Ekuur retrieves a scroll of neutralize poison from his pack, and casts it on Justin.
Justin stops retching, and breathes carefully. When nothing further comes up, he looks at Ekuur gratefully.
"Oh man, you really should patent that one! I know a lot of wizards would pay a LOT of money for a quick cure like that!" He looks at Arnav's misshapen form moving quickly and gracefully across the bridge towards the goo-covered bone pile.
"I like your leaving idea too." Justin adds emphatically.
"But lets make sure we can ALL get out of here! You have any more of those cures?" He points to the others still tossing up their lunches from last week.
"I'll help Arnav keep it busy, but if we don't start taking that bone pile apart in the next few seconds, I say we beat feet while we still can!" He calls the last line over his shoulder as he moves towards the bridge after Arnav.
When Justin judges that he is just within range of his wand's lightning bolt, he stops, points it at the gooey monstrosity, and speaks the command word. The lightning bolt arcs towards the top of the bone pile, above Arnav's head and as close as Justin can aim it at the giant horned skull,...
As Arnav runs up to the slime-streaked bone horror, its two enormous spiky pseudopods slam into him
A myriad of spiky ribs and snapped femurs gouge his warped flesh
Justin's wand fires a bolt of lightning that blows a chunk of the creature's mass back into the pile. The boom of cloven air echoes around the chamber
As Arnav gets hit, the spikes don't penetrate as deeply as one might assume. He steps in and swings at the creature, keeping it focused on him and not on the others recovering in the back.
"Time to get fun sized," Karrin says as she activates her belt of Giant Growth, "I'll be there as soon as I can"
Karrin will take her move action to close the gap, putting her withing striking distance next round with her spells.
"At least it doesn't seem to be lightning proof. Thank Goodness." Justin contemplates as he satisfactorily watches his lightning bolt blast a chunk of goo-covered bones flying from the creature.
Then Justin blinks, just realizing that in the time it took him to activate his wand, the gross animated pile had already attacked Arnav. Twice.
'WHY are the monsters always so blasted fast?!?'
As Arnav gets hit, the spikes don't penetrate as deeply as one might assume. He steps in and swings at the creature, keeping it focused on him and not on the others recovering in the back.
[dice=power attack]1d20+14
[dice=damage]2d8+18
[dice=deep crystal damage on first successful hit]2d6
[dice=power attack]1d20+14
[dice=damage]2d8+18
[dice=power attack]1d20+9
[dice=damage]2d8+18
Arnav's sword strikes the pile, carving large chunks of the green-ligamented bones off. The thing is eerily silent, but the eye sockets in the large demonic skull blaze as its bulk is whittled away
Fortitude save
Hamar spits up some bile and charges to Arnav to assist him with the creature attacking him.
Scimitar Attack (Keen + Planar)
Scimitar Damage
Hamar's blade strikes more bones from the mass
Bone Nightmare Fight:
Initial Round
Bone Nightmare:14 hit Arnav
Hamar: 9 move/hit
Karrin: 8 expand/move
Justin: 8 lightning bolt
Blayze: 8 pending
Arnav: 7 hit
Ekuur: 5 cure poison
Shrugging off the nausea, Blayze brings her pistol up, her eyes flashing with divine fury as she sends a bullet roaring out of the chamber at the undead monstrosity.
Blayze fires a bullet that sparkles brightly as it impacts on the undead horror. Bones fly off, their greenish ligatures severed by the holy shot
The bony pseudopods once again strike at Arnav
The pseudopods smash into Arnav, the bones splintering against his skin with a crunching rumble
He needs to keep the creature's focus on him while everybody attacks it. With large swings he tries to take it down.
/
/
/
"Yes!" Justin hisses in pleasure as he watches the effect Blayze's shot has on the creature.
"No!" He says immediately after, watching in despair as the mountain of snot-covered bones pounds Arnav into the floor.
Surprisingly, when the dust from the furious attacks settles, Arnav is still standing. Battered to be sure, but standing. And is apparently still feeling well enough to taunt the monstrosity. (Like still standing after that attack wasn't enough taunting?)
Justin mentally adds Arnav's name next to Hamar's on the 'I think I like this guy' list.
"Karrin! This thing seems to be all physical! The Stoneskin spell I gave you should protect you! Tag out Arnav! Ekuur! It doesn't like positive energy! Can you toast it without getting hit?" Justin shouts over the dull roar of battle and the disturbing grinding sound of the massive bone mountain as it shifts and moves.
Justin aims his wand, focuses his will, and whispers the command word once more. The bolt of lightning flies across the chamber with a crack of thunder and lands as near the creatures' horned head as Justin can aim the unleashed elemental energy.
"If you don't wanna get smacked in the face, don't give me such an obvious target! Bonehead." he smirks.
"Of course." Ekuur grasps the obsidian orb around his neck, and the familiar flash of flame rushes out of it, causing a warm sensation in most of those near the creature, but (hopefully) singing the abomination itself.
