Map of the ruins of Babylon....
The Hanging Gardens are at the east end of the central ruins, about 1,200 ft north of the ziggurat of Babylon....
From their vantage point on the ruins of the Hanging Gardens, the FOs can see the great ziggurat about 1,200 ft to the south.... And hovering like a vertical whirlpool in the sky above the ziggurat, a circular portal to another dimension of chaos and madness....
Black, bat-winged figures can be seen flitting about the portal like moths around a flame....
Two great, shaggy giants with vertical maws and four clawed arms flank the gate at the top of the ziggurat, swaying and croaking horribly....
A hulking brute lurches up and down the stairs of the ziggurat, as if pacing in anticipation....
Four horrors, each the size of a bear, with gelatinous tentacled bodies supported on barrel-sized, elephantine feet, and oversized, almost human faces on top of their polypous bodies, crawl like giant beetles over the four sides of the tiered ziggurat, apparently able to cling to sheer surfaces despite their great bulks.... One of the four is slightly larger than the others, and has a ghastly, pale, red-eyed, albino face framed with crinkly white hair on its apex....
Less discernible at this distance are the four mummies, one at each corner of the base of the ziggurat, and the crone-like lich, clad in ornate and demonic ceremonial armor and waving a bone rod topped with a horned skull, standing before the altar at the top of the ziggurat, facing the portal....
"Hrm."
Radsworth tries to recall if any of these creatures are known for seeing through invisibility or other illusions.
Radsworth knows that the spawn of Yog-Sothoth and the night gaunts (both creatures with the extraplanar subtype, incidentally) have blindsight, rendering invisibility obsolete within range of their blindsight....
None of the other creatures, as far as he knows, are known for being able to see invisible things....
The FOs can fly to the Ziggurat in 5 rounds of full-speed flying (run full-round action)....
"Our invisibility is squandered against these foes. I can teleport Derrik, Koran and Mikey on top of them while the rest of you approach from a distance?
nods thoughtfully as he listens to rad I could get to them if they are in darkness, without them knowing that I am there.
nods thoughtfully as he listens to rad I could get to them if they are in darkness, without them knowing that I am there.
Radsworth would know that blindsight foils darkness as well....
The ziggurat appears to be some 300 ft high at the peak tier, with seven tiers, and a square base roughly 100 ft to a side, with each higher tier tapering in size by 10 ft, to 40-ft per side at the seventh (top) tier. A broad (20-ft-wide) stairway runs up the near side of the ziggurat from the top of the bottom tier (accessed by a pair of flanking lesser stairways) to the top of the peak tier, where a weathered altar stands before the circular, 20-ft-diameter portal to an alien dimension of chaos and madness....
The four spawn crawl along the sheer sides of the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth tiers, the Dunwich Horror crawling around the sixth, no two ever nearer to each other than 60 ft, forming a spiraling procession around the ziggurat....
The two gugs stand atop the top tier, flanking the altar, each holding a struggling, screaming human....
The four night gaunts fly in a crazy orbit around the portal, keeping an average distance of 40 ft from the portal and from each other, each carrying a kicking, screaming human....
The ornately-armored lich stands before the altar on top of the ziggurat, chanting loudly....
The hulking flesh golem paces up and down the stairs, between the fourth and sixth tiers....
A mummy stands at each of the four corners on top of the 1st (bottom) tier, as if on guard....
Wow.... That's....a lot of nasty.... So what's the plan? The usual blitzkrieg, or something more tactical?
The ziggurat looks like a more weathered, ruined version of this....but the stairs extend to the top instead of ending halfway up....
Fear not, Sir Mikey Jay! You have the great spellslinger Radsworth on your side, who fired the shot that turned old Ithaqua into a heap of stinky goo.... And no less a champion than King Arthur, Excalibur in hand!.... Not to mention the very avatar of Raven the Indian god, and the Mortal Herald of Thor himself!.... And let us not forget that Lady Levinson was no less a personage than Circe herself, and yet commands the powers of Hell.... And Professor Marcus, an embodiment of esoteric power, keeper of the Caduceus!.... And sweet Daisy, who surely would be canonized as a saint in her own time if the Vatican knew of her healing miracles.... And not the least of all, good sir, you--Mikey Jay--are clearly the chosen champion of some god or goddess of battle.... And you wield a sword worthy of such as evidence! So be of good cheer, and go give those evil monsters hell, Fierce Ones!
