Dreyyn echoes Elise's sentiments, thinking better of it before he attacked the thing like he initially wanted to.
Jeremiah keeps his eyes fixed on the puppet, watching it for any overtly aggressive actions. He hated puppets, always had. They made his skin crawl when they looked at him. He would like nothing more than to blast this one into splinters.
@Nethan: From your previous post; Nethan studies the shift to see if he can understand how the shift works.
**********
Nethans let's out unsure laugh to Elise, "Who said power crazed Tar-Baphon or those who took over the well are or were sane?" Nethan now studies what is before them from afar, "Interesting?"
Alþórel searches his memory, but talks as he does
"Hello. You called us with your laugher. What do you want?"
At this last he is prepared for combat; too many laughing things have taken "what do you want" as a straight line previously and replied "I want you to die". Experience has shown that that is actually preferable to having them play pranks before they finally attack.
The marionette hangs its head seeing that the group is not advancing anymore, it wags its finger at you then points to its left. From the ground a black portal opens up briefly and an Eldred in the same armour pops out from the ground. It is posed on its two feet and strings appear at the base of his wrists and head that go up to the ceiling. The Eldred springs to life at the shock of Larskall and the other two Eldred.
This new Eldred starts to move forward drawing his rapier and swinging it around like a badly controlled puppet. You doubt it would hit anything easily by doing that. The imp marionette claps for the Eldred, it then bows and the group sees some more strings appear from the ceiling but they don't have any marionettes attached. They are looming over the group.
Nethan studies the area as best he can to figure out what is going on.
The strings aren't magical in nature, actually they are well fined and harnessed spider silk. More alarmingly though the silk's colouration show a crystalline opaqueness which is more akin to phase spiders.
Both the Imp and Eldred are clearly dead however something in the silk is springing them into life, Nethan can detect a slight magic flow going through the silk. Likely some form of telekinesis or necromancy.
Nethan can identify that the spell is a Darkness spell, however it is made by something of mythical might. This is likely why they can't pierce the darkness with their normal spells or darkvision at the moment.
"Is it alive?"
"They look dead-ish to me. But appearances might lie - especially in this place." For the Eldreds benefits she adds "That's not an undead - if it is I'll eat my helmet! Just someone with far to much free time and not enough hobbies"
Annoyed she looks up into the ceiling. She understood the hint - and was less then amused. Wonder if any of the strings are within reach?
Dreyyn stays away from any strings coming near him.
Calathar takes a careful look around.
While avoiding the marionette strings or webs, he relays his assessments to the combined group, "The marionette strings are really webs from what I believe is a phase spider or spiders, the Imp and Eldred are being animated with either Telekinesis and/or Necromantic arcane energy ebbing through the web, and the darkness above is Mythic in nature which is probably hiding the puppet master or the conduit for the control webs. Given all of that, I would avoid the strings or spider webs." Being Nethan, he counts the hanging webs then compares the number to how many members are in the combined party.
"Break the strings, break the puppets?" Flynt asks, leveling his revolver on the dead Eldred but not firing just yet. "Can one of you casters do something about that dark? I feel the need to put a couple of rounds in the puppeteer."
"Spider?"
Elise quickly reconsiders her plan. It didn't seem too smart to jump into the spiders web. She looks up into the darkness and shouts:
"You! Up there ! What are you doing here? Why are you lurking in this forsaken place?! Answer me - OR I WILL CLIMB UP THERE AND MAKE AN INSECT OUT OF YOU!!"
Alþórel is careful. Mythic Darkness is no mere cantrip.
He backs up a little and attunes himself to magical resonances
It is possible for the dungeon to be shifting, because it doesn't seem that you have triggered anything it might be changing due to a time lock and not a trigger. The well has a perfect circular tunnel down the centre from what you remember so clockwork parts could feasible turn sections of it as long as there was nothing impeding its movements.
There has been nothing to suggest that arcane magic is what is causing the shifts or change in corridors, the fact that you came down to a place that the Eldred have come from before seems to corroborate that. However that isn't to say there isn't any as Elise does know this place is a giant trap so there might be more problems along the way.
Amelia paces away so not to be underneath the strings, whatever they could be. Larskall says to her. "Yes, that is one of the ones who died coming along with us... I have heard of monstrous things that happen back in the wilds but this is beyond that."
Cal tries his best to look through the Darkness, he isn't able to pierce it that well due to the Mythical properties however he is able to make out what is just at the surface with a bit of concentration. There are cross-boards where the strings are attached to that are hovering above the group, like those held by puppeteers. He can also see wrapped round each one a long limb covered in an exoskeleton, the legs have no digits and are curled round each board.
Alþórel can detect that there are two auras of magic up there, one of which is the spell and another which is presumably the creature that is hiding in it. Both of which are Moderate in Aura strength.
Elise growing agitated from this thing whatever it is, decides to call out at the ceiling. The chest of the imp erupts and small blue spiders start to crawl out and cover the imp. It starts to advance, the Eldred also starts to move forward quicker.
The puppet like Eldred takes a set forward then grabs a hold of on of the strings that is controlling it. It brings it down and starts to craft something between his hand and sword, then it waits.
Jeremiah decides to let the others worry about the zombies for now and looks up at the strings dangling from the ceiling above him. Stepping into the group some he aims up to where he supposes the source of the strings nearest him must be in the darkness.
Dreyyn (on his turn) launches forward in a blur of movement, attacking with his exquisite two-bladed sword. Even as he moves to the enemy in the blink of an eye, he deftly dodges the strings hanging from the ceiling as they seem to grasp for him.
