The tunnel gougers continue to fight, tearing pieces of flesh out of you and immediately shoving them into their mouths and chewing and swallowing with relish. The hiss and gurgle excitedly at how good you all taste.
However, something is happening; the sounds of fighting and clanging of steel on stone and through flesh can be heard in the tunnel that the gougers came rushing out of.
Round 3
#1 vs.Tokine (AC20):
(137/200):
5 ft. step
claw 1: damage:
claw 2: damage:
bite: damage:
#2 vs.Chu (AC34):
(200/200):
Move to Chu's position
bite: damage:
#3 vs.Azami (AC22):
(124/200)
claw 1: damage:
claw 2: damage:
bite: damage:
#4 & #5 vs.Wei (AC32):
(195/200):
#4 does a Withdrawal back into the tunnel...
(137/200):
#5:
claw 1: damage:
claw 2: damage:
bite:
#6 vs.Kyras (AC25):
(147/200):
claw 1: damage:
claw 2: damage:
bite: damage:
confirm crit. vs. Wei: - fails
Back around to the top for round 4!
Gozreh bless me, perhaps I punched one so hard the other backed off...
Urk regains his composure, and spits on the ground. It hisses and burns into the stone. "Damn you, make me talk like a regyoolur gob... SHOW YER FACE YEH BASTERD!!"
Bodyguard AoO for Aid Another at AC10:
@Urk: You hear Grik-Grok's voice once again, fluid and clear, speaking strange magic-language.
Bodyguard AoO for Aid Another at AC10: 1d20+11 1d20+11
@Imuri: The pink-haired man gazes levelly at you, then his eyes crinkle up in mirth. "HAHAHAA!" he roars in laughter. "You are a worthy samurai, Shoto-san, and I daresay Pine would enjoy your company." He takes a drink of his tea. "The Sera girl is indeed missing a crucial piece, but I have it, and it is in safe keeping. If you will walk with me but a short distance, and bring the Scarecrow with you, I will give it to you." He indicates one of the mugs; "Before we can go, though, I must insist you have some tea. It is a very rare brew, and its excellence will not, I believe, escape the notice of your undoubtedly refined palette."
"Oooh... hey buddy..."
@Urk: Grik-Grok descends slowly from the ceiling, where he was glamered to look like the stones. His hooved feet land with a strangely dainty delicateness on the ground in front of you. Over the shouts of battle in the hallway to the left, the Gremlin God of Mischief speaks just to you. "Hee hee hee haa! Urk is MIGHTY! Urk is CLEVER! Urk and Grik-Grok do great mischiefs together! We show Pink Tree Man that GOBLINS and GREMLINS be boss! His loss!" Reaching up, he takes the last three mason jars off the shelf, including the one belonging to Inspector Cho, one belonging to someone named Yohei, and one that seems to be empty. "Come, Urk friend, mighty Urk Boomsploder! We do mischief and makes them all bow down! Hee heee! Grik-Grok get you out of this stupid place."
With that, the Gremlin God puts one of his leathery, clawed hands on Urk's shoulder, says more magic words, and the two of you disappear.
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Despite his magical protections, magical distortion and inhuman speed, Chu takes another strike in the side by his tenacious opponent. He gave a hiss but focused on strengthening his offensive...
He succeeded with ease and drew out Kotei no kiba once more.as he spoke loudly around the Gouger between him and Tokine. "I will aid you if possible Curator...."
Again, Azami inserts herself into the gouger's attacks, attempting to draw the creature's attention and lessen its attacks on the bleeding Kyras.
Despite the sound of battle in the next room, Azami is utterly focused on the challenged fiend in front of Kyras, now deadly silent in her concentration. Death's approach does not even garner the soldier's attention.
Her armor and skin are slicked with the grotesque concoction of her own gushing blood and the creatures' ichor; the red sash at her waist flings droplets in the twist of her hips as her blade trades flesh for flesh, hacking down the enemy with terrifying precision.
Kyras shifts into his draconic form, letting the mask of the dragon slip over his face. His fingers grow sharp and scaly as he slashes across the creature's incredibly tough hide with little effect. He lashes out with a maw of sharp teeth and a mouth still full of flame, but it also seems to glance off the creature's skin with no great effect. Kyras seems to have the dragon under control, but that is of little matter - his wounds would have killed a lesser man long ago. If not for Azami's interference in protecting him, he would likely already be dead.
Desperate and exhausted, Kyras gathers another breath and releases another terrible flame outwards. Both the monsters seem to shrug it off like it was a warm bath instead of a blazing fire hot enough to boil a man inside his own armor. As the flames die down, Kyras falls to a knee briefly and stutters, "Azami..."
