Gorkhan screams through the continuing pain and lashes out at the centurion in hopes that his further distraction by the Kes'trek'el alows his strike to hit home. Unfortunately the pain from the previous power and the acidic slash overcome him and the blade swings wide.
The small desert cat full attacks the templar in front of it.
Meanwhile Grit is thinking about stepping into the flank with Gorkhan but finds a bird there. So he attacks as best he can from in front of the Centurion.
With spear raises high, Woki slips between Raun's legs and moves up beside the tigone to stab at the templar. The halfling darts in and thrusts at the templar's thigh, "Black one's master no help. Black one fill this one's belly soon!"
You can see in the centurion's eyes that he doesn't expect to live more than a few seconds longer. Surrounded on all sides, he somehow manages to fight off Nnn'tkklik'l 's repeated attempts to enter his mind while doing battle in the physical realm, as well.
As Daina's summoned kes'trekel scratches at his back, the centurion catches Gorkhan's thrust with his shield. The block leaves his flank exposed long enough for Grit to dart in and carve a deep gash in the man's side.
Groaning, the man spins, the point of glowing sword drooping. Seeing the centurion's weakness, Raun roars and leaps over the trestle table. Her hammer crashes down, crushing the centurion in an explosion of wood, stone and blood.
The tigone downs the other templar to the south, after which Woki runs up and stabs the black-robed corpse a few times for good measure.
Facing the southern passage, Daina looses her spell, catching the undead gladiators and the robed woman in an arcane web. The spell proves to be no lasting barrier, however. Seconds later, both corpse warriors tear free of the webs and advance on Daina, eyes glowing black as they raise their tridents.
The robed woman curses as she weaves a spell, blasting away an arc of the webs with black fire. Her own robes smoldering, she advances as the fire eats away at the webs that remain. In the fire's light you can see arcane sigils tattooed on her brow marking her as one of Kalak's necromancers.
Raun looks around for more enemies as she splatters the Centurion, after a moment hearing Daina's cries she looks doubtfully at the narrow passage. She quickly shakes her head, gesturing at the other's and the passage with her bloody hammer. She then moves past the others, vaulting over what remains of the middle table, moving to the end of the third to peer through the two other exits.
Grit activates his Prescience, Offensive (standard action) while screaming with the pain of the lingering spell. He mentally commands his Tigone to (double move) to guard the door to the north.
Woki plants a foot on the dead templar and wiggles the spear deeper into bloody flesh. The halfling lets out a whoop of victory before turning to the sounds of explosions and fighting going on back down the hallway. Scurrying forward, Woki takes a moment to chime another plea to the spirits*.
Raun advances across the mess hall, picking her way carefully through the debris left over from Grit's spell. As she reaches the northeast corner, she spots movement in two directions. To the east, several more black-robed templars are approaching, moving cautiously with spears at the ready. To the north, a pair of muscle-bound tareks - Vackus's bodyguards, based on the description given by the half-elf at the Crystal Spider - have taken position, bone-bladed halberds in their hands. Beyond them, a dwarf in an ebony breastplate stalks down the hall, a spike iron mace clenched in one massive fist while another draws forth a parchment scroll.
It must be Vackus. He doesn't appear happy to see you.
Daina grabs her cinnabar bead necklace, plucking one of the beads loose. She whips it past the undead, then points at it and screams "Ixengarmth!" It explodes outwards with just a hair less force than her personal fireball, but it still packs a punch.
Daina steps five feet to the east, calling her eagle over to attack the foe leading the attack.
The kreen spends a moment in quiet, if agonizing, concentration, bringing his unfocused mind back into the battle.
<<call out in mind if hurt. What are enemies doing?>>
<<Found dwarf looking for. Has bodyguards. More templars...>> Raun grunts out along the link as she hefts her hammer and bolsters herself. She bites down on the pain wracking through her, refusing to give it voice <<Make cat-thing keep templar busy.>> she adds before moving forward, reaching through the short passage to strike at the nearest Tarek with a roar.
