Still staggering back, Anara raises a magical defense for protection as she continues to try to make space between her and her opponents and let her sister move in to take care of the heavy work .
Sharadei spins as the skeleton choses to bypass her and instead attack Anara and strikes out. Making short shrift of it she moves forward to engage the remaining troll.
Fenra continues to target the big guy.
Land of the Linnorm Kings |The Crown of the World - Aganhei Path | Boreal Expanse |
Undefeated, Rennyn watches as the troll burns leaving only bones, its ashes blown away by the howling winds!
Feeling his wounds, Ulf does his best to keep his distance from this troll, hoping the others will be able to lend him some support.
Souvenir in hand, Spivey turns to see the last troll advancing. Shrugging her shoulders, the tiny woman points a finger!
Fenra's beam of energy follows closely behind, dropping the troll to the ground!
Damage as of Round 10
A4; -23 fire
B4: -34 +15-19 -12 =50 -36-20 +15
B2:-18+5
Ulf: -5-13-13-12
Once the last enemy has been felled, Fenra sees that Rennyn is tending to his own wounds so hurries to Shar, who has obviously been the next most gravely injured.
Let me have a look at that. She says while pulling out her bandages and salves as well as a short bronze wand. Finishing with Shar, she then goes to see to Ulf.
Land of the Linnorm Kings |The Crown of the World - Aganhei Path | Boreal Expanse |
Grateful for the medical aid, Ulf thanks Fenra then presses on through the wind with the rest of the group.
Blessings fade.
Wards dwindle.
Drawing closer to The Storm Tower, it can be seen clearly to be a hexagonal spire of black basalt rising some 300 feet into the air. The walls of the spire look to be uncannily smooth, coated with ice. A huge crackling ball of blue light floats just above the tower’s roof illuminating a raging white storm which turns in an expanding spiral overhead.
The tower is mired in a lake so black it reflects the crackling ball above. The 'shore' is bathed in the blue light of the mysterious ball and crossing within its light is like stepping into the eye of a storm. The howling winds cease to jostle and slow the group and the black waters ahead lay still, like glass.
The remains of a great causeway leads up to the base of the tower. Long since succumbed to the ravages of time and the elements, the levee has broken apart and shifted to the point it is now no more than ruined and misshaped islets. Standing exposed above the black waters, the landforms have 'grown'. Deformed growths of ice and snow have attached to parts of what remains of this land bridge altering their shapes further. Wide gaps separate each islet all the way to the end of the causeway where a hexagonal portal lead into the tower’s wall.
Rennyn looks at the obstacle before them, the black water concerns him. Anyone not confident they can make it across safely, I can cast Air Walk on you.
She instantly dismissed it as an option as she looked into the calm black liquid that functioned as the castles moat, "I can likely give two or three of us the ability to fly, for a time, but the toll will be heavy and I can only maintain it for a few minutes."
While the companions make plans to breech the structure, Anara studies the intimidating spire in the unnatural blue light. "Seems a little out in the open but I don't see that we have a lot of choice."
Land of the Linnorm Kings |The Crown of the World - Aganhei Path | Boreal Expanse |
Her tiny wings fluttering furiously, Spivey breathes a sigh of relief as she crosses the threshold into the eye of the storm. Whoa, that was intense! I've never flown through wind like that! Have you? The tiny woman is probably speaking to Anara but continues before the sorceress has a chance to reply, I mean I did have the goddess' help so you could say I didn't either. But there's no way I'm not!! Spivey draws out the last word by a few extra syllables. Reaching into her cloak she pulls out a tiny metal flask, twists off the cap and splashes some amber fluid into her mouth. She smacks her lips, Ahhh. I'm totally going to say I did. I flew through that wind! And blasted some skeletons back to the boneyard! Right?! Spivey shoots a 'bro' look at Draeven, Me and my boys! YEah! Nodding her head in the direction of the 300ft tower Spivey coolly asks, Is that it? Not so big. You want me to go in first? Or should we hit this thing together? The lyrakien spreads her question over the entire group.
Anara wedged a response into the constant chatter from the Lyrakien "No, I didn't even try to fly in that. You, however, did quite well." The sorceress nods to Spivey in approval, waiting to verify who required a casting, and enchanted herself with the ability first . Rising slightly out of the snow, Anara moves forward , bending to grab a fist-sized piece of ice as she travels.
Judging herself to be at a good distance, she stops, winds up and tosses the frozen shard into the dark fluid in front of her...
After casting airwalk on anyone requesting it, Rennyn bounds across the ice covered remains of the causeway towards the hexagonal portal.
