Finding the oncoming mass of goo quite uninterested in further discussion, Boros is forced to attack in an attempt to keep it from advancing further. He's shocked--and rather nauseated--by the way the creature's substance shrinks away from the path of his rapier's thrust, deny him a clean hit. Such is Boros' disgusted surprise over this that he missteps and nearly finds himself caught in the thing's embrace, which he avoids by the narrowest of margins.
Catching himself on a crate, Boros swings out of thing's path, shuddering visibly at his close brush with what he is utterly certain would have been a very bad experience. After a few deep breaths, he waves Juliette back even as he begins to move clear of the narrow corridor.
As he enters the main portion of the Livery, Boros is shocked to find two new faces among the group already inside, and a quick glance reveals that one has been quite expertly restrained. However, there are more important things to worry about right now, so he puts the matter out of his mind, beyond keeping a watchful eye on the new arrivals.
Arhm! Miranda sighed. The slimey blob seemed to be intent on *always* hogging the doorways, which meant it was so darn hard to get past the blasted thing! All right - here we go! With a deep breath she tried to focus herself and slip past the slimey thing.
The situation around Nissim just keeps getting more complex and confusing. Now Rexus, Lily, and some unknown man have ganged up on some other unknown man for reasons that are a complete puzzle.
Nissim decides he really has to simplify things to avoid even more decision paralysis. The one thing he knows for sure is having Lugo among the other rats is not good at all. He decides to make getting him back his priority. Aside from continuing to watch the gnome to try to understand what exactly his ritual is supposed to do, he bends all his will toward breaking Lugo free of the competing influence he is under.
He will have to simply ignore the newcomers, Rexus, and Lily for the moment.
"Lugo come back to me!"
Varuzhan continues to approach the slime creature and tries yet another attack, desperate to strike the creature that has so far eluded his blows. ;
Varuzhan's blows finally manage to connect, but it's jelly-like consistence seems to absorb much of the force he brings to bear with his Staff.
Ignoring him the Slime creature moves on, reflexively extending a pseudopod at Miranda as the Half-Tief-ling passes by.
The pod grabs hold of Miranda's upper leg as she passes by.
Miranda, as she feels her leg grabbed, sees Boros frame heading away, facing the other direction, as if there's something else interesting going on having caught his attention momentarily, scanning it with a Soldier's eye while he gets in position, and hears Juliette start to sing a little chant directed against the oozey lady.
What caught Boros attention was the newcomers, one of whom Rexus had fixated on the ground, with Lily all but closing the door and keeping it shut. When Aldous is surprised at the situation he finds, and asks Rexus, he answers:"I have no idea, Aldous, everything was calm here moments ago, now all hell broke loose!", he lifts his shoulders and shakes his head, then directs his attention on the struggling form beneath him.
Nissim focuses on Lugo, using their Link as a medium.
Lugo, with feelings torn between regret at the lost opportunity and love for you comes back to Nissim, even as more rats gather and seem to amass where Lugo has been moments before.
Watching more of the ritual, Nissim can only roughly guess at it's purpose, still.
The slime creature lurches forward further, dragging Miranda along(regardless if you are prone or not) but not pulling her closer.
While it does, it's head effortlessly spins backwards, while a new face forms on the back of its head, watching Varuzhan.
With the creature now in view of them, the gnomes dogs both move forward a little, and start growling in it's direction, holding their ground near the gnome.
Slimerina (-x HP)
Varuzhan
Juliette
Lily - (still blocking door)
Nissim
Miranda (grappled, possibly prone)
Boros
Aldous
"Let go of me you damn slimey - *uh* thing!!" Miranda squims and tries to wiggle herself free and continue past the two-faced blob.
"The ooze thing just absorbs blunt trauma!" says Varuzhan, as his blow with the staff fails to inflict much lasting harm. Nevertheless, as the slime creature moves away from Varuzhan, he takes another swing at it while it leaves an opening.
;
He then drops his staff and draws his herb-harvesting sickle while approaching the slime creature again. He wasn't sure, but he hoped it would be more effective against an ooze-like creature, even if it was not as useful of a weapon. He attempts yet another attack, aware that the slime was watching him and would probably strike back.