<<I've lost your buffer of health and am a little bloody, but it's not as bad as the agony from that centurion's power>> Gorkhan screams again and then crouches down as he focuses his mind, regaining his psionic focus.
Daina flings the cinnabar bead into the southern passage, where it explodes, burning away the remaining webs. It appears to have little effect on the approaching undead. The nearest is unharmed, ignoring the flames completely. The other, still within the flammable webs, appears scorched, and the necromancer curses as she pats out some small flames on her black robes.
As Daina backs away, the kes'trek'el fails to damage the lead corpse, either.
The revivified warrior skewers the bird on its trident, the shining blue creature dissolving as the gladiator continues its advance. Its partner moves up, as well, stabbing at Daina around the corner. Stone cracks as the weapon gouges holes in the wall, but Daina is unharmed.
The necromancer follows close behind, touching the southernmost gladiator's shoulder and channeling some sort of dark energy into its withered flesh.
In the mess hall, Nnn'tkklik'l and Gorkhan regain their psionic focus. Gorkhan hunkers down behind a table, hidden until he has to scream again.
More enemies begin rushing in. From the east, several black-robed templars charge down the hall toward Raun, who tries to smash one but is blocked by the narrow passage. The first templar charges in, stabbing Raun in the leg. The two templars behind him throw their spears. One goes wide but the other plunges into a gap in Raun's armor, its barbed head sinking deep into her flesh.
To the north, Vackus utters the words to a spell and the scroll he holds bursts into flames from which two blinding white rays of light shoot out. The first strikes Grit's tigone, blinding it.
On cue, the tareks charge in. The first rushes past the blind tigone and slams into Raun, pushing her back and making room for the other to advance. Closing with the blind tigone, the second tarek slashes at the beast around the corner, but the powerful strike is blocked within the confined space.
[ooc]You're up! The tigone is blinded til the end of this round, difficult terrain is present until the end of Round 5. Gorkhan,
Daina steps back from the creatures, glad that her summons distracted the front one. Once standing on top of Woki she yells "Tairais yuna!" then shifts ten feet farther to the east.
Raun grunts as the Tarek plows into her, sending her stumbling back, threatening to topple her in the rocky terrain. She quickly regains her balance, glaring between the two Tareks and the templar before her. As Daina's spell settles upon her, she focuses in on the templar before her, raising her hammer high.
Even as she brings it down on the first robed figure something... strange seems to be happening to her face. Her tattooed visage seems to be rippling, bulging, pressing against the sides of her open helm. As she raises her hammer again--faster than could be believed--a sickening cracking sound precedes a horrible transformation. The tattoo covering her face seems to grow, spreading out onto her helm, the lines growing more defined, and now the helm itself seems to be bulging, changing. Mere moments later the transformation is complete as from Raun's broad shoulders emerges the terrifying, drooling visage of a nightmare beast. Her hammer swings, and the giantess leans forward and down, maw opening wider than can be believed, as if to envelop the templar's head whole.
The Tigone knows where an enemy is and attacks with claw and tooth. But it is blind and only have its attacks have a chance of landing (high is always good for me.) and likely only one does.
,
,
,
,
Grit concentrates to cast a spell and then, using his enhanced move from haste closes into melee with the same enemy that his tigone attacks.
School transmutation; Level alchemist 3, druid 3, sorcerer/wizard 3
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range personal
Target you
Duration 10 minutes/level
Saving Throw see text; Spell Resistance no
You coat your body with a resinous substance, protecting you from attacks and binding weapons that strike you. You gain DR 5/piercing, as well as a +4 circumstance bonus to your CMD against disarm attempts and on saving throws against effects that cause you to drop something you are holding. Additionally, you gain a +2 circumstance bonus on combat maneuver checks to initiate a grapple, maintain a grapple, and pin a foe. Any enemy you grapple takes a –2 penalty on attempts to break the grapple and to escape the grapple using Escape Artist. Any weapon, that strikes you becomes stuck unless its wielder succeeds at a Reflex saving throw. Such a weapon can be pulled free of you only with a successful Strength check (DC = your saving throw DC for this spell). This spell has no effect on unarmed strikes or natural weapons.
