Kenan turns to the second Vrock and fires 4 arrows at him.
Something's wrong. The thought keeps rattling through Liette's mind as she watches one Vrock go down and another be battered into submission by the others. Holding back for a moment, Liette scans the battlefield, having caught tell of a voice somewhere beyond where Hallf was paralyzed.
Crossing her revolvers over her chest, Liette begins to recite a mantra of the Crusaders, "ஆளாகியிருப்பதாகவும் இருந்து என்னை காப்பாற்ற நான் பார்க்க வேண்டும் ன்று என் கண்கள் ஆசீர்வதிப்பார் கூறி அவர்." Candlelight radiance flickers over her body as panic is replaced by serenity and calm; the eye of the storm where all becomes clear.
Scorpion, beetle, vulture; Liette's attention shifts from creature to creature in an attempt to weed out truth from fiction, to spot an action that seems unusual or out of the ordinary. All the while, she tries to recall her time spent identifying demons in the sacred tomes of the Crusaders. What kind of demon was this? The stories of both group's encounter race in her mind, trying to piece together the knowledge she'd need to best guide her allies in battle and root it out.
Inheritor shield me from the profane and bless my eyes so that I might see.
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Crissor looks around carefully, "Come out, come out wherever you are." Crissor grits his teeth speaking in Halfling, thinking of hide and seek games of his youth, trying to find what summoned the demons.
"Erastil show me where this evil hides"
The nightmare continues for Sigmund. Trapped in what must certainly be Hell, he watches again, unable to move as his friends get ripped apart. He succumbs to doubt and gives in to the futility of fighting.
In the midst of the turmoil, a familiar phrase sifts through the noise. Spoken in its true form, in the tongue of angels, a prayer to Iomedae is voiced.
Some of his confusion and panic departs and he looks around with more clarity and rises to his feet. He steadies himself on the crucifix that he recently occupied and calls out in Celestial.
Hallf's will batters fruitlessly against the prison of his mind and body again, but at least he has an agent in play in the form of his summoned dinosaur - though without direction it is little more than a dumb beast targeting his foes. He recalls vaguely having heard of a ring that can be used to counter a certain spell and wonders if he should seek out such a thing...
The ankylosaurus bellows as it swings its bone club of a tail at its bizarre foe again, striking home, but failing to daze the Vrock which has apparently readied itself and avoids being put out of action this time.
Abigail frowns, "Someone else is with us! They got Hallf!" Yet, the Vrock in front of her cannot be ignored. She carefully makes the motion to call Erastil's blessing on Sacha, but trying to avoid the demon's claws causes her to stutter the words to the prayer, which goes unheard by Old Deadeye. She then lets the cougar have at the Vrock. Sacha manages to get one claw and a bite through the demon's fiendishly tough hide. The bird-like demon roars defiance in his face.
Reacting to the same voice a moment later Viorel turns his attention to the crusader in dinosaur form. "The Vrocks are summoned here, someone is behind this, possbily invisible! Behind Hallf" As the mage tries to convey the information he pulls out a bag of powder from his back pack before starting to cast his spell, trying to force the magic down from the shaman with his own arcane energies. It's like trying to bail out the ocean with a bucket. Each time his will pushes against the stun, it makes a small dent in the spell which immediately fills back up.
Barek moves towards the other Vrock, but, with Abigail's warning, notices the strange words behind Hallif and stops after passing him. Barek sees nothing out of place for a desert. Whatever is there is either invisible or hidden in some other way.
Kenan turns to the second Vrock and fires four arrows at him. Two of the arrows clatter off its hide, while the other two thunk into its center mass, penetrating an inch or so. Steaming purple blood oozes from the wounds.
Something's wrong. The thought keeps rattling through Liette's mind as she watches one Vrock go down and another be battered into submission by the others. Holding back for a moment, Liette scans the battlefield, having heard a voice somewhere beyond where Hallf was paralyzed.
Crossing her revolvers over her chest, Liette begins to recite a mantra of the Crusaders, "ஆளாகியிருப்பதாகவும் இருந்து என்னை காப்பாற்ற நான் பார்க்க வேண்டும் ன்று என் கண்கள் ஆசீர்வதிப்பார் கூறி அவர்." Radiant light flickers over her body as panic is replaced by serenity and calm; the eye of the storm where all becomes clear.
Scorpion, beetle, vulture; Liette's attention shifts from creature to creature in an attempt to weed out truth from fiction, to spot an action that seems unusual or out of the ordinary. All the while, she tries to recall her time spent identifying demons in the sacred tomes of the Crusaders. What kind of demon was this? The stories of both groups' encounters race in her mind, trying to piece together the knowledge she'd need to best guide her allies in battle and root the demon out. Liette knows there are many demons with such powers of deception, but at the moment nothing stands out to identify this one as a specific type of fiend. Frustratingly, as far as she can tell the desert creatures are behaving normally as well.