Draeven follows close behind Rennyn, running and leaping each gap in turn.
Land of the Linnorm Kings |The Crown of the World - Aganhei Path | Boreal Expanse |
The fist-sized ball of snow and ice arcs through the air just barely clearing the edge of the ice shore . The small lump makes a kind of splash in the black waters sending ripples from the point of contact. A few beats later, the ice ball floats up to the surface, bobbing contently.
Rennyn and Draeven bound out, crossing the damaged land bridge without incident. Draeven's legs, still burning from their efforts against the tremendous winds, protest under their latest strain.
The two stop just outside the portal to peer in. Windblown snow has drifted into the corners and along the walls of a trapezoidal chamber, piling up in deep drifts. From the entrance, there is no visible ceiling. An ire blue glow from inside a central chamber casting shadows throughout the dark interior. There are two hexagonal openings to this central chamber, to the north and south; the interior looks to be twenty feet wide. The main chamber has no visible ceiling. Smooth-walls make up the interior walls of the tower as well as the glowing chamber at the center. The walls of the spire (both exterior and interior) are uncannily smooth with no visible stair to reach the top.
Wordpad
The sorceress finishes casting on any who need it and then readies to follow her 'sword wall' across the divide . As she passes the halfway point , Anara lets loose another fist-sized piece of ice, this time sending the projectile with a little muscle behind it, straight downward.
Sharadei, confident that she can easily make her way over to the other side, checks in with her sister. Upon finding out that she still has the spells left to fly herself over, she wishes her good luck but still leaps from floe to floe as Anara flies nearby, ready to assist if something happens.
Fenra finishes with the injured and stands up, squinting out into the distance. Seeing the watery barrier she decides not to refocus herself and lets the curse maintain its hold on her.
I might as well use this to my advantage.
Land of the Linnorm Kings |The Crown of the World - Aganhei Path | Boreal Expanse | Storm Tower
As the remainder of the group begin their crossing, Anara launches the second of her ice bombs. Like the first, the fist-sized chunk splashes into the black waters, momentarily disappearing completely beneath unnatural waters before bobbing back to the surface Anara's second ice rock splashes into the waters as Sharadei reaches the mid-point; Fenra and Ulf bringing up the rear on the first leg of the ruined bridge. The ranger is preparing for the next leap across these inky waters when she notices two more ripplings on the surface. . Based on the V-shape of these new disturbances, whatever is below the surface is making its way towards the ruined land bridge.
Meanwhile, from Anara's vantage the sorceress can see what looks like humanoid statues standing within the dark interior of the tower.
| Storm Tower: 14 ...
The ripples make Shar's eyes narrow as she stops her crossing and shouts to the others while pulling out her falchion. Something is in the water! Move it along
She stands ready to defend those remaining to cross.
Land of the Linnorm Kings |The Crown of the World - Aganhei Path | Boreal Expanse | Storm Tower
With Sharadei's warning two creatures emerge from the black waters! Once human, or something close, the two figures look every bit the part of drowned and decayed. Blue gray skin sags in rolls where torn and decayed clothing no longer function. Their eyes and mouths leak black fluid, which can only be the inky waters from which they've emerged. Their faces contort with a tormented anger. A layer of frost quickly covers their forms yet does not hinder them. Neither appear to be armed, instead clenched fists and open mouths moan their intent. As the ranger takes up her sword, the two figures finish their commute across the waters and close to flank. The figures penetrate Sharadei's defenses each biting hard into her shoulder and neck. The ranger feels the cold of the black waters invading her body and with effort manages to fight off the wave of weakness which threatens...for now. A feeling of dread now plagues Sharadei.
x2 = 22
1 success, 1 more needed in round 10 or 1 minute
...
Storm Tower: 14 ...
As the first creature comes to within the reach of her falchion, she snaps off a quick strike before stepping back.
Seeing the dripping monstrosities emerge and attack Sharadei, Fenra tries to help even the odds. Closing her eyes briefly, they snap open and seem to shoot out a blaze of energy at the creature Sharadei struck out at.
Sharadei! Rennyn shouts as he bounds back across the water to her defense, bringing his flaming katana down with both hands upon the foul water creature as he lands...
...the blade carving deeply into the thing, flames exploding all around, setting it aflame.
With limited space on the near edge of the central island, Draeven elects to draw his bow and loose arrows at the other creature...
...the arrows seeming to fly straight and true.
Anara turns immediately to her sister's defence as her companions all turn, as one, against the newest enemies. The sorceress observes Rennyn annihilate one foe in a fiery onslaught and follows closely behind Draven's arrows; targeting the other. Fueled by the danger to her sister, the twin focuses her magic into a physical force , attempting to ram whatever crawled out of the water back in, giving Shar a little more room.
