Blessed with supernatural speed from her spell, Isilme manages to jump over to the broken rubble in the middle in a single leap. Landing gracefully amid the shattered rubble, she looks up at Arastrax as Hinagiku disarms him.
"I warn you, demon, I told a joke so uproariously funny that Mangvhune fell prone to the ground, unable to contain his laughter. Prepare yourself!" she calls out dramatically to Arastrax. "You see, he had attempted to infiltrate our camp to assassinate me, and his tail was visible, so I called over to him asking 'if he had a tail to tell'. He barely survived the experience. Of course the real joke was when I tricked him into revealing everything he knew about Hormond and Brae Hagen's plans by impersonating Empiri. His stupidity allowed us to walk our entire army into Mantarin before your minions even knew what had happened! I still chuckle everytime I think about how incompetent you demons are at this, I'm sure you'll agree." She laughs wholeheartedly as she finishes talking and locks eyes with the demon. The magic in her words pushes at the edges of his will, attempting to similarly coerce him into losing control in the same way Mangvhune did.
Val grunts the tail slams into her gut and she almost doubles over. "Is that all you've got?" she mutters, gritting her teeth against the pain. Then she slashes back, needing to take the creature down before it can finish her off.
Ary takes a slow, calming deep breath and takes in her surroundings. She didn't have a way to get to the primary target, and all of the other targets were too diffuse to be of real work. Plus, she needed to get her head back on straight, now that the tables had turned so drastically.
"Thank you both." she adds to Markus and Sosiel as they arrive.
Hinagiku moves to knock Jorsal off of his feet, but the man shifts his center of gravity, making him far too difficult to pull down. He swings at Hinagiku and she grabs his wrist, wrenching his blade away from him, burning and twisting at his tendons. She pulls downwards, hoping to fling him over her shoulder... but with his free hand he grabs hold of her collar and slams her into the wall. He briefly locks eyes with Isilme as he does so, and Hinagiku twists away from his grasp.
Valaria's starknives are a blur as she swipes them rapidly across the abomination, delivering torment and woe. The monster collapses onto the stairs, unable to stand the brunt of her full assault. Above her, the shadow demon flies away, shrinking from the glare of the daylight spell emanating from Ehren.
With a quick glance over his shoulder, Ehren sees that one of the abomination's arrows have struck Markus. Gritting his teeth, he points his finger at the monster and fires another bolt of acid. He reflexively reaches into the ley for power, and the earth responds - an earth elemental suddenly erupts out from the stairs in front of the abomination. Its massive, stony fist slams into the abomination's jaw, punching its head clear off. Its slack-jawed face flies up in the air and lands on the upper balcony, rolling to a halt near Jorsal's feet.
Squinting up, Xanderghul judges the distance between him and Jorsal before taking off at a run and then transforming quickly into a vague, shadowy raven shape. He spreads his wings and powers his way up to the second floor of the tower. Whirling around Hinagiku and Jorsal fighting, he re-forms into human form nearby.
"Jorsal" narrows his eyes, backing away from Hinagiku until he is out of reach, at least for the moment. He raises his free hand, weaving it in the air to cast an intricate spell.
Round 7!
Anevia is up!
"Punch him, Hinagiku - he's trying to summon a fake creature!"
Anevia starts to pop up out of hiding to fire on the abomination, when she spots the head flying up overhead. She peeks up over the edge, then looks from the elemental to Ehren and back, eyes widening slightly. She dips back down behind the low wall, and hunkers next to the column before arching around the cover to fire on the nearer of the two sons, leaving only a moment to dip back around and down.
Sosiel moves to Markus' side - hampered significantly by the icy ground. He raises a hand to heal Markus... then takes it away, frowning, when the dhampir shakes his head. "You'll harm more than help. Go to Valaria, don't worry about me." He nods, and slowly makes his way to her. Markus grimaces slightly due to the pain of his wounds. His next wordspell is significantly weaker than his last... 'Tu vulnere magnus,' he murmurs, his words alone weaving into her body, healing torn flesh and bone.
Anevia's move would typically be deemed reckless, but considering her foe is now on the ground, bleeding out, it could now be called effective. The remaining half-orc growls when he sees his brother falls, and he glances across the room, looking for the person responsible... when this fails, he aims at Ary, the Commander of the crusader army, the head of the snake. But he isn't prepared for how fast she is, as soon as he nocks his bow, she is on him in a flash. She slams Faith square into his chest, shoving him against the wall and causing his knees to buckle and wobble before sliding down it. His shot goes flying wildly up and away from the heroes below.
