Daisy casts summon monster III, and a misty form begins to take shape in front of the gug....
Not giving the monster a chance to rise off its haunches, MJ charges with "BJ" raised high over his head....
Powerful charging overhand chop plus vicious; backlash deals to MJ.... MJ slips on a bone and his swing comes too early, glancing harmlessly off the brute's dense, shaggy hide....
Whoah! Your room's a mess, young man! I nearly busted ass on one of your bones.... You shouldn't leave shit like that lying around.... Someone's gonna get hurt!
The gug rises off its haunches (move action, provoking an AoO from MJ), and snaps its jaws at the swordsman....
Bite sinks into MJ's left arm, puncturing the vambrace of his full plate and finding flesh for 10 piercing damage!
AoO against the Gug as it stands up....
Power Attacking overhand chop AoO plus vicious; backlash deals to MJ....misses....
The gug snaps its vertical jaws down on MJ's arm....
Ouch!! Bad monster!!
Kailin sings a fast paced war chant as the FOs all begin to feel themselves speed up .
Koran rushes the Gug with his Mjolnir swinging overhead.
CRUNCH!!! Mjolnir smashes into the gug's chest, breaking three of its ribs! The beast roars and teeters on its heels, but regains its balance and howls with rage, its bloodshot eyes burning with hatred as it glares at Koran....
Kailin's fast-paced chanting inspires his allies to fight with uncanny speed....
Yingzen manuvers into a flanking position to strike the Gug
Yingzen dashes around to the rear of the gug, but as he advances to strike with his curved blade, the monster twists around and snaps at him!
AoO bite sinks into Yingzen's shoulder for 10 piercing damage as he moves in to strike....
Unbalanced by the savage bite, Yingzen's swing is off, and the brute is unscathed....
As Daisy's chanting rises in volume and pitch, the misty form begins to take on the shape of a wild boar....
yingzen curses in a mixture of infernal and abyssal as a chunk of his flesh is ripped out of him
Radsworth, having delayed until after his allies, is constantly amazed at the level of skill among the martial component of the fierce ones. This new one, MJ, every hit carried the impact of a train in motion.
He was beginning to think Cthulu might not have any chance at all.
He raises Traveler and fires, with no special rounds or magic in tow. This meager foe was dead on it's feet. He had seen Mjolnir's impact, felt it's force from the second rank even.
vs Touch
Derrik Readies himself for battle once again dropping the Rifle once the others jump in and drawing Excalibur in a fluid motion, his first time wielding only the lone blade.. in two hands the runes enhancing its destructive capability. He attempts to leap into the air and swings Excalibur in a wicked arch starting from the creature's left inner thigh and aiming to drag it across its chest to cause bleeding wounds ; piercing its tough carapace after seeing Yingzen take a blow, intending to end it quickly like the Aberrations they had fought earlier.
Rad's bullet rips into the gug, and a fresh jet of blood sprays from the wound....
Excalibur opens a fresh wound up the monster's inner thigh to its abdomen, causing it to roar in agony again.... But it still stands!
Kepler charges for the beast:
Levinson fires a round from her revolver:
The wounded gug lashes out at its attackers with savage fury....
Power Attacking bite at Derrik snaps inches from Derrik's face, missing....
Power Attacking claw at Koran rakes Koran for 17 slashing....
Power Attacking claw at Koran slashes him for another 15 damage....total of 32 damage to Koran!
Power Attacking claw at MJ rakes MJ for 16 slashing damage....
Power Attacking claw at MJ rakes him again for another 17 damage....33 total!
Kepler rushes up to stand behind Koran and MJ and claws at the gug with superior reach and height, ripping into the beast with an icy claw....
Levinson follows up with a well-aimed shot that hits the gug in the chest....
But still it fights on with savage fury!
Koran stares at the Gug standing before him and lashes out with a flurry of mighty two-handed strikes.
