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"Thank you for the healing, Algor", Tico bows to the shaman.
Hrrmm, the Prince's speech seems an idea time for the dishonorable to pose their third attack.
"You're right. We must keep our eyes wide open."
The cleric starts to walk, surrounding the crowd, while taking a look around and waiting for Prince Zinlo's speech.
When the prince appears, Tico will bless the party with the divine power of Sarenrae.
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As the group approaches the plaza, Braugher will cast a few arcane rites to prepare for the upcoming ambush.
As the group arrives, Braugher splits off and waits in the wings as he expects there to be some sort of attack in the vein of the attack on the Serenites.
"We should circle out along the edges of the crowd and, I think, Tico should stay near where the Prince will stand in case there is an immediate need for healing." he advises to the group before disappearing into the crowd.
Shortly after you arrive, the great glass doors of the city palace open, revealing a lean, handsome man clad in noble’s regalia. Prince Zinlo strides to the wide balcony’s railing as a cheer erupts from the citizens gathered in the plaza, overwhelming the sounds of music and laughter beyond. After a moment, Prince Zinlo raises his hand to hush the crowd and the people immediately grow silent. “Aspenthar,” he begins, but is cut off immediately by more cheering. With another raised hand, he silences the crowd once more.
As he smiles and begins to speak again, Algor spots something out of the corner of his eye: a man kneeling just on the edge of the northern building, an arrow knocked in his bow and aimed at Prince Zinlo!
Unfortunately Algor's spell is not strong enough to blind the assassin and the man lets off his arrow. The yellow-, black-, and maroonfletched
arrow strikes the prince in the chest, and he falls
over behind the balcony’s railing.
From somewhere near the stage a voice calls out, "Death to Aspenthar! Long live Pashow!"
After the assassination, the crowds panic.
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Fendahl, seeing the arrow's source (presumably) will order Kirrah to attack the assassin.
Kirrah, attack! he points up to the archer.
The lioness growls loudly with a snarl at the archer and bounds towards the building at high speed. With a leap she starts to cling to the sides of the building.
for +26 jump or +21 climb with 25' movement remaining.
Fendahl will stride forward 20' and summon a "normal" (non-dire) tiger to the top of the building to harass the assassin.
Causing a tiger to the rooftop which pounces towards the assassin.
Aug Tiger for grab
Aug Tiger for grab
Aug Tiger for grab
Aug Tiger for
Aug Tiger for
Aug Tiger
Kirrah struggles to reach the assassin, clawing at the building and leaving large gouges with her claws in the sandstone surface. Fendahl's other tiger ally on top of the roof has better luck, however, hitting the assassin twice and holding on for good measure.
Algor tries to calm the crowds but they seem far too panicked right now. Oswin's help does little to calm their frenzy. Braugher is at least able to hit the assassin with a set of missiles.
Tico throws a ball of fire onto the roof to catch the assassin but the man seems to throw himself to the ground quickly to avoid the conflagration completely.
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Algor vocalizes his thoughts for all to hear, using more words that any mere mortal could fit into a mere six seconds, presumably a skill only a trained orator with an agenda such as Algor could attain.
"Peohple... I'm not ehven sure that was the reahl Prince Zihn-lo... I observed several details that whoever stahged this overlooked. Something than any careful observahtion would dehtect..."
Owyn seems to have a commanding authority that catches the crowd's attention and many of them start to push towards the streets and alleys to the southwest to avoid the confrontation taking place.
The sniper up top seems to be out of his element face-to-face with a lion. He tries desperately to break away.
Breaking away, he steps to the corner of the building and raises his bow again.
Suddenly a figure leaps down from the balcony, although this is clearly not Prince Zinlo. Blue-skinned and draped in revealing attire, this humanoid fiend has a sultry gaze suggesting all manner of debased pleasures. It takes a deep breath and blows out a swarm of wasps at the fleeing citizens.
Pairakas pride themselves on perversion. They love nothing more than turning lovers against one another or destroying the bonds of friendship. Pairakas feed off this slow torment and savor each broken heart or disappointment. They use lust and sexuality as their primary tools, wielding taboos and carnal appetites to sever once-friendly relationships. Pairakas also use their seduction to spread disease, charming victims into physical contact.
