Carefully Tyrus advances on the nearest skeleton, intent on some forensic medicine. "We'll see then, Kien."
Kien shadows Tyrus, ready to defend him if need be.
Tyrus leans in close to study the bones. He learns that there were at least four, perhaps five different orcs that died here. Only two skeletons are intact, the others having been scattered - both before and after death. In addition to that, the damage to the bones is varied, from deep-structure contusions to cracks and shattering blows. Whatever killed them, it was brutal and powerful.
Tyrus relays the information, adding "Something with this strength would disassemble the skeletons while eating them. I suggest either it didn't eat, was itself killed, or left very soon after. A summoned creature would make sense."
"That's what I figured. Want to chance it? We can actually prepare for this one. I think the robe is important. Would probably get us past the silver line and the double doors at the front."
"But they were killed a long time ago, right...?" Luca pondered. That said, she was entirely in favor of being cautious whenever there was so much as the potential for danger. Given their experiences thus far, anything else would have been insane.
Tyrus hummed. "It would make sense that it might be the key"
he admits. "Alright Nothing ventured, I suppose. Let's do this as cleverly as we can. Get ready. Prepare. Take up positions. Somewhere we can run from, if we have to. Then I'll use a spell to try to trigger it."
"If you can effect it at range, go to the maximum distance down the hall with Luca. Kien and I will take the vanguard and get ready."
As Dante begins his spell, he feels a strange sort of echo in the stones around him. The instant he finishes, ephemeral runes flash once in the air, and as they fade the scant dust of rock and bone in the room is drawn rapidly together to form the outline of a creature just to Dante's side. Immediately it darts forward on the attack.
Dante's just-cast protective spell turns aside the darting beak of the dust-creature, and before he or the rest of the party can react, the insubstantial cloud of dust disperses again, lifeless once more.
Luca hadn't need to be told twice to get to a safe position - for that matter, she hadn't needed to be told once, and she winced slightly as the... thing... pecked at him. "Are you all right?" she asked, not getting any closer to the danger.
Instinctively, Dante thrusts his rapier under the floating shield of force in the direction of his attacker. But the attacker was gone in a puff of dust. What just happened? He looks at the others confused. "Yes. Just confused," he says in a daze. "I think it reacted to the spell." Thinking about it, Dante moves closer to Tyrus. "Cast the spell and be ready. I'll try and stop whatever appears. Tein, get the other side."
Kien raises his arms up defensively.
"No - let me see if the magic is gone first." Tyrus notes.
Once he's determined the spell is still there, he shrugs.
"Alright. I'm going to raise a ward and grab the cloth. Assuming that thing attacks again, everyone... keep me alive. I think perhaps once someone is wearing it they might be able to command the spell to stop." he sighs "If we're going to have one person at risk, and unable to fight, it might as well be me."
Once his spells were cast, he took a deep breath and slowly approached the dais, hand outstretched for the robe.
"...Um, you know I could have one of those stone men do it, right?" Luca asked hesitantly, considering the Vilstraks about a thousand times more expendable than any of her precious companions. (On the other hand, their strength might be needed for battle... no matter what, there was risk. Drat.) Still, if Tyrus insisted, she was willing to defer to his judgment.
"I suspect it is the wearing of the robes that is important." Tyrus answers.
Tyrus casts detect magic with no incident. As he begins False Life, he too feels the reaction of the room around him, and the runes come to life in the air around him, capturing wasted energy from his spell and binding it to fuel the punishment. When the spell completes, another of the creatures forms from the dust - somewhat more solid this time.
Kien and Dante are both ready, but Kien beats Dante to the attack.
Kien's skill is evident as he stoops to throw an arm around the dust-formed neck of the create and throttle it - but it flows around his flesh like sand blowing in the wind, still making for Tyrus. Blocked by Kien, Dante has no time to try a blow of his own as it claws for the wizard's blood.
The beak strikes flesh and gouges deep - but rather than blood, the white corpse-essence of False Life spills through, Tyrus having already completed his spell. Then, as before, the creature vanishes.
[00c]28 if spellcraft. Trying to figure out what is going on.[/ooc]
Again the thing appeared and again it attacked one casting magic. But not cantrip level magic. Only first order spells. "This is annoying but not particularly deadly. Something else killed these orcs. I say we exit the room, cast our spells, then try for the regalia. Like Luca said, we could just have one of her stone men grab it. See what happens."
