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Zithembe frowns grimly, the graven muscles in his jade neck tense as the chant progresses. "Yes, Maria," he says quietly, "I am far too familiar with that sound. It is the song of the Abyss. I do not believe that they know what they are truly saying. They merely repeat the sounds. It mimics a prayer to Hei Feng for guidance, power, and everlasting glory through destruction and madness. Hei Feng is a rebel, to be sure, but his domains do not include madness or self-mutilation."
He sets a hand upon Maria's shoulder and cautions, "I would not interrupt this, at least not yet. There is no true power in their words. No magic. This may all simply be ceremony, and I do not relish the idea of facing a village full of angry, misled zealots in the throws of their passion."
As the storm picks up, the sound of wind and rain reaching new levels of violence, Megari opens a black lacquered chest and produces a red whip lined with cruel barbs. The adherents cry out in pain as she lashes each of them several times across the back, opening terrible wounds, but their screams are drowned out by the crash of thunder and the howling of the wind. Lightning crackles, illuminating the priests’ manic expressions as Megari continues to draw blood from the three adherents...
You notice, within the blood flowing from the adherents' wounds, strangely-shaped black globs that are not simply pieces of feathers or other detritus. No, these have emerged from within the tengus' bodies.
If you make a (DC 15) Heal check, open the spoiler below:
Even from here you can tell that these globules are supernatural in nature and almost certainly harmful to the body.
If you made a (DC 15) Kn. Planes check, open the spoiler below:
Oh yes, these globules are Abyssal in nature.
Hepsubia recalls that the two most numerous inhabitants of the Abyss are qlippoth, which you already know a little about and demons. While the natures of each demon vary, she recalls that they typically possess immunity to electricity and poison and resistances to acid, fire, and core. Oh and they're also quite evil.
Though you all grow increasingly concerned and possibly even horrified by the display you're witnessing, each of you remain where you stand, observing as the Choosing Ritual unfolds before you. Megari continues to lash the three adherents with her whip until, finally, one of the male tengus collapses in a pool of blood. Neither of the other two adherents nor the priests standing watch make any move to help him.
"IT IS DONE!" Megari declares as she ceases her lashing. "These two that you see before you have withstood Hei Feng's ordeals and have proven themselves worthy of ascension!"
The crowd cheers as the body of the fallen tengu - who is not moving - is surreptitiously dragged off the stage and out of sight. Megari produces a chalice from the black chest and uses it to collect the blood running from the wounds of the two remaining adherents. Offering it up to mix with the rainwater of the storm, she then bids the adherents drink from the chalice.
This ritual is absolutely Abyssal in nature; no ritual of Hei Feng's describes such a profane action.
Zithembe attempts to discern if this horrific ritual is the means of casting a powerful spell or something else. As best as he can tell, there are no magical auras present and the ritual itself doesn't seem to match any arcane rituals that he's ever heard of.
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Parison feels sick to his stomach watching this ritual. As such, his disgust supersedes anything pertinent about the contents of the chalice the initiates are drinking from.
"This is disgusting! Sarenrae would not subject those who would take up the call of dawn and follow her."
Parison makes his way over to Laiping. "Is this," he questions, speaking slowly so that the tengu can understand him, "what Hei Feng teaches those who venerate him to do?"
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Hepsubia looks at the ceremony with disgust
I'm not sure... There is something wrong, I guess, but I can't really pinpoint what. That's the trouble with being an foreigner in a strange land, where you don't know all the customs, or how the local gods are worshipped, and the langage is a barrier. i'm sure I can do better about all this! I've seen this before, maybe, or at least read or heard about it!
For once, the mercurial elf seems to frown and concentrate. Decades of experience and hearsay seem to fly behind her closed eyes, and she bites her lower lip nervously as she wanders in her own memories
This has NOTHING to do with the usual worshipping of Hei Feng, now I'm sure about it. It's a vile ritual coming straight from the Abyss.
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Maria nods in agreement with Hep as she continues making detailed notes for evidence later. "Shall we still just allow demons to spawn? Cause I'm really itching to stop this now... I've seen the damage they can do. I'll abide to delay if you all say we must, but I will hunt down every single thing released before we leave."
She turns to Parison and Rumble, "Can you all sneak off and try to tend to the one that fell? Maybe you can save him even if his soul has been corrupted."
If Hepsubia and Maria's conviction as to the nature of this ritual isn't enough, Laiping violently shakes his head back and forth, clearly terrified and horrified by what you've just witnessed.
"N-no! Hei Feng not like this! Temper but not...not want sacrifices...!"
