Solomon was disturbed to find that the spellcaster had returned and was flinging missiles as he did so. The doctor wheeled the rapier back around and added a dagger to the mix, the blades attacking from both sides.
,
,
"Try this on!" Regina snapped, raising her hands and pointing at the two foes close to her. She grit her teeth, then sent as much etheric power through her hands as she could muster - and unlike her usual small spheres, this was more like a cannon blast, or perhaps a horrifically wide-spreading shotgun. Rather than just a burst of power, however, she also set part of it to try and wrap around them, and another part to reform into etheric spheres and continue to slow their advance. She'd been having trouble with single shots, so her solution here was simple - just hit everything.
Don't underestimate me just because everyone else is over there!
Snarling from the sudden pain, Jennifer steps back around the pillar, putting her hand to her smoking wound.
"I NEED SOME ASSISTANCE!" she screams to the air, but it's obvious she's not talking to anyone around her.
"A+$*+$&S," she mutters when nothing responds, as she starts scanning the area for her next target.
The foes that Aurora strikes lets of a pathetic mewling sound as she rips the spear from it. Unfortunately, the effects of the potion it drank are revealed as a dark, corrupting ichor spews from the terrible wounds, covering everyone around it - which mostly meant Aurora herself at this point.
Although only one of Nurai's claws struck her attacker it backed away, obviously badly hurt. It too drank a potion from its pouch and waited, glancing behind it at Aurora as well.
The monsters attacking Regina kept there slow advance comming...or tried to, anyway. Both were wounded and Entangled by her attacks. And the Scale Module continued to slow them further, meaning they were unable to reach her.
Solomon's dagger landed a blow, but the floating attacker dodged the rapier. It was obviously hurt, but not enough to stop it from hurling another spell at the retreating Jennifer.
The two Shamans continued there spell, power enthusing the two chosen warriors. With Jennifer around the corner the warrior moved across, bringing the crackling longspear into line with Solomon.
Valda cleared the barrel of her gun with a spell, a spark of light flickering from her fingers to the barrel.
Solomon shifted away from the spear but maintained his concentration on what he perceived to be the more powerful foe. His weapons danced with even greater accuracy as honed his focus.
,
, ,
Profane energy, echo of the restless, unglorious dead, burns Aurora deep and Reginleif deeper. She falls to the ground, writhing in pain, the spirit struggling to keep a grasp on her form.
Regina didn't bother with an entangling blast this time - but she did unleash another cannon-like blast of power on the two monsters close to her. If there was one thing she was good at, it was smashing things - a point she was determined to drive home.
Juuuuuust to be safe, though, she hopped south a moment later to make it harder for them to actually reach her.
Jennifer howls in pain as the shaman's magic missiles slam in to her. She glares at the floating creature with the promise of murder in her eyes. However, she turns the other way, whipping around the pillar hoping to surprise the warrior who stabbed her moments before. She tries to shove him off of the platform.
Nurai glared at the potion-gulping warrior who had dared to look away. "You should know better than to turn away from the shadows..." they growled together before attacking again...
As Aurora collapsed, her armour shifted and warped, leaving only a thin covering of mail on her torso and the clothes she had beneath. The pact is not broken so long as you live, and so you shall continue to do so...
The monster Solomon attacked was rended from the air by his twinned weapons. The remains of the creature fell once more into the depths. It would take some more time to hear a splash, but the third of the creature hitting rocks was audible...
The one Nurai attacked was also cut down...and the same explosion of negative energy that had hit Aurora when she had killed her foe struck Nurai/
One of Regina's attackers collapsed, unconscious but not dead. The other knelt beside it's fallen ally with a croak, pulling out a vial and pouring the contents down the warrior's throat.
Despite her huge size the smaller warrior was able to resist Jennifer, lashing out with its spear as she charged towards him.
It was a solid blow, and one that would probably have felled something not as hard as Jennifer, but as it was it certainly left a mark.
The creature spun it's spear around, however, shifting a few feet and launching another attack on Solomon. Apparently, it was less than happy that the Shaman had fallen...