;
Clearly, there was something going on with the rats. Aldous peered through the dim light, trying to make sense of what exactly that was, hoping there was some old case regarding rat swarms that he could dredge up from the depths of his memory. A natural instinct? Ritual? Curse?
The barrister gasped as one rat clambered towards the thin Chel, while another man backed out of the darkness and towards him. "Careful, man, one's coming for you! And you, in the uniform -
Fumbling with his pack, Aldous brings forth a vial of liquid fire, thankful that he made the trip to Altea's Alchemical Alixers when the town went topsy-turvy. Aldous didn't know much about what in the hells was happening, but he knew one thing: that rat swarm wasn't coming near him.
Seeing Miranda getting dragged along behind the slime creature by a pseudopod has Boros almost panicking, though he calms just a bit when he realizes that the slime is doing nothing more than that. He's in the process of trying to figure out the best way to sever the gelatinous appendage--having heard Varuzhan's complaint regarding the effectiveness of his staff, Boros is sure that cutting will be needed--when he see Miranda start trying wriggle free.
His planning is interrupted by a shout from behind him, and he looks over his shoulder in curiousity at the man who called the warning, then looks over his other shoulder and turns nearly white in fear as he spots the gathering swarm of rodents, the shifting mass lit eerily by the light of the cook fire. Visibly shuddering, Boros nervously jitters several paces away from the rodents.
Turning his attention back to the slime--though not without periodic glances back toward the rodent swarm--Boros decides that his gladius may well be his best choice, and he swiftly draws the short blade with his free hand.
Juliette takes a 5 foot step backwards, and looses the lightened arrow at the slime creature, continuing her performance.
"Green slime is not my thing, good thing too-because this will sting."
Nissim quickly picks up Lugo and stows him away back in his pouch. Meanwhile, the situation continues to get more complicated. It's becoming clear now that Varuzhan, Juliette, and Boros are in a fight with something or other, and there's still the strangers who seem to know Rexus and have just shown up.
If only I could figure out what that grubby little bastard is up to the with rats and skull shrine. I just don't trust him. But there are so many possibilities...
Nissim shoots the gnome a decidedly dirty look.
Then he yells over to Rexus.
"Rexus! Lily! What are you doing? Who are those people?"
Miranda, having been dragged along for a bit after trying to get past Slimerina, wiggles free and gets some distance between the two of them.
The act of escaping is somewhat made easier by Varuzhans continued assault of the creature, bringing his staff to bear once more, before switching to his sickle and approaching for another attack.
As he rightly anticipated, the oozey lady was prepared and struck out at him as his swing failed(readied action, 7 damage).
Around the corner, a bit further away, the newly arrived barrister contemplates the nature of the rats, and as he is attempting to shout warnings, he sees the slime creature enter his field of vision, lit from the back.
What both Aldous and Boros note about the rats, though, is that they are further condensing, now a writhing mass of fur, legs and tails. Boros takes a few steps away, drawing his weapon in the process, watching Miranda wiggle free but still somewhat determined to not be engulfed by EITHER rats or slime.
Juliette, meanwhile, fires an arrow at the slime being while keeping her rhyming going. The arrow pierces the creatures surface, causing some liquid to gush forth from the wound before it closes again. It's hard to say, but you think your shot was effective!
Nissim shouts out to Rexus and Lily, while keeping his eye on the gnome. . Rexus, clearly busy keeping the other man restrained, answers, in verbal bursts as his activity allows:"This guy here....was spying on us, from the door... Tried to run for it, gonna have to find out why he was there!"
Slimerina, ignoring the arrow and Varuzhans attempts, moves on stoically, towards the gnome, who, as Nissim notices, seems to becomes slightly more hectic in his actions, talking with the skull pile while doing practised gestures with his hands.:"Not my fault! Nonono! I did not unleash it. I will help, sure...what do you think I do?"
R4: The Bold may act
Active Effects: Bardic Performance@Juliette. Dim Light except near Campire or other light sources
Slimerina (-2x-5 HP)
Varuzhan
Juliette
---R5---
Rexus&Lily - (restraining someone)
Nissim
Miranda (freedom!)
