Master Nekht ducked through the door, then snapped his fingers and made a throwing action at Mr. Orange.
Cast Acid Splash
for a possible acid damage.
Oops. Yes!
Tilver charges in and stabs one of the ratmen in the chest, causing it to scream! Nekh-Mutf hurls a glob of acid that strikes the same ratman and splashes acid over all three foes and Tilver. Orange screams as the acid eats into its fur and flesh and kills it!
STATUS
Gavele - 1 damage
Dain
Sauklas
Tilver - 92/96 hp
Nekh-Mutf
Silas
RED - 1 damage
Silas charges and in and starts slashing at the creature next to Tilver.
Silas charges in and delivers a devastating blow to the lone ratman, nearly driving the creature to its knees.
The strange woman grimaces, revealing long canine fangs. She steps back, whistles loudly and gestures, creating a billowing cloud of darkness around her.
Outside, Dain sees two Venom-shaped thralls clamber madly over the side of the building and drop down into the plaza near him!
STATUS
Gavele - 1 damage
BLUE thrall -
PINK thrall -
Dain
Sauklas
Tilver - 92/96 hp
Nekh-Mutf
Silas
RED Ratman - 45 damage
"A p-pair of thralls headed this way!" stammers Dain. In a stronger voice, he calls out in spirit-tongue.
Dain summons a vicious spirit from the host of Ptolus's ghosts that follow him. That spirit lashes the weird abominations with stones from the rubble-strewn plaza, striking one soundly in the head!
STATUS
Gavele - 1 damage
BLUE thrall - 20 damage
PINK thrall - 40 damage
Dain
Sauklas
Tilver - 92/96 hp
Nekh-Mutf
Silas
RED Ratman - 45 damage
Tilver feints with a quick twitch, drawing a reaction from the ratman and letting him slash his blade over the ratman's guard. He hopes to put the ratman down, so Silas is free to deal with the woman. "After her!"
”Doing so,” Sauklas says as he moves along the wall to reach a better location for a crossbow shot. His fingers place the bolt in the firing mechanism with practiced ease. Raising the hand crossbow to aim, he keeps his face composed and anxiety-free. A pull of the trigger and he rushes to hound her steps.
"Ah, terribly sorry Tilver. I will shift targets." Master Nekht said before shifting outside the tower.
He then snapped his fingers and made a throwing action at Mr. Pink.
Cast Acid Splash
for a possible acid damage.
Silas rages and attacks the general direction of the creature next to him!
Sauklas envisions the woman's position before she cast her spell, calmed himself and fired his crossbow. He was rewarded by a meaty thunk and a groan of pain. Nekh-Mutf struck his foe with a glob of acid and Silas couldn't find his foe in the sudden darkness.
The ratman fades back into the darkness, seen only by Tilver, reloads and fires his arquebus at Sauklas. The woman throws a blade at Sauklass, then retreats again. Sauklas dodges both attacks.
Outside, the Venom-Shaped Thralls babble incoherently and race to positions out side the Telekinetic Storm. Then they both raise up on their hind legs and fire a barrage of needles at the Nekh-Mutf and Dain.
piercing plus electricity.
piercing plus electricity.
STATUS
Gavele - 15 damage
BLUE thrall - 20 damage
PINK thrall - 46 damage
Dain - ???/96 hp
Sauklas -
Tilver - 92/96 hp
Nekh-Mutf - ???/68 hp
Silas
RED Ratman - 45 damage
Critical Success!
Critical Success!
Dain releases the angry ghost as he shifts position, then calls out to the stone spirits to wake from their slumber.
Sauklas considers for a moment the single elixir in his sleeve that would negate the magical darkness but thinks it might be more useful later. He stows his crossbow then extends his free hand for help in navigating while his axe is poised laterally across his torso.
”Did she leave the darkness?” he calls out carefully stepping forward.
He thinks he hears the woman next to him. A swing of the axe…
"I'm going to help the others!" Tilver abandons the edge of the darkness, rushing towards Dain and Nekh-Mutf. He charges through the door and hacks at the hurt thrall.
