Iris tries using both doors of the room she originally sought shelter in (room 5) on her way to the manticore's lair (room 7). Seeing that Bran has somehow managed to injure himself, again, she draws out her magic stick and waves it toward him. Sadly, the fool thing appears to be jammed. She sighs and puts the stick back in her pack. Then she tries climbing through the hole in the roof.
(DC 21)
(DC 21)
Tal'ariel also attempts to heal Bran, though it may take too much time to really bring him to full health.
As Iris heads toward the hole, Tal'ariel re-ups her Shield, unsure if there will be trouble.
He finally has the strength to dislodge the arrow from his shoulder. The positive energy numbs the pain enough to make it possible and he thanks Zelligar and Iris for their support.
"I'll try to be more careful if its the last thing I do." He throws the arrow on the floor and wipes up his face, "What did you have in mind Zelligar? I am healthy enough to try something if you have an idea."
When Tal approaches him he doesn't recognize the devil's magic, but does remember earlier, "No thanks. I want as little to do with the Dark Prince as possible; it took forever to break those shackles and I won't risk it." He unconsciously scratches the back of his neck where the scar is.
Tal'ariel starts trying to tap Bran with the wand. "We're fighting mythical beasts here! Now's not the time to be so squeamish!"
As Bran continues to dodge, Tal'ariel gives up, pouting. "Fine, Z, you go fix Bran up."
"I meant grappling the minotaur, Bran. That's the other powerful creature they have.
Oh, and I am more than happy to provide more proper healing magic."
Iris swings her way onto the roof from inside. As she perches on top of it, she can't exactly see the door to the main hall, but she can see the four heavily armored hobgoblins coming around the corner.
They're carrying steel shields and longswords. When they spot the halfling perched on the roof, they point and shout excitedly at each other, and something behind them.
Iris can see a great pair of horns, poking up over the roof of the hall.
The rest of you hear the sound of heavy boots, clanking armor, and excited shouting in goblin from outside.
As the clamor begins, the elf is quick to react. "Trouble's here!"
Intoning in Elvish, a strange transformation begins coming over Tal'ariel, as her arms grow until they're double their original length!
She guards the western door, though she seems willing to step aside should someone else have an idea.
Iris drops her rapier and dagger on the rooftop and draws her bow, which she uses to shoot at a hobgoblin. She tries to confuse the enemy by giving orders to non-existent companions.
Yulai readies a shot on the first foe to come within lin of sight.
Sadly, it's bound to miss.
Iris is the only one who can see what's going on outside. She spots an extremely hairy, oversized goblonoid, much lighter armored than the rest of them, dart from the keep, up the stairs and onto the eastern side of the ramparts that line the outer walls. It shouts for the hobgoblins to go investigate the stables.
The minotaur doesn't fall for Iris' trick, probably by virtue of not speaking goblin.
It walks up to where the halfling is perched, hefting a giant greataxe.
"May the All-Seeing Eye guide your hands to wreak Destruction on our foes."
Zelligar casts Bless.
+1 morale to hit and on saves against fear, 4 minutes.
"If the All Seeing Eye was the one who patched me up, I'll take any guidance from 'em right now."
He pulls out a potion of barkskin and consumes it with a large gulp.
Current Buffs
Bless, +1 morale to hit and on saves against fear, 4 minutes
Barkskin, +2 AC for 30 minutes (CL 3 minimum)
Isawa seems quite unsure what to do, idling in the back of the room.
Meanwhile, Iris can see the armored hobgoblins moving to get inside the stables. When they're not faced with "team six", they instead turn towards the building Iris is standing on, and following the minotaur partway over there.
As the eyes and ears of the party, at least in this moment, Iris says, "I've got a minotaur at my feet, and four hobgoblins incoming. There's a furry goblinoid on the far wall."
She kicks her melee weapons back from the minotaur, then tumbles in their wake.
(avoid AoO)
As Iris makes her announcement and is heard tumbling backward along the roof, Tal'ariel uses this as the signal to strike. She attempts to quietly open the door and step out. Seeing the minotaur that had engaged Iris, she launches a snowball at it!
Yulai steps up with tal and fires on the minotaur.
Tal'ariel plants her spell squarely in the minotaur's midsection, and Yulai's arrow follows soon after, embedding itself in the bulging muscle near its neck.
It roars and closes in, cramming its bulk past one of the mosscovered boulders that litter the courtyard.
It hefts its giant axe, and swings at the apparent spellcaster.
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From the rampart above the main hall, the bugbear leader appears to be casting some sort of spell. An egg of flame springs to life in his hand, and he lobs it almost casually towards the hole in the roof of the building you were holed up in, swallowing the building, and all those around and inside it, including even the minotaur, in a gigantic spread of roiling flame.
As the spellfire washes over the minotaur, a blue shield flares up around it, protecting the beast from the flame.
Magical energy swirls as Zelligar channels the healing of Nethys.
Because of Tal'ariel's long arms, she is able to get a swipe at the minotaur as it closes in on her.
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But she completely misses before getting cleaved and then fireballed, falling unconscious. Zelligar's healing brings her back to consciousness, if barely.