Channel energy DC 16
He needs to keep the creature's focus on him while everybody attacks it. With large swings he tries to take it down.
The flurry of attacks, lightning bolts, and chanelling pummel the bony abomination. It's bones shatter back into their constituent pieces and clatter back into the pile.
Arnav holds for a second. He isn't going to let his guard down while they're in this unnatural tomb. With his blade he sifts through the bones for any part that still glows black with unlife to his magic lenses.
"That was unpleasant." he says dryly. "But I've got a bad feeling that there's more we have to do."
If there doesn't seem to be a threat, he'll pull out a strange bottle that seems to loops back in on itself. He'll sip from it and refill it with water.
Arnav notes that the green fluid that is still spraying out from the crystal flouresces heavily with necromantic power. It is literally unlike anything he has ever seen before. He can also see that as it hits the bone pike it begins to slither down and start connecting bones together.
"Watch out. The green stuff is still trying to bring it back." He'll chop at the bones as they begin to connect, keeping it from reforming, and moving them away from the spray. "It's time for one of you smart people to do something brilliant."
"Watch out. The green stuff is still trying to bring it back." He'll chop at the bones as they begin to connect, keeping it from reforming, and moving them away from the spray. "It's time for one of you smart people to do something brilliant."
Justin looks over at Arnav.
"Did I hear my cue?" He asks, jogging over nearer to Arnav until he can see what the over muscled soldier is talking about.
"Oh. Yeah. That's not good." he confirms dryly as Arnav batters the bones to try and prevent their reforming into another monstrosity.
He quickly steps over towards the large leaking container, taking in every detail he can about it as his mind swiftly considers and discards options.
:)
"Hmmm,..." Justin narrows his eyes as he looks at the container.
Ekuur tries to rack his brain as well, to see if there is anything he can add to Justin's musings.
Kn: Planes
Kn: Religion
He quickly steps over towards the large leaking container, taking in every detail he can about it as his mind swiftly considers and discards options.d20+18; d20+18
:)
"Hmmm,..." Justin narrows his eyes as he looks at the container.
The incredible rotted corpse fetor is thick enough to taste as Justin approaches. This green goo is definitely a rotted something. The liquid is water-like in consistency as it leaves the fractured container, but it immediately turns viscous and semi-solid as it hits the bones. Justin doesn't even need a Detect Magic to feel the immense necromantic power coming from the liquid. This liquid is literally distilled Animate Dead juice. He would not want any of it to touch him, that's for sure. The only thing he can think of is to seal the bullet hole and keep more of the fluid from escaping
Ekuur tries to rack his brain as well, to see if there is anything he can add to Justin's musings.
Kn: Planes 1d20+9
Kn: Religion 1d20+9
Ekuur has never heard of a slime that animates bones before, but this liquid reeks of corpses and evil. Even the evil of a Defiler pales next to the sheer malice of this liquid.
As he looks he notices that a pseudopod of the slime is elongating above the bone pile, behind Justin
"Dangit. I hate it when your right Ekuur." Justin calls over his shoulder, still peering at the fractured container.
"Whatever this necromantic-uber-goop is, it is WAY outta my weight class! This stuff is 200% proof Animate Dead juice. I don't even wanna know what it might do to living tissue. There is no way I'm going to be able to neutralize it. And I'm pretty sure it's way past a simple purification prayer Ekuur. I might have a scroll of repair I can use to patch the hole,..." Justin mutters, oblivious to the pseudopod of goo forming behind him,...
"Justin! Behind you!" Ekuur shouts, and fires off the quickest ranged weapon he has available ... a fire bolt.
Ranged touch
damage
The Pseudopod dodges the bolt
"What? Where?!?" Justin reacts to Ekuurs shout, turning around just in time to watch the priest's fire bolt fly past his nose.
"Hey! Watch where your throwing those,... THINGS!" The wizard ends on a very manly high-pitched squeak. Having just spotted the Necromantic psuedopod of goo. Moving straight towards him.
"So what you do you think head on in and see how there doing?"
The pseudopod whips down at Justin
It wraps a length around his arm. Justin feel a wave of dizziness come over him
The rest of the party alerted by Ekuur's shout sees more pseudopods emerging from the bone pile.
"Back off if you need to. I'll follow your lead." he says as he moves to keep between the party and the pseudopod.
"So what you do you think head on in and see how there doing?"
"After you?"
"I recommend again we retreat ... for now. We are low on magical power, have a few injuries, and have suffered a death. We should regroup and return with all of our group." Ekuur will not back away yet, though.
The pseudopod whips down at Justin
1d20+5
It wraps a length around his arm. Justin feel a wave of dizziness come over him
;P
"ACK!" Justin shouts bravely as the string of goo whips forward and connects to his arm.
