Guthruc looks at the snake in his hand, still squirming and trying to bite him. Guthruc responds in kind and takes a bite out of the helpless snake.
Guthruc swallows the chunk he tore out of viper and drops his snack of the ground. What follows is the stuff of nightmares.
Guthruc enters rage, but his battle cry only barely drowns out his screams of pain. Vertebrae split and grow as his torso and neck double in length. His tailbone retraces countless generations of imperfect evolution, sprouting a new appendage. His skin flays and folds under itself, hardening as it does, mimicking the feeling of a thousand ingrown nails across every corner of his flesh. His pupils narrow to mere slits as his nose sinks into his face and does the same. His tusks are joined by newfound fangs as his jaw dislocates from his skull mid-transformation. The tail grows to become flush with both the front and back of Guthruc's torso, not quite accommodating his legs. As the transformation completes, his war cry has fused with a serpent's distinct hiss, neither one nor the other. The result: a horrid fusion between orc and viper that would cause even those of the strongest resolve struggle to hold in their lunch.
The monster breathes in as its forked tongue flicks out of his mouth, tasting the air for the scent of the mage.
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As soon as the disembodied voice speaks, coming from inside the cage, Abaos does as he told Nugrah he would, and what he told everyone else he wouldn't- he rushes over, and opens the door.
"You say your a different person, Nugrah? Well, here's your chance to prove it!
And then the eyes appear next to him, and he has no time to worry about the evil necromancer.
A slash, and another slash, duck, move, skip, left, over, duck! The eyes hack at the spry man, and it's only luck that he's not petrified the moment he sees them. Really, he's just to busy dodging.
Suddenly, he's filled with an immense pain in his calf as his twist isn't quite out of reach. It's not a deep cut, but it dangerous, unknownst to him; it's severed an artery and is beginning to bleed.
Abaos, duck!
It's at this moment, as he's being stug, that he hears a voice.
What? he thinks to himself, as his leg gives way, and he acrobatically rolls backwards into the cage.
He attempts to stand back, up, next to the druid.
With the fog cleared Jen takes in the scene of devastation in horror: Abaos wounded and surrounded by...
A swarm of augur kytons in their banded, spiked armor, though, fortunately, Ozzy seems to have contained the threat...
Her eyes search around to where the tree man is entrapped in a sticky mass of webs and the dragonling is murdering an elemental, and then, in a split moment, she sprints past the two and comes to a panting halt next to Ozzy.
"What son of a bugbear are we fighting?" she yells, her voice suddenly terse and completely unlike her usual meandering drawl.
Jen cracks her knuckles and, her mind filling with arcane words, she recalls the final sentence to the almost-but-not-quite complete spell she'd in reality cast the majority of that morning.
She murmurs those last words under her breath and, throwing her hands out, sends a wave of black, glistening grease spilling across the floor so that it completely blocks the entrance to Nugrah's cell.
The monster breathes in as its forked tongue flicks out of his mouth, tasting the air for the scent of the mage.
A whole new sense's worth of sensory input floods through Guthruc's synapses. He smells the earthen walls, the bugs in and on them. Somewhere nearby, there are rats. He smells Mr. Blinky. Mr. Blinky smells . . . dark. There's no other way to describe it, he smells like darkness. He smells cold the same way that capascin smells warm, and the overall impression is that he smells dark.
Guthruc smells Iorskan, who smells warm. Not like capascin smells warm, he smells warm like fire smells warm. Guthruc smells Bright Awn, who smells sort of like a human, but older, and smells sort of like a plant.
And Guthruc smells two things that he can't immediately place. Tasting the air, he tastes two things that aren't visible. They taste like . . . sulfer. They taste like sulfer smells. Not human at all. One of them is coming from nearby, but up. The other sulferous smelling thing is further away, in the same direction as Mr. Blinky.
As soon as the disembodied voice speaks, coming from inside the cage, Abaos does as he told Nugrah he would, and what he told everyone else he wouldn't- he rushes over, and opens the door.
"You say your a different person, Nugrah? Well, here's your chance to prove it!
