..."Well, since our presumptive foe, the kreen wraith Kchac'Thraa, is itself a member of the living dead, and a master of their kind, I am doubtful whether your proposition is a winning strategy. Would the dark one not simply seize control of your undead servants and turnTyren, fascinated by the suggestion that the grotto was both alive and maintained its intercontinental network via romance, at once stepped toward Itko. "When you say it is wooing the world...Do you suggest, then, that this world has full agency over the space around it? Is it as though the air which we breath is like an appendage, with which it can move things about as it wills?""The planet upon which we all endeavor to sustain our lives, such as they are, is itself a living thing, a female presence whose thinking and speaking faculties are contained within the endless crystalline nodes that penetrate the inner spaces of Athas. These are connected by ley lines which run between the endless forest of spires which emanate from the great geodesic moon which occupies the center of the planet. This is the 'brain' of Athas, and the winds which you reference are its breath.""I see...I see. I must endeavor, then, to study the language of Athas. It is not only fascinating, I believe, but right to know the language of the one to which I entrust all my charges."
But while he was ruminating on these words, he noted that Hamza, their enigmatic master of shadows--the one with courage, that is--Had already opened a portal to his home-realm and returned. He waited expectantly. "I suppose I ought to have mentioned this earlier, but...If this is a tomb, no? That contains corpses? I'm no fan of desecrating the bodies of the dead--indeed, it's the opposite of my occupation--But if our needs are dire, I can request of the dead their assistance in eliminating this threat."
"That raises an excellent question -- what is our plan of attack? Remember, I'm not leading from the front!"
..."Well, since our presumptive foe, the kreen wraith Kchac'Thraa, is itself a member of the living dead, and a master of their kind, I am doubtful whether your proposition is a winning strategy. Would the dark one not simply seize control ofTyren, fascinated by the suggestion that the grotto was both alive and maintained its intercontinental network via romance, at once stepped toward Itko. "When you say it is wooing the world...Do you suggest, then, that this world has full agency over the space around it? Is it as though the air which we breath is like an appendage, with which it can move things about as it wills?""The planet upon which we all endeavor to sustain our lives, such as they are, is itself a living thing, a female presence whose thinking and speaking faculties are contained within the endless crystalline nodes that penetrate the inner spaces of Athas. These are connected by ley lines which run between the endless forest of spires which emanate from the great geodesic moon which occupies the center of the planet. This is the 'brain' of Athas, and the winds which you reference are its breath.""I see...I see. I must endeavor, then, to study the language of Athas. It is not only fascinating, I believe, but right to know the language of the one to which I entrust all my charges."
But while he was ruminating on these words, he noted that Hamza, their enigmatic master of shadows--the one with courage, that is--Had already opened a portal to his home-realm and returned. He waited expectantly. "I suppose I ought to have mentioned this earlier, but...If this is a tomb, no? That contains corpses? I'm no fan of desecrating the bodies of the dead--indeed, it's the opposite of my occupation--But if our needs are dire, I can request of the dead their assistance in eliminating this threat."
Tyren nodded, staring at the cavern ceiling for a minute or two. "In my humble opinion, I'd advise on a defensive line being held by the undead and Hamza's cohorts and that our magical efforts are initially converged upon delaying the Kreen and his apprentices from entering combat for as long as possible. Teleportation, circles against evil, walls of force whatever we have available should go toward that endeavor. For those of us unable to muster such magics, I'd advise an offensive upon the droids, the massive insect, and the Kreen's mushroom companions to remove them from battle as quickly as possible. Divide and conquer, if you will."
..."Well, since our presumptive foe, the kreen wraith Kchac'Thraa, is itself a member of the living dead, and a master of their kind, I am doubtful whether your proposition is a winning strategy.Tyren, fascinated by the suggestion that the grotto was both alive and maintained its intercontinental network via romance, at once stepped toward Itko. "When you say it is wooing the world...Do you suggest, then, that this world has full agency over the space around it? Is it as though the air which we breath is like an appendage, with which it can move things about as it wills?""The planet upon which we all endeavor to sustain our lives, such as they are, is itself a living thing, a female presence whose thinking and speaking faculties are contained within the endless crystalline nodes that penetrate the inner spaces of Athas. These are connected by ley lines which run between the endless forest of spires which emanate from the great geodesic moon which occupies the center of the planet. This is the 'brain' of Athas, and the winds which you reference are its breath.""I see...I see. I must endeavor, then, to study the language of Athas. It is not only fascinating, I believe, but right to know the language of the one to which I entrust all my charges."