Boros
Aldous
Mad Gnome & The Livery Rats (live in concert)
-Posted with Wayfinder
Varuzhan reels from the slime creature's blow. He levels a few more at the creature with his sickle as it flees, remaining in pursuit.
;
;
Boros is somewhat bemused by what has become, to use a particular term of indeterminate origin from his military service, a complete clusterf+&%. He's almost tempted to just sit back, find something to snack on, and watch the drama and action as it all unfolds, but he's pretty certain doing so would cause his allies to seriously doubt his sanity. Instead, he takes a few moments in what is almost sure to be a futile attempt to figure out what in the Nine Hells is going on here.
He suspects that the slime woman is the angry remains of someone killed in the Livery, possibly--likely--even the former owner of those charred remains found in the oven. The killer appears to be the gnome who, based on his actions and conversation thus far, not to mention the behavior of those swarming rats, is almost certainly receiving instructions from something a bit more tangible than his insanity. Based on his guesses, Boros is more than a bit tempted to just let the slime and the gnome--and his rat army--battle it out interrupted while Boros and the rest stay out of it; the slime hasn't shown any particular interest in them so far, even with Varuzhan flailing away it as he is.
As it stands, he doesn't quite know who he should be fighting here, and why, and he finds it quite annoying to have no clear enemy. What ultimately decides his course are the actions of his allies, who've apparently decide the slime is the target here, and the fact that the gnome has proven to be a gracious, if reluctant host to the party. With an audible sigh of reluctance, Boros decides to join Varuzhan in his efforts to halt the slime's inexorable advance. Seeing Varuzhan resort to attacking with an odd blade of his own, Boros uses the gladius gripped in his right hand to deliver his own strike to the creature's back.
Unfortunately, its unduluating form, combined with the odd lighting in the Livery and Boros' admitted reluctance to attack what he feels isn't actually an enemy, makes his attempted attack miss by a wide margin.
All thoughts of the rat swarm leaves Aldous' mind when out of the corner of his eye, the barrister sees something green and backlit coming from the south east, headed straight towards the gnome.
No time, but that can't be a good thing. Flexing his wrists and gritting his teeth, the barrister muses on the nature of Asmodeus' hellfire; its pure and absolute power of consumption.
"ਲਿਖੋ"
A blast of heat, the feeling of getting too close to a campfire, radiates out of Aldous and washes quickly over the room, while around the creature a burst of fire envelopes it. Too quickly, however - the flame is merely a flash and gone, the creature moving inexorably forward, not in the least inconvenienced by the barrister's magic.
"Blast and avast!"
"Though my arrows may not always strike true, please understand that the last one standing will not be you." Juliette continues in verse as she shoots another arrow at the slime, missing.
Nissim can barely make heads or tails out of all the things happening in the livery. He decides though that standing aside while events play out is probably not the way to go.
Admitting to himself that his gut hunch is likely no better than a coin toss, he makes up his mind to go with it.
He doesn't trust the gnome. NIssim is pretty sure the ritual the gnome is performing is necromantic. That doesn't prove anything, but he's also suspicious Veruzhan, the gnome's most enthusiastic ally, is not acting of his own will. He also knows that his familiar Lugo nearly became part of what is starting to look like a multi-rat living construct. It's not much but it's enough for him under the circumstances.
Nissim casts Web Bolt, using the wall behind the gnome as an anchor surface, to attempt to stop the mad munchkin's ritual.
Freedom! Miranda cheerfully noted as she wasn't stuck in either the small room nor the slimy thing anymore. Now, what is going on?! Putting some distance between herself and the slimy one she called out to Nissim.
"Hey! Is Varuzhan usually this protective of rats?!"
She had already guessed 'no!' but it didn't hurt to check. Maybe he actually does really really like them? That would be awkward...
And since she was already on to that theory - what could have made him act in that way? The only really strange thing she'd seen (except the gnome, the slime, the vision and those little things ...) were that totem. Cursed maybe? Better check!
