The lightning bolt goes straight through both of the shapeshifters, causing one of them to jerk up into the air and slam into the wall before falling lifeless. The other one barely makes it to the doorway leading outside. It is then that Ro's starknife buries itself in its back and it slumps to the ground.
Shrinking back down to normal size, Karmid moves to follow the enemy, but stops half-way once he can tell the others have the monsters on the run.
Dropping his warhammer, Drasven calmly takes out his loaded crossbow and releases it's locking latch. With his eye on its sights, he fires a bolt at the remaining one.
Drasven's bolt nicks the shoulder of the fleeing faceless stalker, you dives around the corner and heads up the stairs, out of the site from the party.
Ro advances and recovers her starknife. Looking up after the fleeing faceless stalker, she says "almost at the end of the line."
She casts Eagle's Splendor as she awaits for everyone else to make it to the stairs.
The old dwarf reloads his crossbow, latches the lock on and stows it. He then picks up his warhammer and ascends the stairs to join his companions.
Winking at Ro, Karmid nods as he taps his Holy Symbol birthmark and large dagger-like thorns sudden burst through his armor and clothing making him look like an odd human pincushion or porcupine-person.
He then strides up the the stairs two at a time...
"FOR SANDPOINT!"
Lia, who wanted to help Karmid by making him invisible, shrugs when he storms forward. Not wanting to let her magic go to waste, she instead makes Rojava invisible, then casually follows up the stairs.
Flutter, hoping to maybe at least warn Karmid of whatever awaits him, flies straight up hoping to see if an ambush has been set.
Ro winces at Karmid's cry, takes a deep breath, and follows him up.
Led by Karmid, the group cautiously charges up the rickety stairs that have been built to hug the outside of the clocktower and connect the bellfry with the floor above it. These stairs look even less reliable than the ones inside the Shadow Clock, seemingly held together by twine and bird excrement, so Karmid's charge becomes less of a full-out run and more of an ascent at the maximum speed he feels will not colllapse the stairs and drop everyone on the ground over a hundred feet below.
On reaching the next landing, Karmid is presented with two options: the staircase continues to ascend to what appears to be the top of the Shadow Clock, while at the current level, a hole has been made in the outside masonry of the tower, leading to another darkened room. Making a split-second decision, he jumps into the room beyond, leaving the staircase going up for later.
He bursts back through the wall of the tower only to find himself in what appears to be a small rookery, barely 10' by 15'. A single alarmed-looking raven jumps up from its perch in a locked timber cabinet with a mesh door as the Shoanti barges in. It squawks and beats its wings in surprise. A single door to the east seems has been boarded up, but the room seems otherwise empty.
Wherever the surviving faceless stalker went, it does not seem to have been here.
"I think we have found our enemy's nest! We move up..."
Ro continues upward as well, anything to get off the terrifying stairs.
Carefully climbing the stairs up from the rookery, you finally reach the top of the Shadow Clocktower. The smoky, filthy rooftops of Underbridge sprawl below your dizzying perch. The top of the conical roof has been torn away, opening the entire rooftop to the sky. At the center of the space stands an onyx statue of an angel. Towering like a god, her weathered features are heavily weathered and caked with filth, making her seem almost demonic in countenance. At the far end of the hollow space under what remains of the roof, in the angel’s shadow, is a nest of cushions, silk sheets, and a line of several small chests. The body of the faceless stalker you had been chasing lies unmoving in front of the nest, but no one else seems to be present.
Suddenly a voice emerges from the head of the onyx angle statue, booming out in the stillness of your high location.
"Greetings, my greedy darlings, and welcome to the domain of Lissala, Mother of Runes, Mistress of the Order of Virtue, and forever the Sihedron Scion. Have you come to pay your respects?"
Karmid immediately frowns, shakes his head, and looks over the 'nest' under the statue. He sidles slowly toward the statue, Klar raised and ready. (Full defense)
"So you're a talker huh? Is that gobbledygook supposed to mean something to us? What the heck is a Sihedron anyway? Y'know what I see? I see a nice little silk lined nest for you and maybe for your little transforming assassins too. Do you want to know what I hear? I hear a scared girl wanting to be taken seriously after she charmed some insane cultists into doing her bidding. You want to know what I know? I know...you will pay for your crimes against us, and the people of this town, one way or another!"
Ro stays closer to the stairs until everyone has made it up to the top.
"Not hardly, just looking for a killer so we can clean up the mess she's been making."
