"I've got the man, mate! Take down the statue!"
Dingus unleashes a swarm of magical snake missiles into the Dark Angel again and dark smoke rises from the statue as it howls.
Feck...this won't be easy. Jim takes a quick step towards the Sczarni, trying to dodge another attack from the statue before jumping to the top of the low wall and stabbing down at the human.
Corliss defensively casts doom on the false angel. Surprisingly, his goddess doesn't spit in his face and the spell goes off without a hitch.
Weakened by his ebbing anger, Kaul grits his grill and swings once again at the stoney statue;
The eye attached to Lopper rolls in apparent annoyance at another near miss as Kaul's mock-rage just leads to a lot of sloppy strikes. Corliss sends an ominous spell against their stony foe, but the Dark Angel is unmoved. Jim attempts to jump past the menacing monument onto the shrine, but the exertion leaves him open to another strike that spills more blood and spins him around . He keeps his footing, but his off-balance strike is deflected off unseen armor.
The hovering spell blade darts at Jim, but slices high and misses. The twin men defensively cast a spell at Jim The grimacing statue turns its wrath on Corliss striking with claws and fangs.
The debilitated fencer easily shrugs off the spell and lets his blade speak for him, stabbing repeatedly down at the priest and grinning through the pain of his minor wounds.
With a grimace and look of Solid Determination... Dingus uses his own serpent granted powers with a Vapor Viper of his own at the Statue.
VV
"Come on Guys! Take some of these others out! I got this one.
Becoming more and more frustrated, Kaul bellows in anger as Lopper feels too heavy in his paw;
Damage
Kaul is not in optimal form as he continues to suffer from both the cold climate and the shadow's touch. Annoyed at his companions' weak efforts, Dingus calls on his own arcane spells, weaving to avoid the murderous thug beside him. The trio of snaky force bolts again strike the gargoyle in angel form.
The decoy Sczarni now dispelled, Jim grins grimly as his blade dances stabbing the man twice.
Unable to move easily on the uneven ground, unable to cast a spell with the brutish gargangel next to him, and unable to stab at the thing because he's Corliss Blackboots, Least Favored of Besmara, the luckless priest again channels positive energy in the hopes he can keep his allies in the fight long enough for them to prevail.
EDIT: The grimacing statue turns its wrath on the Corlisses. One blinks out of existence with a brush from a most uncelestial looking claw and blood spills as the real Corliss is mauled.
Besmara doesn't withhold the healing as the battered crew is once again made whole. The Dark Angel seems to have had enough as the monument spreads black rock wings and skips away from the snake-shooting sorcerer. Likewise, the Sczarni again dodges Jim's blade to shout a prayer that suddenly fills the ruined shrine with a blanketing fog. Then he retreats from sight. The floating falchion disappears as the thick fog conceals everything.
"Oh no you don't"!
Dingus blindly runs to try and escape the fog, and shoot off another Vapor Viper before the statue disappears.
VV
Pinned between the back wall and the shrine, Dingus can only try and run to the side and over the fallen wall.
Using his magical pearl, Corliss casts dispel magic in an attmept to eliminate the magical fog.
Jim pinks the retreating priest. Feck that b@st@rd shadow...and my arm were stronger, that fool would be dead on the ground.
Seemingly facing a foe that he cannot hit, Kaul offers another lacklustre swing;
Damage: HAHAHAH. 19 missed so this is another whiff!
Running into the fog
Last minute attempt to vault the wall.
And by some miracle he keeps his feet nimbly dashing through the debris but fails to take into account the extra weight of the priests' robes and just misses being able to jump the wall. He comes to rest at the foot of the wall, and quickly sheds the heavy ponderous robes.
Kaul viciously attacks the fog! Dingus' war cry of 'Oh no you didn't!' retreats along with his light and then disappears with an 'OOF!' A moment later, Corliss dispels the fog and the light reappears from the other side of the low wall as Dingus stands up and begins throwing off his clothes.
In the dim light that reveals the far side of the ruined shrine, the Sczarni sinks into one of the unmarked graves. The Dark Angel is nowhere to be seen.
"Come on, mates! We've got him on the run, and he's likely got the books we need!" Jim follows the fleeing cleric.
Jim advances to the graves just as the mysterious figure sinks into a grave leaving no trace of disturbance in the pile of gravel-sized broken stone and masonry that makes up on leftmost of the three cairns.
Jim cautiously lowers his sword, blood coagulating in the nimbus around the blade and flaking off. "Well, feck. Dingus, can you tell if there's anything of magic there?"