Nugrah's face lights up as a gap-toothed grin spreads across his face. "I will," he promises.
Acrobatics: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11
Abaos's leg gives out, which turns out to be a good thing as he collapses right in time to avoid a blanket being thrown overhead. Unfortunately, he isn't good enough at rolling with things to avoid the Kyton's opportunistic attacks.
Ozzy throws her blanket, ensnaring the kytons.
Abaos finds his feet next to the evil necromancer.
The old druid has tried to escape this cell countless times before, and he shares what he knows about Sneeg and his familiar as quickly as he can. His raspy voice grates.
"There's an alarm, it's silent, he can hear it, every time you leave the cell. Through the front, through the walls, the floor, ceiling, doesn't matter. Triggers the alarm. Sneeg can teleport, has a spell for it. Casts it in a heartbeat; can't pin him down. He has a familiar, an imp or a quasit. Don't know. It's around here, somewhere, invisible. Uses scrolls and wands. Druid spells, too, Sneeg made me help him make them."
My dreams are not this glimmering, nor as active! the woodborn muses, finally free of smoke, gas and web.
Something appears to be happening in the cell to the northeast, but Awn cannot see a reason to investigate it with everyone and their maternal grandmother already there. Shaking out T'lass in the way an aristocrat might straighten a crumpled hat or cravat, Awn quickly doubles down on his control of fate, and moves to the bottom of the stairs to provide a guard to the party's rear...err...back.
Free Action: End aura of whatever it was before
Standard Action: Enact aura of second sight
Move Action: Move to bottom of stairs...
Inside Nugruh's cell a layer of slippery grease appears, and suddenly splashes about as an invisible someone attempts to keep their footing. The indent of their booted feat are clearly visible in the inky lubricant.
"There you are." Nugruh's decrepit face breaks into a wide smile. He raises his hand and speaks a two words of power. "Faerie Fire."
A burst of sickly yellow-brown light fills the cell, lining the floor, walls, and invisible wizard with decay-colored fire that doesn't burn.
I'd describe Sneeg's facial expression at this, but unfortunately it cannot be seen. He's still invisible, he's just also on fire.
For his part, Nugruh looks like someone whose been locked in a cage for the past year of his life and finally got the chance to retaliate on his jailer. He's looking pretty happy. Scarily happy, even.
The yellowish flames that mark Sneeg's location tucks it's shoulder and tries to bowl past Abaos leaving himself open to the ifrit's starknife.
Sneeg swears as the ifrit breaks his skin.
Why Falgrim Sneeg thought he'd be better off entirely surrounded than mostly surrounded is momentarily perplexing; but than the wizard rattles off one of his rapid-speed summoning spells and things become a little more clear.
A dark cloud appears behind Ozzy and Jen, swiftly consolidating into a dark mass.
Twelve feet from snout to tail, weighing in at at least six thousand pounds, is a monster. Shaped roughly like a lion, the monster has a mane of spines, rather than fur, spines that also cover it's forelegs, it's back, and it's porcupineoid tail. It opens it's mouth, and unleashes a most nettlesome howl. Whatever small body hairs your character has stand on end, as the grating noise worms it's way into your brain.
Howler Howl: Curse—howl; save Will DC 12 negates; frequency 1/hour; effect 1 Wisdom damage; cure 1 save.
At that moment, small hands made out of dirt come through the earthen walls and lash out at Iorskan.
The high pitched voice has stopped chanting, and is being quiet.
Happs Bydon dropps his bow and draws his longsword.
Falgrim drops into a martial stance, taking most of Bydon's momentum out of his swing by rapping the ranger's wrist with his staff.
Bydon's already lining up another strike. "Gonna kill you," he tells the wizard, matter of fact.
The butcher of badger's glade is still naseuous, and moving would provoke an attack of opportunity, so she stays still and hopes the monster doesn't notice her. Patton drops his bow, and, shouting something drowned out by the monster's incessent howling, draws his glaive to attack with.