Crissor looks around carefully, "Kom naar buiten, kom naar buiten waar je ook bent." Crissor grits his teeth speaking in Halfling, thinking of hide and seek games of his youth, trying to find what summoned the demons. "Erastil show me where this evil hides" Crissor's eyes glow spring leaf green as he moves towards the canyon wall scanning with Old Deadeye's sight. He sees nothing out of the ordinary.
The nightmare continues for Sigmund. Trapped in what must certainly be Hell, he watches again, unable to move as his friends get ripped apart. He succumbs to doubt and gives in to the futility of fighting.
In the midst of the turmoil, a familiar phrase emerges through the noise. Spoken in its true form, in the tongue of angels, a prayer to Iomedae is voiced. Some of his confusion and panic departs and he looks around with more clarity and rises to his feet. He steadies himself on the crucifix that he recently occupied and calls out in Celestial. "இந்த சித்திரவதை இடத்தில் அவரது நாக்கில் உள்ள பேசுகிறார்? ஏன் நடக்கிற பேச வந்தேன்?"
The Vrock shrieks in fury, and a cloud of purplish spores explode outward from its body. Swarming over Abigail, Sacha and the anklyosaur, the spores immediately take root in their skin. Thick green vines with purplish thorns begin to tunnel into and through their flesh. The vulture-demon licks its toothed beak saying, "હું એક પાદરી ખાય છે કારણ કે લાંબા સમય આવી છે. રોમાંચક!" It then lashes out at Abigail in a furious assault of claws, and razor-sharp beak slashes. Abigail is able to parry the claws, but the Vrock's beak darts past her defenses to puncture her breastplate below her right breast. Leaping up into the air, the Vrock slashes her across the face with one of its foot talons as she reels from the pain of the beak stab.
Crissor hears a familiar voice in his head. "A gnoll paladin? Seriously? Nice try dog-boy. But I think you're still..." and then aloud, "confused." He can feel his self control being ripped away again, just as it was in the church, but then from deep inside him he asserts his own Ego. With a snapping sensation he denies the mental control being asserted over him. The voice came from over by the eastern canyon wall, near the cacti.
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Nathaniel snaps back into consciousness and draws his blade, flying over next to Hallf. Bending over, he rapidly draws a sigil and a circle into the dust and a wide aura explodes out of him momentarily before vanishing. Straightening, he barks "Stay close to me! The spell will protect us from that b*$$&'s mind-bending!"
The magic circle sadly does not free Hallf and once again he is forced to rely upon his summon to act for him.
The ankylosaurus slams its tail at the Vrock again, but the demon manages to avoid being dazed again, though the bone connects with a mighty thwack again.
N Large animal
Init +2; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +14
DEFENSE
AC 23, touch 11, flat-footed 21 (+12 natural, –1 size, +2 dex)
hp 75 + 7 temp hp (10d8+30)
Fort +12, Ref +9, Will +4
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee tail +15 (2d6+12 plus stun)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
STATISTICS
Str 27, Dex 14, Con 17, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 8
Base Atk +7; CMB +16; CMD 29 (33 vs. trip)
Feats Great Fortitude, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Overrun, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (tail)
Skills Perception +14
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Stun (Ex)
The ankylosaurus's tail can deliver a powerful, stunning blow. A creature struck by this attack must make a DC 23 Fortitude save or be dazed for 1 round. If the strike is a critical hit and the target fails its save, it is instead stunned for 1d4 rounds. The save DC is Strength-based.
Viorel drops the first bag of powder next to hims while reaching for the other one so he can have one hand free to make his arcane gestures. After the incanations and gestures are complete he creates one of the mental alarms into the general area where he though he heard the sound from. He then notes one of the words he has used as password previously for the same spell hoping that his companions can pick up from the fact that he used the spell, for securitys sake he did not use the same word for this spell.
Kenan again fires 4 arrows on the Vrock hoping to get rid of this threat.
"Oh great you again." Crissor thinks to himself as he visibly shakes his head, a reflex action to 'get her out' his eyes still glowing and hunting for the aura of evil flick to where he heard the voice. He also starts to focus on the bond with his weapon drawing forth the weapon's spirit making his bow glow white with holy energy.
Barek growls in frustration, not knowing where the other foe was. Instead he focused on the creature he could see, charging towards the Vrock and dodging under its swings to get close enough for him to swing his heavy blade into its flesh.
