"Hmmm, well it's certainly a puzzle. Though for who? The demons or the people of Sarkoris..." Val leans over, examining the marks a bit closer. "What domains did Laktharis lay claim to? Perhaps the symbols relate to his power in some way."
"It appears the door is not connected to anything. It should not be able to be supported as it is now, it is not even contacting the ground. It is very possible it was added later to keep others out, or even perhaps in..." she says to the others.
"Seguryd? Os nad Laktharis ddim eisiau i ni fyfyrio ei dychymyg, beth fyddai ganddo ni ei wneud? Streic lawr ei drws?" Ehren says to Houna, half-smiling. In spite of his joking tone, he steps forward to brush his hand against the door, and looks upon it with detect magic.
"Pa feysydd oedd yn caniatáu Laktharis at ei ddilynwyr?" Shyael asks of Houna.
Houna seems confused at the question. "Feysydd? Beth ydych chi'n ei olygu?"
Shyael pauses, thinking of a way to explain herself. "Pa fath o alluoedd hud oedd yn bestow at ei clerigwyr?"
The cultist scratches her wolf between the ears, shaking her head. "Alluoedd? Nid oedd Laktharis credu mewn heresi o'r fath. Bendithiodd ein hynafiaid gyda chynaeafau hael a'i ddoethineb ddiddiwedd. Cyn belled â bod un yn dilyn ei ddysgeidiaeth, maent yn cael eu addo dragwyddoldeb o -" she is interrupted as Ehren brushes his hand across the door... and suddenly finds it stuck.... the entire door is covered in a thin layer of some sort of gooey substance!
"What domains did Laktharis grant his followers?"
"Domains? What do you mean?"
"Pa fath o alluoedd hud oedd yn bestow at ei clerigwyr?"
"Magic? Laktharis did not believe in such heresy. He blessed our ancestors with bountiful harvests and his endless wisdom. As long as one follows his teachings, they are promised an eternity of -"
Surprise Round!
A seam appears down the vertical center of the door, opening wide into an enormous maw of teeth. It speaks -
Xanderghul, Houna, and Hrida obediently lay prone on the ground without a second thought, though the other heroes are able to ward off the compulsion's effects from their mind.
Initiative!
Initiative Order
1. Ehren
2. Houna, Shyael
3. Valaria
4. Xanderghul
5. Hinagiku
6. Ary
7. Door Monster, Hrida
8. Isilme
Identification Checks!
----
Round 1!
Ehren is up!
"Barzul! That's no door, it's a mimic! They're entire hide is covered in a sticky adhesive. Don't touch it with your bare hands!"
Xanderghul looks up from his place on the ground, squinting at the door-creature. As Valaria shouts out that it's a mimic, he remembers about that particular kind of creature. "A mimic is merely a part of what this creature is. It's a half-fiend mimic. Expect spoken blasphemies, resistance to the elements and smiting."
"My recommendation is magical ranged weapons, to avoid its sticky hide and to counter its quick healing abilities."
Ary closes her eyes and pinches the bridge of her nose as Xanderghul manages to insult everyone. Again. "No... those were clerics of Sarenrae, not Iomedae, that did the majority of the work that they specialize in. Likewise... gods, even through their clerics, are only able to channel so much power into the world - it's not unreasonable to assume that a highly specialized mage - or druid - could afford the extra investment, which wouldn't have as high a likelihood of fallout." choosing not to let him have the last word, before finishing.
"Isilme, that's the 'kill people' kind of Blasphemies he's talking about. We can't let those get through."
Xanderghul chuckles. "So you're telling me the gods aren't at fault because they can't utilize their power as much as a powerful wizard could?" He runs his hand through his hair and smiles widely. "Well, Praise Nethys, then! Wait, no, that's not quite right, is it?" He looks faux-confused, holding his temple and scrunching his brow. "Oh, gods, who do I pay devotion to?" He snaps his fingers as if coming to a sudden conclusion. "I feel as if some benefit of the doubt would be advantageous for me to have, when jesting about things that I couldn't possibly mean seriously," he says, his manner suddenly serious.
Ary gives a short salute to the woman, "I'm hoping to follow in his footsteps in that regard -" she says, before getting distracted by Xanderghul and Valais.