Tokine falls back after being savaged again, Looking about, she sees everyone bloodied and being overwhelmed. The bloodloss and pain leaves her light-headed as she channels as much healing as she can spare and then some, but surrounded by such savage abomination of uglyness...she feels it is not enough.
Another Hero Point
Azami senses Kyras' strength flagging, and she glances at him sidelong, trying to assess whether just to pick him up and withdraw. "C'mon Kyras--you're not going to miss the opportunity to piss off Imuri by taking his subject to the state dinner, are you?" she goads him, flashing him a crooked half-smirk that does nothing to hide the concern in her eyes.
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As the healing washed over him he hissed softly at the wonderful feeling of his wounds sealing up. His juries itched like crazy as his flesh knitted itself back together with the help of the divine and for some reason he thought he heard trumpets and... Rushing water?
"It sounds like rushing water coming from somewhere..." He spoke t no one in particular and sneered at the aberration as it swung a him again. The only spot he could think the noise was coming from was from where the tunnel gougers entered from...
Chu attempts then to pinpoint the direction of the noise while doing his utmost to stay alive, distracting the aberrations with all his arcane might in the hopes of protecting the others in their small party.
Tokine looks at the terrible scene around her, and can see her death and that of her friends....the Adviser Chujitsuna's words of rushing water reach her and draw her thoughts inward. She hears it and ...trumpets?....she has the final thought as the abomination prepares to leap upon her for the last time.....Father....I would have liked to have met you.... She grips her glaive a little tighter....If only I can hang on...
But thinking of her father and of the Imperial Dragons and her flood vision in the Emperor's Hall does indeed give her hope. Latching onto the faintest of hope, her hair takes that moment to break free its bonds and flow free as she calls out in a loud, slightly manic voice,
Immediately after Tokine's ragged cry, a dagger sails into the room and strikes the tunnel gouger in front of Kyras square in the skull. Between Kyras, Azami, and now this, the creature has sustained too many wounds, and falls to the ground, its last breath shuddering out of its maggoty body in a stinking cloud. At the same time, a pair of large blades smash down on the tunnel gouger in front of Wei. Three figures become visible on the edge of the darkness; Ghar, Gwen, and Naradil. The slim elven thief looks as if he's barely been touched, but the two gorumites are covered in ichor and offal, and look utterly at home; grim and focused.
"Hang on, all of you!" shouts Gwen, "There's a rush of water coming behind us! Grab something! Whatever you can! It's a flash flood, an overspill from the river!"
Dimly, behind them, you see a massive torrent hurtling towards you, as if Tokine commanded it.
"Well everyone, you heard them, hold onto something. Me, if you feel brave," says Wei, and he smiles, turns to face away from the oncoming water, and stamps his feet on the ground.
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Chu ignoring the remaining tunnel Gouger moves towards the nearer set of jail bars and hops up as high on e bars as he can. Trying to make sure his pack is protected and so that he can reach down to the prince.
"Please take hold of my hand and climb!"
Whether or not the prince reaches him in time Chu tries to hold on for dear life, he had to ensure that the jars stayed safe and would give up every other item on his person to do so...
"Oh friends, you are a most welcome sight."
Swinging her glaive in a wide defensive arc, Tokine backs up to the wall and placing a hand upon the wall begins to climb, her slippers gripping the rough stone quite securely. Once she gains elevation, Tokine holds out her glaive to any needing support.
The young prince, still mute in terror and confusion, leaps up to accept Chu's assistance, unsurprising given how familiar he is with the Loyal Shadow.
Focused on her challenged foe, a flash of irritation passes Azami's features to have the kill stolen from her; her concentration snaps open to more widely take in the friendly assistance and the death of the gougers - as well as the warning of the oncoming flood.
Azami grabs Kyras' arm, pulling him with her from his weakened half-kneel towards the cell bars. In their slam against the bars, she positions herself to take the brunt of the water's onslaught, shielding him as much as possible and holding him there beside her if he should need it, despite their size difference. It's a last thought before the flood hits to look to the prince, relieved to see Chu assisting the boy.
Wei shouts, "Swift, my friend, are you prepared for the deluge?"
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Glad to not be rended into death by the hideous aberrations, Kyras weakly takes Azami's arm. He feels the blood running down his arm, running together at their clasped hands. He looks backwards quickly at the rushing waters headed their way, then looks back to Azami. Impulsively, he pulls himself towards the warrior woman, spins her around, and kisses her. As he does, he gathers together what remaining magical energy his body can muster and presses his hand against the small of her back. He pulls away, offering her a very slight and very exhausted grin, looking like a mere shadow of himself. He glances down with her eyes at her feet (not where she might expect him to look after doing what he did). Her eyes follow his, noting with some amazement that she is floating - ever so slightly - above the ground. "One of us has gotta make it," he whispers to her faintly.