Seeing the monster appear before him, Iorskan roared at it, matching it bellow for bellow. Finally! Something he could eat! HIs genius deserting him, Iorskan leapt at the creature. His claws were planted deep into it's side to hold it still, and then his maw (already glowing with flames) bit down on it's neck. With a growl he savaged the beast, shaking his head back and forth to break it's neck.
It was just unfortunate that Iorskan didn't account for the creature's quills...luckily, he was a dragon! He was designed to eat anything that he saw. His breath was (supposed to) melt steel! What good were quills against draconic might?! Well, or so he hoped.
All beings other than outsiders within 120 feet of a howling howler must succeed on a DC 12 Will save or become cursed by the creature's howl.
Ozzy steps away from the spiney beast , climbing atop the bundle of augur kytons, and attempts to tie the ends of the blanket shut to trap them inside.
Mr. Blinky has a clear line to one of the Howler's hindquarters, and leaps into action, finally seeing something to pounce on.
Round 4
Guthruc, with his newfound sense locks onto the creature down the hall as another forms nearby. Guthruc relays to blinky what square the scent of sulfer originates as he draws a dagger.
Not knowing exactly where the creature of sulfer above him lies, he hurls a dagger at it in hopes to even land.
He then takes a 5ft step towards the newly summoned beast.
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Abaos is pretty confused when the outline of the man becomes visible, and even more excited when he tries to push past him.
Swissh! goes the knife, and it connects. Then the man is past, and some arcane chanting is heard, but Abaos doesn't care. He's after the man, and he's gonna get him.
Of course, he's a little distracted by the big thing that just appeared, and his knife just misses the man, connecting with his staff instead.
Reflex: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17 Jen, I didn't see your save DC for first level spells written down anywhere, I'm assuming it's 16 (10+SL+INT) but correct me if I'm wrong. In the future, could you type out the DC of the spells you're casting in the post you cast them? Makes things a bit easier on my end.
To save on time I'm going to write out an if/then.
Jen closes her eyes and draws from her arcane energies to fuel a feverish relearning of one of her favored spells- a cloud of golden particles that clings and blinds. Flipping open a tatty leather-covered book, she practices the same strategies she used for Literature back at the Academy by letting her eyes skim over the words and form a painting of the spell in her mind.
Jen lets the heavy hitters attack the Howler
( ) and focuses on the outlined Falgrim Sneeg. She initiates a complex series of motions, the cadence of her voice rising in intensity until she practically shouts the final word and flicks her wrist towards the injured and grease-splattered wizard.
What results is a rainbow that races out at 3 * 10^8 m/s until it flies in Sneeg's face and blasts him with a truly seizure-worthy display of distorted color.
The howler is least resistant to mind effecting spells, and, being large and not particularly agile it is easily hit with touch attacks. Not that it matters anymore (unless you meet another one).
Iorskan and Mr. Blinky take the howler down with extreme prejudice. It's dead, Jim. Like the other summoned creatures, the body evaporates into thin air. It's cries, however, continue to ring in some of your skulls.
Guthruc's dagger falls impotently back to the ground.
Falgrim blocks Abaos's knife with his staff. From the shape of his outline, he seems quite broad shouldered and martially adept. You suppose it comes from years of military campaigning.
[b]Immediate Action[/i]: Second Sight! +1 to make Will Save...
Not cognisant of the creature in the wall, and unable to successfully impact the battle with Sneeg, Awn decides to wait where he is. Sorely tempted to ascend the stairs to ascertain the situation above, the woodborn wisely stays put lest he disturb or alert even more foes...
The Howler shrieks one last time as the dragon and eidolon tear it to pieces, preempting it's attack.
"Damnit," Sneeg swears. He notices Iorskan, alight and advancing over the rapidly evaporating demon's remains. "You. You're the one who ate Tartuk! That wasn't a small setback, you inconsiderate lukewarm wyrmling! That kobold had fourth circle spells!"
The wizard seems quite upset about something.
The earth elemental strikes again!
It wasn't, however, expecting to be met with such pointy resistance! The kobolds stab at it, shouting battle cries! ("Die, monster!" and "I could really go for a sandwich with bacon and lettuce!", respectively.)