As Däina steps past Woki, the halfling hops forward to take the place left open by the elf-blood. The withered flesh of the undead gladiator elicits a growl of disgust from Woki. Resolve steeled, Woki intones a prayer to the rain spirits and plunges the spear upward into the chest of the unclean one, "Dead feed the ground, no walk with living!"
To the south, Daina briefly disappears from sight before casting a spell that speeds the hearts of her friends in the mess hall.
Invigorated, Raun's hammer rises and falls like a thunderbolt, transforming the closest templar into a boneless pile of meat and black cloth. The raging half-giant turns her attention to the tarek that shoved her, smashing him with her hammer and tearing flesh with her suddenly monstrous muzzle.
The tigone attacks in a frenzy, its vision clearing as it claws at the tarek's throat, the last charge of Grit's frostbite spell freezing the blood that springs from the wound.
Stepping into the space vacated by Daina, Woki's blessed spear plunges into the chest of the closest undead gladiator, it's fire-hardened point disrupting whatever fell incantation had animated the rotten flesh. Suddenly lifeless, the corpse clatters to the ground at the halfling's feet.
Nnn'tkklik'l will manifest Vigor on Raun and Gorkhan, who the tanning of leather as the barrier they are accustomed to wading into battle with once again appears around their bodies.
The pain knifing through him, Gorkhan remains quiet, slipping past the others to confront one of the templars coming from the east. Unfortunately the pain distracted him from the focus of his attack.
Nnn'tkklik'l concentrates, pouring protective energy into Raun and Gorkhan's body through the collective.
Invigorated, Gorkhan tumbles into place next to the half-giant, holding off the remaining templars with a flashy but ill-timed slash of his blade. Having thrown his spear, the lead templar readies a heavy stone mace while his companion mutters the words to some spell and gestures towards Gorkhan.
The bard shrugs off the spell with ease, but it provides enough distraction that the templar in front is able to land a heavy blow that would have cracked a rib if not for the psionic protection.
To the north, Vackus approaches before intoning another prayer to the sorcerer-king Kalak. This time, a palpable weight falls upon you, even as the templars and tarek appear to be bolstered.
The tarek remains in the doorway, striking at Grit's tigone from cover with his halberd. He lands a heavy blow despite the awkward angle, carving deep into the animal's hide, which was already stripped of Nnn'tkklik'l's mental shield.
In the southern corridor, the undead gladiator thrusts its trident at Woki, the bone tines tearing through the psionic protection and pricking the halfling's flesh.
The necromancer peers out from behind the protection of the hall corner, dark energy crackling around her hands. With a shout, she gestures toward Nnn'tkklik'l, whose carapace snaps and cracks as dark lightning plays across the surface.
The tigone attacks from around the corner as well, slashing and biting with haste.
Grit summons a flaming sphere onto the tarek and then moves back to the left 5 feet.
Raun sways under the onslaught of spells and enemies but stands firm and quiet except for a deep growl in her now monstrous throat as she lashes out at the tarek.
Gorkhan screams through the pain and lashes out with his blade at the nearby templar.
Daina plucks the largest bead from her necklace, looking at it with sadness for a moment before giving it a brief kiss. She spring around the corner, then whips it sidearm behind Vackus, letting the fire erupt forwards.
A growl of pain slips out of Woki after the undead's stabbing with the trident which the halfling returns the favor by again driving the spear into withered flesh.
Gorkhan cuts down one of the templars and advances on the other as Raun unleashes a flurry of blows that fail to connect with the canny tarek.
The tigone lands a lucky blow against the well-armored tarek
Däina and Nnn'tkklik'l advance into the mess hall. As the thri-kreen again bolsters his clutch mates, the half-elf flings a cinnabar bead down the hall behind Vackus. It erupts in a ball of fire that scorches both Vackus and the tarek, although neither is badly burned. [ooc](Both made saves for half damage)
To the south, Woki jabs at the undead gladiator, although his spear barely seems to prick the zombie's leathery flesh.
