"Let's be to it, hey?" Jim advances towards the double doors, blade ready.
As Jim leads the party to the double doors, Corliss casts Besmara's blessing on each man.
"I figure a creepy thing talkin' in our heads will be tryin' to take o'er our brains next," he whispers. "Better safe than mind-slaves."
Dibbets' mention of the primordial fiends jogs Corliss' memory. Qlippoth were the original rulers of the Abyss before demons began to propagate in such numbers that the Qlippoth were overrun and forced to retreat to the deepest pits of the place. The original fiends hate demons, but equally hate mortals since demons spawn from their corrupted souls. Their horrific otherworldly appearance alone often drives mortals mad. Like demons, they are resistant to mortal materials except cold iron. Their extradimensional forms are likewise nearly immune to heat, cold and nearly every other energy or environments.
Dibbets listens sagely before replying to Corliss' warnings "So what yere sayin is this Cliparse ain't much fer burnin, chillin, shockin, etchin or scorchin? an tho 'es got a tough blubber we best be makin fer flensin, pokin an cuttin? I reckons we might manage that" winking at Kaul and Jimmer.
Jim still looks a bit concerned. "Aye, well. That's if we can hold our heads together at the sight of the thing, hey?"
Dibbets just raises an eyebrow confused like at Jimmer "Can't be any feckin worse than alla tha other sh1te we seen roight?"
Kaul finally stops snuffling the scent of carrion through the space between the double doors and pulls them open revealing a horrific scene. The room itself is round and perhaps forty feet in diameter. Crudely drawn images of lust and deviant behavior painted in what appears to be blood cover the walls.
Four cracked and crumbling basalt pillars mark quarters around an interior circle inlaid in the floor with a bright silvery metal which dances up the pillars. A flickering energy skitters along the arcane sigils formed from the metal inlay. A diamond-shaped pool of disgusting, stagnant water laced with streams of fresh blood lies within the magic circle contained by the monoliths. Blood droplets rhythmically fall from the ceiling and splash into the water below.
The stink of rotting death comes from tiny rubbery bones and decaying flesh heaped into piles in front of the pool. Tiny skulls give evidence of the newborns sacrificed in unspeakable rites. Before you, the last fleeing castaway stands naked in awe of the creature in the pool. She is now nearly unrecognizable- her skin is ruddy and thick with coarse hairs, her features turned sharp and feral, and her large eyes are now dull and blood red. Her scabby lips murmur Hawana while the dead near-term fetus dangles forgotten in her grasp.
The object of her attention rests in the polluted pool. The idol above does not do the thing justice. It is vaguely octopoid with a bulbous egg-shaped body supported by four thick claw-ended tentacles. Two alien, staring eyes lie to either side of a vertical fanged maw. Lines of little waggling tentacles and barbed spines stripe the body and weird oily lights dance over the creature giving it such a mindbending wrongness that one cannot look away!
Ah, my heroes... you have come. I was looking forward to meeting you in person. To be fair, it is you that have earned my gift, not this feeble creature.
Corliss calls upon Besmara's blessing to resist the monster's eye-catching attraction. Garn if this thing ain't got even more curves than me favorite pirate goddess....
Will Save (guided):
Dibbets feels the oily presence of the creature weighing on his mind, but a taste of blood and salt in his craw distracts himself enough to keep his senses. Grimacing the filthy halfling offer the bastard creature a kurt nod, before spitting phlegm in its direction "Well... thats fecked up roight there... yer up there wi' tha ugliest bits o' nasty me peepers hae set upon an thass right... and we ain't yer heroes" gripping his musket white-knuckled tightly.
:
Kaul's eyes momentarily linger upon the sensual of the creature, before his usual belligerent attitude bubbles forth;
'Hur... We'll de-cline yer gift, but let me introduce ye to the gift o' Loppin'!"
The thug brandishes his axe with a bloodthirsty leer
Jim grins wolfishly, blade raised. "I'm with you, mate. Let's get this thing sorted, hey?"
Jim, Kaul, and Dibbets have indeed seen many things at this point in their careers to rival the tableau of horror before them, but their rookie companion freezes in gawkish amazement and disgust, unable to tear his eyes away.
Decline? But I would have surely thought that a life given over only to sex and violence would quite appeal. Perhaps more violence for Kaul and sex for Jim. Very well, my trap will soon be breached and we can examine your life choices more closely... Iardis, is it? A proper sacrifice is still needed. Kill the priest. The tainted elf drops the dead child and turns around to grab for Corliss' throat with needle-like claws and sharp teeth!
Keelhaul Kaul-
Madman Jim-
Corliss-
foe-
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Jim moves to engage the sole attacker, planting a neat stop-thrust in her torso. "I prefer my ladies less diseased, hey?"