"No. I'm telling you that Miracles are often reserved for things of significant importance - for now, it is in our hands to help Valais make the choice that is right for her, and help her to gain the power to do so. The gods have god-level things to worry about. An ancient druid or mortal wizard, on the other hand, doesn't have to worry about not being a pompous ass." Ary responds, with no humor.
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Ehren grimaces, having realized his foolish mistake far too late. Now, he was glued to one of those aforementioned monstrosities. However, he did not feel too foolish. After all, he had cracked the door's riddle... after a fashion. They really did have to strike the door down. He could not help but find it a little funny that he had managed to do the one thing one shouldn't do to a mimic. It becomes significantly less funny when Ehren hears the word "blasphemies."
I hate being right... the druid thinks as he gently tugs on his arm, testing the adhesive's strength. It does not take much effort for him to know that he wasn't going anywhere soon. Instead, he presses his other hand against his chest and draws on the power of the ley, while calmly uttering another blessing. His magic covers him from head to toe, toughening his skin.
"Ah, I see. Is a miracle something that you think would actually fix her? I'm asking at this point not to be contrary, but truly out of curiosity. Something as powerful as regenerate did not do so, and the scholars don't even believe that killing her and bringing her back to life would work, right?" Xanderghul raises an eyebrow. "You think it's just a matter of the caliber of magic used, don't you?"
Shyael shakes her head. "You know, this is precisely why they don't trust you wizards. You're so quick to dismiss their own beliefs because they don't line up with your own. Perhaps you could learn a bit of humility and accept that there's magic you don't understand."
"Anghenfil budr, sut chi halogi deml sanctaidd Laktharis!" Houna growls. She stands, drawing her bow and notching an arrow in it.
"Erastil, may my shot be true," Shyael murmurs, her bow glimmering with golden light. She fires, but the shot arcs too high, bouncing harmlessly off of the ceiling.
Valaria is up!
Val fumes. She draws her enchanted knife and steps in, slashing at the creature and relying on her natural speed to avoid getting caught by its adhesive skin.
Xanderghul picks himself off of the ground with a grunt, grinning. "But talking philosophy is what makes combat so interesting!" he shouts. He gets wholly up onto his feet, takes a step back to stabilize his pose, and raises his hand above his head. An arcane phrase later and a crackling purple whip comes out of his upraised hand. He flings it forward with a 'hup!', and it speeds forward.
If it hits, and it gets past the creature's natural resistance to magic, it adheres to the creature's hide, wrapping around the creature's jaw and mouth. As long as it remains connected, it saps the creature's strength.
Valaria's magically attuned star knife cleaves cleanly through the monster's flesh, revealing it to be much softer than the iron door it has disguised itself as. Xanderghul attempts to ensure the creature in a magical whip, but unfortunately his toss falls short, and it harmlessly slips off the creature's body and disappears.
Hinagiku is up!
Hinagiku had almost started to let attention falter when the resounding voice of the door is heard. As quickly as she can, she rushes to Ehren's side, passing deftly between the others before reaching him.
"Mr. Ehren, I am coming to help." she says on her way.
While Xanderghul was correct that getting in close wasn't ideal... keeping Ary's allies from being eaten was of equal import. "While it can probably just reform its shape fairly easily, breaking its jaw is likely ideal. It doesn't have the same options as an ordinary mimic. Keeping it from casting at full strength might be ideal as well. Hit it hard and fast."
Ary steps forwards as the mimic begins to utter its blasphemy - she and Valaria lunge out against the mimic, but fail to strike hard enough to distract it from its spell... the blasphemy rings out through the air and the heroes are paralyzed in place eliciting a feeling of déjà vu in many of them.
Round 2!
While the heroes are held in place by the mimic's spell, it focuses on Ehren, still glued to its body. It slams itself into him, its sharp teeth digging deeply into the young druid's flesh. Houna's wolf is the first to recover, it quickly clambers up to its feet and moves protectively in front of its master.
Isilme is up!
At Ary's warning, Isilme prepares herself for the possibility of a blasphemy being uttered. Being celestial in nature, she almost feels the word before she hears it. Moving quickly, she traces a rune एकता in the air before her and the sound of the celestial word it represents resonates through the air, softening the blasphemy that had been uttered by the mimic.