With the monster it had been enhancing down one of the other Spellcasters hurled a set of magic missles at Regina.
Valda's newly re-armed gun went back to her shoulder, where she aimed at the warrior harassing Solomon and Jennifer.
Unfortunately, the shot went wide, barely.
The missiles were fiendishly precise, blowing a few holes through Regina's clothing (which was going to be VERY awkward later...) and piercing her body. She coughed out a bit of blood - even as the wounds began to shut. Noticing one of the figures trying to heal the others, though, she darted forward and let out another wide blast of power. At this pace, she could keep firing at her fastest speed for another half a minute or so before she'd need to rest for at least a moment to get some power back. One way or another, this ought to be over by them.
Solomon felt the shaman plummet out of sight and nodded in grim satisfaction just as a fiend's spear thrust wildly towards him. He deflected it with psychic energy then shifted himself further away, bringing both of his blades back around to stab at the creature that just wouldn't leave him alone.
,
,
The shadow pulled them aside as negative energy erupted from the warrior. That was a bit weird.
Looking over the now dead warrior, Nurai finally spots Aurora down. Reaching into her jacket for her wand, Nurai races over and starts casting as her wand lights up for a moment twice as she kneels beside her.
While waiting for the cast to effect and to see if she will need or want another, Nurai looks around at the enemies to see if any are enclosing on them, her eyes and brain swimming with whispers as she focuses on the shaman on the far side...
...the shadow plotted to attack while Nurai held position.
"Ow, thanks. The coward poisoned his own blood." groans Aurora, rising to her feet. "I'll be alright. Help Regina?"
Feeling the chilly air over the thin chainmail and her old Iron Maiden t-shirt, she thought a sigh at the armor. Would be nice if the pact came with a tooltip, you know. A list of what you can do.
And she hurried over to the mage engaging Jennifer, striking a glancing blow with the palm of her hand.
Conscious of the ever-present pain in her body despite the demon clouding her mind, Jennifer reaches out to grab ahold of the warrior before it dies.
Once she manages to touch the warrior in front of her, Jennifer focuses on sucking as much life force out of him as she can.
Jennifer was able to suck most of the life force from the enemy before her right before Solomon cut the rest down in a nightmarish whirl of blades.
Aurora charged into the other spellcaster with a crash, Battering it in the process. Staggering slightly, the creature moved to the edge...and dived smoothly into the pool below. The other spellcaster, seeing this, followed suit.
The badly wounded warrior was struck by Regina's blast...and detonated with a sickening thud and a brutal shockwave of force. The other warrior managed to keep there footing, but drank a potion of its own. If Regina had been a little closer, she might have been swimming...
Valda aimed and fire her heavy gun at the final remaining warrior.
The final warrior exploded in a shower of gore and flesh as Valda blasted it.
But for now, at least...combat was over.
"Ooooooooh." Regina said appreciatively. Then, "Be careful about ammo, though, yeah? I can go all day." Even as she spoke, her reserves of energy were already filling back up, and she began to move around and rejoin the others after pausing and making very sure the undead she passed were gone for good. Mmm, fire.
Conversely, Jennifer drops to her hands and knees, breathing deeply. The few wounds she has are blackened at the edges. She doesn't look very well.
Nurai nodded in agreement though as she began to move around she saw that the remaining enemies were now gone. She paused, taking a moment to look around as she heal her shadow, trying to ignore her own lingering injuries for the moment. Her responsibilities had to come first..
Holding her hands over the wounded librarian, Aurora reached for the wellspring of energy inside, an echo of mead. For a moment, the girl intensely smelled like honey. Meanwhile, her armor returned to a blue-and-silver full plate with fur-lined pauldrons.
"Munu ósánir akrar vaxa; bǫls mun alls batna mun Baldr koma."
Regina glanced down at her clothes as she moved, frowning at the rips and tears. "I liked these..." she complained. But then, it had been her choice to not wear armor. Maybe she SHOULD have gone for something a little more durable before coming out here. As Aurora healed the others - something Regina didn't need, since her injuries had already shut - the Ethermancer peered forward to see what else might be lurking here.
