating in front of him.
Surrubi moves back to stand by the fountain, drawing her bow and nocking a single arrow. She's reckless with the shot, and it's just enough for the arrow to skip off the odd creatures hide instead of sinking into it.
"I am not so weak as that, monster. Flee before we gut you." Yodi speaks bravely and shakes his spear.
Know. Planes:
"How did we not see him!"
She moves towards the creature, flexing her claws. She strolls right up to him and slashes out with such force and intent. She has had enough with creatures sneaking up on them. After making contact with the first claw, she strikes with the second one.
Brennan, daggers in hand, spun to see the new girl fighting with something. "Why didn't anyone point that out before? he thought to himself, moving quickly to her aid.
Omen spins at Yodi's shout, his eyes narrowing behind his mask as the creature slips behind the statue once more.
Drawing upon the distant void, he holds it ready should the creature emerge again.
HP: 14/16
AC: 12 (11 T / 11 FF)
CMD: 10
F/R/W: +3/+2/+5 (+2 vs death effects)
Resist 7: acid, cold, fire, electricity
Omens used (swift demoralize): 0/1
Black Motes used: 5/8
Shield charges remaining: 14
Spell Slots Used
Level 1: 6/7
Ongoing Effects
Both Ciyradyl and Yodi recognize it as a Div. Where Demons, Devils, and Daemons are the more well known of evil extraplanar beings, Div are another on the list. They are from the corrupted souls of evil geniekin, and as such love to cause torment and suffering. All Div are unaffected by fire and poison, shrugging off all but the stronger acids and electric energies. Some of them can even summon other Div.
Ciyradyl recognizes this one as an Aghash. They have two strong claws as well as a gaze that can worry or disorient people, possibly even cause pain.
Omen steps over in front of the stairs before the pedestal and pulls down the dark aether of the void to rain on the odd creature. A few of the motes sprinkle down on the thing, and it flinches and jerks from the cold.
Ciyradyl races up onto the dais, all four legs propelling her forward. She uses the momentum to lash out with one of her sharp claws, hitting it solidly across the upper arm, but her claw doesn't even leave a mark.
Brennan sees the now-revealed enemy, and races up to the platform to stand beside the thing, both daggers out and ready.
Yodi scrambles up onto the dais, toward the gap between Brennan and Ciyradyl. Rather than charge with his spear, he stops abruptly and shouts, "Nethys send you back to the pit he deserves!" He casts out both arms and a tangled rainbow flies toward the Div.
School illusion (pattern) [mind-affecting]; Level sorcerer/wizard 1
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M (red, yellow, and blue powder or colored sand)
Range 15 ft.
Area cone-shaped burst
Duration instantaneous; see text
Saving Throw Will negates; Spell Resistance yes
A vivid cone of clashing colors springs forth from your hand, causing creatures to become stunned, perhaps also blinded, and possibly knocking them unconscious. Each creature within the cone is affected according to its HD.
2 HD or less: The creature is unconscious, blinded, and stunned for 2d4 rounds, then blinded and stunned for 1d4 rounds, and then stunned for 1 round. (Only living creatures are knocked unconscious.)
3 or 4 HD: The creature is blinded and stunned for 1d4 rounds, then stunned for 1 round.
5 or more HD: The creature is stunned for 1 round.
Sightless creatures are not affected by color spray.
Awesome display Your phantasmagoric displays accurately model the mysteries of the night sky, dumbfounding all who behold them. Each creature affected by your illusion (pattern) spells is treated as if its total number of Hit Dice were equal to its number of Hit Dice minus your Charisma modifier (if positive).
Yodi rushes up with a plan to knock the creature out with a dazzling display of colorful lights. As the rainbow of color washes across the Aghash, the large eye doesn't even blink, or look capable of it actually. The spell looks like it flickers, and almost parts around the thing, before continuing forward. The creature is unswayed by the display.
The creature turns awkwardly to face Ciyradyl, no mouth visible, but an unearthly hiss of anger can be heard in all your minds. It steps back off the dais and focuses briefly, as its odd form jerks spasmodically. The ghostly hand flashes with a dark energy and swipes weakly at Ciyradyl, before returning to float right in front of the thing.
Surubi continues to trail sideways to keep the enemy lined up. Drawing an arrow, she fires quickly, before drawing a second one. The arrows whiz off in perfect succession, one right after the other, to strike the thing right in the upper left thigh. The two missles thunk into the flesh, and then just clatter to the floor, the creature remains unfazed.
Omen gestures toward the creature again, bringing another column of icy blackness cascading down over it. "You have troubled us enough, creature. Begone!"
HP: 14/16
AC: 12 (11 T / 11 FF)
CMD: 10
F/R/W: +3/+2/+5 (+2 vs death effects)
Resist 7: acid, cold, fire, electricity
Omens used (swift demoralize): 0/1
Black Motes used: 6/8
Shield charges remaining: 14
Spell Slots Used
Level 1: 6/7
Ongoing Effects
As Omen calls once more for his connection to the void, the creature is prepared. Recognizing it as the only thing to hurt it, it is more careful to nimbly dodge the motes, but only just barely.
Ciyradyl yells out, "It's an Aghash!"
She mouths a few words and cast acid splash.