As with the Hezrous though, the sound of the blasphemy still fills her ears, leaving her momentarily unable to act, and drained of her strength. It's made worse by the recollection of the fight with the Hezrous and the outcome, but she does her best to push through the sense of horror it evokes to focus on the fight at hand.
When she regains control of her body, she calls out to Ary, "Ary, hold out Radiance, I'll protect it from the mimic's adhesive!" as she begins to cast a spell. After a moment a spray of grease streaks out from her fingers, coating Radiance in a thick layer, making sure Ary will be able to attack the creature without fear of losing her weapon to it.
After casting, Isilme backs up and grabs her bow and a cold-iron arrow, preparing to open fire when she gets a chance.
Round 3
Ehren is up!
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Yet again, Ehren cannot even scream as the mimic gnashes at him with its teeth, assailing his senses with the horrifically familiar feeling of being devoured. He gasps out with a haggard breath when he regains control of his muscles, the paralysis thankfully being far more brief than the last time. Struggling against the creature was clearly useless, especially with the glue covering it... but perhaps he could circumvent the problem, at least partially.
In the blink of an eye, Ehren's body abruptly melts into that of a small, amorphous humanoid form - a water elemental. With nothing solid to adhere to, perhaps the mimic would have a harder time holding onto him. But then again, probably not.
"Just focus on killing it," he says as calmly as he can manage, his voice coming out as a gurgle. His dire situation aside, he had no intention of dying again. Not to a godsforsaken door, of all things.
Ehren shifts into a small, spinning column of water, its shape changing as the druid speaks and with his moods. Without any flesh to adhere to, he breaks free of the mimic's grasp. He moves away and past Isilme. Frustrated, the mimic lunges at the small elemental, managing to rip off a sizeable chunk of the water elemental's body in the process, but it is not enough to stop the druid from getting safely away.
The magic wears off of Houna and Shyael's senses. They take aim over the front line, and fire.
"Ysbryd tarw mawr, bendithia fy helfa..." Houna whispers as she takes a step back, the muscles in her exposed arms becoming larger and more defined. She fires off a quick pair of arrows, the second reaching its mark inside of its vulnerable mouth.
Noticing Houna's shot, Shyael follows up with two blessed arrows of her own, causing the mimic to screech out in pain.
"Fire into the mouth! Keep focused, take your time lining up your shots..."
Valaria is up!
Freed from the mimic's adhesive hold, Ehren's aqueous form surges away from the creature, taking cover behind Isilme.
Freed from the mimic's adhesive hold, Ehren's aqueous form surges away from the creature, taking cover behind Isilme.
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Val just continues to stab the thing.
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It's just as well that Xanderghul is paralyzed. It gives him more chances to think about what to do. Plus, one fewer social obligation to spend a spell or other resource.
Then, just as he's about to settle in to laziness, Isilme's countersong washes over him and he regains control of his muscles. He nearly falls over again because he'd forgotten to remember to keep standing.
He looks around the battlefield. Even though Ary stands right next to the creature, the light of Radiance washing over it directly. Still, he doesn't want to spend a spell and the ability will still work, provided that it connects... So he gathers up a handful of shadow in his hand and hurls it at the creature. If it connects, it spreads all over the mimic-door and sticks its body-parts together.
Valaria lashes out twice with her starknife, but she fails to stab deeply enough to have much of any effect on the enormous mimic-door. Meanwhile, Xanderghul wraps the mimic in a cloak of darkness, binding the creature from easily casting more spells, though at the cost of cloaking it in darkness from some of his allies.
Hinagiku is up!
Though the last word coming of the mimic's mouth were awful, reaching deep within Hinagiku and shaking her soul, it was nothing compared to what the onis had done to her a more than a week ago. By emptying her mind, she frees herself within seconds, partly help by Isilme's power. Still, doing so does not weaken her senses, and she gladly watches Ehren transform into water and escape the creatures grasp.
As she free herself from the shock, Hinagiku's first reaction is to fish her newly acquired weapon. She knew she could not do much with it, but stepping in front of the monster would simply block the others line of fire of her allies.
Thus, the monk draws a long rope with a hooked dart on one end and a heavy steel ring on the other and starts to carefully whirl it around, then in one swift motion she sends the dart straight toward the mimic.
Hinagiku flings the dagger component of her kyoketsu shoge at the mimic, but unfortunately the mundane weapon is not enough to injure the aberration substantially - its tainted flesh quickly heals over and negates the injury instantly.