Nice pep talk, for a top hat!
MJ winks at the monocled top hat on Radsworth's head....
I, too, have words to say....
Mahatma emerges from Levinson's pack and assumes elephantine proportions, hovering just above the Hanging Gardens by flapping his great ears....
Please, be brief, Mahatma....
Chesterfield whispers to Radsworth: This bloke can be a tad wordy....
Remember this day, mighty Fierce Ones! This day shall be immortalized by the poets as a glorious day of battle between the forces of Good and Evil!.... And we shall fight proudly together, as virtuous champions of Good!.... Let us trample the vile minions of the Old Ones! Let us gore them to tiny pieces! Let us trumpet our victory from the highest peak of the zigg--
Yes! Yes! Jolly good! Very inspiring, old chap! That'll do, Mahatma, old boy....
Do not interrupt my speech, Mister Chesterfield! I did not cut in on your soliloquy, did I?
With all due respect, Mister Mahatma, I do believe the time for talk has passed, and the time for action is upon us.... What more needs be said?
But I've been working on a stirring pre-battle speech for.... Oh, blast it! Never mind, then!.... Tally ho!
Derrik listened to MJ's statement.. which had him think.. and reminisce on all his hard training he did the day before. he recalled the sensation, the feeling he acquired after the defeat of the Ithaqua.. the apparatus given to him by its life-essence. He had picked an isolated area in the Elven Faewoods that held great trees easily over 70 ft tall, spending ours adjusting himself to its use. He could soar.. not quite fly, but leap great heights, walk along the treesides, jumping from branch to branch, trunk to trunk. He had gained an agility unknown to him before.. and his armor began to feel almost weightless.. almost. As if forming perfectly for him. 40ft jumps were an ease and as such Derrik formulated a move .. of sorts. With hours of experimentation with and ability to gain complete rest after 6 seconds Derrik realized the higher he descended upon a target.. the heavier his blow seemed.. that and Dawnbringer seemed to amplify that strike all its own. He would combine these two..to devastating effect... He had found his Ultimate Attack.
And now.. he had gained the perfect chance to use it.. MJ's words phase back in as well as the entire situation. No matter what The innocents had to be saved somehow. As many as possible.. but a strike all at one points would simply draw the enemy all towards one area.. and place them in danger.. Now they would have to strike fast and at different targets. He formulated a plan.
" This will not be as easy as a simple extermination mission nor an invasion.. there are lives at stake with a horribly evil and intelligent creature that wields eldritch power. We have to strike precisely and as a team. If you all listen to me.. I will not be the one to fight the Lich.. that will fall to most of you.. I will be the one to distract the lower portion to the best of my ability..there has been many a tale about Mummies and Golems.. You all provide a good ruckus for the Lich to pay attention to.. while our casters rain down hell on her and the stragglers.. try and save as many people as possible.. that is our hidden goal. My plan is Take out two of those Beetle-like figures before they have time to react.. in the Panic.. Koran and Mikey each take a Gug out... Koran is big and intimidating to most.. she wont be able to ignore him.. and Mikey has devastating Slashes..and a sense of humor.. she wont be ale to ignore that either, this will rid the Lich of her guards.. separating her from support. Yingzen.. You shall cut down those flying creatures and then assist against the Lich. Radsworth and the other spellcasters.. I'll leave the care of the top party and the innocents there to you.. try and stop the Lich from getting any spells out and cushioning the victims if they fall. I'm sure I will give you at least 30 seconds to finish this evil wench and stop her summoning of a far worse evil. Is this plan fine with you all? I know it seems like I'll have to hold to much.. Originally I thought Koran might take my place but as of now I don;t know if he has any ability of weathering that many strikes..as I have not seen him heal himself. The key to the bottom part is not necessarily to destroy but more to distract and be mobile. "
Derrik seems Ready to go after the long pause
" If you are ready.. please apply your spells now.. and get ready for a wild ride.. Professor Radsworth, Port us about 120 feet above the Ziggarat.. and the same distance away.. and if possible that similar temporal effect would be nice.. I want this strike to be fast and deadly.. on my mark.. "
Koran nods his head in agreement of Derrick's assessment. I can take a hit, but you are right. I won't last long if I get swarmed. Good luck. Koran grasps Derricks hand in a powerful warrior's grip and prepares himself for the trials ahead.
