Kalev, assuming some winged terror, drops Cleft and produces his bow, fitting an arrow to the string.
Round 1-
Casimir-
Malthir-
Fenna-
Ricter-
Kalev- (GM reminder- terrain bond woods: Kalev +3 init, party +2 init)
Ordered Initiative-
Kip (acted)- 26
Shadow Assassin (acted)- 25
Ricter- 22
Fenna- 19
Kalev- 12
Casimir- 8
Malthir- 2
Active Effects-
Map-
Notes-
Action-
Kip rapidly descended while renewing his invisibility, conveying information to those below, who could not yet see him.
Descending at double speed, you reach the ground.
Above him, the rest of the Guardians could see his attacker descending rapidly; a near-insubstantial body of smoke with two vicious looking claws held behind it as it dove at tremendous speed towards the ground- pulling up with perfect maneuverability fifty feet above the party. The group were gathered in tight formation, having been anxiously awaiting word from their scout...
"Kip," Fenna whispers calmly through the magical link, "if you are injured, come to me and I shall heal you, but I cannot see you."
This formidable, NE Outsider is a Soul Eater. It only enters the material plane when it is summoned; and it creates a mental link between the summoner and itself. If it fails to find and slay its target, whose name must be given by the spellcaster, it returns (if defeated but not slain) to attack it. It can track its target unerringly and the creature's native plane is the inky swamps of Abbadon; it is closely linked with Daemonkind. Even when not seeing to the heinous commands of a sinister magic user, the soul eater prowls and hunts, constantly seeking living souls upon which to gorge itself.
You can recall only details of the foe's offensive capabilities. Its claws affect the target's very sanity (wisdom damage); and should its target or anyone that gets in its way be driven to insanity by its touch, the unfortunate soul can be instantly slain, its soul devoured by the foul creature. Even if the soul drain itself is resisted, this foul attack still slays the victim. Worse still, an individual slain by such an attack is incredibly difficult to bring back from the dead...
My weapon is already out...Malthir will Smite Evil on it as a swift and ready an action to attack it if it comes within range, taking a 5ft shift if needed.
If it is an evil outsider and I hit add another 8 points to it. Bypass DR.
Casimir tightens his grip on Brightclaw, reaffiming his link with the weapon that helps im focus his magic. He peers into the sky, and calls out to the Guardians to bolster their courage.
So it begins! Courage, Guardians. The stories of how we drive the shadows of evil from this place will endure through the ages.
Kalev launches two arrows after it, hoping they will bite.
"I cannot heal the wounds inflicted by this creature without more time," Fenna amends her statement as the cloud comes into view, "if your mind has suffered the touch of it's claws you should remain hidden and keep your distance."
"May the Soldier's courage gird us against this dire threat."
Knowing Kalev's shots will force the enemy's hand sooner or later, Ricter steps up next to Malthir and readies his own shield. He peers at the enemy, calling on lawmakers above and below for hints that it's an enemy of order:
Kip replies to Fenna via the magical link for all to hear, I have no physical wounds... it is my mind that is wounded.
He then adds in gnomish for Fenna and Casimir,
The sound of spell casting can be heard from the nearby invisible halfling...
...and a moment later Kip pops into view amongst the group of you.
You detect the presence of Chaos with this round's concentration.
Unfortunately, that could just be Kip.
Another round's worth of concentration would confirm the number of auras, which would be enough information for you to be sure.
Ricter and Malthir formed a shield wall at the north of the group's formation. The latter raised his blade, ready to strike if the foe descended.
Bolstered by Fenna's Prayer, both of Kalev's arrows seemed to strike the shadow in the sky. Each passed through it, dissipating only a little of the black smoke and shadow that made up the substance of its being, as it continued its downward dive...
Round 2-
Ordered Initiative-
Kip (acted)- 26
Shadow Assassin (acted)- 25
Ricter- 22
Fenna- 19
Kalev- 12
Malthir- 2
Active Effects-
Prayer- Each of your allies gain a +1 luck bonus on attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saves, and skill checks, while each of your foes takes a -1 penalty on such rolls.
Map-
Notes-
The foe is (after it's action) hovering next to Casimir.