Not discouraged by her failure, but decidedly more aware of her chances of tripping Arastrax, Hinagiku quickly follows in his steps. For a split second she tries hesitates, looking for an opening, until spurred on by Xanderghul’s exhortation. Trusting the guidance of the ley, she strikes, over and over. Each aimed away from bones and organs so that Jorsal might recover from the wounds. With heavy, meaty thuds she strikes his body, recklessly punching through the flaming shield that surrounds him. When she withdraws, her hands and feet are covered in severe burns, but her effort was successful - Arastrax could not hope to maintain his concentration through such an assault.
Valaria/Ary/Isilme/Ehren + Earth Elemental/Xanderghul are up!
"Thanks," Val says softly as the healers manage to close a few of her numerous wounds again. She absently wishes that she could take a break and have the rest tended to, but she really doesn't have time for that right now. She vaults forward, cutting at the remaining half-orc.
Valaria cuts deep into the half-orc's leg causing him to yelp with pain.
Ary/Isilme/Ehren + Earth Elemental/Xanderghul are up!
Having failed to disable Jorsal via her final spell, she opts to attempt to draw on her own innate magic to aid Xanderghul and Hinagiku. Bringing her palm up to her lips, she blows over it, creating a shower of sparks that travels upwards towards Jorsal, filling the air around him. As the sparks come to rest they turn into golden motes that cling to him, threatening to blind him.
Jorsal is coated with a cloud of golden glitter, but he closes his eyes before they manage to obscure his vision.
Ary/Ehren+Earth Elemental/Xanderghul are up!
Ehren's eyes follows the abomination's head as it sails through the air and lands next to Jorsal. They then turn to his earthen agent, an unexpected boon granted to him by the Green in his time of need. Never one to question nature's miracles (or to take them for granted), he merely nods to himself and decides that things are going exactly as planned. It was not necessarily his plan, but he was more than happy to play along.
"Ionsaí an duine le sciathán dóiteáin thuas staighre, ach ná é a mharú," he commands, pointing a finger straight to "Jorsal". Voicing its affirmation in Terran, the earth elemental nonchalantly shoves aside the abomination's corpse and effortlessly glides up the stairway. It sidles up right next to Jorsal and swings a heavy fist at him, even more clumsily than usual since it is holding back.
The druid then turns and points that very same finger at only other enemy combatant in the room, Dralia's other son. He adjusts his aim, not wanting to tag the already heavily wounded Valaria, and then launches yet another bolt of acid.
The earth elemental's attack is far too clumsy to hit Jorsal, who dodges it effortlessly. Likewise, Ehren's blast of acid sails too high - he had overcompensated too much to account for Valaria being between them.
Ary and Xanderghul are up!
Xanderghul frowns, seeing the power Arastrax had to bring to bear. Not a typical shadow demon, to be sure. Grimacing at the thought of burning himself but knowing he was up here for a reason, Xanderghul rushes forward, slipping a scroll from his backpack as he goes. Casting the spell from memory, his hand glows with a Good radiance. He lunges at Jorsal.
"Almost there." Ary shares with her allies. "Press on, and prepare for any bombardment spells he may manage."
Ary hops off the small landing and quickly traverses what remains of the ice, cutting a broad, diagonal swath through the air before connecting the tip of her blade with the remaining half-orc. Motes flow out of her shield and swirl around her for a moment before flowing into her wounded friend to mend the worst of their injuries.
Ary quickly drives her golden blade into the fallen orc's chest. The bow drops from his hands as he goes limp on the ground.
Sosiel slowly trudges over to Valaria. He reaches out, grabbing her arm and channeling positive energy into her. Markus does the same from across the room, ignoring his own injuries to do so. Together, they manage to seal the worst of her wounds.
Above, "Jorsal" scowls, reaching into his scroll case for a single piece of vellum. He quickly reads off the piece of paper, causing his outline to blur - it is now difficult to pinpoint his exact location.
Round 8!
Hinagiku, Valaria, Ary/Anevia, Isilme, Ehren + Earth Elemental, and Xanderghul are up!
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"Much like Kalek and his servants were unable to stop us, so too have you been unable to do so, Arastrax. Iomedae's Lion prevents every strike attempted against us, Valaria, chosen of my Lady Starsong fells your insipid abominations with ease. The servant of the green turns the very stone beneath your feet against you. The very world itself fights against you, forcing you to fight for your footing and cower behind your magic. Together we are stronger than anything you can throw at us, anything you have thrown at us. All your plans and preparations, your schemes and plots end here Arastrax!" Isilme says confidently as she looks around the room at each member of the group. Looking up at Jorsal, Hinagiku and Xanderghul again, she snarkily adds "Oh, I suppose there's Xanderghul too, but you know him."
Reaching into her pack, she draws out a wand, preparing to make use of it to hit the now-blurred possessed human.
As soon as Arastrax draws the scroll, Hinagiku lunges at him. No hesitation, no thought for her own body; saving Jorsal from the shadow demon came first.
