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Arcalinte blinks in shock when he hears Isu's voice.
And then he realizes the truth of the illusion.
"Get out of there, Isu! he calls. "Sarenrae says 'The best battle is a battle I win! If I die, I can no longer fight! I will fight fairly when the fight is fair, and I will strike quickly and without mercy when it is not!' Get back here, please!"
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[dice]d20+
While most of the group are eyeing the cliffs north of them to figure a way around this monster, Isu is unrelenting in his attacks against it. He swings once, missing narrowly, and then delivers an incredible blow that knocks the beast over with a flash of lightning.
The worm pulls itself up off the rocky path, bewildered at the impact, and shines its faceted eyes around in an attempt to find the source of the danger. Likely rather spooked by this experience, it retreats cautiously away from the rocky avalanche.
Spectre looks at the cliffs to the north and northwest and finds that in most areas the temple is abutting the cliffs directly, leaving no space for a jump-jet landing. The best bet appears to be a plateau to the NW (marked w/ a yellow x on Roll20), but even that is 100ft up and almost that far away... his jump jets might have a hard time getting all the way there.
|||| INIT ||||
Ted
Isu (30 dmg)
Sydney
Arc
Solaria (Fort save again next round)
Spectre (7 temp HP)
Ralkawi (nauseated from disease)
??? Worm Creature (36 dmg, provoked AoO from Isu)
Bold are up!
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Spectre gives up on looking for a place to jump jet to. It's simply too high for him to reach.
Turning back, and with notice that the rockfall is an illusion, his sensors are able to determine that it is a clever overlay, one that easily tricked his programming the first time.
He shoots through the illusion, but it still impairs his aim.
Round 3:
Sydney yo-yos back towards her companions when she realizes they'd rather stay and fight. She attempts to look through Ted's fog so she can fire at her target. Sydney succeeds in looking through the fog, but becomes paralyzed by the worm again!
Ted sends a trio of force bolts through the air that leave dark green welts across the worm creature's body. It spins from side to side, tormented by its inability to find the source of its agony. Spectre follows with a shot that ripples just to the right of the beast. And unfortunately Isu's opportunistic attack falls far short of impacting the creature as it starts backing up.
Its bewilderment is obvious to all of you, as is the fact that its looking quite injured!
|||| INIT ||||
Ted
Isu (30 dmg)
Sydney
Arc
Solaria (Fort save again next round)
Spectre (7 temp HP)
Ralkawi (nauseated from disease)
??? Worm Creature (48 dmg)
Bold are up!
Round 3:
Sydney yo-yos back towards her companions when she realizes they'd rather stay and fight. As a Swift Action, she take out her Static Arc Pistol as she moves. Tossing it forward into the air and catching it by the handle. She twirls it once in her hand upon catching it and fires: shooting arm crossed above her free arm forming a horizontal X. She calls out loudly: "Why we fighting this thing? Can't we just break a window and sneak in?" One of Sydney's pod racing buddies had a collection of aluminum bats. She wished she had one now. Causing some misdemeanor-level destruction in this backwoods hellhole (infested with cultists) sounded great. Sydney wasn't the least bit interested in the ancient ruins. All she wanted was to get paid and get a gods-d@%& cheeseburger and french fries smothered in hot sauce. Was that too much to ask?
Solaria does her best to shake off the creature's paralyzing gaze.
and finally manages to break her body free from the worm's influence. She holds back from drawing attention to herself with a feint or attack, considering how confused the creature is right now.
-
Arc takes up refuge inside the illusion, readying himself in case the worm attacks.
-----
Sydney sends a sparking shot from her pistol through the illusion that catches the worm off guard, scorching its hide. It turns its eyes on the massive pile of rubble, but once more its not able to make heads or tails of this unusually dangerous mass of rocks. Rather than risk further injury, it flees away from danger, wiggling its way up the stairs to the north.
----
|||| Final Status ||||
Ted
Isu (30 dmg)
Sydney
Arc
Solaria
Spectre (7 temp HP)
Ralkawi (nauseated from disease)
??? Worm Creature (56 dmg, fled combat)
Isu rushes after the creature but finds that it moves fast! He just barely sees its tail disappearing over the landing at the top of the stairs. He sends a laser blast at it for good measure, but the shot is far off the mark. Spectre rushes over to join Isu, but by the time he gets line of sight on the long stone staircase ascending the side of the temple, the worm has already slipped out of sight.
A few seconds later however, the worm lets out a keening cry that can probably be heard all over the plateau. It gurgles, there's the sound of a heavy thump, and then silence.
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** spoiler omitted **
Isu rushes after the creature but finds that it moves fast! He just barely sees its tail disappearing over the landing at the top of the stairs. He sends a laser blast at it for good measure, but the shot is far off the mark. Spectre rushes over to join Isu, but by the time he gets line of sight on the long stone staircase ascending the side of the temple, the worm has already slipped out of sight.
A few seconds later however, the worm lets out a keening cry that can probably be heard all over the plateau. It gurgles, there's the sound of a heavy thump, and then silence.
Arcalinte follows after Isu.
"Isu, please! Let me take point! You're injured!"