Just as all other divs suffer a weakness, pairakas cannot stand the color red. They never wear the color or enter a place that is painted red, and they always attack creatures that are garbed in clothes of a crimson hue first.
Just them yet another div appears in the plaza. Moving with deadly grace, this brutal, thickly furred humanoid figure’s head is that of a lioness with dead black eyes. It stands poised to swipe down as many fleeing citizens as it can reach.
Shiras prefer hunting alone, keeping company with even others of their own kind only long enough to form temporary hunting bands. With a hunger for intelligent prey, they savor the taste of mortal souls, savaging not just victims’ bodies but also their vital essences. Despite being the most feral of all divs, shiras sometimes serve as scouts and assassins for div hordes. Such arrangements usually prove to be temporary, however, lasting only until the shiras’ savage instincts or lust for the hunt again takes hold. Shiras never go after an easy kill, and instead target the most obviously powerful of the possible targets. When acting on this compulsion, a shira weighs its chances for survival and the glory of its intended kill, planning its tactics carefully and not necessarily charging savagely forth. Though savage, a shira is also a cunning hunter and might wait weeks for the perfect opportunity to bring down its chosen prey.
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Owyn drops his crossbow in surprise at the appearance of not one but two demons! His look of shock quickly turns to a snarl as he draws his longsword and brandishes it at the feline-looking beast, shouting "Foul creature, you'll not lay a hand on the innocent!"
Seemingly in response, the cat-demon seems to glow with a faint white aura . The paladin then moves 20 ft. right up to the beast, putting all his strength behind the weapon's swing.
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Algor, mostly expressionless since the moment you met him, appears to scowl for the briefest moment.
"The blue-skinned fiend is cleahrly not natural, otherwise I'd idehtify it for you all... the same goes for this latest dihv..."
Algor strides purposefully ahead, seeking to deal with the supernaturally summoned swarms.
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Fendahl lets the roof-tiger keep after the assassin.
With a snarl, it steps forward to try and harass the archer again.
Aug Tiger for
Aug Tiger for
Aug Tiger for
The tiger cannot seem to land a paw or tooth on the dodging archer.
Kirrah, attack! Fendahl commands as he strides forward, pointing to the tall cat-like demon by Owyn.
The frustrated lioness charges towards the beast-demon and leaps to pounce on the creature .
Kirrah
for grab
Kirrah
for
Kirrah
for
Kirrah
for
Kirrah
for
Fendahl will stop to look up and cast Faerie Fire upon the assassin to ensure it does not try to sneak away should the tiger fall.
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"You're right, Algor! The blue one is a pairaka div. It is resistant to acid, electricity and spells and immune to fire. And it's better hurted by weapons of cold iron or good aligned weapons."
Tico moves close to Fendahl and spends a charge from the Holy Staff to cast align weapon on Fendahl's katana.
Owyn bravely stands up to the div, bravely marching forward and bravely ordering it to leave the citizens alone. He then bravely misses and teaches the frightened people a lesson that everyone makes mistakes sometimes.
Algor's eco-friendly controlled burn takes out one of the wasp swarms!
Fendahl's rooflion isn't quick enough for the assassin but Kirrah also has trouble injuring the div in the plaza even when she strikes it.
Tico then blesses Fendahl's blade to make him more effective against the div than the cat.
green div: 7 dmg
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The group appears to have the new additions under control so Braugher retains his gaze on the assassin on the rooftop. "Handle the divs and I will assist your summoned beast in the detention of the assassin." Braugher advises as he tumbles through the swarms of wasps, pulling clean without a single sting.
As he stands, he blesses himself, Tico, Fendahl, Kirrah and Owyn with Haste.
Oswin and Braugher prepare for the fight as the assassin, not liking his position against the lion on the roof, rolls backward and tries to land on the street below.
The man lands as softly as he can from a 30' drop, rolling into the street and coming up on one knee with his bow drawn, firing an arrow at Fendahl for sending the lion after him.
