Ardeth will draw his daggers and run up to investigate the scream while muttering under his breath "Hey guys guess what? Sitting my ass in the gutter all day paid off. We need to be careful there's a giant demon on the loo....But, nooooo. Of course it's already eating them..." louder he will call out
"Bring me a mirror!" Xanos says sharply. "Temur seeks one there, in that room. Help him."
As the demon grabs the spear, Juma changes tactics and let's go of his weapon. He then tries to duck under the demon's arm and slip around behind it, thus hopefully avoiding it's teeth and claws, and grab the creature in a massive bear hug, trying to pin its arms at it's side as he does so.
Bran simply hacks frantically at the thing, the blood coursing into his temples screaming kill it, kill it, kill it, kill it.
Falchion: = 13
Damage:
Juma Brawling to grapple:
Juma manages to get the thing in a bear hug, pinning its arms to its sides and its wings against its back. Bran then lays into with his Falchion, and the demon howls in rage from the mighty blow.
It struggles against Juma trying to free itself from the Kushite's bear hug.
Demon Brawling:
At the same time it belches forth a disgusting gout of demonic bile that sprays at Bran.
The demon drops Juma's spear on the ground and then mustering its demonic strength it tears itself free from Juma's bear hug. Its wings thrash out pushing Juma back a few steps.
Meanwhile Bran attempts to dive away from the bile.
Bran Agility test:
With Juma holding it while you hit it, you can add your Thug rank to your damage.[/ooc]
Bran Armour Check:
Acidic Bile Damage:
The bile sprays Bran in the chest, burning with acid.
The bile sprays Bran in the chest, burning with acid.
The combat round is over. Juma is now behind the demon. Bran is in front of it with Xanos behind him. Temur has entered into a room just up the hall from Juma and Ardeth is coming down the hall to aid Temur or maybe Juma.
Round #3 can begin
Ardeth ducks into the same room as Temur, looking for the mirror. He ignores the naked man with the dagger, unless he is in the way. If he is, he will cut him down.
Bellowing in rage at his smoking chest, Bran desperately tries to figure out the best method of putting it out...
Mind:
... and just madly hacks at the demon, hoping to bring it down with him.
"CROOOMMM!!!"
Falchion: = 9
Reroll, hero point use: = 6
Ardeth Temur and the man with the knife are scuffling right inside the door to the room, but you're an agile fellow, and you can squeeze past them easy enough.
Up You catch a glimpse of small table just ahead of you against one wall. It has a chair in front of it, and sitting on it you make out a small hand mirror and a hair brush.
You hear a woman's voice from the darkness nearby and you can sense that she is cowering behind the bed.
Please don't hurt us.
Bran takes a bit more acid damage
The cimmerian howls in rage and agony from the burning acid and collapses to the ground unconscious.
The demon sees Xanos ahead of it, Bran no longer standing in the way. Its eyes burn with yellow hellfire and black acidic bile runs down its chin, neck and chest.
It reaches down, grabs Juma's spear off the ground and thrusts it at Xanos.
Xanos Armour Check? Not sure if you have armour on right now:
Damage:
The spear thrust plunges into Xanos' gut. The sorcerer winces but does not scream or cry out.
Xanos
Inside your head you can feel the four demons cackling with glee and anticipation.
Juma roars and once again grabs the demon in a great bear hug.
Brawling: (ah, this is not going to end well)
Ardeth grabs the mirror, ignoring the other people in the room. As soon as he has it, he runs out into the hallway and tosses it to Xanos "Catch!"
Temur will hold off the man with the knife while Ardeth grabs the mirror, trying just to keep him back without actually attacking him.
"Stand back and you won't get hurt! We just need a mirror!
Temur it would probably be an appeal check, but it failed.
The man yells at Temur.
Stay back! I won't let you hurt her!
He hears what you are saying, and now that he's lost the element of surprise he has his weapon ready, but does not attack you since you haven't tried to any further into the room. At this point you've already given Ardeth the opportunity to dart into the room and grab the mirror.
Ardeth you are about to throw the mirror to Xanos when you realize the demon is between you and Xanos. The creature fills the hall pretty well, so throwing it past the demon without the thing deflecting it would be pretty tough. You would have more luck trying to slide it on the floor under the demon's legs.