Concentrating really hard, no small feat considering all the chaos, Miranda manifested a Mage Hand and pulled at the totem.
Varuzhan slices at the Slime creature as it moved forward once more, actually slicing off an appendage that continued to wriggle on the floor, flowing in the same direction as the main creature, who seemed to regrow the appendage from it's own body mass.
Irritated at this defensive mechanism, his next swing misses again against the difficult-to-read mass of ooze.
Juliette fires another arrow at the creature, but is also slightly distracted by what seems to be an arm moving on it's own, trying to catch up.
Boros, deciding to help his allies, fares no better, approaching the slime creature that almost engulfed him to strike at it, wisely staying clear of it's intended path. It seems he's almost too careful, when his blade is unable to make contact with his unnatural target.
Aldous, invoking a mythic force that pulses through the livery, momentarily shifting all sounds in a rapid emanation around the Barrister, but the blast created by it also fails to connect with the slimy creature, slamming into the wagon in the back of the livery instead, setting it ablaze instantly
Nissim fires a bolt of concentrated webbing at the gnome, who gets grappled in place by a great many strands of webbing affixing him to the wall. He remains calm, just shifting his head to look over at Nissim.
Miranda attempts to pull on the Rat Skull Totem, but finds it unrelenting to the force she is attempting to apply to it.
As Slimerina is getting closer yet, one of the dogs attempts to attack it after growling, and jumps at it with teeth bared, only to have a pseudopod close around it's muzzle and get drawn inside the slime creature. The other dog, barking, decides not to try and bite the ooze.
Individual rats of the swarm, meanwhile, break of, jumping into the campfire, setting themselves ablaze, and then rushing at the slime creature, burning.
A few of them, instead, run over to the gnome, setting the strands of webbing holding the gnome aflame. As the physical manifestation of Nissim's spell burns around the gnome, a sharp smell of burned flesh emanates from him, mixing with the smell of burnt fur, but the Gnome does not seem to react to the fire, instead silently staring at Nissim.
R5: The Bold may act
Active Effects: Bardic Performance@Juliette. Dim Light except near Campfire or other light sources
Slimerina (-2x-14 HP-16(fire))
Varuzhan (gets AOO against Slime)
Juliette
---R6---
Rexus&Lily - (restraining someone)
Nissim (shaken for 3 rounds)
Miranda
Boros (gets AOO against Slime)
Aldous
Mad Gnome (-5 fire)
& The Livery Rats (-16(fire)) -
As the the slime continues its inexorable advance, apparently unconcerned by what those around it are doing to halt it, Boros takes shameless advantage of its seeming disinterest in self-defense by striking at its back with the short blade gripped in his right hand.
When the blade misses wide, Boros sighs in disgust and shakes his head as he follows along after his target. He checks his advance for a moment and shudders in sympathy as one of the mongrel dogs is yanked, with a muffled whine of fear, into the slime's body after it tries to attack to creature. The flaming rats making their suicidal rushes add a surreal touch to the sight, which has Boros briefly wondering if someone slipped a little something extra into that breakfast at the bawdy house.
He manages to shrug off the growing sense of weirdness to this day's events, concentrating on his job instead. As he finishes his careful approach toward his target's back, the gladius flicks forward once more.
When his strike misses, yet again, Boros grits his teeth together and takes a deep, slow breath through his nose in an effort to calm himself. He's only partially sucessful, as a constant low buzz of profanity escapes his clenched jaws. He's starting to wonder just what in all of the Nine Hells is going on here, because he should managed at least one solid hit by now. Instead, every strike misses, and by disturbingly wide margins at that.
His attention is swiftly refocused by the realization that the strange bolt of energy fired at the slime by one of the newcomers has managed to start a rather impressive fire, and Boros shoots the man a flat glare. "If ya don't know how to use that fancy magic o' yours properly, do everyone here a favor and don't use it at all, yeah? I'd really rather not do my best imitation o' those rats by runnin' out o' this wreck on fire. Oh, and here's another cheerful for ya to ponder over. This shit-hole," Boros says with a wave of his rapier at the Livery. "Is just a few good knocks shy of coming down completely. Try not to hurry its demise alon', especially while we're all still inside it, eh?."
