The searing pain from the eye beam catches Tasha off-guard, the skin and flesh evaporating making her scream. Still, through bloodied teeth, the woman raises her shield and sets onto a flurry towards the dwarf with the warhammer.
If Bazzle moves, Aster will rush forward, pressing her hands on the back of the nearly defeated warrior. "Don't die on us, Tasha, none of us are good enough to take your place at the Crier" she tries to add lightly, as the warmth replaces some of the other woman's skin.
Tasha bashes the warhammer-wielding dwarf skum with her spiked shield. It's skin doesn't react the same way as the first dwarf skum's did, but instead it has clusters of eyes growing around its cheeks. Tasha performs two bashes, each one popping an eye. Her dagger however is blocked by the stone armour.
Bazzle takes a potshot at the serpent skum, who bears the red eye of Menotheguro. The insane amount of cover the skum has makes this shot very unlikely, but with the blessings of Milani, Bazzle just barely arcs the bolt around to strike the serpent. It's a mediocre hit, but it's not as hardy as the stone armour dwarves.
Aster switches places with Bazzle and delivers a healing spell to Tasha. It isn't much, but it's a start.
Rillia gives Ederion another dose of that Slipstream spell.
While the delivery of the spell was especially weird, the spell itself was nothing less than Disintegrate. It's a transmutation spell designed to turn anything it hits into nothing. You recon that it only dealt a fraction of its potential damage since it carved through so much rock to reach Tasha. You also figure that without an open Eye of Menotheguro, the spell cannot be cast.
"They seem to command powerful spells, but none of that kind unless there is an open Eye of Menotheguro - we need to be on the lookout" - Ederion warns the others.
"That eye tried to disintegrate you! Kill it fast!" shouts Rexandi.
She follows with a reach cure moderate wounds to help Tasha.
Rexandi makes a powerful healing spell and sends it to help restore Tasha. She's now looking pretty healthy. Not quite perfect, but healthy.
All of the skum either mumble absolute gibberish or hit themselves with their own weapons. The only exception is one of the mermaid skum, who successfully zaps the dwarf skum in front of her.
"Rexi, very good work" the plump rat lady will congratulate the tiefling, tapping their wall with a hit from their wand and then will retreat for their lightning blaster to get back to business.
With Aster and Rexandi at her back, Tasha's mouth opens widely as she sees her flesh knit before her very eyes with even more awe than before. Magic... Why did I never learn any magic?!, a stray thought crosses her mind, before the battle goes back to her mind. "I'm trying - they're tougher than they look, and they look pretty damn tough as they are!", she shouts back, as her shield bashes into the dwarf bleeding in the water, followed by a stab by the glowing dagger in her hand. "Die, you old boot!"
"Yes, good, insult them by calling them footware." Aster encourages the fighter, before bubbling around the corner.
Tasha finally stabs and bashes her way through the first dwarven Skum!
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Sheathing off the dwarf from her dagger, Tasha shouts, "Well.. Old boots are a thing you don't want when you're... fishing, right? I thought it made sense!"
Ederion waits for a chance to join the fray.
Ederion waits for a chance to join the fray.
Ederion waits for a chance to join the fray.
Ederion waits for a chance to join the fray.
Bazzle draws a dagger for his second hand activates the beast shape ability of the Cloak of the Mantaray, leaving his arms free for fighting. The strange manta ray with gnome arms swims past Ed. He lets loose with the Crack, and spins sending the spikey manta ray tail toward the dwarf skum.
Ederion waits patiently rather than charging in recklessly. Bazzle tries to strike the dwarf Skum, but the cover granted by the stone wall is far too much to find a good opening.
The serpent skum tries to bite itself, while the mermaid skum behind it tries and fails to electrocute it. The other mermaid skum manages to cast a spell of frost upon Tasha, Ederion, and Bazzle. Tasha and Bazzle take the worst of it, but Ederion around the corner is affected as well. The dwarf skum just mumbles pure gibberish and stares into the vast void of who knows where.
That was an evocation spell called Frost Fall. It makes the surroundings very cold, and can cause creatures to shiver so violently that it's hard to do much else. The spell lingers for around a dozen seconds, depending on the strength of the spellcaster. If anyone lingers in the area during that time, they will continually freeze, though not as badly as when the spell was first cast.
/2=3
Bazzle yells,
Bazzle swims high stowing the short spear on his back and darts about trying to use his natural agility to avoid enemies as he swims toward the snake-like creature.
"Move in so we can flank the beefy one."
Once in position Bazzle stabs out at the dye of the snake-like creature.
Sacrificing the safety of Tasha's shield, Bazzle boldly swims into the fray. The dwarf skum swings his warhammer at Bazzle, but Bazzle carefully dodges the slow swing. He goes for a backhand swing, but Bazzle again dodges out of the way. The mermaid skum has nothing to attack him with, and the serpent skum tries pitifully to bite the manta-Gnome. Yet the cold takes its toll on Bazzle, who shakes violently and can't get his arms to attack.
Rexandi moves forward as much as she can (which isn't much) and, given what little she can see past the corner, throws a hex of misfortune at the mer-skum next to Bazzle.
The mermaid skum that crackles with electricity barely even registers Rexandi's hex.
The biting cold seems to slow Tasha down as the hoarfrost from the dwarf chills her bones. Nevertheless, her eyes look away at the mermaid in the corner with fury, as Bazzle bursts into the room. "For the Silver Ravens!", she shouts out, her tail lashing viciously to propel her straight into the dwarf.
Tasha easily pushes past the Dwarf Skum, who's flipped upside down in the water.
so 3
Ederion wades in after his companions, flanking the dwarven skum with Bazzle, and thrusting ahead with his rapier.
Ederion takes a little damage from the cold spell, but still manages to press on. Though his strike is clumsy, the combined efforts of Bazzle's flank and Tasha's efforts to put the dwarf off-balance result in a deep pierce. That being said, the dwarf skum does not die.
The serpent skum manages to cast a spell, which shields all the skum with a translucent black aura. The two mermaid skum babble incoherantly, but the dwarf skum is able to reorient itself (no AoO since swim speed), and lumbers to the side. Using his stone hammer, he smacks Bazzle with an unorthodox thrust to the head.
The spell is Protection from Good, communal.
Mother Kahli races into the fray, armed with only a dagger and her spiritual trident. She lunges right into the serpent skum with a shriek, though the cut is very shallow and the trident fails to get through the serpent's scales. Rillia is much less a fighter, and decides to hang back with Aster.
Rexandi switches to some ranged healing on Bazzle.
"Bazzle! I'll clear a path! Stay at my side!", Tasha shouts as the gnome is set upon by his enemies. Turning to the mermaid at the side, she sets upon with a barrage of attacks.
All of the attacks are at the mermaid currently blocking Bazzle's withdraw route. If the first two drop her (unlikely), she'll aim the other at the eel.
Dazzle surges forward desperately for eye on the snake creature.
Ederion turns on the 'skummified' mermaid next to him with some regret, his weapon poised to attack.
"Mother Kahli, are they really beyond hope..?"
"Kill them all!" Kahli yells in her rage
Dazzle surges forward besperately for the eye, but his attacks are easily dodged. The closed eye doesn't benefit from the tough scales of the serpent, but such a small target is difficult to hit.
Ederion thrusts with his rapier, which is ever so narrowly dodged by the skum-mermaid. The crackling electricity looks dangerous as a hit might unleash the energy onto the blade-bearer.
Rexandi swims forward as best she can to keep an eye on the team, though she doesn't have anything else to contribute in this moment.