For now I will assume you haven't yet thrown the the mirror.
New round!
"Ardeth, hold there! Face the mirror towards it! Keep the mirror facing it no matter what! Temur! We need light! Find a lantern!"
Taking a step back from the creature away from Juma's spear, Xanos' blood runs from the gash in his stomach.
Shadowy wisps and glowing essence, like two very different kinds of smoke, leak from the wound along with his blood.
He raises his hands throwing free his other glove. More dark and light energies swirl outward, filling the hall with battling light and shadow.
"আমাদের পতিত এর ভৃত্য শুনুন!"
He speaks and his eyes begin to change. First they dilate, blackening his pale eyes, revealing fires inside...
and his voice was like a roaring fire.
...they run sickly and jaundiced, clouding with cataracts and oozing from the ducts...
"
and his voice gurgled like a death rattle.
...then a liquid chrome leaks in from the edges, obscuring his eyes with a metallic shield...
"আমরা আমাদের ইচ্ছা থেকে আপনি বক্র স্থান!" and his voice was the rending metal and chains clattering.
...finally, he blinks hard, and when he opens them again his eyes are simply gone, leaving in their place a yawning darkness that hisses as it pulls the heat from the very air in the hall.
and his voice was a faint whisper, like air hissing into a sealed casket that had been broken open.
and then his voice rips, the echoes of the many terrible voices accompanying his own...
পনি
By the Old Contract and our Power we bind you!
We break the Covenant that Called you!
We bend you to our will!
We speak through the one called Xanos. His voice is our voice.
YOU WILL SUBMIT!
Ardeth holds the mirror, and Xanos' words seem to be doing their job, but the demon is powerful and trying to resist. Its eyes blaze with fury, and the mirror seems to be pulling the demon towards it. Its wings begin to transform into black smoke, and the smoke starts to pour into the mirror.
Seeing it's in trouble, it tries desperately to disrupt Xanos' concentration on his spell. It hurls the spear at him.
Juma's spear drives into the wizard.
The current situation:
Ardeth is holding the mirror. (needs to use his action for this purpose)
Xanos is attempting to bind the demon, but the demon is still trying to kill him as it gets sucked into the mirror. (used his action for spellcasting)
Bran is unconscious, possible dead on the ground.
Temur is still in the entrance to the merchant's room. (can still act this round)
Juma is standing just behind the demon, presumably off to the side a little so as to allow the demon to be sucked into the the mirror that Ardeth is holding (Ardeth was standing behind Juma).
Lame Diagram with words:
Temur
Ardeth (holding mirro)
Juma
Demon
KOed Bran
Xanos
Half under his breath "What next?", then shouting at the couple, "You heard him! We need light! Where? Quickly!"
Temur looks around the room in the dim light. If he sees a light source or if they point one out, he'll snatch it up, light it and back out the door.
The current situation:
Ardeth is holding the mirror. (needs to use his action for this purpose)
Xanos is attempting to bind the demon, but the demon is still trying to kill him as it gets sucked into the mirror. (used his action for spellcasting)
Bran is unconscious, possible dead on the ground.
Temur is still in the entrance to the merchant's room. (can still act this round)
Juma is standing just behind the demon, presumably off to the side a little so as to allow the demon to be sucked into the the mirror that Ardeth is holding (Ardeth was standing behind Juma).
Lame Diagram with words:
Temur
Ardeth (holding mirro)
Juma
Demon
KOed Bran
Xanos
Despite the horrors of the devil worshiper's face and words causing his skin to literally crawl over his bones, Juma figures that the devil they know is still, marginally at least, better than the demon in the hallway, so, to try and prevent the demon disrupting Xanos' spell, Juma tries to grapple the creature once again.
Grapple:
This time Juma manages to get a better grip on the thing, putting it in another bear hug and thus keeping it away from Xanos.
Xanos you can back up further into the bedroom that Ardeth, Temur and Bran were sharing. Now that the demon has hurled the spear and Juma has it in a bear hug, you are in much less direct danger.