The flight spell sparing her from having to keep her feet on the ground, Azami once again presses Kyras to the bars, this time wrapping her arms around his torso and locking her hands around the bars. Her powerfully muscled legs wrap around his waist and around the bars, essentially a full bearhug to pin him in place between her and the cell. The plates of her armor bite into her many wounds as she ignores the awkward positioning in the wake of the surprise goodbye kiss.
"Hold on, you ass," she growls furiously between her teeth before burying her face in his shoulder to brace for the coming flood.
Azami can barely hear Kyras over the rush of the oncoming water and his own muffled voice, "Well, that's more like it!"
The roar of the water gets louder and louder, until it is practically deafening. It crashes and careens through the small tunnel, smashing you all against the walls and bars and ceiling.
Through the spume and spray you all catch a glimpse of the doors being ripped from their hinges. There is a squawking sound and Envoy-6 tumbles away with the deluge, spinning through the doorway and vanishing through another hall. All the items in the circular room are swept instantly away, many of them shattering against the rock as they go. The lousy beds in the cells slam and bounce and bang around.
Then, after what feels like an eternity but was surely only seconds, the water has passed, leaving behind an inch or so of standing water, and all of you and everything around you utterly soaked through. There are footsteps from the hall that originally belched forth the tunnel gougers, but these are measured, and many, and sound like human steps.
"Well, it's nice to see some of you have taken this opportunity to get to know one another better." Zhongyi sardonically remarks. She is walking out of the tunnel from whence the water and tunnel gougers alike came, and raising an eyebrow at the embracing Kyras and Azami as she does so. The corners of the typically humorless Sera's mouth turn almost imperceptibly upward in what could, conceivably, be called a smile. "Did we get what we came for? I have not seen any sign of the Plum Blossom aside from foot soldiers, although I hasten to add that we have met someone else whom you should all meet." She locks eyes with the soaked and bedraggled Tokine. "Especially you." she intones quietly. Shaking herself, she continues; "If you are done here, come with us." You see a large number of Black Orchid samurai standing behind Zhongyi, and behind them, different troops dressed in...blue?
Azami quickly releases her arms and legs, pushing off the bars to put distance between her floating self and Kyras. She gives Zhongyi a nod and completely avoids looking at any of the samurai or soldiers behind her. Silently cursing Kyras' melodramatic moment that forced her to pin him to the bars and be found in such a position, she makes an effort to lower herself to the ground while replying to the eldest Sera daughter. "We have found several jars, including one for our friend and one that you should see."
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Chu helped the prince down and checked on his well being before waiting patiently to either retrieve the key or Azami to release him.
It was then that he turned to regard the elder Sera sister. "She is right but if you don't mind I need to speak to you in private. We can chat on the way I promise to not slow us further. But I won't speak in the open, not here." He taps his temple to emphasize what he suggested.
His presence was weak as he made sure not to harm her mind with his intrusion. ::I am sure at this moment you trust few in regards of finding your sister and this is a mutual feeling between you and I. Now I don't know who may wish your sister harm but we have found her soul contained in a magical jar. For now it is safe and I won't speak of where it is but unless we found her body then she will remain separated. If the jar were to be broken before it could be opened near her true form her soul would pass front this plane... I humbly ask for you to allow me to aid your house until she is restored..:: He places his scaled fist into the palm of his other hand and bows deeply to the Elder Sera, despite it not being his problem he swore to serve the Emperor and in essence its citizens. Sera the younger was no exception to this ideal.
Khangzhi stands in place with a sly grin, letting the waters rush over him. Unmoved by the flood, he smiles at the everyone in the room. "A refreshing shower indeed, just the thing after nearly being eaten." He turns to Sera and nods, "Glad to see you still with us.
"Where did the goblin go? I heard him mention something about the jars."
Tokine watches in sadness as Envoy-6 is washed away, but she knows of his elemental nature and prays that this flood will not overwhelm his unique resources. But there was little to be done for the Inspector. Barely hanging on herself, she could not also have climbed the wall and held a lifeless corpse.
Tokine has trouble seeing the Sera sister as wet hair dangled down across her upside down face. But when addressed so directly, she nods and climbs down the wall. She pushes her hair back and readjusts her torn and bloody kimono, "We have saved more than we thought possible, including the prince, but it was hard earned and there has been loss as well. But the Plum Blossom has pulled back in the face of our attack or we would have likely been overrun. As it is, without the flood, things would have gone much worse. Prior to that we overheard the Plum Blossom plotting with Grik-Grok the dark Gremlin diety....but for now, I am intreiged now, so please do lead on."