Even with two arrows sticking out of it Sharadei doesn't take any chances and keeps the pressure on . She first takes a moment to focus her energy down into her weapon then strikes!
Land of the Linnorm Kings |The Crown of the World - Aganhei Path | Boreal Expanse | Storm Tower
full damage
Fail
Using her skills, Sharadei deftly strikes out against her attackers then side steps for room. Unfortunately it is not enough distance to save her from her afflictions. Striding to her aid, Rennyn leaps the across the gap inflicting his own brand of justice! Flames lick at the creature's skin and clothes as divine energy and arrows pierce the second creature threatening the ranger's right flank! From above, Anara's magic takes form. Uttering a word of power, a wave of invisible energy pulses across the black waters shoving the fiery creature back! At that moment, Sharadei attempts another strike with her falchion, only to cleave empty air as her sister's spell forcibly moves the target out of the way!
Speaking in the divine tongue, Spivey points a finger toward the creature to the right of Sharadei - cause Draeven shot it! A beam of pure white light shoots forth piercing the black waters! For a heartbeat, a copper piece sized circle of water loses it's inky hue becoming blue only to quickly be consumed once again by the black! Undaunted, she tries again. This time the holy beam strikes home burning small hole in the monstrosity! The tiny woman screams, Burn! HaHaHaHA!!
Taking up his greataxe, Ulf strides past Fenra and leaps the black waters to the middle section of the broken bridge. In no time, the guide's weapon connects with the creature's back! However, the resulting blow lacks the champion's kick. Taking a step back, Ulf regards his own weapon, wondering what's wrong with it.
Shoved back but not down, a firm hand reaches for and grads Sharadei's left arm! The ranger can smell the burning flesh of her assailant as it's fingers grip tightly but as yet cannot free her arm. With a roar which is more baneful moan, the creature raises a leg then stomps down hard on the ground. The icy ground breaks and ripples , erupting in razor-sharp, crisscrossing spikes of ice and rock!
The second creature leans in for another taste! Sharadei's grabbed arm is pierced with blackened jaws and she feels ice cold water invading her veins! Excited, the creature also raises a foot, slamming it hard into the ground!
From behind him, Draeven hears the cracking of stone followed by the clump, clump, clump of heavy footsteps. From out of the tower emerge two stony humanoids! Carved armor and what might be articles of clothing are like nothing the big man has ever seen before! There is an organic theme to the statues, thin vines twist around limbs and torso in a weave similar to chainmail topped with oddly shaped leaves. Much thicker vines curve from the statue's hand molding into an alien hammer tipped with tendrils of some kind. The two statues approach Draeven's position as two more take up position with the doorway!
A damage: 11+5+19
B damage: 61+8
Spivey Spells used: Endure Elements (Still in affect), Freedom of Movement, Searing Light,
Seeing the other monster grab Sharadei, Rennyn steps forward and slashes at it...
As the ground erupts underneath his feet...
...Rennyn is able to twist and avoid some of the spikes.
His response is quick and brutal, hacking twice in quick succession, attempting to finish off the creature he already attacked and set afire...
...his sword continuing to carve chunks from his adversary, before calling upon his divine connection to soothe his injuries.
Seeing the statues emerge from the tower, Draeven thinks to himself, That island doesn't actually look too crowded afterall, as he runs and attempts to leap over the water...
...clearing it easily only to land in the spiky terrain. Grimacing, he drops his bow and draws his sword. We have more company. I'm hoping they can't swim, or don't like the water at least.
Land of the Linnorm Kings |The Crown of the World - Aganhei Path | Boreal Expanse | Storm Tower
With a quick cut, Rennyn ensures all that remains of the burning creature is a cold hand gripping Sharadei's arm.
A damage: 11+5+19+27
B damage: 61+8+16+42
Spivey Spells used: Endure Elements (Still in affect), Freedom of Movement, Searing Light,
The immediate threat to Shar was occupying all of their attention when Anara saw Draeven prepare to leap back to the island he had come from to avoid two... no, four new problems! Thinking fast, and moving faster, the sorceress focuses and draws on her power, momentarily dimming the light around her as her shadow force is released and she materializes an image of the fighter at the moment he makes his jump .
The image is identical. At first, its movements seem to follow the original's but then, instead of following the real Draven's jump, it turns back toward the four approaching enemies , with blades in hand, and smiles a wicked grin.
Ignoring the severed arm hanging off of her, she strikes again and again, trying to end the undead menace .