Aye-aye, King Arthur!
MJ moves in close to be teleported at the drop point....
Daisy nods assent to Derrik's plan and huddles in for the teleport....
Initiative
Initiative result 14
Mikey's surprise round action is to dive 120 ft from the point of arrival to the gug on the left side of the circular portal atop the ziggurat (single move--you dive at double speed and climb at half speed when flying, right?)....
Prior to Radsworth teleporting the FOs over the ziggurat, Daisy pulls out a bundle of scrolls and casts freedom of movement on Derrik, MJ, Koran, Yingzen, and Kepler....
Daisy's surprise action is to activate her aura of freedom, figuring that the other casters would stay near her at range....
Suprise Action: Teleport in LoS to 120ft above the Ziggaraut, since the whole party flies.
Koran uses his surprise round to get into as many charge lanes as possible.
[Dice=initiative]1d20 + 19
What's Yingzen's surprise action? He is 120 ft away from any of the nearest enemies....
After the speech, Derrik prepared himself for the attack is focus becoming much more focused on the job at hand. Nothing outwardly showing but a slowing of breath..
A resounding thunder claps from on high as the party sees Derrik press his foot against a non-existent surface in the sky and soar easily 40 ft in the air before spikes upon his waist shoots down attached to spiritual chains jamming into The Dunwich Horror Harmlessly but pulling him down with astounding speed.. about 0-50 mph in 6 seconds. He gets a whole Revolution in the air as Dawnbringer shines and enlarges, visibly gaining weight, gathering the Momentum of the fall and ALL of Derrik's Strength behind it before burying itself into the Dunwich Horror, screaming out just above the creature as he attacks and cleaving through; Derrik then seeking to make the same of the creatures below, kicking off its carcass.
" TASTE THIS! WRATH'S JUDGMENT! "
= ~220ft fall
= Foe-Bitten for 196 Damage
You take the gug on the right, Koran! I'll take the gug on the left! 'Aight?
Derrik descends like the hammer of doom upon the Dunwich Horror! It is slain in the surprise round as his armored body hurtles from the sky, giving his blow the impact of a comet as he lands on the side of the ziggurat adjacent to the monstrous spawn of Yog-Sothoth....
The albino face is riven into bloody halves, and the Dunwich Horror collapses, slain with a single blow!
Derrik appears from invisibility covered in the creatures blood.. which steams up from the heat created from his strike, almost absorbing into his armor. Dawnbringer gleams having gotten a kill and he raises it high with Excalibur crossing it it that haft,
" WHO ELSE WOULD LIKE TO PERISH FOR THEIR EVILS!? "
Save against the Fort DC 22 stench aura on the Dunwich Horror....
The stinks barely seems to effect Derrik as he shakes some of its viscera from Dawnbringer.
Marcus grins at Derrik's plan.
"I like it. Simple, full of carnage. Let's give 'em hell!" Marcus shouts.
Marcus flies with the others to the point overlooking the ziggurat, and pinpoints the Lich's location.
"There you are you little b+@#@...Marie, we need to try and stop her from casting spells. Think you can handle it?"
"My pleasure, hon." she smiles, and pops out of existence.
She reappears next to the Lich, visible to all and holding an axe.
Radsworth looks downwards in contempt of the evil creatures below. Derrik just split the big one in twine. Another non-challenge from Cthulu's minions.
Inwardly, Rad was pleased. Outwardly, he remained his grim visage.
He quickly casts a spell to conceal his presence, a speedy conjuring of mist. Then from inside of the fog begins casting a summoning spell.
Yingzen rushes the nearest enemy and attacks him.
Initiative
Koran laughs out loud as Derrik splits the Horror in two.
He then Roars a cry as loud as thunder and dives towards his gug.
total of 371. he attacks the closest creature once it drops.
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