You ascend up the stone steps as a group, Arc taking the lead and the rest of the team not too far behind. When you reach the top of the plateau, you're greeted by a beautiful vista - the jungle wreathed mountains of the Singing Range rise in a perfect cascade. On the plateau itself, you see the front side of the temple rising grandly up towards the sky. A set of double doors made of intricately carved red wood are securely closed in the center. In front of the temple is a courtyard that sports a series of weathered stone pillars in a rough semi-circle, each pillar carved with unusual markings - circles and lines interconnecting in a myriad of ways.
The worm monster lies dead in the courtyard, steam rising from an already-cauterized wound that sheared its guts open. A humanoid surveys the corpse and then turns his attention to your group as you approach. The man has blue-grey skin, glowing golden eyes, and elven features. He holds an archaic looking ranseur at the ready, but one that glows brightly with heat and light. His armor seems similarly archaic, featuring metal plates and straps of animal hide rather than the advanced materials of today's equipment.
He raises his free hand as if to warn you or ward you off. Then he intones in a clear voice, speaking in ancient, but still roughly understandable elven. "Im veren cin, glenn- baw goáran gwehe. E fána sohe ú- n- feres. Mihei, a rinn- na i voann cin tul o."
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Arcalinte's eyes widen at the sight of this apparent guardian and steps to the front of the group, displaying his solar armor and raising his hands so this sentinel can see them.
"Sídh na cin, tiri-o hi near! Mín ceri-ú-foeg na tul-breged hi. Mín mellon na-hi dan hen anír-na n-lain na hi near. Mín iest na lain hen. Im Arcalinte Soter-o i Tinuferedirs. Cin?"
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After pausing 10 minutes to regain his strength, Isu followers Arc up the rest of the stairs.
His eyes widen at the sight of the old elf...thing. That looks like a solarian. He gasps and whisper.
"Arcalinte Soter... could it be? It is you. When you get old you must travel back in time and protect this place. This type of thing happens all the time. I read about it in my favorite graphic novel, "The Adventures of Captain Mustachio and his Merry Band of Drunk Brothers.""
The fellow raises a hand and traces out a symbol, probably religious in the air in front of him before speaking "E feila sorevi -o i elena. Im et Panelliar, anor ech -o i eirkin. Ha na- mui dutui na tiri- hi near dan tuin van etre davara ben mehel mui núr's dona-kei."
"Im feil ú- -o otal gweg cin ped-, ne goah -o lashunta a e coiein etara lui. Im feise hain sui pata -o i tinu-magia, a sebei im abia hain awaui, i leata ceidena a gúl vo polodren a im vo-fore na ceire. Ha maui n- i cín mellon na- ameco hain."
"I know not of which person you mention, but a band of lashunta and an unfamiliar humanoid being arrived recently. I recognized them as pawns of the Star-Eater, and although I turned them away, the leader's conviction and magic were strong and I was forced to relent. It may be that your friend is among them."
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Arcalinte rolls his eyes at Ted's words.
"He hasn't attacked us yet, and if we don't pull anything funny I imagine it'll stay that way. His name's Panelliar and he protects this place. He saw the people we're looking for."
He turns back to Panelliar.
"I coiein etara cin saw na-indire i gweg mín're megana an. Tuin lashunta volare hen na tegi-hain hi. Whau ceri-cin foeg cin vo-fore na ceire? Whui did theui ú-destroui cin an beii i te waui?"
The undead elf speaks with a hint of regret in his cold, clear voice.
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Arcalinte sighs.
He turns back to the group.
"Ted, Isu...He says Tahomen cast a spell on him that forced him to obey him. Can either of you break it with your own magic?"
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Spectre isn't happy with the turn of events.
"Is there some other way around that does not require you to break your oath? Time is of the essence."
Arcalinte gives a disappointed look to Spectre, though it's more at the situation than Spectre's perfectly warranted suggestion.
"Spectre, it's not an oath making Panelliar oppose us, it's a magical compulsion. Unless we can break Tahomen's spell, we're going to have to fight him. And I don't think he speaks Galactic Common."
Panelliar nods solemnly.
"I understand that you have a noble goal and regret that it cannot be otherwise. I will warn you that I was chosen as guardian because my connection to the cosmos is strong. I fear much of your blood will be spilled should it come to that."
"And so, as all cycles return to the beginning, I must once more say: Go no further. Turn back to the lands you hail from."
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Arcalinte rolls his eyes a bit.
"Isu, he's not me from the future. He's...well...was...a full-elf, not a half-elf like me. And he uses a solar weapon. I have solar armor. And he's only speaking in Elven, if he was me from the future, he would have addressed us in Common so we'd understand him. And his name's Panelliar."
He turns back to Panelliar.
Then he looks at the surroundings to see if there's an answer to Spectre's question.
Panelliar is still for a moment, the only movement the ebb and flow of solar energy from his weapon. After what seems like almost a minute, he intones the verdict.
Arc inspects the area around the building from his vantage point. It seems that Panelliar is bound to guard the entire plaza, including the entry door on this side of the building. There are no other obvious entrances.
Panelliar also offers some useful information.
Panelliar hefts his solar polearm and responds to Arc's suggestion.
And assuming Ted's suggestion is relayed to Panelliar, he adds
The team readies their weapons and for a moment there's just a stare down between your team and the undead elf. He nods to Arc and utters something in his ancient elven tongue, then twirls his weapon into a more combat-ready posture.
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[/dice]
|||| INIT ||||
Ted
Panelliar
Arc
Isu
Spectre
Ralkawi
Bold are up!