Dibbets can't help but snigger at Jimmer's proclamation... having seen first hand his particular proclivities in practice...
"I prefer my ladies less diseased, hey?"
Jim runs the fiendling through, but it isn't enough to stop her. She continues her lunge despite the piercing blade and hooks the helpless sea priest with a claw before tearing at his throat with piranha like teeth.
As the malignant elf gnashes at Corliss, Kaul attempts to intercept with a wide swing at the creature... perhaps spurred on by the talk of further violence:
:
:
Shuffling to the side, Dibbets leaves the longshanks to deal with the last hawana-lassy… instead focusing his boomstick in on the wrongness... center mass...
Musket: for
A searing pain in his side and a splash of his own blood across his face is enough to snap Corliss out of his creepy fascination with the qlippoth's curves. "Hey! Them be tentacles, not...er…." Corliss blushes and shuts his running mouth before he can fully spell out where his messed-up mind had just been. Confusion turns to anger, though, and he stabs at the decidedly unsexy hawana that just bloodied him.
for
HA, HA! Kill! the voice in your head howls. The mad elf goes down in a bloody cloud of ax and bullet. Corliss stabs the fallen form again to make sure it doesn't get up again. Immediately, a torrent of blood streams down on the Qlippoth in the pool and there is a loud crack and half a column collapses while chunks of rock fall from the other warding monoliths. The light that runs through the silvery metal conduit encircling the monster sputters and weakens.
HA! HA! the fiend laughs. After so long, I am finally so close. Are you sure that you do not wish to serve me willingly? Otherwise... well, given your proclivities, you'll likely fuel my enemies in the Abyss. In fact, I seem to detect a claim on your souls already. I cannot allow that. I must obliterate you now. A thick tentacle pushes against an unseen wall between and there is a low thudding noise as the field is obviously strained. The bulbous qlippoth seems to shrug and focusing a moment, blinks from inside the circle to outside in your midst!
Keelhaul Kaul-
Madman Jim-
Corliss-
foe-
A sucker covered tentacle whips out tapping Kaul. Visions of the Abyss fill the bloody-minded thug's head seeming as real as the world around him tearing at his sanity.
Corliss jumps in surprise when the qlippoth appears outsider its prison, and when he regains his composure he's become twins . The Besmaran takes a careful sidestep to allow Jim to better flank the squiggly thing in the near future and then stabs at the monster himself.
for
Jim grits his teeth and closes with the creature, stabbing at it. "Corliss, get us Besmara's aid!"
Dibbs weighs his options before letting his boomstick fall with a clatter to the ground. He hobbles after Jimmer, aiming to lay a bit o' indifference on him...
...to which Jim feels an oily sheen take form around him... and a taste of salt in his craw.
As Kaul becomes a little more unhinged he focusses his bloody belligerence upon the touchy feeler;
"Obliterate?! Sounds painful like! Here's another big word fir ye - E-visserated. What me an' Lopps' gonna do to you!"
He wades in, swinging his thirsty hatchet;
:
:
A double vision of Corliss suddenly appears and the pair begin sidling around the massive fiend. They stab at the monster, but their blades just slide off the thick, oily hide. At Dibbets' touch, Jim takes an oily sheen of his own and the swashbuckler steps up stabbing at the creature. The powerful thrust pierces a few inches in, but not to the effect that he'd hoped and the electrical charge on the magic sword fizzles upon touching the extraplanar creature. Kaul's eyes bulge in wrath and at the strange sights his Pit-touched mind sees. A massive tentacle knocks Lopper aside and an evil gurgling chuckle fills everyone's minds. Maybe I'll keep this one around. I like his style. The squishy qlippoth slithers back a bit and gestures at Kaul with a tentacle as big as a man's waist and suckers the size of saucers.
"Might be time to rethink this, hey?" Jim tries again, hitting once.
Corliss steps back, pointing the open palm of his buckler hand at the monster.
"Take THIS, ye squiggly aberration!" he shouts at the qlippoth after muttering a prayer to Besmara. A ray of holy light bursts from his hand and speeds toward the creature.
for
Dibbets hears Jimmer's words... but his eyes are on Kaul... waiting to see if the nugget's mind slips, cracks or breaks...
:
Despite the alien creature's attentions, Kaul's bloody mind is closed to naught but violence. He leers a grin and moves forward bringing Lopper to bear once again;
:
:
Heartened as his taller companion fails to succumb, Dibbets spends a few moments repositioning closer to Kaul.