But while he was ruminating on these words, he noted that Hamza, their enigmatic master of shadows--the one with courage, that is--Had already opened a portal to his home-realm and returned. He waited expectantly. "I suppose I ought to have mentioned this earlier, but...If this is a tomb, no? That contains corpses? I'm no fan of desecrating the bodies of the dead--indeed, it's the opposite of my occupation--But if our needs are dire, I can request of the dead their assistance in eliminating this threat."
The weird elf chuckles derisively,
"And we don't imagine this immortal worthy might have considered this very obvious plan, do we clever one?"
..."Well, since our presumptive foe, the kreen wraith Kchac'Thraa, is itself a member of the living dead, and a master of their kind, I am doubtful whether yourTyren, fascinated by the suggestion that the grotto was both alive and maintained its intercontinental network via romance, at once stepped toward Itko. "When you say it is wooing the world...Do you suggest, then, that this world has full agency over the space around it? Is it as though the air which we breath is like an appendage, with which it can move things about as it wills?""The planet upon which we all endeavor to sustain our lives, such as they are, is itself a living thing, a female presence whose thinking and speaking faculties are contained within the endless crystalline nodes that penetrate the inner spaces of Athas. These are connected by ley lines which run between the endless forest of spires which emanate from the great geodesic moon which occupies the center of the planet. This is the 'brain' of Athas, and the winds which you reference are its breath.""I see...I see. I must endeavor, then, to study the language of Athas. It is not only fascinating, I believe, but right to know the language of the one to which I entrust all my charges."
But while he was ruminating on these words, he noted that Hamza, their enigmatic master of shadows--the one with courage, that is--Had already opened a portal to his home-realm and returned. He waited expectantly. "I suppose I ought to have mentioned this earlier, but...If this is a tomb, no? That contains corpses? I'm no fan of desecrating the bodies of the dead--indeed, it's the opposite of my occupation--But if our needs are dire, I can request of the dead their assistance in eliminating this threat."
Tyren rose an eyebrow, "Couldn't the same be said for the most cunning and subtle of plans? We're dealing with a hyper-intelligent immortal, here, not the town drunk. Clearly anything we come up with, he'd come up with. It's not about outwitting him, simply pooling our resources in such a way that he cannot counter."
Hamza emerges from the shadows, not a portal but the literal darkness of the grotto itself, leading two dozen assassins. He arrives just in time to hear the last little back n forth between Tyren and Slavathras.
"Time to earn your keep then elf. If Tyren's plan isn't good enough, propose something better. Surely you have several tales you can call upon to help us craft a battle strategy that can take down our foe? We can not be the only heroes in the history of Athas that have attempted to take a powerful defiler." The Yakhsa quips back.
Better yet, from all of your storied alliances, if you could draw reinforcements to match Hamza's, perhaps we could come out of this relatively ready to return to original goals. Anything to speed this along. Rokan joins in taunting the elf, but as usual towards his own goals.
Hamza emerges from the shadows, not a portal but the literal darkness of the grotto itself, leading two dozen assassins. He arrives just in time to hear the last little back n forth between Tyren and Slavathras.
"Time to earn your keep then elf. If Tyren's plan isn't good enough, propose something better. Surely you have several tales you can call upon to help us craft a battle strategy that can take down our foe? We can not be the only heroes in the history of Athas that have attempted to take a powerful defiler." The Yakhsa quips back.
"If I might interject. This,"
he gestures at a large geode in his hand
"artifact, the Heart of the Earthdrake, was intended to combat sorcerer kings. It will be capable of rendering the wraith's magical powers unusable. We must simply devise a way to dispatch his army of minions."
Better yet, from all of your storied alliances, if you could draw reinforcements to match Hamza's, perhaps we could come out of this relatively ready to return to original goals. Anything to speed this along. Rokan joins in taunting the elf, but as usual towards his own goals.
The peculiar runner simply sniffs in a mixture of irritation and disgust.
Tyren smiled, "Why, sir storyteller, I'll assume your silence means you agree that we've got our best odds in my plan thus far."