Jennifer nods in thanks to Aurora, and then sniffs at her jacket in confusion where the Valkyrie's hands were when she isn't looking.
"Why did they jump?" she asks, eyeing where she saw the final shaman dive into the pit below.
"Given one could fly, they both probably can too. I#m guessing they're falling back rather than fighting us directly." Valda looked around at all the dead creatures. "Which is probably wise, really."
"Want me to throw a fireball down there and see how deep it goes?" Regina asked, legitimately curious about the actual depth there.
"Yes, obviously."
Solomon considered for only a second before nodding approvingly. "You know, down here I really don't care what you blow up. Please, by my guest."
He then took a moment to thank Aurora before considering the situation further.
"I can transport myself and one other person down. Technically I can probably get more, but not all at once." He remarked with a shrug.
Nurai considered as she caught up with the others. Nurai further agreed with the fireball plan. "Sounds like a plan. .at least a start to trying to figure this place out." she said, eyeing the weird bones underfoot as she walked, a bit hopeful to spot a more solid path to walk down. This floaty island was creepy and Nurai worried about dropping into an ambush.
Regina snapped her fingers, summoning up a sphere of flames above one hand. After another moment of concentration, adding the extra ether necessary to let it go the distance, she hurled it over the edge (towards where the shaman seemed to be going) and watched to see what happened. "Best distance I've ever done is a hundred and fifty feet or so. If it burns out before hitting the bottom..." Well, they wouldn't know exactly how deep it was, but they would at least know it was deeper than that.
She wasn't expecting to actually hit any of their foes - that would just be a nice bonus.
"Oooh, look at the pretty fireworks. Regina, can I hire you for special effects next time we play Thunderstruck?"
The fireball fell about 200 feet before sizzling out in the water below. It briefly illuminated some kind of structure at the end of the path winding around the walls...and something moved beneath the water.
Something pretty big...
Jennifer looks back at the doors they came through leading back to the house.
"Can we destroy the gate from here back to the house? Wouldn't that solve the problem?"
"I can do lightning..." Regina said, conjuring sparks between a few of her fingers. "...Is it bad if I feel more like a Sith than a Jedi when I do that?" Sure, Force Lightning was a 'bad guy' power, but it was cool to actually do.
More seriously, though... "Looks like we'll need to take the long way to actually get down there. Let's get going - before they have too much time to plan reinforcements. Also, uh, I'll see if I can zap the thing in the water from max range."
"I'm all for sanitizing the water before we go stepping into it." Solomon responded. "Literally and figuratively."
The simple answer is that it depends on what the dimension was built to do, and how it works. In a simple Demi-Plane destroying its access would leave the Plane itself intact, but another entrance could then be formed to a new location - the real world, in a pinch.
But if this more of a dimensional bubble, a defense measure or trap...Usually such are built that destroying the gateways would cause unpleasantness. The collapse of this dimension, with yourselves in it, would be...less than friendly.
There are several other possible options, though. Defeating whatever caused the security measure to trip is an obvious one - once it's gone the magic should revert to normal. Forcing a return to reality is another, if you can find the spell that has caused this. There are others, of course...
Aurora scratches her head. "Is that, like, a whole city? Eldritch abomination or not, I'm not much one for genocide."
Freeze them all in merciless ice, shatter bones, purge the Jotun in svartalf starmetal Shut UP, Reginleif!
Nurai considered Jennifer's idea and the other's comments, "The only story I've heard of fully destroying gateways to our plane from someone who did it involved several specialized tools, a massive release of energy...and a large portion of mountain exploding. Hopefully we can find a different disconnection method from that or genocide... sanitizing the water with Dark Side lightning while heading down does sound like a possible start..." Nurai said as she started to head to the weird bony bridge toward the other platform as she looked for the safest route down or anything else that might help get this over with and get Valda back in control of her new odd house...