Following Ehren's command to the letter, the earth elemental capitalizes on its opportunity with a vicious haymaker.
Taking a step away from Jorsal and Hinagiku's brawl, Xanderghul forgoes the exorcism for a moment to summon a burst of abjurative antimagic. Speaking arcane words of negation, Xanderghul motions with complex hand signals which complement and fit into one another. Thrusting a fist forward, he visualizes Jorsal's magic as a candle flame, and then closes his fist over the flame, attempting to snuff it out.
Xanderghul reaches out to grab Jorsal with his glowing hands, but Jorsal quickly steps away, evading his grasp for now...
The earth elemental's well executed reverse swing slams into Jorsal, hitting him square in the gut - but scorching the elemental in return... meanwhile, Hinagiku strikes out at Jorsal, but finds that the extended battle is quickly driving her to exhaustion, both physically and mentally. She needs a moment to recenter herself before continuing.
Xanderghul focuses, attempting to snuff out Arastrax's fire shield... but finds that his own dwindling magic reserves are not enough to break the spell.
Hinagiku, Valaria, Ary/Anevia, Ehren + Earth Elemental are up!
Paying no heed to its injury, the elemental ignores the fire shield and continues to lay into Jorsal, swinging its other fist at him.
Twisting around as it swings its fist, the elemental brings the full weight of its body snapping into its foe... then blinks, confused, as it realizes "Jorsal" is actually a few feet away from where it thought it was.
Hinagiku, Valaria, and Ary/Anevia are up!
"That is so much better," Val says, rolling her shoulders as her wounds continue to close. "I think I'm okay for now. Now let's get that demon." She hurries to the opposing staircase to get up top and see if she can help.
Valaria moves slowly across the room. She struggles to get over the dirt wall in the center of the room at first - her sore muscles just don't seem to want to move - but after a second attempt she heaves herself up and over it, then moves up the stairs.
Hinagiku and Ary/Anevia are up!
Two Jorsal? Hinagiku blinks, her head slightly spinning from the exhausting day. A quick look at Arastrax's current prisoner makes it obvious that there is only one, and that her own mind is playing tricks on her. And so, for a few precious seconds, she withdraws from the battle, exhales, and inhales. Blue light surrounds her and heals some of her wounds as she is re centering, sign that the Master of masters still favors her.
Anevia quickly pops over the low wall with a small handspring then hurriedly rushes up the stairs, letting her footfalls soften as she first slips past Valaria, then around the earth elemental, stopping short of plunging off the edge of the bridge as she releases another arrow towards Jorsal, she has a hard time firing around the giant rock, though!
Ary also quickly traverses over the ice and easily crosses over the wall, all the while focusing on recovering the golden motes that healed her allies. Endurance was the most important thing in this fight, currently.
Isilme watches the Elemental missing Jorsal due to the magic on him, and wracks her brain for a solution, but can't seem to come up with a spell that might be able to neutralize it.
Anevia looses a shot at "Jorsal", but it bounces harmlessly off of his armor. It lands nearby, the fletching burnt off from the fire shrouding him. Feeling smug and secure behind his layers of defensive magic, Arastrax begins to weave another spell. He reaches into his spell component pouch, taking out something dark, small, and wrinkled. The earth elemental before him swings its stony fist at him, but it finds nothing but air.
He is casting Black Tentacles. The component in his hands is a dried squid tentacle.
Round 9!
Hinagiku... do you wanna AoO?
Ehren watches Jorsal carefully, trying to determine the breadth of Arastrax's capabilities. If he understood correctly, anything the shadow demon did now had to be something it was already capable of. His eyes widen slightly when he notices what "Jorsal" just took out.
"Careful, he's trying to cast black tentacles," Ehren whispers urgently, remembering that Caggrigar had used the same spell to disastrous effect.
'Right, good... black tentacles is exactly what we need right now...'
"Disrupt him if you can, he's casting a spell which may incapacitate us all."
"I am prepared this time, it will not be a reprise of Caggrigar, I assure you," Isilme whispers to the others through her magic. She had spent much time pondering how best to handle this sort of situation, having had powerful abilities keep the group from acting twice, the second time resulting in the deaths of Ary, Hinagiku and Ehren.
Had her momentary withdrawal fooled Arastrax into casting? Or was that being surrounded had made him desparate? Hinagiku spends little time pondering those questions, there was an opening and she needed to take it. She swiftly strikes a the man's neck intent on disrupting his speech.
Hinagiku strikes "Jorsal"'s neck... only to find that the true Jorsal was a few feet away. The man smirks, completing his invocation. On the bottom floor writhing black tentacles burrow up through the floor and lunge for the heroes...