Luca blinked as she watched. "So... it's triggered by casting certain schools of magic, maybe?" she ventured as a suggestion. At least, the divination-oriented Detect Magic hadn't seemed to trigger anything, while Tyrus' False Life (a Necromancy spell) had caused a reaction.
You know that every spell cast by a mortal magician has some element of waste in it - energy that is drawn but not used. It is this energy that forms the traces and auras others can use to detect the evidence of magic use after the fact. From your brief glimpse of the runes in play, you imagine that some blanket enchantment in the room (or the temple at large, you would guess) is managing to capture this scant energy and turn it into an attack on the originating caster in the form of a very briefly-summoned creature. How you might get around this effect, you've no idea.
"Whenever a spell is cast, a certain amount of... waste energy, I suppose, is released. It seems the entire temple, or perhaps just this room, uses some mechanism to collect that energy. I suspect a ley line node. The energy is then focused into summoning a creature."
Tyrus holds forth further "We've seen three spells. My firt divination was minor enough it had no effect - at best it might have stirred the earth. Dante's first order spell raised a creature. My ward was more powerful and caused a correspondingly more powerful effect."
"I suppose it is possible the orcs used a highly powerful effect? It doesn't seem likely, though."
Kien barks out a curse. "It's not physical, whatever it is. I didn't even feel anything."
"That wouldn't be a very good defense. Then someone with no magic could walk in and take it. This only hampers casters. Something bigger must be protecting the robe to crush orcs like that," Dante says pointing at the corpses. "Luca, send something in to grab it. We'll deal with what happens out in the hall to prevent those dust summons."
Luca edged out of the room - having no interest at all in standing where summoned defenses might assault her - and put both hands on the ground. A moment later, Vilstraks rose up and began moving forward, clearly intending to retrieve what the group was interested in.
The Vilstraks rise and head for the remains of the ceremonial robes, reaching out to pull them from their pedestals. As soon as they do, a flush of magical energy floods into the room, and runes - different from those Dante and Tyrus had activated before - flash in the air. The bones on the floor begin to rumble, and milk-white bonedust fountains into the air from the small holes between the stones.
The dust coalesces into whole bone, forming the shape of a beast. Onto this form, the orc bones agglomerate, forming appendages at odd angles, some with claws at their end, others with gnashing, biting orc skulls. The skeletal monster is the size of a full-grown bull, and likewise quadrupedal. It's skull resembles that of a snake or stunted crocodile, with a prominent snout and long serrated teeth. Horned protrusions line the skull. The back limbs are prominent, with a rear joint that rises above the hip.
This creature seems to be some manner of golem, rather than a product of necromancy. It will not respond to spells that affect the undead, despite its skeletal appearance. It also likely lacks any true mind upon which to work magic.
You caught enough of a glimpse of the summoning runes to know that protective spells are laid upon the beast.
The back legs suggest whatever the creature was in life, it could leap a prodigious distance. It may retain that ability.
Begin Combat: Round 1
Creature
Timm
Luca
Tyrus
Kien
Dante
The creature coalesces surprisingly fast, but its sudden return to existence leaves it with momentary confusion. It stumbles towards the vilstraks holding the garments it was, no doubt, created to protect.
The Vilstraks... might have a tough time with that thing, actually, though they'd still serve as meat shields. Luca quickly muttered under her breath, sending a burst of energizing power through the rest of the group to help ensure their safety.
As she did so, her Eidolon moved into a defensive position in front of her, while the Vilstraks moved to surround the creature and hit it from every side, using teamwork to help supplement their lack of individual ability.
for
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Is that undead?
I sense no necromancy. It appears to be a bone golem.
Great.
Protective runes on the bones forming its base appear to grant it the defenses of an undead though.
I can see that. Like I wasn't feeling useless enough.
And spells will be ineffective.
You're not helping.
Direct target spells. Enhanced elemental attacks should still work.
...I can work with that.
Dante presses his fingers to the black blade and slowly works his way down while saying a spell. The glows green and drips a hissing fluid. He then moves into the room and begins working his way around the beast to flank it.
Kien runs around the room, letting the summoned creatures do the blocking for the backlines. He gets into a flank with one of them and unleashing a leaping kick!
Luca's vilstraks go about their work with fearless resolve, not shying away from the skeletal beast as they pummel it with stony fists. Kien approaches from behind and unleashes a powerful blow.
Luca retreats to the hallway to cast her spell, but whatever wards are laid against magic-users extend there as well. A dust-creature immediately materializes and attacks, and another one seeks to chastise Dante for his own spell.