Before following Tokine pauses near a wall and whispers, "Thank you my friend for your guidance today. I hope you can hear this and are safe now. If you come across the Inspector's body, could you see to it that it is delivered to my temple. And let me know as soon as you can that you are indeed safe. Thank you again Envoy-Six. I owe you so much."
Shaking off the rest of her discomfort, Azami tosses the key to the Advisor, relieved that the serpentman will assume responsibility for the prince. "One child is enough for me," she mutters.
Fort save:
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Catching the key he gave a couple of low hisses at Azami's comment, as he found her comment humourous. He released the prince from the cell and made sure to stick close to him as they followed the Elder Sera to places unknown.
Prior to their moving on he checked to ensure his handy haversack was undamaged.
The water rushes over Kyras, who is pressed against the jail by Azami's powerful grasp. When it subsides, he collapses to the ground after Azami detaches herself from him. He breathes hard as the water begins to steam off his skin, evaporating into the air in tiny puffs. His body bears countless cuts, tears, and bruises from the many trials of the past few days - not least of which was a bodily possession by a dragon god. If not for healing magic, he would surely be dead or comatose several times over. He pointedly looks away from Azami, not wanting to talk about his impulsive and reckless act; fortunately, she is busy talking to Sera Zhongyi and not paying him any attention.
With some difficulty, he stands up and presses a hand against the bars to steady himself. "Where did you all come from," he asks Zhongyi, "and what was with the flood? Is there anything else behind that door other than sharp-clawed uglies, a typhoon, and a small army of reinforcements?" He peers down into the distance of the tunnel in an exaggerated fashion to prove his point.
The questions posed, Azami looks to Kyras holding himself up against the bars. She retakes her position at the half-elf's side, watching the soldiers in blue, the Sera elder and Rhon Tai's friends. "Can you walk?" she asks quietly aside as they wait for answers from the others.
The worst of the threat having past, Tokine feels a bit of the real world's aches settle in a little deeper as Shelyn's temporary blessing fades away.
She looks around at her friends and saviors. "Is there anyone in need of healing before we proceed, as not quite all my blessings are spent."
.......
Upon following the Sera Scion, Tokine softly whistles to herself and the bloody rents and slashes in her kimono seal by themselves, covering the ugly wounds beneath .
Kyras quietly responds to Azami, "No, I'll be fine." He notes that her feet are firmly on the ground. "Why walk when you can fly? Come on, it's not every day that you get to tell gravity to piss off."
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Looking at the Prince and seeing he too had been battered by the on rush of water, he nods in humble acceptance of Tokine's offer. "I would appreciate your aid Tokine, I can help with my wand if needed." He kept the Prince close so that he could benefit from the exposure of Tokine's gift and be restored as well. As she healed them Chu starts casting Prestidigitation on everyone's clothing and removing the gore, water and drying things out as quickly as he can with the simple Cantrip.
Her brow furrows, the briefest twitch of her mouth indicating consideration rather than irritation. The memory of her visit to the oracle comes to mind, standing there in ceremonial kimono receiving her fate: A face of conflict, of earth and air. An unlucky face that would see many dark things.
After a long space of silence wherein it seemed she would not answer, Azami's speaks in a low, personal tone, haltingly exploring her thoughts. "Your gift is appreciated and useful, do not mistake me. But flight is--ephemeral, a place in between. Earth is a beginning and an end, flesh and blood; it is where my boots leave imprints." She glances up, grey eyes searching the ceiling of this underground city as though she could see see the sky. "It is said, Even the sun leaps from the earth at dawn and returns at dusk." She gestures with a bloody glove. "Firmly planted, I am an anchor for the tether of..."
She cuts off, the growing faraway tone banished by another stretch of silence, her gaze falling back to the tunnel ahead of them. "We should see what Sera Zhongyi has to show us and get out of here. There is much to do."
Khagzhi strolls past Azami and Kyras on his way to Swift's cell. Hepauses for a second, cocks his head at Kyras, and says, "The lady speaks some wisdom, lad. Consider listening to her on occasion." With a wink he heads over to see to Swift.
"The same force that sent the flood, sent us as well. Or should I say, the flood was sent to clear the way ahead of us." Zhongyi says in response to Kyras' questions. She walks ahead just a bit, the Loyal Shadow next to her. Suddenly she whirls on the imperial advisor, her obsidian eyes flashing; "Give. It. To. Me." she says to him in an ice-cold, measured hiss. Her samurai instinctively form up in a semi-circle four warriors deep around her, blocking you all from reaching them.