Koran's assault caves in the gug's ribs, and as it doubles over, the wind knocked out of it, his next blow shatters its skull! A third swing crushes its spine as it is falling, and it sprawls dead on the floor in an expanding pool of dark blood!
Daisy channels to heal her wounded companions....
Healing channel heals hp damage....
She channels again to heal more hp damage....
One more, and I'm spent for the day, friends.... Perhaps we could hole up somewhere relatively safe and rest? Or, better yet, go find Merlin and spend the night back at PB in the C? We could maybe relocate the captives to somewhere safer than here, and come back for them after we've dealt with everything here?
Last channel for today heals hp damage....
A total of 65 hp damage healed....
MJ searches around the room, kicking aside piles of bones and skulls, but finds nothing valuable amid the litter....
This place reeks.... I could use some fresh air....
Daisy dismisses her summoned boar....
Hmmm.... Guess I should've saved that spell.... You guys are beasts! Who needs spellcasters when the warriors each one-man armies?
She smiles coyly at Koran....
A quick search of the rest of the ground floor reveals another 40 captives lying naked and obviously drugged, insane, or both, on the floors of the three offices on the east side of The ST....
Nothing else of value is found on this level, so The FOs gather up the foodstuffs from the cafe kitchen, round up the haggard and dazed captives, nearly 90 altogether, and quickly herd them out of The ST through the front doors, and around the back of the parking garage, where they are met by Merlin, who looks at the mob of rescued captives with furrowed brow....
Merlin regards the mob of dazed captives with consternation, stroking his tangled beard thoughtfully....
Of course, we cannot bring all of these people back to Pandora's Box at once.... It will take a good week to teleport them all.... We shall need to find a safe place nearby to hide them, and supply them with food and drink to last a week....
We found plenty of food and water for 'em all in The Silver Tower, Merlin.... Now, we just need to secure a safe hide-out for them to hang tight in 'til you can TP them all to The Box....
Radsworth watches Arthur closely as the suggestion to leave is tossed around. He doesn't like the idea himself.
"I don't think we should stop. Maybe if we are forced to, but not otherwise. We know they have access to at least some magic and some magic items. I don't want to give them a day to prepare for our return. Not until we have done as much harm as we can. Usually I would say that the lives of the fierce ones are above risking, until Cthulu lays a smoldering corpse or is returned to his own plane. But sometimes a battle has to be fought, and I don't want to halfway finish this one only to give them time to re-supply and re-arm their tower."
Rad turns to Merlin.
"Merlin, I would like your advice. We found two holy symbols of the dread Cthulu. In my first book, The Primer, which taught me the very basics of magic, mention was made of a greater magic that could be used to instantly go to a place if you had some link to it. Mention was also made of spells that let you observe a person if you had a thing of theirs. Could we use these to find the strongholds of Cthulu's priests, who I assume made and blessed these symbols?"
He frowns.
"Of course, the opposite would be true then, that they could use them to find us. But they always find us anyways."
The first of 12 floors have been explored and cleared of enemies, less than 10% of The ST.
If we keep going today, I'm afraid I won't be of much use from here on out.... Until we rest, and I can regain my healing powers and spells....
'Tis true, Professor Radsworth.... There be divinations to find the vile crafters of these unholy symbols.... And 'tis also true that whosoever holds these symbols is in danger of being found by such divinations....
Merlin continues to stroke his beard in thought....
Mayhap Daisy and I can begin to find a safe place to hide these poor souls you've saved from certain and terrible doom, whilst the rest of you continue to assault The Silver Tower.... Or, I can cast a divination to seek the wicked priests that blessed these unholy symbols, if ye would find and attack them now, before they can do the same to us....
"I think Merlin, that if you and Daisy watched the others it would be best. Be careful when Divining. Terrible magic, that one. Having to know what the effect may be for a thing while also intoning for every effect that might not be. Evocation is so much more direct. Say cone and fire and fire shoots out in a cone. Say line and lightning and point the blast..."