Meanwhile, the adherents up on the stage each drink from the chalice that Megari offers. "Behold - Chosen Sose and Chosen Enak," Megari declares, grasping the arms of each and raising them skyward. The crowd cheers again, now chanting the names of the two surviving adherents, seemingly unconcerned about the violence they've just witnessed.
"Having proved themselves worthy they now ascend to Hei Feng's most holy shrine, where they begin their new lives as part of his chosen few!"
With these words, the ritual is over. Almost immediately the raging storm seems to be slowly abate, the thunder and wind dying down and the rain lightening to a dull gray drizzle. Chosen Megari begins to lead the two newest Chosen away, along with the other priests, towards the direction of the shrine. While the crowd begins to disperse, Laiping remains close by, trembling in fear, and you can see Mikoto quickly weaving through the throng, headed your way.
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"WHAH THA F&&~ WAS THAH?!" Rumble roars in Dwarven as the storms recede back up the mountain. "Torag give meh patience tah nah strike each an' everyone of tha infernal bastards inta tha ground, 'ere an' now!" he continues, breathing heavily.
"Aye don' know abou' each ah you, buh aye do know thah killin' them now would only bring our own doom upon us. Tha crowd loves 'em. We need tah meeh them at tha Shrine an' crush 'em there, with all tha holy, righteous power we 'ave!" he asserts.
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"If that's an Abyssal ritual, then the Storm Prophet is not advocating Hei Feng's worship. We need to make for the shrine as soon as possible," Parison adds, a dark look not unlike the storm clouds on his facial features. "Before we go, let's see if the initiate that failed is still here and what's become of him. The teachings of Sarenrae bid me seek him out and if he can be helped, to help him."
"N-not Laiping," the nervous tengu shakes his head as you decide to ultimately make for the shrine. "I g-go home, l-lock door!"
Mitoko, looking rather queasy and ill herself after brutality you've all witnessed, nod in agreement with this and pats Laiping on the shoulder. "Այո, դա կարող է վտանգավոր լինել-" she begins to speak in a language that is not Common, Tien, or Tengu, before catching herself. She stops and takes a deep breath, slowly exhaling out. Then she tries again.
"Yes, it could be dangerous. In fact, I'm almost positive that it'll be dangerous, now. Go home and pray for our success," she replies to Laiping, speaking in Common for the group's benefit. Laiping nods furiously, taking a halting step or two backward before turning and dashing out of the small square as fast as he can go.
"Yes, it could be danger-"
Turning her attention back to the rest of you, Mitoko nods resolutely when you all seem to be in agreement to travel to the shrine. "The way may be dangerous, but if what I fear is true, I am the only one left with proper training from the shrine. I cannot let myself be blind for a moment longer," she responds, the words tumbling out in a rush. "Meet me just outside of town once you find out what happened to that poor adherent and we'll travel together!"
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While Mitoko and the rest of the group move on ahead to the rendezvous point outside of town the two of you wait a few moments and then blend into the shadows of the nearby buildings as you move to track down the fallen adherent and learn his fate. It's hard to miss the trail of thick, dark clots of blood spattered across the stones, beginning just behind the stage where the Choosing was conducted and heading out of town; you quickly realize that the fallen adherent must have been picked up and carried by Megari's procession as they left.
Not wanting to risk coming upon the entire group of tengu by yourselves, you're forced to slow your pursuit somewhat as the blood trail leads out of town and towards the mountains where the shrine sits. Luckily the trail remains easy to follow as the procession clearly isn't concerned with hiding their passage.
After maybe 10 or 15 minutes of following, just when you're beginning to wonder if it's a good idea to separate yourselves much further from your companions, the bulk of the blood trail splits off from the rest of the tracks you've been following. You follow the trail only a few short feet before it ends at a small sinkhole in the earth where the body of the fallen adherent has been tossed like so much garbage. Further inspection of the body, such as by climbing down into the sinkhole, confirms your worst fears - this tengu is dead, thanks to the lashing he suffered during the Choosing ritual.
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Maria gives a simple smile, her first in a while since they arrived in this town, "Ահ, մեր վճիռը ճիշտ է, ապա բարի լեզվով խոսողները բավականին ողջունելի են մեզ հետ."
Maria and Hepsubia slip off, following after the trail attempting to save the fallen acolyte. At the scene, Maria simply provides a quick elven blessing and remarks, "We don't have time now, but I will return and provide a proper consecration and burial for this poor soul."
About the time Mitoko and the rest of the group gather, the two elves pop out of the woods and inform the group of what they found .
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"We 'ave tah go now, ain't no tellin' whah'll happen if we give 'em tha time tah benefit from their unholiness furthah!" Rumble presses, giving Sledge a few test swings through the air. In this case, a good offense is going to be the best defense. Not that we could convince the townsfolk to fortify their position against what they believe is their own church...