Master Nekht pointed to a section of broken masonry, which then lifted into the air and then hurled itself violently through the air towards Mr. Pink (or Mr. Blue if Pink is down).
Cast Telekinetic Projectile.
for a possible bludgeoning damage.
[dice=Ref save DC22]1d20+12 Critical Success!
[dice=Ref save DC22]1d20+12 Critical Success!
Dain's spirit allies shake the ground under the cult monsters' feet and batter them with rubble. One loses its footing and falls down, its insectile legs scrabbling for purchase. Tilver rushes out and stabs the other, a mighty blow in the mid-thorax. A moment later and Master Nekh-Mutf telekinetically hurls a paving stone at the monster's head, crushing its skull!
Inside, Sauklas swings wildly, striking only the wall.
STATUS
Gavele - 15 damage
BLUE thrall - 29 damage, Prone
Dain - 72/96 hp
Sauklas -
Tilver - 92/96 hp
Nekh-Mutf - 60/68 hp
Silas
RED Ratman - 45 damage
Silas moves forward and slashes towards where he smells a rat!
Silas feels a meaty thunk! as his sword bites into living flesh. Then he hears the sound of a body hitting the floor. The smell of rat is almost overwhelming, but he can scent the lighter smell of a human female nearby, the smell of fear. Yet the scent is also heavy with something else - something that
reminds him of aged eggs.
Three arrows come lancing into the darkness, though Silas is only aware of the two that hit him in the shoulder and chest.
The horrid formerly-human monstrosity rises and slashes at Tilver, cutting a gash across his hip.
STATUS
Gavele - 15 damage
BLUE thrall - 29 damage
Dain - 72/96 hp
Sauklas -
Tilver - 74/96 hp
Nekh-Mutf - 60/68 hp
Silas - 110/124 hp
While the thrall's attention is on Tilver, Dain slips around behind the creature. He stabs at it, then, with a whistle, gathers a pair of rot spirits and directs them at the thrall.
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Master Nekht forms a triangle with his fingers before his forehead, then points at Mr. Blue.
Casts DAZE
the target must attempt a basic Will save (DC26). If the target critically fails the save, it is also stunned 1.
Tilver smiles grimly as Dain flanks the creature, dividing its attention. He swings his elven blade deftly at the creature's midsection, hoping to eviscerate it.
Hearing the sounds of combat in the vicinity, Sauklas thinks, What good is that elixir going to do if I die in this darkness? He reaches into his magical sleeve and pulls out the one with a cube-topped cork. Attached to a leather tie the cork brushes his chin as he drinks down the contents.
One hour, he thinks. He pulls out his hand crossbow and looks for their adversary.
Silas ignores the arrows plinking off of him and races to aid his allies!
The group gangs up on the last venom-shaped thrall and messily puts it out of its misery.
Meanwhile, Sauklas drinks a magical elixir and begins to see through the shadowy gloom! He sees the devil-girl firing a bow from cover. One arrow grazes his forearm.
STATUS
Gavele - 15 damage
Dain - 72/96 hp
Sauklas - 89/96 hp
Tilver - 74/96 hp
Nekh-Mutf - 60/68 hp
Silas - 110/124 hp
Master Nekht turned and went back inside the Eastern structure. Seeing the inky blackness, he considered his options.
He decided on Dispel Magic.
He waived his arms in a fanning pattern and spoke a word of negation at the field of magical darkness.
Silas returns to the gloom.
Tilver rushes back into the rooms, skirting the darkness. He moves into the far room to listen and search what he can see.
Sauklas shakes the arm that was grazed by an arrow. He swipes a bolt from his belt and loads it while he hurries towards his enemy. For a moment he considers intimidating her by scraping the axehead against the wall in his approach. He decides not to play mind games in the dark and just attack. When he stands in front of her, he levels his crossbow and fires at her. Within a heartbeat he swings his axe in an overhead chop.
Dain quietly moves in the direction the thralls came from. When he reaches the edge of the building, he stealthily peaks around the corner to see if any more enemies are lurking there.
