Oh! Then, ummm, shield of faith.
So my AC is currently 25, and I am +2 damage on the arrows.
Papers and candles splash onto the somewhat flooded floor as Abbo grabs the table and flips it on its side, before pulling it over to the hole in the tunnel's entrance. Vandomir retreats to the back of the room and casts a spell of protection upon himself, conjuring a floating shield in the shape of a rose. Bazzle grabs the unconscious Dottari's manacles, and fastens them over the guard's wrists, before grabbing the sap.
Rexandi looks for cover to duck behind, since none of her spells will help.
One of the tunnel walls collapses into dust, revealing three skeletons. These skeletons have blood dried over their bones, and their hands bare sharp claws. Though the frontmost skeleton gets the chance to attack Abbo, Abbo is far too nimble and dodges out of the way. He immediately retaliates, bashing as hard as he can with his shovel. Though all his attacks hit, and are incredibly powerful, the skeleton only breaks. It does not shatter, nor collapse.
Bazzle tosses a bomb past Abbo trying to get the skeleton in the rear.
After his errant parcel reveals itself he continues his run to the wall and part way up it his slippers hugging the walls with their strange magic.
Aster will try and figure out what they are. Hoping they are simply skeletons, but highly doubting it. She steps forward, holding her attack to strike the next skeleton moving into range.
"It looks like these blunt arrows are getting some work today."
Vandomir unloads on the nearest skeleton after taking a 5' step...
x3
x3
Aster recognizes these as the "bone chariots" of the Ostovites the Ravens identified earlier. Though made out of human skeletons, these are not undead. The Ostovites construct these using something akin to an animate object spell. Skeletons are a great way to deceive an enemy into thinking it is undead, but it in fact, is a construct with the creature hiding inside. Ostovites can potentially build these skeletons into all sorts of shapes and sizes, occasionally working together to construct something of massive proportions.
Bazzle's toss is off, but thankfully not catastrophically so. It impacts the tunnel wall, exploding in fire, which thankfully only scorches the skeletons. Even Abbo is safe. Though the skeletons are slightly singed, it doesn't seem to affect them terribly.
Aster steps forward to stand at Abbo's side. Expecting the skeleton to die in mere moments, she prepares a strike against the next one to take its place. She's mostly correct, as Vandomir's second arrow flies over her shoulder and the upturned table to impact the skeleton in the face. The whole contraption crumbles into ash and dust, revealing a silver, skeletal fish hovering where the skeleton's ribcage was. The fish's eye sockets light up bright red, like it's terribly alarmed.
Rexandi jogs over to behind Abbo and Aster. She says "If you step a little to the side, I can zap them without hurting anyone else." Abbo replies "Oh, yeah sure. One second."
Aster's prepared strike is unfortunately too easy for the hovering bone-fish to dodge. Its eyes flash red, before it very carefully retreats backwards. The next bone-chariot jumps in, but only barely grazes Abbo's cheek. Another bone-chariot steps in through the tunnel's hole, making 3 standing behind each other.
Abbo does as suggested, and takes a step to the right. Immediately, Rexandi's prepared spell goes off, creating a powerful lightning strike. It blasts through all three bone-chariots, and completely incinerates the fish behind them. One of the chariots, the one in the middle, looks like it's breaking apart. Abbo flurries away with his shovel, bashing the frontline twice. Though it's got some resistance to his attacks, the bone-chariot is breaking apart.
"Oh this won't do." A familiar feminine voice is heard from around the corner.
Vandomir lays into the mostly damaged skeleton, and will shift over to the other one if he drops the first one...
x3
I don't think constructs take crits, but here is a confirmation roll, just in case...
x3
Second arrow...
x3
Vandomir's first shot pierces into the rib cage of the closest skeleton, but it does not collapse as he had been hopping.
Bazzle pulls out another bomb and tosses toward the skeleton in the back. "Come on."
Hearing that their real enemy is close, Aster casts prayer to help and hinder.
Bazzle nails the wall beside the skeletons, causing them to take very minor damage. Aster casts her spell while the skeleton flails around ineffectively.
Rexandi unleashes another bolt of lightning, causing two of the skeletons to crumble into ash, and the last one to start falling apart. Two Ostovites hover from where the skeletons turned to ash, and Abbo immediate bashes the closest one into oblivion.
White-hot flames suddenly erupt from the center of the room with a rapid crackling sound, before fading almost as quickly. From the flames emerge Xyl, who sizzles with steam. A sly grin slithers over her face, and her eyes alight with passion. She brushes her long brown hair out of her face with her lithe tail, and the tail alights in fire.
"It's play time, my Loves. Hehe"
Meanwhile, the Ostovite retreats farther back down the tunnel. It glares at Rexandi, and as vengeance for destroying its favourite skeleton, it tries to do the same to Rexandi. Thankfully, Rexandi is already more than capable of resisting the majority of the bone-fish's necromancy.