Aha! So it *is* magical! Miranda thought triumphantly. Though still not sure what sort of magical it was, and she really didn't have the time to take a good look, she merely decided that it couldn't be anything good. When have a pile of skulls ever been up to something useful?
The amount of fire bouncing around everywhere was a bit disconcerting - not yet overly troublesome though. If I could push that cart? Maybe if I had a good nights sleep and something to brace against ... No that one wouldn't work for her.
Luckily there seemed to be another source of burning material! With a small smile Miranda pointed to one of the dead and burning rats and flicked it at the totem ...
Now that he's committed, Nissim figures he may as well follow through. Besides the gnome is really creeping him out now. Miranda anticipates his next move by moving a burning rat over to the skull shrine. He has a more dramatic version of the same in mind.
He sidesteps the mess that the flaming rat pile and slime creature are becoming and draws a bomb from his bandolier. He then throws the bomb at the shrine and hopes it makes a difference.
"This creature just comes back together when you slice it!" cries Varuzhan as he sees his sickle having at least some effect. He continues to attack when the opportunity presents itself. ; .
Yet, as Nissim strikes at the gnome, Varuzhan suddenly seems conflicted and unable to focus properly. "No, no, no! Leave the gnome and rats alone! All of you! Focus on the slime!" Varuzhan seems desperate to persuade Nissim and everyone else. "Don't you see that the rats are already sacrificing themselves to fight the slime? This in-fighting has to stop!" Varuzhan seems almost ready to intercept Nissim in his attacks, but instead follows his own instructions and continues to go after the slime. ;
Yet once again, Varuzhan seems unable to keep a clear focus on combat.
Focusing again, Aldous calls upon the untethering and tries to buffet and bludgeon the creature.
"උත්පාතය"
A quick Boom! reverberates around the room, sounding like a thunderclap riding on the wind. Whether or not it worked, the barrister can't say, his attention diverted by the man in uniform's lecture.
"It's a work in progress!"
"Perhaps fire isn't the best thing to use..." Juliette notes, distracted by the burning wagon behind her.
"We need to douse that thing, we don't want the livery falling down, you would be robbing this man of his house!" That being said, Juliette was no firefighter, she couldn't do much of anything to stop this place for burning to the ground.
So instead she elects to shoot another arrow at the slime creature, but she doesn't continue her performance, being too distracted by the fire.
Both Boros and Varuzhan strike at the creature twice each, failing all their swings. Possibly it is their frustration guiding them into hasty swings, maybe it is their insecurity as to what part of their target they should strike, or, most likely, the erratic movement of the creature combined with its perpetually shifting form, leaving only empty air where the strikes land.
Juliette alone strikes true with an arrow, not giving it enough time to react, and piercing it's gelatinous hull, letting liquid seep forth from within.
The newcomer speaks again as a blast is directed at the creature that it does not even attempt to evade, letting the blunt trauma impact part of it's body, making a sound as if slapping meat but not seeming to leave any marks or other traces indicating it even inconvenienced the slime.
Miranda, meanwhile, picks up one of the recently dead rats, and attempts to direct it at the rat skull totem, when suddenly a vision invades her mind.
Nissim draws a bomb from his bandolier and throws it at the shrine. A direct hit! But the shrine remains standing, almost as if some sort of magic held it together. The explosive force did, however, crack several of the skulls comprising it.
It also singed the Gnome, hurrying along the burning of the webbing strands with the force of it's explosion.
As a result of either of these bomb effects, the rats seem highly disoriented, from the exact moment on when the bomb stroke. A few more jump towards the fire, but about half those instead decide to flee, and from the main body of the swarm, several more vanish into all directions as well.
The gnome, almost free again and following the trajectory of the bomb with his eyes, refocuses his attention at Nissim and opens his mouth in a silent scream of rage as he moves next to him.
Slimerina takes advantage of the rats confusion and the failed swings, and shifts over towards the confused mass of rats in front of it, pulsing and bloating to cover as many as it can before they manage to escape. Behind it, the skeletal remains of a poodle are left on the floor, and some cold sweat runs down Boros's spine.