Inner Sphere stance active, +2 AC +2 Will. Charge: -2 AC. AC=19
Using Panthera on the Hunt maneuver, +2 to hit on top of +2 for charging, no AoOs for movement through threatened squares.
Jeremiah's first shot connects with something in the darkness, a screech rings out from above the group. His second shot clearly hits a wall as it misses the creature hiding in the shadows.
Nervous about what capabilities their hidden foe might have Alþórel considers, then prepares to counter any spells. His companions were more than capable of destroying a threat, but a single spell might end them.
Nethan holds his attack until threatened. He is waiting to see what transpires first since arcane and psychic energy is a daily finite resource.
The loud bang of gunfire announces that the battle is joined! Summoning the wrath in her blood Elise goes for their earthbound opponents first. The one in the roof can wait a minute or two - there was no rush. With a warcry she charges with her poleaxe "Death and ashes!"
Round 1
Nethan holds back, cautiously waiting for the enemies next move.
Alþórel has his hands held up ready to counterspell anything that might come from the shadows.
Larkskall waves his rapier through the air and a magic circle appears above his head, it emanates out, the party feels rearing to go.
The other Eldred move up taking defensive stance near the enemies, allowing their allies to flank with them.
The Imp let's out a high pitched screech and the area around him is covered in spiders, lots and lots of tiny spiders.
Slapping down his visor, Calathar moves at full speed towards the imp, intent on teaching the creature a lesson it will not have time to forget.
Dreyyn charges into the puppet Eldred slamming his sword into it embedding his blade quite firmly into it. Cleaving through he leaves a sizable wound on the creature. It then retaliates with its prepared strings at lashes out at Dreyyn.
The strings embed themselves into Dreyyn, they don't seem to have done anything more than that at the moment. Dreyyn gets the sinking feeling that might change though if they are left there.
Amelia is able to hit with two of her star knives while the third goes harmlessly past the imp. Amelia can see that the imp starts to clutch onto eggs that fall out of its wounds and feeds them back into its body.
The strings above the group start to move and chase a few of them, they brush those closest to them as they stop moving.
Elise charges forward to help Dreyyn with the puppet Eldred, in doing so she cleaves it in two with her poleaxe and the strings controlling it drop to the floor.
Round 1 End.
Post Round 2 actions.
Narrowing his eyes at how the threads buried themselves into Dreyyn, Luther moves away from the set nearest him and again opens fire into the darkness.
Dreyyn uses the moment of Elise's weapon impacting the eldred to rip his weapon free, the blades vibrating from the blow. He turns the blades hand over hand, spinning through the web strings in an attempt to free himself.
Blade of Breaking maneuver
Alþórel recognizes the spell as Mythic inflict light wounds, it originates from a single point but each set of silk duplicate the effects of the spell.
From round 1, ???? action
When the silk brushes up against the various members of the group they feel a sting go through their body. Elise and Jeremiah also begin to feel a slight uneasy in their body as they reel from the pain.
Jeremiah feels that his six shooter strikes home as he fires a blast off into the darkness, a high pitched wail now cries out above them. Several of the sets of silk are dropped to the ground and puppet cross boards fall with them.
The second shot hits the creature again though it seems to endure the pain of that one a little bit as Jeremiah only hears it hit the target but no more screeches from it.
Dreyyn having had enough of these threads sunders through the one that has taken him, he manages to also take the one next to him.
Amelia throws off three blades into the imp all hitting it, it seems to be penetrating it but the imp is still going. The swarm on the other hand is unaffected by the blades that Amelia threw.
The spiders trigger an instinctive revulsion in Alþórel, and a memory of a time long gone. He was an ice wizard in the land known now as Irrisen, and was attacked by a swarm of spiders.
The words from that time come unbidden to his lips.
ROUND 2
"HEY, the marionette strings are like jellyfish tentacles!" Nethan is angered by the marionette string assault and attacks back the dangling strings closest to him.
While striking the Marionette strings closest to him, he also watches the battle field.
With Nethan's first swing he manages to get rid of one of the marionette strings.
Round 2, res.
Though when he goes into attack them again he misses wildly in his anger.
The Eldred still in contact with the spiders gets a little bit hurt as they swarm him but Larskall sends a healing spell to heal the damage the Eldred took. The Eldred side steps to allow someone to flank with him.
Alþórel sends in a blast of frost into the group of spiders and the imp.
Both of them are staggered from the blast effects though it doesn't look like they took much damage from it. The imp without much option spews something onto the Eldred next to him.
The Eldred's eyes open wide as he sees the poisonous bile leave the imp's mouth but deftly dodges out the way before it does him any damage.
The last of the strings disappears into the ceiling and the group hears some chittering. Some pieces of molted exoskeleton fall from the roof and down from the shadows a large blue spider drops into the passage way to the west when the group came from. It has one of it's legs still attached with silk and holding onto the imp. It then attempts to bite Jeremiah who has been shooting at it.
Jeremiah takes a bit of damage and manages to resist any other adverse affects of it's poisonous bite aside from the corrosive properties.
Round 2 over, Round 3 start.
Round 3, Init 12
Nethan was waiting for the moment when the puppeteer (spider) would formally introduce itself to the party since he was unable to (currently) penetrate Mythical Darkness, "Ah ha, there you are!" Nethan launches two magic missiles at the large blue spider.
No sooner then the 'zombie' had fallen before their onslaught the real threat decided to show itself. Excellent! Quickly spinning around in place, Elise once more threw herself into the fray - the bloodlust almost suppressing the sickening feeling of the creatures magic.