Rad drones on a minute before stopping.
"But I suppose you know all that and much much more. After all, I'm merely a novice with a gun and a "How To" primer with a few magical pages in it.
Radsworth quiets down.. then lingers by Merlin until alone, or at least only accompanied by Daisy. He continues on in a softer tone, looking fairly perplexed.
"Tell me Merlin, when Arthur was .. well... Arthur and back in the period to which most of Mankind relates him, was he so grim and all or nothing then? Arguably, it could be our current world compared to what it was then. Do you ever read the stories of Arthur and feel that next to him you were a mere footnote? An asterisk that said *Arthur was sometimes accompanied by a great and powerful Wizard who made it easier for Arthur to be a legend.*? When I'm around him, I cannot help but feel I am just a bit actor in his play."
looks at Rad and Merlin talking
Might I suggest we take one of the offices with one door and barricade ourselves in so Daisy and anyone else that needs it can rest. I would be willing to watch over those that rest. few things can find me if i don't want to be found and few can hide from me. Also I can scout ahead if need be.
Merlin smiles at Radsworth and nods his head....
Aye, Professor Radsworth.... I know the feeling ye speak of.... A feeling I have had from time to time.... And yet, the world was indeed a very different place when Arthur first walked the land.... It was a thing I had foreseen, that Arthur would unite the Britons and save England.... It had seemed so important, then.... But England is a little lump of soil compared to the whole world.... And we all have a greater part to play in this drama than Arthur ever had before....
Merlin pats Radsworth on the shoulder.
Let us keep vigilant, Professor.... And let us try to plan for the unforeseen....
In answer to Yingzen:
Aye, that seems a sound plan, Yingzen.... Choose a suitable location, and I will help ye make it safe.... I have a spell or two that will help....
The FOs herd the mob of dazed captives back through the parking garage and into the ground floor of The ST, led by the martial FOs in case of trouble, and into the first office west of the front doors, as this seems to be the easiest room to evacuate, should the need arise....
Merlin then casts a powerful illusion over the room, making it seem to be empty, and then casts arcane lock on the door, and designates a password to bypass the abjuration, which he gives to each of The FOs....
There! That ought to keep them safe 'til our grim task is complete here.... Daisy and Yingzen shall tend to and protect these poor souls. I will also be around, in cognitus....
Merlin casts a transmutation and changes shape into an old, gray tomcat, and curls up on Daisy's lap for a nap....
There are stairs on the east and west sides of The ST.... Which do The FOs ascend?
East it is, then!
The second floor is laid out more or less like the ground floor, so we shall recycle the map....
The FOs ascend the east stairs, stepping off on level two....
More human remains litter the floor on this level....
Sunlight illuminates the outer offices, but the interior is dark....
Something wicked this way comes....
Something sickeningly familiar as the monsters that devoured Kinyama on Lido Key....
Sinspawn, they were called.... And now, a dozen of them are sniffing out Derrik's pride, Koran's wrath, Daisy's lust, Radsworth's envy, et cetera....
From the darkness of the northeast corner of The ST emerge 12 sinspawn, loping on dog-like legs down the hall toward The FOs!
Initiative
Initiative
Koran roars as memories of the day Kinyama died flood his mind. "This is for Kinyama!" With that the Demon-Hammer hurls Mjolnir at the closest spawn.
Derrik raises Excalibur in fury the sight of these creatures burning the memories of their fallen comrade, the evisceration of Kinyama; his lack of ability to help him. This would not be one of those times. His wrath would be felt even after the creatures perished.
" Remember my call creatures!? I Have returned.. WE have Returned, your fates are sealed! Now, Everyone.. FOR KINYAMA! "
Charging into the group of sinspawn wielding both Dawnbringer and Excalibur leading first with the Holy Blade.
Initiative
Oops, disregard Daisy, she's not there....