Mitoko blinks and then smiles back at Maria; a genuine, happy smile. "Oh, ես այնքան ուրախ եմ, որ ձեզանից մեկը հասկանում է Երկնային լեզուն," she responds. "Դժվար է բացատրել, բայց ինչ-որ պատճառով իմ ուղեղը, կարծես, լռելյայն է, երբ ես սթրեսից բախվում եմ: Այնպես որ, լավ է իմանալ, որ ես դեռ կկարողանամ շփվել ձեզ հետ, եթե ինչ-որ բան կստանաք...տգեղ...մոտ ապագայում."
"Oh I'm so glad that one among you understands the Celestial tongue!"
"It's difficult to explain but for some reason my brain seems to default to only this when I'm under stress. So it's good to know that I'll still be able to communicate with you if things get...ugly...in the near future."
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Determined now, more than ever, to put a stop to the unholy influences that have come over this land you and Mitoko set off into the wilderness towards the shrine. Though there is still some daylight left the rain from the earlier storm lingers, casting a gray, unpleasant pall over your surroundings. This is made even worse by the corruption of the land itself that grows more and more evident as you progress through the forest. Not only do you see signs that the wildlife has been affected - squirrels with large, twitching eyes on their backs and deer with extra, shriveled limbs - but much of the foliage has become diseased and withered as well.
"Drat...this is much more difficult than I expected," Mitoko mutters at one point, stopping to conjure a light on the tip of the dagger she carries. "The blight has gotten so much worse over just a short time! Many of the landmarks I've used in the past are so twisted that it's hard to recognize them," she sighs.
She looks the group over with an appraising and slightly skeptical eye. "I'm not much of a woodsman...but I have to be honest, none of you really look the part either. Still, I think that if we work together we can keep on the right path and not fall behind."
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"Nolaria," the shabti asks one of the human retainers that follows him around, "Would you mind finding us a path?"
A brown-haired, green-eyed young woman with the symbol of Old Deadeye hanging around her neck steps forward to search for the trail. "Of course! My friends are never going to believe this story when we return."
"Oh! Do you always have such an entourage following you about?" Mitoko asks, clearly a bit startled by Nolaria's sudden appearance. "I didn't know you were of such high standing in your homelands!"
Nolaria's sharp eyes easily pick out the remnants of the path that Mitoko has been leading you on, perhaps finding it easier to do so thanks to being unfamiliar with the land and thus looking at everything with fresh eyes. You travel onward for some time in relative silence, thankful that the rain seems to have driven most of the wildlife to take shelter. That is, until you approach a place where several game trails seem to intersect and hear a rustling in the nearby bushes. A boar with numerous growths hanging off of its body, most noticeably a large tentacle protruding from its back, suddenly emerges from the undergrowth and utters an angry squeal at the sight of you!
Yep, this is some sort of mutant boar, judging by the tentacle on its back.
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Hepsubia
Mitoko
Parison
Maria
Zithembe
Rumble
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Mutant Boar
Active Conditions: None
Everyone is UP!
Ready to work out some of his building anger and frustration Rumble calls upon Torag's divine favor as he prepares himself for the boar's inevitable charge!
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Hepsubia
Mitoko
Parison
Maria
Zithembe
Rumble
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Mutant Boar
Active Conditions: None
Hepsubia, Parison, Maria and Zithembe are UP!
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Maria keeps chatting with the lady in Celestial as they travel, both to brush up on her grasp of the language and learn more about this interesting Tengu. One can never have too many allies when it comes to the good aligned divine.
With the sight of the fiend, she points out the obvious "It is some sort of mutant boar, I don't think the tentacle is normal. Put it down before it hurts anyone. We need to cleanse the source of the corruption and this kind of thing will stop."
She pulls her bow as she darts forwards and gets to a point with a clear shot at the boar, but still behind Rumble's readied strike. The elf pulls the bowstring back and concentrates on her aim for a moment before firing. *TWANG*
for
for
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"They are more akin to curious and eager students," the shabit answers Mitoko.
Once the boar breaks from the underbrush, Zithembe steps forward, unwinding his sling. His eyes turn to a ruby red as he invokes the spirits of the region. Distant war cries in celestial ring in the ears of those near him. He twirls the sling and releases it with a crack.
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Not wishing to allow his armor buddy to face the onslaught of the boar's charge alone, Parison moves to stand behind Rumble. As he moves, he draws his scimitar from its sheath.