The two Corlisses shift beyond tentacle reach and holding their palms forward, send a burning ray of divine wrath at the fiend. The Abyss-dweller writhes in pain as the beam burns it. Dibbets winces as Kaul seems to wrestle with an assault on the thug's scrambled psyche. Bloodlust rules the day though. Lopper arcs after just a momentary hesitation, but the big Abysslapod dodges. Jim is ready for the evasion and meets it with another stab at the thick rubbery stab-resistant hide to disappointing result.
The vertical fanged maw gargles in annoyance and a pair of tentacles hurl forward to slap the qlippoth's attackers. Kaul and Jim are both grabbed up and squeezed in the monster's grasp!
Round 3
As the tentacle entwines him, Kaul merely hacks a murderous chuckle and brings his mechaniklaw into the fray.
The rust red metal pincer grabs at the writhing creature;
:
Attempting to match his wits against the incomprehensible gibbering monstrosity... Dibbs trys to reason with it "Oi! Big n' ugly! Stop all that crap an droppem"
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"I know Kaul likes to chat with it, but...," Corliss asks Dibbets, "...is his pal Lopper an intelligent sort o' weapon?"
Jim attempts to slip free of the qurious qlippoth.
Through gritted teeth Dibbs replies sotto voce "Oh aye... ye shoulda heard a first time eh... spent half an age talkin tae his nut" leaving the comment unclarified.
Corliss wonders at Kaul's quirks, but goes ahead and charges the weapon against chaos. Dibbets tries to help with a divine order, but the primordial outsiders mind works in ways that are inaccessible to normal comprehension. Kaul grabs the pinning tentacle with his claw and tries to twist it back, but he cannot. Jim just manages to wiggle out of the tentacled terror's grasp.
An ominous humming comes from the crumbling columns surrounding the bloody pool and a glimmering current runs through the inlaid sigils again. Hawana gives a gutteral growl and turns his attention to trying to tear the mortal in his grasp to pieces. If you will not serve, you will be sacrificed! Kaul is further crushed in the tentacle which is joined by a second to pull him into the gaping Maw!
Having invested a potentially valuable spell on Kaul and Lopper, Corliss(es) does his/their best to keep the weapon's burly wielder alive, channeling positive energy while excluding the qlippoth and the least bloody-looking hawana.
Jim lands on the ground, Corliss' positive energy repairing the damage the creature inflicted on him. He thrusts again and again into it.
He inflicts a shallow wound in the qlippoth's obdurate flesh, then prepares a parry.
Kaul bellows in pain as he is crushed and chomped upon by the alien monstrosity.
Sensing his claw lacks the power necessary to free him, the brute leers a bloody grin and hacks at his would-be diner;
:
The apparent pair of priests pray for a rallying round of repair for the torn and tentacle tormented thug. Kaul tries to maneuver his heavy axe to hack at the monster, but cannot wiggle free from the grasp enough to attack effectively. Jim darts in again to poke another scratch into the powerful fiend!
The obeliths rumble and flash with gathering power.
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As the leery tentacled bastard looks to snack on some hot basted Kaul-nuggets Dibbets tries to sneak in a slappy-happy indifferent on his scarred and leathered companion...
CSW:
...before attempting to taunt the qlippy "Oi! Feckless tentacle boy! Wotcha botherin wi' tha morsel fer... bastard's soul already been taken an used fer chattel. 'E swore tae tha hairy demon bastard o' tha cha-rau-ka... Tum Bobo's supped at his inner fire an left him an empty vessel... all ye goan get frae him is indigestion an one p1ssed off monkey nut..."
Gozreh seems particularly indifferent about extraplanar evil and Dibbets focuses on healing Kaul and taunting the Abyssian.
The pillars flare again and suddenly the qlippoth disappears dropping Kaul to the ground. Instantaneously, the beast appears within the confines of the glowing pillars. The Great Hawana howls and slams its tentacles against an unseen wall that holds it within its kiddy pool sized domain. So close to freedom. Do not fret, my prison weakens with every sacrifice. To steal your soul from the Ape Demon would be a pleasure, my beautiful and bloody mortal. Do not stray too far, I'll be out soon enough...
Licking his lips cautiously Dibbs asks "So... any you buggers know iffin them pillars is keepin tha fecker in or out?" showing plain his lack of higher knowledge about the task at hand... or how they might best put paid to the qlippy.
Round 5
Kaul blinks momentarily as the combined effects of Dibbs' healing and being released by the tentacles of death leave him dazed...
The scarred thug wearily rises to his feet, then scowls as the Qlippoth appears within the pillars;
"Hur... No idea matey... Want Ol' Kauly to follow it in like? Chop-n'-Lopp?"
As he speaks the brute quickly circles the pillars setting up a potential flank with his shipmates when the time comes
Corliss quickly casts blindness on the qlippoth while it's seemingly contained.