Action-
The shadow acted in a rather erratic manner. It soared in quick, erratic bursts, its vague head-like shape always facing something other than Kip, stood beside you.
The creature is looking directly at where you stand, invisible, as it maneuvers.
An incredibly quick and agile flyer, the near-translucent cloud of smoke avoided Malthir and Ricter's shield wall and instead performed a quick dive and slash on Casimir; its horrific black nails seeming to rake the flesh of his neck, without quite leaving a real mark. With a look of pure anguish written upon his features, Casimir crumpled to the floor. Casimir's descent into unconsciousness upon being slashed by the claw was mercifully quick; a brief vision of desecration, madness and horrendous pain flashed into his mind before he crumpled, nary a mark upon him.
Perhaps expecting him to withstand the single claw, the shadow had clearly intended to ascend once again after delivering the sanity-damaging blow; but corrected its flight to hover ominously over Casimir's fallen body, beginning to raise its claws in a motion more akin to a ritual or spell than another attack. Thin tendrils of its smoky body slowly snaked towards the unconscious duelist...
You have heard of this. Next round, the Soul Eater will attempt to devour Casimir's soul, slaying him regardless of the success of this.
Realizing he has no time to discern the nature of the enemy for sure, Ricter steps into melee and calls upon whatever aid his patrons see fit to grant:
"For your contempt of Kardas, I will fight you. If you hold all of civilization in contempt, I will destroy you!"
Ricter and Malthir continued to fight side-by-side in their shield wall. The former's flail was continually dodged by the incredibly quick shadow-creature, but Malthir was just about able to catch it, thanks only to the skill and speed that his patron granted to him in fighting this potent, evil foe. His sword had far more of an impact than Kalev's arrows had, severing a large section of the shadowy body which seemed to almost immediately dissipate into the air...
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"Don't let it touch him again." Fenna states firmly, a faint hint of urgency clawing its way into her voice as she touches a hand to the winged eye and steps around the cloud confidently.
"May the Shepherd shelter our fallen friend against this ravenous beast's hunger." she prays, reaching out to touch Casimir's shoulder.
Kalev steps back from the creature, drops his bow and uses one foot to flip Cleft up into his anticipating hands, quickly stabbing into the shadowy form with all his might and skill.
The illusory image of Kip disappears as the real halfling sorcerer stops concentrating on it. Still cloaked in invisibility, Kip steps in behind Malthir and prepares to cast again. This time as he finishes, he touches the fallen Casimir causing him to fade from view as well.
Fenna placed a Sanctuary spell upon Casimir, just before Kip vanished him from sight; while Kalev, unused to fighting such a shadowy form, swung his polearm in a great arc that the shadow darted back from with no apparent effort.
Round 3-
Ordered Initiative-
Kip (acted)- 26
Shadow Assassin (acted)- 25
Ricter- 22
Fenna- 19
Kalev- 12
Malthir- 2
Active Effects-
Prayer- Each of your allies gain a +1 luck bonus on attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saves, and skill checks, while each of your foes takes a -1 penalty on such rolls.
Map-
Notes-
The foe is 95 feet directly above Malthir.
Action-
Not looking to entangle itself in a prolonged melee, the shadow-thing lashed out at Malthir, who blocked its claw comfortably with his and Ricter's shield wall. It soared back up into the air, but not before the two weapons of the Paladin and Hellknight tore a great deal of substance from its form, with Kalev's weapon narrowly missing. The shield wall became a back-to-back formation in preparation for its next assault; but the two blows that struck it as it disengaged had been telling. A mere shadow of the formidable agent of darkness it had appeared as, the far smaller black cloud seemed about to make its escape in a burst of speed.
"There's no escape!"
Not wasting a second, Ricter unceremoniously drops his flail and shield and draws his own longbow, loosing an arrow at the foe:
Kalev drops Cleft again, grabs his own bow and mirrors Ricter's action.
Malthir also drops his sword and opts for his bow...
Not so fast...wretch!
The arrow flies true, guided by Iomedae's hand to strike it in the stomach...
An angry howl of rage and anguish rings out from the invisible Kip, the likes of which you have never heard from the perpetually happy-go-lucky halfling. YOU DO GET TO JUST LEAVE!! he screams at the fleeing assassin.
