Pirknok roars as the woman's dagger draws his blood, and steps forward to retaliate in a blur of his own motion!
Eli, his reflexes and skin enhanced by his mutagen, is struck, but avoids harm. He draws a vial and drinks it, eyes wide as he tries to figure out what is going on with this woman.
Reeling from the hard hit, Kaplan voices his thoughts on the woman. "She's probably another vile servant of that Sihedron."
Most of his offensive spells were spent and burning the rest of his healing spells wouldn't do much good at the moment. He drew his scimitar and stepped toward her.
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Ventus's shield slam and Jess's blade each land glancing blows but it's Pirknok's furious blows that get her attention. She shrieks in pain and the air around her shimmers as one of her spells fails.
She narrows her gaze on the vicious dwarf and does her trick again.
This time when her blade cuts into the dwarf's flesh, almost dizzying hatred fills Pirknok's thoughts.
Pirknok grunts and tries to focus even as he feels himself slipping away.
Kaplan swings again.
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Jess laughs as the woman's blade flies far wide of her.
"Not close enough!" she taunts as she slashes back at their foe.
I need to find a way to get her between me and Pirknok, if only she'd stop blasted jumping around!
Eli, his energies focused by his extract, draws and spices another bomb to throw at the woman. "She's a Dimensional Adept. She's using teleportation magics to confound us!" he says, aiming his shot carefully.
"Bloody wizards!" Ventus bellows as he struggles to get a good hit in.
Despite having trouble focusing his thoughts, Pirknok lands another powerful blow that staggers the woman. As she reels, the rest of the party piles on landing blow after blow. Unable to endure the punishment any longer she crumbles to the ground in a bloody heap. A moment later her forms shimmers and melts. Where once a beautiful fiery haired woman in regal clothing once stood, a familiar monstrous creature with the torso of a woman and the lower body of a lion lays in its place.
"What the heck is THAT?" Jessamy asks, wiping blood from her side.
Pirknok shudders, trying to focus and finding that even as the rage melts away a fog remains. "Wull... ah gess we shud go upstairs?"
Taking out one of the potions found earlier, he struggles with the stopper a moment before opening it and downing the contents.
Although the resemblance is minimal, Eli recognizes this monster as another lamia matriarch - the same type of creature that had been his mentor, Mother Marepi.
There doesn't appear to be anything else of interest or value in the basement.
Kaplan touches himself with healing power.
Eli looks around the room. "Before we go anywhere else, I want to search this place. If she was the same race as Mother Marepi, and she's a part of this same conspiracy, she may have some more clues about what's really going on." he says.
"Oh yeah, that's a good idea!" Jessamy says brightly, as she hands back the wand after healing her wound .
She joins the alchemist in looking around the area.
"Hey... wuzint there... uh... uh letter, frum thuh uther wun to somewun here?" wonders Pirknok aloud.
A search of the lamia’s remains uncovers her daggers, several pieces of expensive jewelry, a wand, and a tightly sealed scroll tube.
Jessamy shrugs and hands over the scroll and wand to Eli. "Maybe something you can use?"
Inside the tightly sealed scroll tube is a sheet of treated parchment titled Favored customers of Paradise. A single written line at the top describes the purpose of the list, 'Those who have agreed to grant their greed to the master’s need'. What follows is a list of names. A few are familiar, shopkeeps and residents of Turtleback Ferry.
The dwarf raises his eyebrows. "Thuh Paradise... wuzzint that thuh boat that burnt?"
"A gambling den, right?" Ventus said, looking over the names, "If they have need of the lives of the greedy, that would be the place to go and collect names. Looks like we have found the next part of this conspiracy."
"I don't understand what ogres have to do with the rest of this, but shouldn't we stop them? There's still more of the fort to clear out!"
None of this makes any sense! What do ogres have to do with gamblers? Or Magnimar and Sandpoint!
Pirknok nods. "We gotta stop 'um, yeah."
Returning up the stairs and then the next flight, the party arrives on the second floor of Fort Rannick. The stairs exit into a large well-furnished hall with doors on either side and large doors at the end.
A pair of ogres are waiting here, another brawny male and a rare misshapen female. The woman bellows in a decidedly unfeminine tone. ”There’s the troublemakers! Get ‘em!”
"Look out!" Jessamy calls, "there's more of 'em!"
Before anyone else can react, she whips a pair of daggers past Ventus, grinning as they thud home in the lead ogre.
Eli draws another of his dwindling supply of bombs as he moves forward and flips it towards the Ogre in the front.
Ventus moves forward, shield high and lashes out with his sword.
Jess, Eli, and Ventus's premptive assault bloodies the lead ogre but he still stands. He answers the attacks with a roar before smashing into Ventus.
The she-ogre cackles maniacally and chants a spell. A moment later, an arc of living flame appears amid the party dashing from hero to hero searing flesh wherever it touches.
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Pirknok charges the lead ogre.
Eli tries to shield himself from the damage, suffering some bad burns, but saving himself from being barbequed by the spell. He draws another bomb, adding some ingredients before lobbing it towards the Ogre in the back.
"She's a wizard!" Jessamy cries out helpfully as she easily ducks under the plume of flame.
With no room to maneuver, Jessamy grunts in frustration.
"We've already cut down everyone else we've met!" she calls out. "Run away now and maybe you'll get to live!"
Her attempt to intimidate the ogres fails miserably, though, as she hops from foot to foot looking for a way past.
His shield ringing like a bell after the vicious assault, Ventus grins at the ogre and shows him how it is done.
Kaplan shrugs off the flames, not bothering to even dodge the weak attempt by the ogress. He points his finger at her, sending off another bolt of fire, leaving him with one more.
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The fearless dwarf suffers a nasty wallop as he charges in.
Eli hits the lumpy she-ogre with another explosive and her eyes rolls around in her head as she inhales the hallucinogens he haphazardly mixed in.
The big ogre in front openly laughs as Jess's threats, a distraction that gives Ventus and Pirknok the openings they need to land a series of solid blows.
The she-ogre stands there dumbly, watching the battle unfold in front of her. The brute swings back at the dwarf and ranger harrying him.
Pirknok grunts twice as the blade strikes him, but doesn't falter in his assault.
The older dwarf unleashes his final bolt of fire against the ogress.
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Eli draws the wand they found in the Lamia's room and attempts to use it to shower the Ogres with stones.