The rotting warrior responds by stabbing the halfling again, almost tearing through his new protection. The necromancer chants the same foul spell and Woki feels his very bones begin to crack and weaken.
In the east, the remaining templar swings clumsily at Gorkhan as the tarek moves forward, slashing at Raun with its halberd. Slowed by pain and Vackus's unholy prayer, the half-giant barely avoids the powerful blow.
Scorched by Grit's flaming sphere, Vackus steps up behind the advancing tarek and raises a heavy iron mace while intoning a prayer to Kalak that causes the weapon to take on the same dark glow that the centurion's sword emitted. The dwarf templar brings the weapon down in a savage blow that crushes the stone floor where the tigone - saved only by its magically-augmented reflexes - had been crouched.
[ooc]~~~~~~~~oo~~~~~~~~
Bones feeling like they had just been put in a meal grinder, Woki wavers and clutches at the spear to keep standing. The halfling grabs the piece of burnt wood that serves as a holy symbol and loudly cries out a prayer to the spirits which causes Woki's hand to begin to glow a brilliant blue. The small cleric suddenly lashes out at the undead warrior and allows all that cleansing energy to wash through the creature.
The hasted tigone unloads his full attacks on the tarek before 5' stepping back (now that the difficult terrain is gone.
Grit steps up 5' and slices into the creature with two quick attacks.
With the troublesome rubble crumbling to dust underfoot Raun advances to loom over the Tarek, and does her best to take advantage of his split attention.
The kreen will expend psionic focus to try to get lucky and pull Vackus into the collective as a move action.
If that works, he will try to drain him as a standard. If not, he will try again to pull him in as a standard.
Gorkhan grits his teeth as his blade flashes out against the remaining templar.
A flash of blue light erupts in the southern corridor as Woki slams a glowing fist into the undead gladiator, driving out whatever dark force had animated it. Stepping over the rotting corpse, he advances on the necromancer.
Uncertainty in her eyes, she backs up down the hall before spitting out the words to a spell. Pointing the ebony rod at Woki, she sends a sends a ghostly hand streaking toward the halfling. The incantation turns into a curse as the exhausted halfling ducks beneath the attack.
In the mess hall, Grit's tigone retreats after failing to land a blow against the burly tarek. Stepping up to take its place, the mul slices through the tarek's defenses, his steel scimitar carving a bloody gash across the tarek's back.
Howling, the tarek spins under the first blow of Raun's hammer but is caught by the backswing as the half-giant moves into a flanking position. Seconds later Raun bites down on the tarek's thick skull, spraying blood and brains over herself and Grit.
Cutting down the remaining templar with a pair of well-aimed strikes, Gorkhan turns but is unable to advance past Raun.
Iron-willed Vackus brushes off Nnn'tkklik'l mental attacks with a grim smile. Uttering another prayer to Kalak, the stone-faced dwarf turns his heavy iron mace on Raun. Crackling with dark energy, the weapon smashes into the half-giant, blasting through her psionic protections.
The dwarf then retreats a few steps down the hallway, the fire of Grit's flaming sphere raising welts on his skin.
"Come now, assassins. Who has the stone to trade blows with the master of Kalak's arena?" he says, mace held ready.
Seeing that most of the enemy have fallen here Grit commands his pet to guard Woki and to attack the enemies to the south. This second part is a complex command outside the anima's training so Grit pushes the animal to do this task.
Knowing that Raun can reach over him Grit steps forward and uses his attacks to try to score a hit on Vackus.
Fed up, the kreen charges his staff with energy, telepathically screaming in strange clicks as it unleashes it at Vackus with a loud burst of sonic energy. (5PP spent)
DC 18 reflex halves
DC 18 STR check or he is knocked back 15ft into that table, taking
more damage
Daina moves over to Woki, casting bull's strength on him.
Daina moves back into the room, then casts silent image behind Vackus. It manifests as a glowing, blue and white clawed angelic figure who raises his arms threateningly. Daina gives him a laugh. "How about you fight him!"