Ary stands perfectly still, eyes having narrowed with anger as she heard the blasphemy coming... but realistically could do nothing to thwart it... before standing there being forced to watch the thing chew on Ehren... who manages to struggle free by transforming into something it couldn't quite hold.
There's a frustrated growl as she finally feels her muscles give way, allowing her to move once more, as she darts forward with Radiance in hand. But her muscles are still stiff - as has been her body ever since having awoken.
With the mimic cloaked in darkness, Ary withholds from opening up completely; She pursed her lips, but hoped it wasn't supernatural darkness. She didn't chastise him, though. He was trying to help. Plus. The blasphemy affecting him answered a question on its own.
"Good job, Ehren. Aim for the hardest looking parts; they're more likely to be vulnerable." She calls to the others as she lashes out, but misjudged due to the undulating darkness.
The mimic struggles against the writhing coils of darkness. It stills, for just a moment, focusing its hatred and rage against the tiefling that managed to land a blow on it before. It lunges at her with all of its might, sinking its teeth into her side. It attempts to slam itself into her, gluing the two together - but the swashbuckler manages to roll away just in time.
Hrida growls and moves to lunge, but Houna calls out, "Aros, Hrida!" The wolf retreats a step, its teeth still bared.
Isilme is up!
Seeing Val seems to be handling the mimic effectively, Isilme begins to recite a story to give the group the strength to fight the fiendish mimic. "Though their foes had laid a trap for them, cunning and deadly, the heroes saw through it. Readying themselves for the ambush they circled 'round facing out towards their foes, unafeared of the fight that lay before them," she says in a clear, loud voice.
Out of the mimic's reach, Ehren pants heavily, an odd sight considering his current form. In lieu of flesh and blood, large droplets of water continuously fall from his injured elemental body, his appendages just barely holding together. His shape could not even pass as humanoid anymore. Between his wounded body and soul, sapped strength, and the realization that he had almost died again, he was not exactly feeling very good.
Mustering his strength, Ehren cups his "hands" together and draws on the power of the ley, forming a small orb of compacted snow in his hands. Feeling the power of Isilme's oration, the druid carefully lines up his shot before launching the snowball at the mimic.
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Ehren the water elemental lobs a snowball over the front line and at the enormous door... unfortunately it simply melts right off, having gained resistance against the elements from its long exposure to the Worldwound.
Shyael and Houna continue to barrage the door with arrows - trying to aim at whatever exposed spots they can see through Xanderghul's cloaking darkness. The creature shrieks in agony as it is slowly brought down.
Valaria is up!
"Thanks Isilme," Val murmurs. "Now let's clean house." She lashes out with her dagger, her fiendish senses seeing straight through the shadowy binds and allowing her to viciously slash across the mimic's body with her knife.
Valaria lashes out viciously with her enchanted knife, causing the mimic to wince briefly in pain - she, Ary and Hinagiku attempt to capitalize on the situation, but their rushed strikes are largely ineffective against the creature's thick hide.
Xanderghul is up!
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Xanderghul narrows his eyes, seeing that the creature is inches from death. He flings his hand right to left, palm outstretched. As he does so, every new inches of movement a blue projectile comes out of his hand. They each speed at the creature, impacting on it with great force.
"Good work disposing of the door, everybody." he says. "A monumental effort."
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Xanderghul sends out a set of magic missiles against the creature... unfortunately they simply fizzle upon impact, unable to overcome the creature's natural resistance against magic.
Ary continues the previous motion of the swing, hoping to salvage some of the strength of the strike, bringing the blade back across, but finds her angle to be poor, her sword not biting nearly as deeply as she would prefer.
Hinagiku continues spinning the dagger part of the kyoketsu shoge over her head, and every so often sends it spinning toward the monstrous door. However, these are not attacks but merely diversions to help Valaria strike true. Houna's wolf growls, but obeys her command to stay back, merely keeping itself between the monster and her master.
Dying and enraged, the mimic lashes out violently against the constraints of Xanderghul's darkness, focusing its efforts against Valaria. It lunges at her, mouth open wide and drooling, but Hinagiku grabs Valaria and pulls her to the side as Ary shoves the monster out of the way with Faith reborn. The creature flips around, slamming its side into Valaria faster than her two friends can react, adhering the tiefling to itself like a fly on a resin trap.