Corliss notices that Dingus is currently preoccupied with removing his robe and/or disguise. Averting his eyes quickly, the priest performs the detect magic casting Jim had requested.
Corliss senses magic and moves closer to examine the grave.
"Hey now...that be quite the trick!" the priest says after examining the area with his spell. "There be an illusion o' a cairn there...but it hides a set o' stairs headin' down."
After a pause, the priest gives a sideways glance to his partially-disabled mates. "Want me to head down first an' spring the inevitable ambush? Cuz, honestly, I don't. Bessie's protection o'er me's feelin' rather fickle at the moment...."
Jim scratches his chin. "I was thinking to leave and come back after dawn, and then it came to me that the priest has likely used much of his magic today. Dingus can bring the lightning, and make us all faster, and if we get under some cover Kaul might be able to warm up a mite. I'll take the lead." Once everyone is ready, Jim will try to pass the illusory stones.
Jim leads the way down closing his eyes a moment to get his body to accept that the pile of rock isn't actually there. He feels narrow stairs and then the faint light from the electricity thrumming along his blade reveals what appears to be a small store room. The crumbling makeshift stairs don't appear to be an original part of the chamber which now holds only some empty and broken crates. An shadowy arched doorway leads beyond the room.
Dingus saddened and the bloody and torn fancy vestments, nonetheless, is able to pull something presentable from his bag, and joins Jim in heading down through the illusion of the crypt. he casts light on the end of his Hanbo and takes his position of second in line.
Corliss takes a moment to cast lesser restoration upon Kaul to at least remove the fatigue he's feeling from the miserable non-tropical weather. He waves the half-orc onward, taking rearguard as he starts down the stairs.
"Dingus, it comes to me that if we're fighting a priest, he may have magic traps and such. Can you sniff out any such witchery as we go?"
Kaul accepts the bolstering magics with a forlorn nod, then trudges forward. The brute clearly feeling his murderous mojo is lacking...
"But of course... though the time I'm able to keep my magical senses at high alert is limited I can certainly do it for now".
Casts Detect magic as they go forward on LIDAR scan
Dingus does in fact, detect magic just beyond the portal ahead...
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Knowledge Arcana
Spellcraft
"That area is warded by a spell. Let me see if I can at least suppress the spell".
Dispel Magic
Dingus dances around a bit, waves his hands, and hums under his breath as a vague outlined cobra cowl forms around him and strikes out at the offending sigil.
Perhaps it is his recent immersion into lost lore and mystical secrets or perhaps Soralyon has taken note of his newest disciple, but Dingus easily deciphers the aura before him as abjuration with a whiff of conjuration. As he maintains his focus, the diffuse auras resolve into lines of arcane energy that form a warding sigil just beyond the threshold of the doorway.
Dingus calls upon one of his most powerful spells to erase the rune. It resists slightly, but he happily feels his spell persevere and the hidden glyph is dispelled!
"You are welcome. Lead the way".
Jim nods with a grin, and continues down the passage.
Jim turns the corner to find an underground vault some 15 feet wide and 30 feet long. A guttering brazier dimly illuminates the foul smelling room and reveals a large rough sketch of a naked dog-headed woman drawn upon the long wall opposite the crew. A font filled with what appears to be milk stands to the side of the mural.
A pair of woman huddle in the far corner opposite the mural. Both are dressed in dirty and torn robes of Sarenrae. One woman looks as if she's been beaten. They plead pitifully when Jim appears. "Help. Help us, please. You must stop him."
Feck...bet they're going to turn into bloodsucking monsters, or some such. "You'll pardon my suspicions--the gent we're chasing has shown himself to be quite the trickster, hey? What are your names?"
"I am Masika and this is Zadendi," the less injured priestess offers. "I was only captured recently, but Zadendi has suffered greatly. That awful image of Lamashtu on the wall hides a magical portal. He went that way."
The Taldan glances over at the image. "Dingus? Corliss? That's yours to deal with, hey?" He lowers his blade and strides over to the women. "This isn't the best time for such things, but my need is dire--not like that! If you're who you say you are, your colleague Menzir said you had the skill to heal me and my mate from the touch of a mighty shade. Did the old man speak true?"
Corliss nods to Jim and casts detect magic, examining not only the image of Lamashtu but the two alleged damsels as well.
Corliss does sense magic around the image.
Masika helps Zadendi to her feet as she replies, "Yes, of course. But our captor escapes. You simply have to drink from the font to pass through the wall."