The wasps continue to harass the crowds, who are growing panicked again and losing momentum. The blue-skinned div tries to use the confusion against you, playing with Braugher's mind with dirty thoughts of the most debased pleasures.
The shira div goes for a more direct approach by savagely attacking Kirrah:
green div: 7 dmg
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The assassin escapes the tiger on the roof. His single arrow is thwarted by Fendahl's enhanced protections and misses the shaman.
Kirrah fares much worse however, with a bite narrowly missing but the second claw digging deep into the lioness and grasping tightly.
Fendahl uses the opportunity to dash around to the east side, near Braugher, and slashes once at the Div holding Kirrah.
Release her NOW!
Fendahl
for vs grappled AC
Fendahl
for vs grappled AC
Kirrah, does not understand the words of Fendahl, but is not ready to surrender without a fight.
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Easily shrugging off the weak enchantment, Braugher follows through with his plan. The tengu smiles as the man plummets to the ground. "You choose the bird over the beast and that will be your mistake..." he proclaims proudly as he charges the assassin, leaping into the air at the last moment and headbutting the man with his Helm of the Mammoth Lord.
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This time, Tico moves close to Owyn and spends another charge from the Holy Staff to cast align weapon (good) on his weapon.
Fendahl rushes in to protect his lion ally, his blessed scimitar cutting through the div better than Kirrah's claws.
Braugher decides to chase down the assassin, although the man is too quick and steps aside to avoid the helm-blow at the last second.
Oswin continues to prepare himself as Owyn starts hacking into the furry div.
green div: 138 dmg
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Algor groans as the majority of wasps still plague citizens.
"Peohple... this is what happens when such creatures are dehnied their nahtural habitats!"
Nonetheless, he comes to the people's aid since, after all, they provide the main source of revenue for book sales on such matters, and a person who has first hand experience like this is more likely than average to buy a book.
Tico rushes over to Oswin and blesses his weapon against the divs.
Algor puts his rhetorical skills to work to try to usher the people from the plaza to keep them safe. He seems to have some sort of captivating skill that grabs their attention and they start to rush down the alleys, nearly completely dispersing into the city and away from the action.
---
Obviously more confident in his skills with a bow than hand-to-hand combat, the assassin steps back from Braugher and fires three arrows at the tengu!
The furry shira div tries to keep its hold on Kirrah, squeezing the kitty tight.
Meanwhile the swarms, deprived of helpless citizens to harass, move against the party!
Finally, the blue-skinned div begins a spell.
green div: 138 dmg
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The rooftop tiger springs across the gap to the adjacent building and scampers down the stairs.
Fendahl does not know what the blue Div is up to, but he suspects it cannot be good.
Kirrah, hold on, you will be fine.
The shaman-samurai charges to the spell casting Div.
Hrrmm, we have had enough of your kind for one day!
Fendahl
for
Kirrah snarls at the furry div holding her, and bites and claws it
Fendahl leaves the others to clean up the furry div. Kirrah's claws are not wholly effective, but Owyn's sword cleaves the div in two in one heavy swing. Fendahl's attack luckily disrupts the blue div's spell.
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Tico was engulfed by the swarm, that poisoned him, making him cough repeatedly.
The poison obscured his vision, making his reflexes more slow, but he was still in the fight.
The cleric leaves the swarm's area and moves close to Braugher and Owyn. Once there, he calls the powers of Sarenrae:
"Burn with the sacred flames of Sarenrae, damned!", then a fireball is launched against the swarm that was still disturbing Oswin.
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Braugher avoids the first arrow, but the lucky bastard is able to land two more on the tengu as he pulls the fletchings from his shoulder. "You should have just submitted..." he warns as he unleashes his magical powers.
His black and white feathers thrum with power as runes appear in the air and Braugher disappears from view. "Now we can have fun..." he says before moving silently under the guise of Greater Invisibility.
Algor tries to take out the invasive species by breathing fire onto the warms, decimating one of the populations but leaving the other struggling along with just enough members left to do some damage. Tico follows Algor's advice and burns away another population of wasps.
Meanwhile Braugher decides that he does not like being stuck with arrows and so turns invisible.
yel swarm: 19 dmg