Isilme is up!
"Though the fight was long and gruelling, the heroes fought their foes to a standstill and turned the tide of the battle, for they had the gods on their side!" she says, continuing her oration.
Hoping to help free Valaria, Isilme takes a moment to channel her mythic power, tracing the rune for bravery in the air before her as she casts heroism on her. The rune vanishes in a flash of light, leaving Val feeling confident and empowered. "There Val, now focus on breaking free!"
Round 4!
Ehren is up!
Ehren was feeling rather useless in his current state, but he pays rapt attention to the ongoing fight, waiting for some kind of opening to present itself. Instead, he is forced to watch as Valaria meets the same fate as he had before. That, at least, he could help her with.
Drawing on the power of the ley, as well as the reservoir of power within his soul, Ehren enhances his next words with the power to inspire freedom. Fitting that they be spoken to a follower of Desna.
"Yes Valaria, free yourself. Being stuck in that monster's grasp does not suit you."
Enchanted with both Ehren and Isilme's magics, Valaria feels the adhesive's hold start to slip off from her body. She seizes the opportunity to wriggle the rest of the way free - with an audible ripping sound she peels herself off from the adhesive and falls back to the ground, landing nimbly on her feet like a cat.
Houna fires off a pair of arrows, but is distracted by Valaria's predicament and recovery - her shots land nowhere near her mark. Shyael, on the other hand, manages to land her arrows straight inside of the monster's throat as it howls in fury. It gurgles once, then falls straight over, the heroes managing to scramble away just in time before it falls on them. Behind it is an ordinary set of iron double doors.
Combat ends!
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"Thanks you guys," Val says as she scrapes the things glue off of her clothing. "That... was less than fun. Well, at least we don't have to solve some annoying puzzle to try to get inside now."
Ehren sighs, glad that the battle was finally over. He briefly debates on returning to his human form, but decides against it. The darkvision and enhanced fortitude it granted could still be of use.
"It was a cleverly laid trap. One that has been in place for all these years, from the looks of it," he says, before looking to the much less impressive doors behind the mimic.
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Xanderghul purses his lips and grumbles. "I really thought I'd be the one to get that one..." he whines. "All the same. I'm glad it's dead. Good job, Shyael." he says, begrudgingly.
"Perhaps somebody ought to heal Ehren and Valaria. I have a few weak potions I can donate, but I doubt whomever goes to check whether the door is locked or not wants to be bleeding all over the ground like most of us are now." says Xanderghul, mansplaining to the max, walking around with a single finger raised. "Shyael, are you planning to come inside with us?"
"yr ydych yn dod â , Houna?"
"Ie wrth gwrs. Nid ofnaf unrhyw niwed sydd wedi cymryd gwreiddiau yn deml fy duw," Houna responds, calling her wolf back to her side.
Shyael nods. "Of course! You could need my help." She moves over to Ehren and lays her hands on his shoulders, channeling positive energy into him. She grunts, eyes closed, opening them a moment later to survey her handiwork. "Ah. I'm not much of a healer. Hopefully that feels a bit better, yeah?"
Meanwhile, Valais steps forward to survey the (real) door, having spent the entire conflict cowering in the tunnel, her head clasped in her hands. "Let's go," she says breathlessly, eager to start moving again.
"I don't suppose you have any more of those," Val asks Shyael. "Because I'm pretty sure I can't take another solid hit at this rate and I'm one-hundred percent positive that we're going to have to deal with something worse inside."
Hinagiku slowly slows down the movement of the kyoketsu shoge before putting the weapon away and drawing her wand.
"It's fine miss Valaria, I will take care of it" she says, gently while starting to wave the wand around.
After praying a few times to Irori and using quite a bit of the wantds power, Hinagiku gently pats Valaria's shoulder before turning to Ehren. The druid's appearance was strange, and it was hard to discern his wounds, still there was something weird about it, like bite marks.
"Mr. Ehren, please tell me when your wounds are fully healed." she says, placing her free hand on his wound.
Smirking gently at Xanderghul's comment, Hinagiku otherwise ignores it and answers to Ehren comment instead.
"These creatures can live hundreds of years in caves? Just waiting to attack passerby?"