(Confused) Kamikaze Fire Rats:
R5: The Bold may act
Active Effects: Dim Light except near Campfire or other light sources, Dead Bodies(Poodle or otherwise) make their area difficult terrain.
Slimerina (-2x-16 HP-19(fire))
Varuzhan
Juliette
---R6---
Rexus&Lily - (restraining someone)
Nissim (shaken for 2 rounds)
Miranda
Boros
Aldous
Mad Gnome (-11 fire)
& The Slimed Rats (-19(fire))) - engulfed
& The Skull Throne (-7 damage)
The gnome's sonic assault is painful, but Nissim manages to keep his wits together. He's far to close to both the gnome and the slime creature for his own comfort. He steps back away from them, puzzling over what to do next.
Boros groans in frustration as both the stranger and Nissim in turn hit their respective targets with concussive magic, praying quite fervently that neither misses what they're aiming for. He's quite certain the consecutive blasts have been noticed by anyone passing by outside the Livery, but he restrains the urge to draw his pistol and add to the chaos occuring within.
Any frustration he feels is quickly replaced with shuddering horror as the skeleton of the unfortunate mongrel is left behind by the slime creature, and that horror grows in intensity as Boros watches it absorb the hapless rats into its mass, growing larger in the process. At this point, he's not entirely certain if they should be fighting or fleeing this abomination, but he steels his nerves regardless and presses his attack as best he can.
Finding his attack wasted once more, Boros breaks contact with his target, carefully stepping back while keeping an eye out for any attempt on its part to capitalize on his movements. Finding his blades ineffective, he decides to finally stop wasting his time by resorting to the weapon he knows best. Though it'll be noisy, Nissim and the stranger have already thoroughly revealed their presence in the Livery, so what matter if Boros decides to make his own contribution to the mess?
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Varuzhan appears to enter into a panic as Nissim hurls a bomb at the skulls while simultaneously slimerina engulfs the rats. "This is a disaster, everything is dying to these invaders!" Varuzhan seems terribly unsure which threat to prioritize, but as a tactical matter he appears locked into battle with the slime creature.
;
[dice=Perception]1d20+5
Aldous was fairly certain the gnome was bad news, even before he let go that wordless scream: the man was obviously destitute, and definitely deranged, judging from his skull pile and rat swarm. Now, it was apparent that the gnome was a practitioner of harmful magic as well, as dictated by his soundless attack on Rexus' friend.
And yet, the gnome was still the second most worrying thing in the room. The ooze had seemed largely unaffected by Aldous' attacks, but the Strix that Aldous had seen at the protest, seemed to be having - slightly - better luck.
The barrister then, would split the difference. As he yelled, "The gnome is a mage of no small power!" Aldous rushed towards the Strix, laying a hand quickly on the creature's shoulder, and thought about time, the tricky way of unravelling it, and what it would mean for humanity to be completely free of the construct itself.
Bells tolled throughout the room, a funerary dirge, for Pharasma could not be pleased at the stealing of her influence.
Juliette moves away from the flaming wagon and closer to the slime creature before firing an arrow at it.
And misses gloriously.
Nissim has reached his "a pox on both your houses" breaking point. He is never going to understand the gnome or the slime creature. Where they came from, what they want, how they relate to one another. It doesn't matter. This whole mess is just an impediment to completing what they came to do, and he's perfectly content for everything, except his companions, within the building to die if it will get them closer to what they came for.
Nissim pulls another bomb from his bandolier and aims it at the gnome. The slime thing will get a dose of the fiery blowback from it, and that's just fine.
Miranda shakes away the brief vision and returns to the much more chaotic reality. Trough the sounds of battle and general pandemonium she heard the newcomer call out and fixed her eyes on the gnome. So he does have magic! she thought with a start and tried to see if he still had his dagger/wand with him while retreating out of the light. As she did, she drew one of her daggers ...