"It's not big enough to be a whole city," Valda murmured, looking down. "Not unless it goes underwater too, in which case we're pretty screwed. But it doesn't look like it. Just...what was that...a shrine, maybe? And whatever is in the water."
"It's true that I'd be a terrible Jedi..." Regina mused. "I have way too much fun blasting things." As she moved forward, she kept an eye on the water - and once she was at maximum range, a hundred and fifty feet up, she sent a bolt of lightning streaking down towards the water. She was planning to keep pumping electricity into it, to either provoke a reaction or outright eliminate whatever was in there.
"I doubt that it'll hamper them much, But I'll try to make their approach as hard as I can. Stay close, I'll call Winter."
Wind coming from nowhere howls around Aurora, her long hair fluttering in the gale. "Svart var þa sólskin / of sumur eptir / veðr ǫll válynd."
A short distance from her, a layer of brine appears on the ground as moisture freezes rapidly.
Nurai nodded in slight relief to Valda's comment as she looked at the shrine Valda pointed out and then down in general, pausing a moment to try to detect anything magic, beyond the group's, that might be of use or importance
"I think I'd be awful at anything that dismisses feeling...or calls itself 'the Light Side'" the kayal avatar said with a smile to Regina as Nurai moved closer to Aurora, not wanting to take any chances with the Winter a Norse woman could call up...
Solomon concentrated in silence as the others seemed to have a sense of direction going forward. He reached out with his mind to passively probe the nature of the area around him.
The thing in the water stirred at the sudden bolt of lightning from Regina. It didn't seem terribly happy with it.
Aurora's spell begins to coat the area in cold and ice. It doesn't reach the whole distance to the bottom, of course, since that extends 200 feet down.
Nurai doesn't sense anything magical within range.
The walls appears to be granite and basalt - hard, igneous rocks. The hole you're in was likely a section of softer stone worn away by flowing water from somewhere. It also registers as quite real.
As they slowly moved down, Regina hurled a bolt of lightning every twenty seconds or so, carefully watching to see if she was actually hitting anything. If possible, her goal was to use the extended range of her bolts and eliminate the problem before it became a real threat to the group.
"Well, whatever sort of place we're in, it's real enough. It feels like our reality too, so I don't think we've drifted into another plane. A bubble dimension, sure, but at least it's a bubble of home." Solomon announced somewhat passively. He kept his eyes closed to focus on the unseen around him as the group found its way down.
"That makes me feel better, I'd rather be on solid rock paths than the weird bone platforms..." Nurai commented, still not entirely sure how the things were being held up, as she followed Regina in slowly moving down the path, watching what was going on around them,hoping to catch whatever the next horrible thing coming their way before it could get too close. The shadows flexed their claws impatiently at the slow pace which the summoner did her best to ignore.
Once a bit down the solid path, Nurai reached to get her wand and moved towards Jennifer. Two healers in case whatever that is is a Yoda fan. Parts of the wand lit dimly for a moment...
and then for a second moment...
the light no brighter before Nurai sighed, "Very real place but very weird..." Nurai commented mainly to herself as she took a few steps further down to keep up and consider what to do next...
After the first couple of shots whatever it was in the water dipped deep down into the water. There was no telling how deep it was, but it was hard enough to track it once it flashed beneath the surface, and the lightning too weak to make the whole pool lethal.
At the bottom, as you approach, an eerie green light flickers into existence, strange green flames lighting the area one after another. It illuminated the bottom of the cavern. The path connects to three long pillars in the middle, some kind of building suspended between the three. The two spellcasters from earlier stand on the smaller ones, blind eyes focused on you.
Within the building a sickening green glow flows out.
Bow, mortals, a harsher voice than the one before whispered. You stand twice in the aura of the Father. Devote yourself to Him and be spared.
Aurora dismissed the cold, too unpractical to use in combat, and whirled Geidihr in a show of prowess. Defiant phrases and boisterous boasts ran through her mind, but simplicity came to her lips as an answer. "Bite me, Fishface."