--Before Itko interjected, and the Bard nodded. "Yes, that's an excellent idea. As for his minions, I'm certain we can handle all but his apprentices. While they are not as strong as the Wraith, they share the most troublesome strengths."
Better yet, from all of your storied alliances, if you could draw reinforcements to match Hamza's, perhaps we could come out of this relatively ready to return to original goals. Anything to speed this along. Rokan joins in taunting the elf, but as usual towards his own goals.The peculiar runner simply sniffs in a mixture of irritation and disgust.
Hmm, no additional help there then, despite that you've deferred to the group over your curiosity of the fabled City of the Seven Shadows.
He looks back at the rest of the group.
Very well then, with a lack of any better plan I concur with Tyren.
"Unless there's any more reason to delay, let us strike quickly." Hamza implores his allies.
Tyren nodded, "I'm inclined to agree. There's no reason for us to tarry. To those of us capable of fighting on the front lines, could you lead the way?" The gravekeeper loaded his skulls once more, ready to let them cackle and dance, then grimaced.
There was still the matter of the barrier. "Actually...Come to think of it. Are any of our specialists here capable of manipulating that wall of shadow?"
"We could attempt to employ one of these portals to surprise the wrath, attacking him and his martialed forces from an unforseen direction."
Rokan nods. Yes, any advantage we can get would be preferable. Further, could the portals give us multiple unknown angles of attack?
Rokan nods. Yes, any advantage we can get would be preferable. Further, could the portals give us multiple unknown angles of attack?
"This one,"
The druid gestures evocatively at a collection of what appears to be a collection of some half dozen whirlpools spinning feverishly in the slightly chill air of the grotto, the overall effect of whose appearance is something like the very wind made liquid and twisted violently by some arcane power to connect the torrent with some unseen point of dimensional egress,
"might serve our purposes well. It will deposit us in several different locations distributed throughout the wraith's demense."
Cae is amenable to the proposed plan. He offers blessings again to any who wish to receive them. The air around him seems crisp and clean as he does so.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Tyren will gratefully accept Cae's blessings, and wait until all the strongest front-line combatants have entered the portal before entering himself. He'd have his weapons at the ready, preparing to let loose the moment he enters the fray...
Jimbli sits cross-legged in the air, and focuses for a moment. He then stands.. faint and thin spears of light emanate from him for a few seconds, and there is the slight scent of ionized air for a few seconds more.
As Tyren is about to step through, Jimbli zips in as well... glowing shortsword in hand.
As I do not know where they are positioned, I concur with your strategy but will use a portal of your recommending.
The monk focuses on his body for a moment, but no discernible change takes place just then.
Ri'Kli'Klek had been silent this whole time. He little liked the plan, but had none better, and so had said nothing. Still he could not shake a feeling of foreboding...
Amunet
Hamza
Cae
Villains/Tyren
Rokan
Jimbli
Ri'Kli'Klek
The room looks like it's empty.
Cae is amenable to the proposed plan. He offers blessings again to any who wish to receive them. The air around him seems crisp and clean as he does so.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Vyse croons gently before disappearing from sight again.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Raxus stands at Cae's back, ready to grab anything that comes within reach.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Seeing the supposedly empty room, Amunet-Ra herself becomes invisible, walking into the air, positiong herself a little off from the rest, so any area attack would not hit her, readying herself to respond to anything happening.
Hamza's spooky cat familiar, realizing that their foes must be invisible, decides to do something about that.
Hamza's spooky cat familiar, realizing that their foes must be invisible, decides to do something about that.
Hamza's familiar reveals a large force of fifty shambling myceloids. These are gathered around the central shaft in which the wraith is concealed.
In addition, there are three large mechanical constructs arranged in a triangle around the wraith's abode. One resembles a scorpion, one a centipede, and the last a large stinging insect of some variety, perhaps a wasp.
The wraith is not visible, but a group of six shadowy entities, presumably the apprentices of the defiler, hover over the gloomy shaft in the center of the chamber that leads to its personal demesne.
Seeing the supposedly empty room, Amunet-Ra herself becomes invisible, walking into the air, positiong herself a little off from the rest, so any area attack would not hit her, readying herself to respond to anything happening.
[dice=Perception]1d20 + 42