"Almighty Dawnflower, I beseech you to lend your enlightening aid to Torag's servant. Illuminate his mighty strike and guide it true," he prays to Sarenrae as he reaches out and places a hand on Rumble's shoulder. Acting as a conduit for his goddess, he feels a surge of warmth flow through his arm and hand into Rumble.
While Hepsubia tries firing a 'warning shot' (yes, that's definitely what is was, a warning shot) at the boar, Maria decides against playing around and fires a shot of her own that sinks deeply into the boar's flesh! Zithembe follows this up by cracking the boar in the skull with a sling stone while Parison grants Rumble a bit of Sarenrae's guidance on his next attack.
For her part Mitoko hangs back, dagger nervously clutched in one hand. "Ես ոչ մի կործանիչ չեմ, բայց կարող եմ վիրավորել վերքերը, եթե որեւէ մեկը վիրավորվի!"
"I'm not much of a fighter but I can mend wounds should anyone be injured!"
Squealing angrily, the boar charges Rumble just as the dwarf had predicted it would. The dwarf takes careful aim and utilizes the blessing Parison had bestowed upon him to bring Sledge down atop the boar's skull in a powerful, devastating blow...
*KEERACK!
The boar drops like a stone, its skull crushed!
While Rumble strikes a majestic pose with his kill Hepsubia gets back to the business of looking for tracks and other signs of passage through the area. Though she doesn't find any tracks that seem out of the ordinary she does come across a rotting, tusk-gored corpse partially hidden by some nearby bushes. Clearly the body has been out here for some time, its features and even sex difficult to identify due to its advanced stage of decomposition. Most of the equipment on the body is in a similar sad state, though you do find a wand.
It's a Wand of Lesser Restoration with 7 charges remaining.
"I am glad that I have all of you with me," Mitoko remarks, smiling a little in spite of the dire circumstances. "Strength of arms isn't a strength of mine, I'm afraid. But with just those few seconds I can see that you're on your way to being quite the formidable team. I'm certain that we will be able to put things to right as long as we work together!"
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Your encounter with the mutated boar punctuates the need to hurry and so you resume your trek towards the shrine with renewed haste, determined to put an end to the corruption that creeps across the land and its people.
After traveling on for another half hour or so you finally reach your destination, exiting the woods onto a small path just a few hundred paces from the shrine's entrance. The intermittent light of the roiling heavens briefly illuminates the shrine. The storm is centered directly above the grounds, but neither torch nor brazier illuminates the sacred site. A massive wooden arch stands in front of the steps leading up to the main shrine complex.
From what you can see, the main courtyard consists of a path lined with stones and flanked on either side by grass, trees, and small statues of celestial beings. Grass grows between paving stones, delicate paper doors show numerous holes, and rainwater has stained the once-white walls of the buildings a dingy gray.
"This is awful..." Mitoko whispers as she looks around, clearly dismayed by the state of the shrine. "How long has the shrine been abandoned like this?"
Suddenly Mitoko sucks in a sharp breath and points towards the steps. "Look! The two Chosen!"
You look to where she points you do indeed see the two adherents-turned-Chosen from earlier lying prostrated upon the steps that lead up to the shrine itself. As soon as your gaze settles upon the pair they stand up, as if on cue, and begin walking towards a well that stands nearby...
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And there goes the element of surprise. Sorry pal, it would have been nice to have you by our side, but I understand you may have better things to do right now. Don't worry for us, as the saying goes: "all is well that ends well."
Hepsubia nevertheless tries to move as discreetly as possible to get a good shot, while Rumble uses a more..dwarfish...approach.
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"Rumble, no!" Parison exclaims as he chases after the dwarf. "Sarenrae teaches that all souls are not beyond a chance of redemption. Block them from the well, but do not attack them unless you must defend yourself."
"Can someone translate to them?" Parison asks to the rest of the group, then proceeds with his next words, not sure if the two Chosen will understand. "You two have been subject to a dark Abyssal ritual that goes against the teachings of Hei Feng. We can help you, but only if you renounce the ways of this Storm Prophet who leads you astray!"
As the two Chosen begin to move towards the well, several things happen all at once. Rumble, Sledge in hand, swiftly moves to try and intercept the duo, fearing they have some nefarious plot in store for the well's presumably-clean water. Also anticipating a fight Maria draws down on the two tengu while Hepsubia uses the distraction provided by her companions to slip into the shadows.
Parison takes a less cautionary approach, calling out to the two Chosen to try and warn them of the folly of following the Storm Prophet, that they've been deceived. Zithembe, ever watchful and clever, poses a question to Mitoko - who nods fearfully.