Ro looks around the rooftop but cannot discern what or who is talking to them. She does notice a long blade sticking into the faceless stalker's side and a large amount of a blood-like substance beginning to pool next to it, however, giving her the impression that it isn't faking being dead.
Following Karmid's comment you hear a dry chuckle emerge from the same location near the top of the angel statue.
"You know so little, Manling, and when you are dead I will carve the Sihedron into your flesh and my servants will offer you up as an offering to my glory. Your people served me in ages past, and they will serve me again!"
Flutter knows, but prefers to stay hidden. Speaking would give his position away - and for now, he opted to remain hidden and an extra pair of eyes, as he circles towards the lair, staying near the rooftop.
Lia focuses inward, for a moment, then answers:"Your kind perverted what Lissala stood for. You turned virtue to sin. You want to carve us up, yet you cower in fear instead of showing yourself. And you don't even begin to understand who we are or what we do..."
She steps to the side, as a large winged snake with multicolored wings flies into view from beneath and lands next to her.
"So what was it you were planning from the very beginning? Just getting to come pay our respects?"
"You know so little, Manling, and when you are dead I will carve the Sihedron into your flesh and my servants will offer you up as an offering to my glory. Your people served me in ages past, and they will serve me again!"
Sneering, Karmid replies easily.
"Blah-blah-bliggity-blah! You talk, but what I hear is fear! The stench of it clogs my nose. Face up to it little girl! You sent that cult of killers to prey upon the people of this city for you own personal sick needs! I dare you to deny it!"
There is a moment of silence after Karmid's speech and the appearance of the coatl.
"So you have the forces of Heaven on your side? How cute."
The sky above the rooftop begins to roil and a blag fog or smoke spreads in the air above you. A bestial, demonic creature with horns and scales emerges from out of the smoke, its eye blazing, fixed on the creature next to Lia.
"You are not the only one who has friends among the gods!"
"Karmid, watch out. Dodge!", Flutter shouts out as his butterfly-senses are tingling - then swiftly moves to take cover among the rooftop, hiding again.
Lia searches for what Flutter noticed, but focusing on the Couatl takes much of her mental presence.
Why is it glaring at Lia? Drasven notes the direction this new creature is looking.
[dice=Perception]1d20+7
Lia searches for what Flutter noticed, but focusing on the Couatl takes much of her mental presence.
Drasven Hammers
Lia Tani
Karmid Groundbreaker
Rojava Brishen
Xanesha
Before Karmid can react to Flutter's warning, a terrifying creature appears out of nowhere in the space next to the angel statue wielding a wicked-looking longspear. It has the lower body of a snake and the upper body of a woman and her entire body is covered is glittering golden snake scales. Her face is disguised behind a golden mask from which six writhing snake tails radiate. She jabs it into Karmid' shoulder. As the spear pierces his skin, it emits a disturbing shriek that sounds as if a hundred people cry out in terrible pain.
Looking at her directly reveals that there are actually four different versions of her all standinding next to each other, most likely some form of magical protection.
, hit! plus ,
As soon as Ro sights Xanesha she casts.
Lia hears the spear sing. In an eerily beautiful yet frightening way.
But she sees little of the wielder, thanks to the huge statue.
She moves next to Karmid, then touches him:"For Sandpoint?"
Losing his cool, but still managing to push back the despair of the spear attack, Karmid screams in pain himself steps up (5 foot step) and reaches out for his enemy directly!
Thunder and Fang!
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Attack #1 (Earthbreaker): 27 for 11 damage
Attack #2 (Klar): 29 for 3 damage
Attack #3 (Earthbreaker, Iterative): 17 for 9 damage
Or you could just throw out the hasted attack.
Somewhere in the city of Magnimar, unaware of the climactic battle against the forces of evil happening elsewhere, a young Varisian woman sits playing her cello.
,
Karmid hacks away at the multiple images of the serpentine woman. As he does, two of them fade into nothingness.
The creature slithers back and focuses on Karmid for a second.
Ro worries about more delay, but decides staying power might be better than speed. She casts again.
Karmid staggers for a moment, shocked the snake-monster's words could suddenly be that important...and he suddenly felt like he was hit with a wet blanket full of bees!
"NO! NO! NOT TODAY! YOU DIE HERE...NOW!"
Karmid barely shuffles a step to reach the thing...his size now equal to hers!
He then propels himself into a final rage, one any barbarian could be proud of!
Thunder and Fang(Large Size w/Reach)!
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