This city's lyres were once mine replies Jiator telepathically, still within the silence field. As were its bards. And my wish-stones—but the Mayor took those personally, when he took my phylactery.
"If your phalactry is with the architect we should probably go kill him. He needs to die regardless, but bonus if that's good for you too. What's your phalactry look like. I'll nab it if I see it. "
Mayor. Jiator is the architect. Anaxian corrected. Meridian's habit of not quite paying attention seemed to amuse the little dragon.
The Phylactory is a secondary objective. Not having it if we are forced to retreat will be expensive, but not at all fatal to Jiator. Concentrate on killing the aboleth. We can find the Phylactory when we are finished.
Mayor. Jiator is the architect. Anaxian corrected. Meridian's habit of not quite paying attention seemed to amuse the little dragon.
The Phylactory is a secondary objective. Not having it if we are forced to retreat will be expensive, but not at all fatal to Jiator. Concentrate on killing the aboleth. We can find the Phylactory when we are finished.
"Mayor, Architech, or queen of bloody Siam, the fish needs to go down with extreme prejudice."
I will need more speed then.
Sir John will go as fast as he can at the Keeper.
Moving even faster than normal, Dris speeds towards the escaping Keeper, launching a pair of attacks, seemingly being in two places at once.
115 Damage
Drisquar's attacks both hit the fleeing squid, which continues to jet upward, moving out of Illia's range.
In the distance, swarms of skum and gillmen gather, perhaps five hundred feet away, though it's difficult to tell in the dim light, each grouping itself around a single floating aboleth.
Jiator swims free of the metal cage, reaches the top of Anaxian's burrow tunnel, and stretches out a hand to grasp at the water, freezing it into an icy violin. "...My voice!" he cries out, in surprise and excitement.
You know, you'll run out of water before I run out of teleports. Illia smiles down at the squid, once again popping up behind it.
4 water elementals closing on our position. There, there, there...and there.
Your presence is needed. Anaxian said to his counterpart.
I am busy. the larger dragon said, continuing to haul the massive cell through the softened stone.
Kill them now. Treasure later.
Fine.
The larger dragon plowed through the earth and erupted free, looking around. The smaller dragon invisibly climbed into the larger one's chest-den.
Again, the roiling cloud of inky smoke poured from the larger dragon's maw.
Dris notes the incoming elementals with ease "I see them. They will be cut down just, like all the rest of those who dare oppose us"
Meredian points and a ray of electricity leaps from her hand at one of the distant golems
To hit touch
Empowered electricity
plus half again for a total of 45 dmg
Dris charges the still fleeing aboleth, hitting with a displaced attack.
"Ya know, for a race who is supposed to one of the most feared around, you aboleth are awfully cowardly. Just stand and fight. You'll never out run us"
Drisquar and Meredian both strike the squid as it flees, and the creature briefly loses consciousness, shifting back into the tentacled fishy form of the Keeper. A few seconds later, its wounds beginning to close, the Keeper opens its eyes and realizes in terror that it's completely surrounded, and disappears.
The four near-invisible water elementals slide another thirty feet forward, then stop, wiggling watery tentacles as they blast ropes of frost at Jiator and Big Anaxian. Within seconds, the dragon and lich are encased in a solid dome of ice. Overall, the walls of the dome are about seven feet of solid ice.
The elementals' attacks are... unusual, as are their movements. It's unlikely that these are true water elementals; they seem to behave more like some sort of water-based construct or ooze.
The elementals' attacks are... unusual, as are their movements. It's unlikely that these are true water elementals; they seem to behave more like a strange construct you've heard of—Shaboaths, "artificial elementals" created by aboleths and undersea wizards as water and slime-based constructs.
The elementals' attacks are... unusual, as are their movements. It's unlikely that these are true water elementals; they seem to behave more like a strange construct you've heard of—Shaboaths, "artificial elementals" created by aboleths and undersea wizards as water and slime-based constructs. Shaboaths, according to lore, behave as a sort of slime golem, resistant to most attacks and spells, with a special weakness to fire.
"These are the first line of defense," Jiator comments to Anaxian. Playing a single chord on his icy violin, he sends out a shockwave that drills a foot-wide hole through the ice, which he slithers out through. "Can you get through it, or do I need to play a few more chords?" he calls back.
"Ice? I am not so easily stalled." Anaxian scoffed.
"Sir John, I will act as your steed for this battle. Mount up."
Disgusting creatures. The have constructed elemental constructs of their own mucus. They are vulnerable to fire. Anaxian said from within the chest den of the larger dragon.
Anaxian's minds blended again.
Sure thing.
Sir John will take actions necessary to mount up.
Illia- full attacks, this time eager to finish it off, not taking any care for defense.