Nekh-Mutf dispels the darkness and Sauklas fires point-blank at the devil-girl, but misses.
Sensing disaster in the light, she smiles a charming smile and says "Parley?"
Sauklas redirects his axe swing from what he is sure would have been a devastating blow to whiffing along the woman’s arm. ”What do you think?” he casts the question to the others. He loads his crossbow while staring into her eyes.
Master Nekht moved up to where Sauklas had the devil pinned.
"Parley?" His voice echoed hollowly from behind his funerary mask.
"What would you have that would interest us?" He asked, his voice inhumanly menacing.
Tilver comes back around the corner. He watches the woman for any signs of deception and waits to hear what she has to offer.
"Mmm... Knowledge, I suppose. I can tell you about the cults here. It's more than ratmen, you know."
"You let me go and I'll tell you what I know."
"If you tell us what you know and we let you go, you leave this city. Finding you back in these warrens or with these cults would end poorly for you." Silas says with a dangerous glint in his eye.
Tilver walks up. "You'll tell us about the Cults? Like the Ebon Hand? What are they doing in this place? Does this have anything to do with the Quaan?"
"If you tell us what you know and we let you go, you leave this city. Finding you back in these warrens or with these cults would end poorly for you." Silas says with a dangerous glint in his eye.
"Agreed. I'll leave town tonight."
Tilver walks up. "You'll tell us about the Cults? Like the Ebon Hand? What are they doing in this place? Does this have anything to do with the Quaan?"
"Yep. The Ebon Hand," she says. "And more. I know who's in charge and what they're doing. Never heard of the Quaan."
Dain and Magill stay outside the building and keep watch for anyone approaching their position.
Sauklas keeps his crossbow leveled at her abdomen. His axe is held at his side, but angled for a quick strike if needed. ”Continue, please,” he says calmly. ”You know who’s in charge and what they’re doing.”
She sighs and takes in a deep breath. It makes her tight clothing shift in unavoidably interesting ways. She raises her eyebrow and grins while you shift your attention back to her face.
"It's a grand alliance," she says. "You got past the Outer Temple, so you're tough, but you have no idea how much danger you are in here. There's demons sent by Lilith of the Fallen. There's representatives of the Broken Square, the Tolling Bell, the Brotherhood of Venom, so many others. Even some of the great and famous of the City. All under the high priestess Illadris, second only to Shigmaa Wuntad. They're bringing together everyone that matters under one grand final alliance."
"This is the big one. The real one. The Night of Dissolution."
"Night of Dissolution? No? The ending of the world! The Galchutt will fly free after aeons of imprisonment and they will reward their servants that please them. That's the theory, anyway."
"And they say it will all start right here, in the Kaleidoscope Temple."
Tilver's mind reels with the torrent of information and names. "All of those cults are working together under the same leadership? And with demons?" He shakes his head, processing it all. "Tell me more about the Night of Dissolution. There's some ritual involved, right? What needs to be done? And tell me more about Illadris."
Tilver has heard of Lilith, whispered demon queen of the court of demons said to be living in the Necropolis. Beautiful temptress and mighty sorcerer.
Tilver has -met- Shigmaa Wuntad. Wuntad robbed you of several artifacts after you cleared Pythoness House (five real-time years ago).
He's never heard of Illadris.
_______________________________________
"Some ritual. Right. I don't know much about it, or how it works, though."
Tilver shrugs, trying to act unimpressed. "I've met Wuntaad. What did I call him? 'common thug, mugger of the distracted, and swiper of cripples' crutches.' I mean, he wears a skirt..."
He leans forward. "But have you met this high-priestess, Illadris? I'm wondering if I've met her too. A litorian woman with symbols shaved into her hair? Or she the lizardfolk with scars and brands in her scaly skin? I'm betting the first one. Or maybe neither of those. But then, who are they?"
"The litorian sounds like Ibard, one of Wuntad's guards. Stupid cow is some sort of priestess. Don't recognize the lizardfolk. But Illadras? She's human. She's a fire priestess of the Tolling Bell."