A moment later Kip shouts the words required, and four bolts of focused force energy streak up into the sky, unerringly slamming into the retreating cloud creature. As the bolts crash into their target a very angry looking Kip pops into view, his arm outstretched, still pointing skyward at the shadowy monster.
His walking stick thrums to life as Kip prepares to leap into the air, obviously intent on pursuit, should it survive the barrage of arrows and magic...
As the others vent their fury at the fleeing shadow, Fenna simply waits, knowing that her most formidable attacks would be unlikely to do much harm.
As the last words fall from the once-prophetess' mouth, a silvery grid of energy begins to form around the Soul Eater, encasing it on all sides until the ever-spreading lattice begins to turn inward to create a perfect cube of interwoven strands. With the final vertices complete, a faint chime sounds out and the entire display vanishes in an instant.
Kalev's arrow clipped the shadow, seeming to harm it only a little. Kip's force missiles, by contrast, slammed into the Soul Eater's diminished form- shattering it. The evil, extraplanar creature burst apart in black death throes, shadow essence scattering and slowly floating harmlessly away in the winds.
The clearly unhinged Kip and unconscious Casimir gave testament to the insidious nature of the creature's attacks; the effects of which lingered even after its death...
"That was a Soul Eater," Fenna explains as she activates the wand over Casimir's fallen form, , "if we had not driven it away, Casimir would have been lost to us... perhaps forever."
"Odd, though..." she prods the spymaster again, , "They are often called up by evil spell-casters to hunt down their foes... not that it is unheard of for them to roam freely in search of souls to feed upon."
Calling upon the wand's restorative powers a few more times for Casimir, ,, Fenna turns her attention to Kip, , .
As the restorative power of the wand brings Casimir out of his comatose state, he cries out, his voice laden with fear and pain.
"The dark! No.....so cold.....it hurts....no..no.."
Only the repeated treatment from Fenna gradually calms him, and when he regains his full wits and climbs shakily to his feet, he is pale and visibly shaken.
"That was...horrible. I felt my soul wrested from my body, drawn away and trapped in some cold, dark place beyond the stars. All of you have my eternal gratitude for bringing me back."
Regaining his composure a little, he listens intently to Fenna's explanation of the creature.
"First the bird Richter spotted watching us in Varnhold, and now this shadowy assassin. I don't believe it to be a coincidence by any measure. We should probably assume that our every move is watched. We must be on the right path, if our enemy has moved from surveillance to open assault. We should push forward as quickly as possible, before it can bring other dark forces to bear."
As the winged terror is finally destroyed, Kip falls to his knees, letting out a long tortured sigh as he does. Dismissing the invisibility placed upon Cas, he shuffles over to check on his friend and to whisper an apology. As Fenna restores his mind, Kip looks up at her, the struggleof the last few minutes replaying in his mind. He could have been lost to us forever! The words echo in Kip's mind and he visibly shudders. Kip struggles to his feet before declaring darkly, If someone did send that thing to kill us, then we should return the favour a thoudand fold!
Ricter retrieves his weapons, keeping one eye on the sky as the Guardians rally.
"Agreed, Kip - retribution is in order. Something about that creature's methods has finally made you feel some wrath, eh?"
He looks up the path ahead and bellows in no particular direction
"WATCH US AS CLOSELY AS YOU WISH! YOU'LL FIND NO WAY TO SAVE YOURSELF"
"Perhaps a shame that we slew the creature, then," Fenna offers in response to Kip and Ricter, "Soul Eaters have been known to turn on their masters if forced to flee from their assigned targets... treacherous beasts."
I'm not sorry we killed it... Kip says quietly.
Looking up the tor he asks, Onward and upward then? And if its all the same to you, I think I shall walk with you all this time.
I'm not sorry we killed it... Kip says quietly.
Casimir lays a hand on Kip's shoulder. "Neither am I, Kip, he says softly. "The world is a better and safer place without that horror in it."
"Besides," he adds, his tone taking on an edge of steel, "I would not want to risk having that thing cheating me out of paying whomever conjured that thing what he has coming to him."