Land of the Linnorm Kings |The Crown of the World - Aganhei Path | Boreal Expanse | Storm Tower
The smoldering body of the downed creature suddenly explodes filling the air around it with a cloud of razor-sharp shards of ice.
Seeming not too bothered by the exploding remains of its compatriot, the other creature moans and gestures with its hand. A pillar of ice and stone raises from the ground behind Rennyn! Then the creature shoves the champion backward into the pillar! The elf's body merges with the pillar imprisoning him!
A damage: 11+5+19+27+15+26
B damage: 61+8+16+42
Spivey Spells used: Endure Elements (Still in affect), Freedom of Movement, Searing Light,
Draeven is taken by surprise by the exploding remains.
Seeing the monster begin to gather magical energy around it, Draeven brings his sword down...
...adding another wound to it.
With his back to the downed undead, Rennyn takes the full brunt of the icy blast.
Land of the Linnorm Kings |The Crown of the World - Aganhei Path | Boreal Expanse | Storm Tower
Seeing Draeven's sword strike home, a bloodied Ulf watches as the creature's moaning chant stops mid syllable. Realizing the creature is now dead, the guide calls out, Take cover! Then ducks, covering his head. Having taken the brunt of all the creature's recent attacks, guide looks as though this is as far as he can go without medical attention. To this, he retrieves a healing kit from his pack. Fumbling with some bandages, Ulf hopes he'll be out of range of the next explosion.
Sure enough, the second creature explodes! Once again the air is filled with razor sharp shards of ice!
The explosions of ice surprise Spivey. Taking note of the guide's bloodied state, the tiny blue haired woman calls upon the goddess to ease the suffering of her comrades! Golden light radiates from the Lyrakien filling those within with healing warmth.
Ulf: -6-21-36+25
Spivey Spells used: Endure Elements (Still in affect), Freedom of Movement, Searing Light, Heal
Having seen what happens when these creatures die, Draeven twists away to avoid some of the shards when the second one explodes.
He welcomes Spivey's healing magic, and nods his thanks to her.
The icy explosion absolutely shreds Rennyn as he stands right over the downed creature. Suishen slips from his hand and lands hissing in the snow as he slumps to the ground unconscious.
As the wave of Spivey's divine magic washes over him, Rennyn's eyes open...
Oh s##*! is all Draeven can say when Rennyn falls to the ground.
As the creatures go down around them Shar, while taken by surprise, manages to deftly avoid the exploding body of the first creature. With fore knowledge of the blast, the second one also does her no harm. With a quick look she sees that those around her have not been as quick. Knowing there is nothing she can do to help them, she remains on guard until healing help arrives.
As ice and blood flies everywhere Fenra silently screams as Rennyn drops to the ground! She practically flies over the intervening water to get close enough for her spell to take effect.
]Glad to be out of the range of the defeated enemies' exploding bodies, Anara was horrified to see Rennyn drop to his knees though he didn't quite seem out of the fight yet. "Shar! Get back!" From this vantage, the sorceress could see what was happening to the others and she screamed to warn Shar though the warning was unnecessary as her twin maneuvered expertly to avoid most of the damage from the blasts. Her relief was cut short as she refocused on their next advancing obstacles.
The sorceress gritted her teeth as she maintained the summoned duplicate of Draeven and sent it running toward the nearest threats . As the copy began to move, the sorceress dropped an area of darkness over the closest of the threats to further hinder any progress . If I can just keep them busy while the others get themselves patched up...
Land of the Linnorm Kings |The Crown of the World - Aganhei Path | Boreal Expanse | Storm Tower
Icy spikes pierce into the bottoms of the fair oracle's feet the moment she sets foot upon the islet . However, once Fenra has secured her footing, her feet no longer suffer these spikes.
Darkness blossoms before the statues and soon envelopes them. As Anara's spell unfolds, the sorceress loses sight of the two statues completely! The other two statues remain at their post.
Ulf: -6-21-36+25
Spivey Spells used: Endure Elements (Still in affect), Freedom of Movement, Searing Light, Heal
Draeven is relieved to see that Rennyn is not down for the count. He turns his attention back to the area of darkness conjured by Anara to see what the statues are doing.
Rennyn grabs hold of Suishen and gets to his feet, nodding his thanks to Spivey and Fenra. Once upright, he calls upon his holy connection to restore some of his vitality. Taking in the situation, he asks of everyone, Shall we retreat or move forward?
Her targets obscured, Shar stands ready to defend but admittedly looks much worse for wear after the calamitous events that just passed. After a quick glance at Rennyn and Ulf she suggests, Ulf should go back, Shalelu could get overrun. I avoided the worst but that took a toll