Varuzhan is startled as the man lays a hand on him, causing him to surge with newfound speed. "Wait, who are you? The gnome is not our enemy, and I'll not have you harm it! Stop this in-fighting!"
Varuzhan attempts yet another strike at this tricky slime creature, this time finding some success. ;
Boros, Lily and Varuzhan all fail their attacks on their morphing target, Lily already standing off, and Boros stepping back away, drawing his pistol, having realized that things were no longer subtle, anyway, with a bomb having exploded and Nissim throwing another.
When Aldous invigorates Varuzhan by a touch, the Strix finds with the hastening of time, he has an easier time altering his strike to connect, cutting deep into the slime.
Nissim, meanwhile, throws a second bomb at the Gnome, but the trajectory is off, stepping back away and throwing forward at the same time.
Miranda, meanwhile, wanders into the darkness, readying a dagger.
The gnome, having been focused on Nissim, realizes with shock that the slime creature all but engulfed the whole swarm of rats. Visibly distraught, he steps in-between the rat skull pile and the gooey assailant, trying to activate his wand, failing in his panic even as a dagger sails from the shadows and strikes him, causing him to slowly stumble and fall over backwards, resting against the skull totem, breathing heavily.
The gelatinous blob of ooze Slimerina has become, meanwhile, wastes no time moving over both gnome and skull totem, dozens of rats dissolving in it and leaving a trail of little skeletons as it shifts over, the second dog howling and trailing behind the slime, even as the arm-like appendage Varuzhan had cut off earlier makes it's way back to the creature and fuses into it's mass once more.
R6: The Bold may act
Active Effects: Dim Light except near Campfire or other light sources, Dead Bodies(Poodle or otherwise) make their area difficult terrain.
Slimerina (-27HP-19(fire))
Varuzhan
Juliette
---R7---
Rexus&Lily - (restraining someone)
Nissim (shaken for 1 rounds)
Miranda
Boros
Aldous
Mad Gnome (dying, engulfed)
& The Dead Rats (dead)
& Their Skull Totem (engulfed, -7-x hp)
All right, it is done ... Miranda noted to herself. Now just to see if it had been a *good* thing or a *bad* thing. Hopefully the former, as she found herself with a severe lack of dagger at the moment, having used one as a throwing weapon and borrowed the other to Lily.
With a careful step back into the light, Miranda called out to the slime. "All right! You got him. Now - explain yourself!" Worth a shot!
R7: The Bold may act
Active Effects: Dim Light except near Campfire or other light sources, Dead Bodies(Poodle or otherwise) make their area difficult terrain.
Slimerina (-27HP-26(fire))
Varuzhan
Juliette
---R7---
Rexus&Lily - (restraining someone)
Nissim (shaken for 1 rounds)
Miranda (started Diplomacy 1/10)
Boros
Aldous
Mad Gnome (dying, engulfed) (Splash damage of the bomb + Miranda's Dagger are sufficient, regardless of the result of the splash roll)
& The Dead Rats (dead)
& Their Skull Totem (engulfed, -14-x hp)
Watching the events unfold, Boros decides for the moment to hold his fire, hoping that the slime creature will be satisfied with the apparent achievement of whatever goal it had involving the gnome. He doesn't holster the pistol, however, just in case the creature decides to turn its attention to the rest of the group. Instead, he keeps the pistol raised, not pointed directly at the slime in threat but ready to bring on target in moments should it prove to be hostile to Boros and the others. Even as he returns the gladius to its scabbard, he's carefully pacing closer toward his potential target, ensuring that his shot--if it must be made--will be from the optimum range.
For a moment, Varuzhan appears to be distraught as the slime creature engulfs the rats and gnome. And then another, very different emotion comes over him. One of anger.
"Wait, what? That damnable skull pile - it possessed me! Caused me to treat it, the gnome, and all the rats as friends to be protected!" Gah! Nissim, I'm sorry for criticizing your suspicions. I was not myself. You were right to suspect the gnome of foul play."
Varuzhan stops his assault on the slime, though he's not ready to stow his weapon just yet. "And you, creature. You were also right that the gnome was not to be trusted." He remains ready for further attacks should the slime take any aggressive action.