"For Pharasma's sake, lady, get on the other side of him!" Brennan snarled as he tried to close with the Aghash. He leaped past a statue of some sort and ended up on the other side of the creature.
Ciyradyl yells out, "It's an Aghash! Sharp claws! His gaze can affect you! Fire and poison doesn't work!" She moves forward and slashes with each claw.
Ciyradyl considers using her acid spell, then realizes that she already knows she shouldn't. Instead she steps forward and continues to lash at it with both claws, hitting, but for too little of an effect.
Brennan rushes around behind the thing, but even with his movements, the thing is stronger and faster than it seems. Even with the hit, he manages to end up across from Ciyradyl and stab right into the thing's back. The Aghash lets out a mental scream that rings in everyone's heads. Brennan's attack is so powerful that even the creature's resilience isn't enough to ignore the damage.
Yodi shouts accussingly at the ceiling, "Gods, if any of you see right, help us dispatch this thing!"
Then he jumps down to help hem in the unworldly foe.
"Surubi! Help us here!"
Yodi's call to the gods gives everyone that little boost of confidence that just may make the difference in fighting the thing. He jumps down to surround it with the others, calling for Surubi to fit in the last piece in trying to hem the thing in. It sees the plan, and tries to sidestep out, before it starts concentrating. Something disrupts it, either a hatred for Ciyradyl, or concern over Brennan, but it loses it's focus. Leaving itself open to attacks.
+
Brennan tried to slice at the thing from behind, but mistimed badly and nearly caught his own arm int eh process.
Seeing the monster distracted, Ciyradyl attempts to strike it with her claw.
Omen simply stares imperiously at the aghash as the others work to try and bring it down. He gestures once more, and brings a column of voidstuff cascading down around it again.
HP: 14/16
AC: 12 (11 T / 11 FF)
CMD: 10
F/R/W: +3/+2/+5 (+2 vs death effects)
Resist 7: acid, cold, fire, electricity
Omens used (swift demoralize): 0/1
Black Motes used: 7/8
Shield charges remaining: 14
Spell Slots Used
Level 1: 6/7
Ongoing Effects
Both Brennan and Ciyradyl fail to connect on the creature while its attention is otherwise focused. Nonetheless, it seems irritated that it did not have the effect it was going for with its action.
Surubi heeds Yodi's call, deciding that even with a solid hits, her bow isn't doing enough. She rushes the dais, hopping up with the large two-handed sword in hand, still awkward in her grip. She has a prime swing lined up, but the unfamiliarity with the weapon causes her to turn the edge just shy of cleaving into the creature's flesh, instead leaving just a long thine cut along its side.
Omen taps into his connection, pulling once more at the void, bringing essence of it into this world. The creature has become increasingly wary of the motes, deftly skipping between them.
Frustrated with missing the creature with her previous attack, Ciyradyl quickly reaches out to claw the beast. She misses the first strike and lets out a frustrated growl. She attempts to strike again...
With Surubi now flanking the creature, Brennan feels a lot more secure in his attacks and goes for the weak points with both blades, sacrificing accuracy in his strikes for numbers.
+
+
Leveling his spear at his waist, Yodi steps up between Brennan and Ciyradyl and thrusts the spear at the outsider's belly.
...
Ciyradyl lashes out from her perch on the dais, both claws whipping through the air at the spindly eyeball's rag-cloaked body. She just barely catches the thing with her off hand, leaving but the tiniest scratch on its tough flesh.
Brennan uses Surubi to try and harry the Aghash, but he can't seem to keep his knife from glancing off the thing's skin. The hard and thin exterior proving tough against the blades.
Yodi follows as the creature moves away, thrusting out with his spear, but it proves that he suffers from the same failing as the other two. The lot of them struggle to open even the smallest wound on it.
The Aghash looks at the four assembled around it with its over-sized single eye, before seeming to scowl, for lack of a better term, at Ciyradyl. It steps back, down off the platform, before it concentrates briefly. Suddenly, a shimmering blue doorway appears behind it as it steps through, to emerge from a similar door some distance away in the entryway where you fought the skeletal dogs.
Surubi slumps her shoulders, the heavy sword hanging in her grasp, before muttering, "Maybe this one should not have foregone her bow. It would come in handy now." She moves to there location where said bow was left, resheathing the sword as she does.
Omen strides around the fountain and, with a gesture and powerful word, sends a pair of void-black orbs spiraling through the air, corkscrewing around one another, and into the aghash. "Cowardly wretch."
HP: 14/16
AC: 12 (11 T / 11 FF)
CMD: 10
F/R/W: +3/+2/+5 (+2 vs death effects)
Resist 7: acid, cold, fire, electricity
Omens used (swift demoralize): 0/1
Black Motes used: 7/8
Shield charges remaining: 14
Spell Slots Used
Level 1: 7/7
Ongoing Effects
Omen is unperturbed by the flash of distance, as he strides boldly forward and sends out a pair of void darts into the thing, regardless of how far it went. The missiles strike unerringly, as they do, and the thing seems angered by the action.
Brennan had a scowl of his own to fling about, as he leaped off the platform and chased after the creature. He hated having to chase down his prey.
Ciyradyl lets out a frustrated groan. She quickly moves towards the creature.