"You mean Laiping's tale? It has to be, this is the only well the shrine has. It's our purification well; visitors are invited to use the water to purify themselves before proceeding to the main shrine to pray," she explains, eyes wide as the group attempts to reach - by word or by threat - the two Chosen.
But they ignore Rumble's call to stop, Maria's bow that tracks their every move, Parison's pleas. Though clearly still injured from their earlier lashing they continue to approach the well and come to a stop next to it. One of the Chosen reaches down into the well...and suddenly screams with pain before freezing in place! Mitoko utters a strangled cry as a great amorphous blob burbles up and out of the well, taking the shape of a cube. Within the cube you can see coins, broken bits of metal, and, chillingly, a partially-digested skeleton...
It's a gelatinous cube, a form of ooze . It seems a bit sluggish though, like it's already eaten recently.
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Zithembe
Mitoko
Parison
Rumble
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Chosen Cyan
Chosen Purple
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Maria
Hepsubia
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Cube
Active Conditions: None
Environmental Conditions: Garden (Difficult Terrain)
Zithembe, Parison and Rumble are UP!
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"Aye care not fer the feelin's o' ah Devil, tah me an' TORAG! they're both evil with ah capital E!" he calls back to Maria before grimly looking down at Sledge. "Parison... Aye'm sorry, buh yer faith is yers and mah faith is mine..." Gently tossing Sledge up in his hand to firm his grip, Rumble dutifully trudges into the fray.
Shield forward, the Dwarf does his best to contain the globular cube that has oozed forth from the well. "Ye shall nah pass me as aye draw breath!"
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"Whatever that is, it's hurting that Chosen!" Parison says loud enough that everyone can hear him. He's never seen anything like this before. "It's some sort of clear blob!"
Seeing that the area around the well is a bit crowded with Rumble and the two Chosen, Parison draws his light crossbow and fires it at the blob, hoping to draw its attention away from the tengu that it hurt.
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Maria quickly identifies it, "Gelatinous Cube! Seems to be moving slowly though, but still dangerous. Oozes like it have certain traits and this one also seems to have... (special attacks & resistances)"
Blind (but have the blindsight special quality), with immunity to gaze attacks, visual effects, illusions, and other attack forms that rely on sight.
Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, polymorph, and stunning.
Some oozes have the ability to deal acid damage to objects.
Not subject to critical hits or flanking. Does not take additional damage from precision-based attacks, such as sneak attack.
Proficient with its natural weapons only.
Proficient with no armor.
Oozes eat and breathe, but do not sleep.
Unsure of just what the heck sort of new challenger he's up against, Rumble advances with a little more caution than usual and adopts a defensive position in front of the great blobby mass.
Hoping to distract it from the closer of the two Chosen, the one that seems to be held in some sort of stasis or paralysis, Parison raises his crossbow and fires a shot! Even with the numerous bodies in the way it's much like shooting the broad side of a barn and the bolt sticks into the blob, leaving a small tear.
Maria is quick to identify this thing for what it is: a gelatinous cube! In addition to the basic traits a gelatinous cube and many ooze-type creatures share, she knows that it has no particular resistances. She also knows that it has the ability to paralyze it's prey by way of the anesthetizing slime that it secretes, only needing to strike a target...or engulf it. And this is perhaps the most worrisome thing of all, as a gelatinous cube can engulf creatures in its way by simply rolling over them with its body...
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Zithembe
Mitoko
Parison
Rumble
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Chosen Cyan
Chosen Purple
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Maria
Hepsubia
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Cube
Active Conditions: None
Environmental Conditions: Garden (Difficult Terrain)
Zithembe is UP!
Zithembe taps into his connection with the spirits of those who have gone before, quickening his blood and the blood of his allies with the thrill of battle. He then steps forward next to Rumble and sinks his dagger into the cube, tearing another opening in its mass!
Though afraid, Mitoko swallows hard and lifts her hands towards the sky and calls down a blessing of Hei Feng to aid the group in battle.
It's about this time that one of the Chosen seems to come back to their senses somewhat, looking around with confusion that quickly turns to fear and horror as he registers the enormous cube right in front of him.
"Aiiiieeeeee!"
With a terrified shriek, Purple turns to flee which opens him up to a rather sluggish, lazy swipe from the cube's...pseudopod?
Thankfully the attack misses and Purple plunges into the nearby garden, bogged down by the overgrown weeds and plants but doggedly doing his best to flee.
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Zithembe
Mitoko
Parison
Rumble
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Chosen Cyan
Chosen Purple
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Maria
Hepsubia
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Cube
Active Conditions: Bless, Champion Spirit (+2 Non-Spell Damage)
Environmental Conditions: Garden (Difficult Terrain)
Maria and Hepsubia are UP!