The remaining Skeleton appears to cast some sort of ability, as a few of its dents and cracks are repaired. Then it moves up to the front, ready to jump in. Two more Skeletons emerge from the tunnel.
Note to self: Xyl has fire tail activated, but no dancing or strut bonuses. Abbo is still susceptible to tail whip.
"Annoying Lying Harlot" Aster says without much of any quiver in her voice anymore. These people suffered for her mistake and she has to do something about it. Not that she is capable of beating down a demon, but she is able to distract her so others can stab her from another direction.
Still moving along the ceiling Bazzle moves into a place to flank they demon.
Aster tries to strike Xyl with her mace, but she stammers and hesitates to strike such an alluring creature, no matter how bad she may be. Bazzle however pushes through, and using the ceiling as an unorthodox position, stabs around her head and shoulders. Her demonic flesh resists a fair portion of the stab, but not everything.
With Xyl visible again, Vandomir turns his attention back to her, and starts pumping arrows at her...
x3
Crit confirm...
x3
Second arrow...
x3
Her lightning all expended, Rexandi tries to catch the succubus in a glitterdust.
Her lightning all expended, Rexandi tries to catch the succubus in a glitterdust.
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Vandomir's first arrow grazes Xyl's thick thigh, while Rexandi casts glitterdust to blind and outline her foe. Unfortunately, the alluring and glittering particles also encompasses Aster and Bazzle, but everyone (including Xyl) resist the blinding effect. Meanwhile, Abbo bashes another skeleton into dust, revealing an annoying Ostovite underneath.
Xyl smiles gleefully at the raining of glitterdust, but continues to fight without any impediment. She struts past Aster and Bazzle, unconcerned for their attacks of opportunity, and with her fiery tail, paints a great wall of fire across the room as she walks. With half the group isolated by crackling flame, she moves closer to her favourite archer, Vandomir. "I've got my eye on you, you cute little Milanite. I see you don't just shoot blanks."
Meanwhile in the tunnel, the Ostovite retreats from Abbo. The next skeleton fills its place, attacking Abbo and grazing him with a bony claw. The farthest Ostovite launches a glob of acid at Rexandi, though it's more of an annoyance than anything.
Note to self: Xyl has strut active, but nothing else
As the demon liar moves away, Aster actually gets a really good hit on her. Which is more than a little abnormal for her. She moves around the edge of the wall of fire and then hurries through it to get on the other side of the thing again, so Bazzle can get a flank on her.
Vandomir will continue firing arrows at Xyl...
x3
Second arrow...
x3
Bazzle drops from the ceiling and nimbly slides behind the demon to flank with Vandomir.
Once in place he drives in with his dagger.
Vandomir's point-blank shots are too close to gain much momentum, and simply scrape off Xyl's scarlet skin. Meanwhile, Bazzle drops from the ceiling and skitters around the succubus to stab from behind. Due to her bewilderment, Bazzle's stab is very powerful. Xyl gasps out loud when she feels the knife enter her.
Rexandi backs away from the fire as best she can and makes a sign of the Evil Eye at the demon.
Rexandi feels that she has to pierce through a protective barrier to affect Xyl, but she manages to curse the succubus. Xyl moves out of the flank, then lashes out at Bazzle with claw and tail. Only one claw catches Bazzle, and just barely.
Meanwhile, Abbo starts breaking away at another skeleton. It lashes out with its claws, catching Abbo with one of them. The Ostovites in the back launch more globs of acid at Rexandi, landing both shots.
The wall of fire continues to blaze, and the body of the Dottari soldier catches aflame.
"Got your attention did I? I am gonna do this even though I think you'll like well until yer in the abyss again."
Bazzle's first dagger strike fails to bypass her natural resistances, but his offhand dagger catches her by surprise. He plunges it directly towards her thick thigh, and though the resistance is still in effect, he manages to slice just enough to leave a mark.
Abbo continues to bash away at the skeletons, for fear of them overrunning him and Rexandi if he lets them through.
Having little hope in actually hurting the harlot, Aster instead moves up to aid Bazzle in doing so.
Rexandi chops at one of the ostovites with her dagger, hoping that it'll fall to a few good hits.
While Ostovites can definitely die after a few dagger strikes, Rexandi is going to need to put a little more oomph into those attacks. Aster helps set Bazzle up for another attack against the Succubus, while Vandomir looses another two arrows. The first one hits, and impales Xyl in the abdomen. At this point, she looks like she's really beginning to suffer.
Xyl furiously shreds into Bazzle's flesh with her claws, grabbing onto him and hoisting him up to her head. While she ineffectively flicks Aster with her tail, she stares deep into Bazzle's eyes with a desperate, unquenchable hunger.
The Ostovite retreats from Rexandi's reach, and a skeleton comes in to take its place. It scrapes along Rexandi's skin, despite the cover she has. The Ostovites lob acid at the table, but it will take a long time before they manage to melt it.