Iris evades the magical burst, emerging unscathed from the flames. She is unable to glean any useful information about what just happened.
The flames cover him, though in his ability to adapt he copies Iris' dodge, though not nearly as successfully. The pain doesn't last long as the positive energy from Nethys washes over him.
"Let's do this!"
He lets out a primal yell and hustles past his allies and hopes the minotaur doesn't gore him; rolling into a side grapple.
Move First
Free Action: Enter Rage
Current Effects
Bless, +1 morale to hit and on saves against fear, 4 minutes
Barkskin, +2 AC for 30 minutes (CL 3 minimum)
Rage, +4 Str, +4 Con, -2 Armor Class, +2 to Will
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The minotaur brings its axe around in a wide swing, and Bran catches onto its arm in passing.
Isawa mutters a chant, laying a spell of sleep on the beast.
It topples over, almost crushing Bran in the doing. The brawler quickly lets the beast go, for fear of waking it up.
Meanwhile, the hobgoblin troops keep their heads down and their shields up as they breach the door to the southern gatetower, disappearing inside and out of view.
Tal'ariel picks up her weapon and stands up.
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Iris picks up the rapier and dagger that are lying at her feet, then runs and leaps from one rooftop to another on her way to slay the enemy spell-caster.
(up to a 25 foot long jump)
Yulai coup de graces the minotaur, her face disgusted.
"Evil beast. Ugh. Where did it come from anyways, this place isn't large enough for a labyrinth?"
There's a cry of displeasure from the sorcerer on the wall as Yulai puts an arrow through the minotaur's skull, and he lobs another fireball at the group.
"Isawa, this way."
Zelligar will delay until after Isawa acts (though they are in the same initiative block so it doesn't really matter -- he just wants Isawa to be included in the channel). Zelligar will move into the next building (so he is directly below Iris who is on the roof), and channel again.
"Just so." Isawa rushes into the courtyard, and gathers power to himself, ready to throw it at the sorcerer to disrupt his next casting.
After the wounds from the minotaur's axe and the first fireball, Tal'ariel decides some discretion is in order, and falls back into the room. She is ready to attack anything that might approach within 10 feet of her.
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Bran eyes the caster on the top ledge and leaves it to Iris; deciding instead to rush into the melee of hobgoblins. "We're sitting ducks here until Iris gets into his face!"
Current Effects:
Bless, +1 morale to hit and on saves against fear, 4 minutes
Barkskin, +2 AC for 30 minutes (CL 3 minimum)
Rage, +4 Str, +4 Con, -2 Armor Class, +2 to Will
Bran rushes up to one of the hobgoblins and goes straight for his waist, hopefully dodging the deflecting shield.
Though the cinders of hair get in his face somewhat.
Current Effects:
Current HP (With Rage) 56/62
Bless, +1 morale to hit and on saves against fear, 4 minutes
Barkskin, +2 AC for 30 minutes (CL 3 minimum)
Rage, +4 Str, +4 Con, -2 Armor Class, +2 to Will
The hobgoblin does his level best to wriggle out of Bran's grip, but is no match for the former pit fighter's experience with close up combat. The commotion is enough to alert his fellows however, and they gang up on the man, intent on cutting him to pieces while he's occupied with their ally.
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Seeing and hearing the hobgoblins going after Bran, Tal'ariel moves in behind one of the hobgoblins and takes a swing, trying to catch multiple hobgoblins.
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Zelligar will shout (out of turn as a free action):
Yulai, can you disrupt his spellcasting?
Iris charges toward the enemy spell-caster. She drops her bow along the way and swings her rapier at his stupid face!
Yulai moves to the center of the courtyard and takes aim at the sorcerer. Trusting her back to her companions, and a large rock.
"Cover Tal bran."
Tal'ariel's blow is caught on a rapidly raised shield.
Iris' rapier impacts on an invisible barrier just inches from the hobgoblin's face. The sorcerer shuffles backwards away from the halfling, calling up vicious-looking shadowstuff to his hands. Before he's able to throw it though, he's met with a flurry of missiles. Yulai's arrow catches him in the arm, while Isawa's magic missiles impact harmlessly on the sorcerer's barriers. The shadowstuff flickers briefly as he's about to lose the spell, but he completes it anyway, and throws the blob towards Iris' face.
Iris' swiftly vision falters and fades, until she's left in what feels like complete darkness.
Zelligar will move just SW of #2 and channel to heal. None of the hobgoblins are injured yet so he doesn't worry about healing them.
Bran attempts to keep the hobgoblin in a hold and strangles him out a little.
Current Effects:
Current HP (With Rage) 47/62
Bless, +1 morale to hit and on saves against fear, 4 minutes
Barkskin, +2 AC for 30 minutes (CL 3 minimum)
Rage, +4 Str, +4 Con, -2 Armor Class, +2 to Will, 3 Rounds
Martial Flexibility (Power Attack), 1/10 Rounds
The hobgoblins continue to pile onto Bran, while one of their number struggles to get free.
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Isawa, out of breath and rather dangerously wounded, stays where he is and calls up power to close his wounds.