Making strange elemental noises (none of you speak Terran) it glides back into the wall.
The kobolds ready actions to attack if it shows up again.
Falgrim Sneeg shouts something in rapid-fire Terran, figuring it's a language his assailants are unlikely to know.
A curtain of utter darkness shrouds the staircase leading out of the basement.
Sneeg attempts to cast a spell while defending himself from Abaos and Happs Bydon.
He misses a syllable in his incantation, too intent on parrying Abaos' and Bydon's attacks.
"Dammit!"
Sneeg slams his staff against the ground, the muted thud of wood striking packed dirt not echoing throughout the room.
Quite suddenly, the sickly brownish flames that marked his location are no more.
Nugruh begins chanting something in Druidic.
Bydon swings at the space Sneeg occupied moments prior, though he doesn't see anything there.
He doesn't hit anything.
Dharak doublemoves over beside Right On. "What's the plan?" he asks.
The bandits who can come out of the tunnel, packing the cell and looking about for an enemy to fight.
Round 5
Guthruc turns his head down the hall he stands in
With his intelligence reduced to nearly half of normal, guthruc fails to recall parts of common, falling back on his native tongue. He mispronounces what common he does remember. His partial serpentine form is quite noticeable in his voice.
Guthruc's horrid form tastes the air again, allowing the scent's sensation to wash over him. He can taste blood. The blood of falrim sneeg still on the dirt, the blood of his allies. He can confirm that abaos would actually taste quite deliscious! This scent almost distracts him from the task at hand: Pinpointing where the remaining scent is coming from.
Guthruc does an awkward half slither, half step toward the creature he senses. Glaring down at it's invisible form so as to show that it cannot hide from him.
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Abaos is pretty intent on one thing, and that one thing is wielding a spinning staff and currently glowing with a vague outline against an invisible form. And then the outline disappears.
"We had him surrounded! Keep going!" Abaos yells, trying to keep the faith.
Then Bydon hits nothing but air, and Abaos just knows the wizard has to be near him.
Abaos's knife fails to connect with anything!
Guthruc uses a move action to pinpoint the scent of the flying brimstone-smelling creature. It's right over his head, hovering near the fifteen foot tall ceiling.
The kytons remember to take their turns.
Ozzy continues to struggle with the bundle of Augur Kytons, trying to force the two that have managed to slip out from under her back to the ground.
What actually happened Round 5
Guthruc twists his elongated neck upwards
With his intelligence reduced to nearly half of normal, guthruc fails to recall parts of common, falling back on his native tongue. He mispronounces what common he does remember and His partial serpentine form is quite noticeable in his voice.
Guthruc's horrid form tastes the air again, allowing the scent's sensation to wash over him. He can taste blood. The blood of falrim sneeg still on the dirt, the blood of his allies. He can confirm that abaos would actually taste quite delicious! This scent almost distracts him from the task at hand: Pinpointing where the remaining scent is coming from.
Once found, Guthruc coils as he stares at the empty point in the air. Suddenly, he leaps, attempting to capture his prey midair.
Round 5
* 4 points of damage taken, 1DR left for the round
Iorskan hissed as the earth elemental attacked him. That hurt! Fortunately, his faithful kobolds were there to swarm it. It was good to be king. He turned just in time to see it retreat into the wall.
So many enemies were dying...and their bodies were vanishing! It wasn't fair! How was he supposed to eat them if there were no corpses? It was cheating, that was what it was. Maybe this one would be different.
Doing his best to pretend to look the other way, Iorskan waited for the elemental to come back out of the wall...
...Iorskan couldn't help but thump his tail happily on the ground. Nobody could see through his ruse! He was far too smart to allow that. He almost felt bad for the elemental, going up against an intellect like his. But then again, it wasn't the elemental's fault that it wasn't born a dragon.
There was, however, also a human. Who was yelling at him because he ate someone. This wasn't something completely new to Iorskan. It was, he though, rude though. To expect him to remember everyone that he ate. He didn't like people who were inconsiderate like that.