Luca feels the bite of the creature's beak before it vanishes, but again Dante's protective spells keep him safe from harm.
Begin Combat Round 2
Creature (39 damage)
Timm
Luca (8 damage)
Fluffy (haste 1/4)
Tyrus (haste 1/4)
Kien (haste 1/4)
Dante (haste 1/4)
The creature, now fully active, unleashes its own offensive. Its mighty jaws seek to crush one of the vilstraks while its limbs lash out at its other attackers. Even the smaller, absorbed bones of the orcs seek to punish the enemies of what once murdered them.
The attacks quickly pulverize two of the vilstraks and leave kien with a nasty line of gashes from the yellowed claws of a hind foot.
Kien growls at the injury but responds in kind.
Even as Luca let out a yelp of pain, her eyes flashed with eldritch light - but Fluffy's presence seemed to be disrupting the summoning attempt, and it was gone before she could do anything else.
Meanwhile, the two remaining Vilstraks maneuvered into flanking positions (or rather, the right one moved up while the other stayed in place) and hammered out at the beast.
for
for
Neither of them seemed to be managing more than one hit. The first one had a fairly solid blow, and the other... not a great blow, exactly, but the eldritch energies strengthening its body helped it hit about as hard as one of its kind normally might, and they were clearly doing their utmost to protect their summoner.
Timm's hand flashes silver as a starknife speeds towards the creature. The shot embeds itself in the heart of the creature - or where the heart would be in a creature of flesh and blood, rather than bones and magic.
"No magic!" shouts Tyrus, and blurs into motion behind Kien. A single touch and Kien finds himself flooded with vigor.
Dante was more than a little intimidated by the vast number of attacks the beast had but this was not time to think about that. After it thrashes several Vilstaks, grinding two to dust immediately, he runs from around the pillar and leaps into the fight. He wills his shield ahead of him to block the bones and stabs with his acid infused sword.
Tyrus charges Kien's muscles with extra strength, and the half-elf in turn lands powerful blows, his iron-hard hands cracking bone with each strike. He attempts to seize and overturn the beast entire, but it keeps its feet. Luca's Vilstraks continue their pummeling. Timm's starknife flies true, but does little enough damage to the bone.
End Round 2
Begin Combat Round 3
Creature (84 damage, acid 1/3)
Timm
Luca (8 damage)
Fluffy (haste 2/4)
Tyrus (haste 2/4)
Kien (11 damage, haste 2/4)
Dante (haste 2/4)
Dante's acid bubbles and spits as it begins to devour the ancient bone. In places, it looks like whatever magics bind the bones into a coherent form are beginning to unravel.
The creature wheels in place to face Kien, recognizing him as a primary threat. It's jaws dart forward to seize the half-elf in their grip, while its other limbs continue flailing at the others.
Kien manages to duck the grasping jaws, and the remaining vilstraks prove surprisingly agile. Dante, however, is caught between two blows. Claws rake him and the disembodied skull of an orc buries its tusks into his flesh.
Jaws coming at his throat. A familiar feeling. Kien protects his vulnerable spot and unleashing another flurry of blows.
A few moments after Kienyach struck out - with what looked like a pretty solid trip of their foe - Luca's Vilstraks hammered down on it in an effort to pulverize it before it could regain its footing (and its defenses, given how vulnerable creatures lying prone on the ground tended to be).
for
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Meanwhile, Luca continued to cower behind the others.
Kien and the vilstraks continue their assaults, shattering bones with a multitude of blows. As more and more of its animated form breaks, the creature's movements become suddenly disjointed. Bones fall away from the skeleton on their own, until suddenly the entire thing comes undone, many of the oldest bursting back into the pulverized bone dust that had formed them.
The Vilstraks still had a little bit of time in the world... and one of the two remaining ones picked up the item they'd been retrieving in the first place, walking over to Tyrus and holding it out to him as Luca and her eidolon looked on.
Dante saw the swing but didn't have the reaction speed for it. He willed the shield to go higher a split second too late. It clipped the shield then clipped his head. For a moment, all went black. And even when it did come back, it was different. He stabbed at the beast in retaliation out of reflex. He hit and plunged deeper than he expected. The beast was crumbling from Kien's last blow and he crumbled with it. He hit the ground on all fours. The floor spun in circles and he barely kept his lunch down. A drop of something red fell from outside his vision and splashed into the ground in slow motion.