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Isilme smiles as she reaches up into the air as the tentacles begin to erupt from the ground. As she had done with other of her performances, she had an instinctive knowledge of how to produce the effect she desired directly via divine runes. Her finger traces out flawless celestial script in the air at eye-level, leaving a glowing trail in its wake. As she finishes, the runes glow brightly, filling the room with a warm light.
Freedom
The rune hovers there for a moment as the tentacles begin to close their grasp on the heroes before it pulses brightly. A familiar sensation washes over Isilme, one she had spent most of her life enveloped by. To the others it feels somewhere between the warmth of being wrapped up in a protective blanket and the refreshing chill of an alpine breeze high atop some secluded mountaintop. But most of all it evoked a sense of openness much like the view from a summit over an endless plain, or the ocean stretching off to the horizon in all directions.
And just like that the tentacles found no purchase. Where they writhed and grasped, the heroes weren't. They fumbled and flailed helplessly, like a horde of speechless children desperate to pin down a greased pig.
Standing in the midst of it all, bathing in the sensation and glow, Isilme breathes a sigh of relief. She thinks for a moment of taunting Arastrax again, but instead decides to linger in the moment, enjoying the feeling of something she'd lost so many years ago, even if it was for but a moment.
Sosiel's eyes widen as the tentacles writhe around him, somehow unable to get a firm grasp on him. He slowly moves across the room, intent on continuing to help heal his friends.
Markus, though, simply stays where he is. He raises a hand towards Ary, slowly continuing to heal her wounds.
Hinagiku, Valaria, Ary/Anevia, Isilme, Ehren + Earth Elemental, and Xanderghul are up!
A quick glance below makes it obvious that she is not needed. Another quick glance and she notices Xanderghul, magic imbuing his hand… maybe their only way to save Jorsal. But he needed help, and Isilme’s words and their power was quickly draining away, she could feel the elation and confidence seeping out. So, Hinagiku suddenly starts aiming at Arastrax’s legs, hoping to take down the oni once and for all.
"Nope, nope. F$@$ing nope." Responds Anevia as she looks down at the swirling mass of tentacles below them. "All the nopes." she immediately vanishes from sight, only to appear across the gap, with a much clearer shot of Jorsal. And a much more open space below.
Ary attempts to duck past Jorsal, her stance widening as she does and, shifting her weight quickly forward, but if she fails to get past, she uses Jorsal's reprisal as an opportunity to pull him off-guard - she knows which blade hit her, after all, and quickly grasps his arm, if only for a moment, with the hand holding Faith.
The elemental's gemstone eyes glimmer as it presses on with the assault in spite of "Jorsal's" magic. Perhaps it has somehow grown used to the trick behind the spell, or perhaps it is just instinct, or even luck; whatever the reason, an earthen fist manages to find purchase.
Meanwhile, Ehren throws up his arms when the dreaded tentacles abruptly burst out of the ground. Much to his surprise however, Isilme's performance kicks in; clearly, her assurance was not an empty one. With a grin he moves to scale the very stone wall he had erected. Unfortunately, between his drained strength and the fact that he was never quite the athletic type, his two attempts to climb over the low wall are met with failure. Though relatively harmless thanks to Isilme, the writhing mass of tentacles still didn't make things any easier.
Isilme waits patiently, readying the flute she'd summoned before entering the tower. It was likely the group would continue to need freedom to function in the presence of the tentacles, and the divine rune she drew earlier would only protect them for a brief time before its power faded. Wetting her lips she brings the flute up and prepares to continue protecting her allies as soon as the rune fades.
Hinagiku struggles to determine Jorsal's true location - the one time she comes in contact with his feet, she fails to strike hard enough to pull him down to the ground. He smiles, even as Anevia's arrow goes whizzing past his head.
Ary moves up the stairs - torchlight glints off the cruel blade of Jorsal's blade as it arcs through the air, biting into her shoulder with a satisfying Tchunk! His forearm is numb from the impact, and his face is soaked warm with crimson in the resulting blood spray. The earth elemental seizes the opportunity to sock him right in the jaw, its mighty fist making contact with a loud clap.
Valaria and Xanderghul are up!
"Nope. Nope, nope, nope." Val skips up the stairs, dodging around the tentacles as they try to grab at her and bouncing off the railing on the stairs to get up on the next level. She drops one of her starknives and pulls out one of her regular daggers. She hurls it end over end, aiming straight for Jorsal's chest.
In a stylish combination of finesse and power, Valaria ducks through and whips in an accurate strike.
Round 10!
Xanderghul is up!
Gritting his teeth and frustrated that he couldn't muster the power necessary to take down even one of Jorsal's defenses, let alone the defense which was causing everyone so much difficulty, he moves forward again, protection from evil energy surrounding his hand, and lunges forward to grasp at his possessed friend.