"Hey! Gett offa me Muther,..!Oooo,.. Thatsh nut guud,..." Justin sways heavily, His mildly enchanted coat and protective gewgaws proving no match for the tendrils necromantic energies. He looks confused as his few remaining powerful spells fade from his mind's eye like dew in the morning sun.
Or in this case, forcibly ripped from his being, judging from the sudden shout of pain as the necromantic effects kick in.
"ARRRRGH!" Justin shouts, follwed by a bellowed command word of barely focused magical energy. but it is enough, and his lightning wand discharges once more into the psuedopod of goo as it withdraws to line up another attack.
"Yesh, I mean YES! Back! I know what it does if it touches you now! And it sucks!" Justin shouts as he turns to run, and manages to more or less stumble speedily back the way they came.
"I mean literally. It sucks the life energy from you! We have to regroup!" He wheezes as he reaches the others.
Justin looks decidedly grey and ill, breathing heavily from the short dash. The others have seen him run much faster, much farther (with the proper motivation) and not break a sweat. He looks like he's standing up on willpower alone.
As the tendril grabs Justin, Blayze focuses sending a shot streaking toward the undead thing.
The lightning and the shot blast the slimy pseudopod to pieces. It falls back into the bone pile. Like a green goo hydra, more pseudopods come slithering up.
Arnav is still hacking bones apart, but the goo keeps sintering them together.
"So what you do you think head on in and see how there doing?"
"After you?"
Nari, Seph, and Merle step through the portal into the black nothingness of the Plane of Negative Energy. All color washes out, save for the glow of their protective ioun stones. They float near the shining portal, and off in the distance they see a glimmer amongst the dark, like a single star in a dark firmament.
Arnav will back away defensively, moving everyone behind him as they heads out. [b]"Let's find the heart of this place and kill that. then maybe this thing will die.
"Die again? Re-die?" Justin mutters as he shuffles towards the exit with extreme intent, if not athleticism.
"I SO do not want to die here. No telling what I could come back as in my present state of mind." The mage mutters grumpily as he literally falls with relief into the room's doorway/portal.
"So what you do you think head on in and see how there doing?"
"After you?"
Nari, Seph, and Merle step through the portal into the black nothingness of the Plane of Negative Energy. All color washes out, save for the glow of their protective ioun stones. They float near the shining portal, and off in the distance they see a glimmer amongst the dark, like a single star in a dark firmament.
When in doubt follow the Glimmer
When in doubt follow the Glimmer"So what you do you think head on in and see how there doing?"
"After you?"
Nari, Seph, and Merle step through the portal into the black nothingness of the Plane of Negative Energy. All color washes out, save for the glow of their protective ioun stones. They float near the shining portal, and off in the distance they see a glimmer amongst the dark, like a single star in a dark firmament.
"Well, it doesn't look like there's anywhere else they could have gone," she agreed.
"Die again? Re-die?" Justin mutters as he shuffles towards the exit with extreme intent, if not athleticism.
"I SO do not want to die here. No telling what I could come back as in my present state of mind." The mage mutters grumpily as he literally falls with relief into the room's doorway/portal.
Justin hears a muffled voice from his bag
"Boss? What the seven nipples of Azathoth is going on out there?"
"Well, it doesn't look like there's anywhere else they could have gone," she agreed.
The three seem to be floating in space. Black, hungry space. They are at a loss at how to move until Nari concentrates on the distant glimmer. She begins gliding towards it at a good clip. They all figure out that movement in this realm is an effort of will. They begin to travel towards the distant speck.
The glimmer resolves into a cluster of spheres tied together with pulsating tubes as they get nearer. The structure would never exist in a normal gravity field , the spheres are all separated and unsupported. There seems to be some sort of mark on the central sphere, perhaps a door or portal?
"Nari think you can check if that thing is going to try and fry us or not?"
"Die again? Re-die?" Justin mutters as he shuffles towards the exit with extreme intent, if not athleticism.
"I SO do not want to die here. No telling what I could come back as in my present state of mind." The mage mutters grumpily as he literally falls with relief into the room's doorway/portal.
Justin hears a muffled voice from his bag
"Boss? What the seven nipples of Azathoth is going on out there?"
Justin 'Eeps!' briefly and leaps up, before recalling the source of the voice. Re-collapsing onto the floor of the 'Ghoul' chamber he fumbles with the bag tied to his waist until the crystal skull can be seen through the top.
"Oh, nothing. Just a little disagreement between an erstwhile group of would-be adventurers and a ginormous pile of necromantic-slime animated bones."
Justin flops onto his back. "Right now it's Slime-Bones 1, Adventurers 0."
Justin's eyes open wide. He stares at the ceiling.
"They're gone. Just,... gone." He says blankly.
"I still had a Fire Serpent spell memorized. Now I can't even recall how to form the syllables. B@st@rd drained my life energy, my experience." Justin mutters wearily. He looks ashen.