Temur there were a couple of oil lamps out in the hall that were providing a bit of dim light in the hallway. You can grab one off the wall and stand beside Ardeth with it.
New round! Everyone can act again
"Light here! So the mirror reflects!" Xanos shouted, still holding his hands aloft, focusing his will on the demon and continuing his chant.
Xanos finishes casting the binding spell. As Juma holds it tight in a bear hug, the demon's body turns to oily black smoke before his eyses and gets sucked into the mirror.
Xanos immediately passes out. Ardeth the mirror suddenly feels very heavy, as though it now weights 50 lbs, and you need both hands to hold it.
"Gods damned demons." Ardeth says looking down at Bran's sizzling corpse. "The priests of Azoth sent it, I was rushing back here to warn you..." Ardeth kneels down next to Xanos, checking him for a pulse.
A gurgling voice comes from Xanos' limp form as Temur touches him. The corners of his eyes begin oozing
Temur is grabbing the lamp and starting to hold it to the mirror as the demon is sucked into it.
Temur steps back as the voice speaks, raising his falchion again. He stares for a long moment, then "No. I think not. He may be damned wizard and possessed as well, but I'll still trust him more than the demon possessing him."
"Good, you're okay Temur. Juma, are you going to live?" Ardeth asks, beginning to drag Xanos into one of the rooms. Preferably one with an intact door and roof.
Juma curses in his native language as the demon turns to oily smoke in his arms before being sucked into the mirror and then spends a moment trying to wash the feel of it off of his skin.
When the abyssal voice issues forth from the unconscious form of the devil worshipper, Juma looks down intently at the body it issues from, as if considering...
When Ardeth inquires as to his health, he simply nods once and says curtly "I am fine" and, despite the wicked slash down his chest, he seems to be telling the truth, as the blood has already ceased to flow and is congealing. The wound will leave a wicked scar though, to add to the many already present. The whole time, Juma never stops his intense stare at Xanos, seeming to still be trying to make up his mind...
"Good to hear. So do we go kill these demon priests before they send more of hell after us, or do we run for the rest of our lives?" Ardeth asks, a sneer on his face.
"They Die. But first we rest. This isn't going anywhere at the moment."
And with that Juma goes off to his room and promptly falls back asleep, leaving the others to drag Xanos back to his room, or leave him in the hall, and truthfully he couldn't care less which.
Xanos' head lulled to stare with cataract-covered eyes at Juma as he began to leave. A rasping voice gurgled and hissed from Xanos' throat.
Juma stops as the inhuman voice behind him addresses him. For a moment he stands stock still, a visible shudder of revulsion, hatred and primal fear crawling up his back. Yet after a moment more, he continues moving forward into his room, the door slamming loudly shut behind him.
There is some aftermath to deal with once the demon has been defeated. The Innkeeper and the city guard certainly want to know what happened.
The gurgling voice coming from Xanos' lips chuckles at Juma's discomfort.
Xanos is conscious now. Everyone's taken a rest and regained half the LB they lost in that fight. Unfortunately, Bran is dead.
Xanos' eyes clear and he sits up with a grimace, looking over his wounds. Looking towards the others in the room he sighs, even having the decency to look a little embarrassed.
"I am sure you have questions, and they will be answered, but first there are a few things to attend to. Damage control. I can speak to the innkeep. I would prefer not to speak with the guard. Simply say there was a demonic attack and that you managed to trap the monster in an enchanted mirror. Show them if you must. The demon should be quite visible. Tell them you intend to take it to the temple of Ishtar to exorcise it, and to route the demonologists as soon as you can trace them. That should be enough."
"There is also the matter of the burial of Bran. He was slain by a creature of dark power, his soul may have difficulty resting. Do followers of Crom still prefer to be burned when they die?"
"I'm not sure how Cimmerians treat their dead. I would prefer not to interact with the guard, but I suppose I can," Ardeth says. "You all can keep resting, when I'm done we can go after the demon worshipers. Temur maybe you can keep a lookout here?"
He goes outside to deal with the guard, using Xanos' story. He will show them the mirror if they ask, then take it to the temple of Ishtar. Afterward he will return to the inn to check on his companions.