[dice=Knowledge Arcana]1d20+23
Disgusting creatures. The have constructed elemental constructs of their own mucus. They are vulnerable to fire. Anaxian said from within the chest den of the larger dragon.
Gross. Mer says flatly
Illia-'s first attack sends the Keeper back into unconsciousness, but this stops it from dodging her next two attacks, as for good measure she jabs her weapon through each of its eyes. Slowly, the Keeper stops pumping blood into the water around itself, seemingly dead.
Dris races back towards his allies, easily closing the distance
Mer fires electricity at the same golem.
Touch plus half again for empowered. Total of 30
Meredian's blast appears to damage one of the golems, but fails to completely destroy it. The four slimewater golems ignore the party members attacking them, and move mindlessly towards Jiator. One, starting the furthest away, climbs over the top of the ice dome; the others are close enough to move and attack him, which they do, hitting for some amount of bone-creaking damage beyond his damage resistance. Jiator is caught in the onslought of watery tentacles, and grappled.
In the distance, shimmering clouds of skum and aboleth appear to shift into wedge formations, slowly preparing to swim forward in an attack formation.
On the currents, you hear a faint whisper from across the city—it is the sound of chaotic chattering in a strange tongue, similar to that Hungry Doom produced, but... higher pitched, and spoken with far more voices.
Jiator, struggling, claps his skeletal hands together, and the shockwave shatters the golem holding him while knocking shards off of the other three; crystals pulse in the water around him, made of slime quickly solidified into something resembling ice.
"A little help?" he calls out. "Unless they think the city itself is in danger, priority one will be catching me again."
As Mer fires at the golem closest to Jiator
"Dris, Get him out of here. Head up. I'm betting they can't fly and even if they can they can't outfly you. That or get me the portable hole and I'll take him. "
Touch Plus half again for a total of 45
Psssh, just kill the golems faster than they can attack him. Maybe throw some negative energy his way.
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Meredian blasts one of the golems to pieces, leaving two injured ones remaining.
Illia- teleports approximately 800 feet to the side of the closest aboleth, leaving her in the middle of a swarm of surprised, armed Skum.
Give it your best shot!
Dris unleashes a flurry of attacks, trying to destroy both golems.
Going to activate Murderous Insight to re-roll.
possible crit.
for
Jeebus. Re-rolling again.
Another possible crit.
for
for
Dagger 1 for
Gonna re-roll that as well.
for
Drisquar's critical hits go through, striking the watery golems hard; but he's still slashing at water, and the creatures' slimy bodies slow his attacks, blunting their impact. He manages to cut one golem to shreds, but it takes most of his attacks, with only the last attack hitting the other golem.
Anaxian shifts, becoming instead a massive crab-like humanoid, it's massive shell and single pincer arm were carved in dark runes and reinforced with steel plating.
As Anaxian's souls untwined themselves the runes on the crab shell began to steam like lava.
"Hang on." the thing that Anaxian had become said to Sir John, then it jetted forward through the water toward the closest elemental.
Sir John swings the wicked black scythe in a wide arc, its trail of red tinges the water behind it.
Sir John's attack hits the last golem, but fails to destroy it. However, the allies' intercession allows Jiator to use his held move action to swim upwards, away from the single remaining golem. It moves to follow him, and is cut to pieces by attacks of opportunity from Anaxian, Drisquar, and Sir John.
Fourteen skum swarm Illia-, attacking with a mixture of thrown tridents, longspears, teeth, and claws. Behind them, four gillmen mutter defensive spells on the group. Three of the vicious fishmen score lucky shots, hitting weak points in her armor and striking for a total of 5 points of damage after her reduction. The startled aboleth throws up an illusory wall, which she immediately sees through.
Several blocks away from the party, perhaps 200 feet or so, a brigade of armored crab-men scuttle into the street, chittering loudly. Several of them, more human-like, hold large, jagged swords, while the others, more crab-like, appear to have broken free of cargo-hauling harnesses. Anyone trained in knowledge of dungeoneering recognizes both Chuuls and Karkinoi. Behind them shuffles a gigantic, 25-foot crab carapace, clicking mindlessly along the stone.
"Right," mutters the Architect, "Here come the first real soldiers. Probably a distraction, or a test; once the Masters realize you won't die easily and they can't just grab me again, they'll panic, and priorities will shift from 'recapture the prisoner' to 'protect our city.' Which means pretty soon they'll move from offense to defense, and try to literally build us in."
"So—we've got a few seconds to plan. Did you set any traps, or set loose any of the prisoners?" he asks, as he idly strums his violin, casting a spell.
"A Shoggoth. It should be making its presence known shortly." Anaxian said, his voice sounding somewhat clicky and gurgley coming from the crab-like mouth.
"Nooot enough. MY TURN!" Illia- throws her wings wide, suddenly, hitting everything around her with a wave of profane energy.