HP: 125/125
AC: (19 due to charge) 21 (T: 15) vs. outsiders/abberations (19 (T:12) otherwise)
---24 (T: 18) to confirm critical hit
DR: 4/-
Fort +15, Ref +8, Will +6 vs. outsiders/abberations (+12/+5/+3 otherwise)
Movement: 40 ft/x4
Cannot be knocked prone
Rage: active (3 of 23 used)
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Liette tries to look past the Vrocks, past the obvious threat to the one that threatens both body and soul. Holstering one of her revolvers, Liette keeps a single empty hand clutched close to the Iomedean amulet around her neck, trying to determine if it is the vulture or something else that is the most pressing threat, the unseen foe lingering on the edge of senses.
If she can find the demons, she's prepared to make a plea to Imoedae to grant her the power to reveal that foe.
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When no response is forthcoming, Sigmund digs around in the pile of his possessions and brings out his holy symbol. Gripping it tightly, he shuts his eyes against the madness and begins to pray.
Nathaniel snaps back into consciousness and draws his blade, flying over next to Hallf. Bending over, he rapidly draws a sigil and a circle into the dust and a wide aura explodes out of him momentarily before vanishing. Straightening, he barks "Stay close to me! The spell will protect us from that b##%@'s mind-bending!"
The magic circle sadly does not free Hallf and once again he is forced to rely upon his summon to act for him. The ankylosaurus slams its tail at the Vrock again, but the demon manages to avoid being dazed again, though the bone connects with a mighty thwack again.
Abigail yells in pain and fear as the Vrock's beak punctures through her plate. Dizzy with the smell of her own blood, she brings her mace to bear and presses the assault. The cold iron bludgeon smashes into the demon, cracking one of its bones. Sacha bends first, the leaps forward, clawing at the beast mid-section. He rakes open another long set of slashes in the Vrock's belly.
Viorel drops the first bag of powder next to hims while reaching for the other one so he can have one hand free to make his arcane gestures. After the incanations and gestures are complete he creates one of the mental alarms into the general area where he though he heard the sound from. He then notes one of the words he has used as password previously for the same spell hoping that his companions can pick up from the fact that he used the spell, for securitys sake he did not use the same word for this spell. He gets an immediate ping. "There's definitely something bigger than a bug over there!" he says, pointing to the group of three cacti near the eastern canyon wall.
Kenan again fires four arrows on the Vrock hoping to get rid of this threat. Three of the arrows miss, but one strikes true, hitting the Vrock straight in the eye. The creature puffs into sulfur scented cinders and blows away in the middle of leaning forward to ravage Abigail again.
Oh great you again. Crissor thinks to himself as he visibly shakes his head, a reflex action to 'get her out'. His eyes are still glowing and hunting for the aura of evil. They flick to where he heard the voice. He also starts to focus on the bond with his weapon drawing forth the weapon's spirit making his bow glow white with holy energy. Concentrating hard, Crissor does sense evil. A single source of powerful, evil. Seeing Raina's aura with Erastil's eyes is like getting b+#@! slapped by a storm giant. Crissor's head snaps visibly back and he appears to be stunned.
Barek growls in frustration, not knowing where the other foe was. The Vrock had been killed, so he whirls in place ready to charge any threat that becomes apparent.
Liette tries to look past the Vrocks, past the obvious threat to the one that threatens both body and soul. Holstering one of her revolvers, Liette keeps a single empty hand clutched close to the Iomedean amulet around her neck, trying to determine if it is the vulture or something else that is the most pressing threat, the unseen foe lingering on the edge of senses. If she can find the demons, she's prepared to make a plea to Imoedae to grant her the power to reveal that foe. The problem is, she sees no signs of an invisible opponent. There must be something else going on here.
When no response is forthcoming to his inquiry in celestial, Sigmund digs around in the pile of his possessions and brings out his holy symbol. Gripping it tightly, he shuts his eyes against the madness and begins to pray.
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Unsure of what is wished of it, with a vague sense of enemies still near, but nothing to direct its fury against the ankylosaurus delays waiting for something its unsubtle mind can understand need whacking on the head.
Kenan tries to spot the hidden enemy
Crissor lets out a very 'hyena' like yip of pain as his eyes lay sight on Raina's aura.
A multicolored explosion of leaping, ricocheting energy bursts from the ground in between Liette and Crissor washing over them. Rainbow colored sparks crawl over their skin, sizzling and burning as they go. Liette staggers under the assault feeling her limbs grow heavy.
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Wracked by pain and recoiling from the dissonant lights and sounds, Liette shields her eyes with her one free hand and staggers backwards. Blotches of color and humming sounds buzz in her head. Hearing Nthaniel's voice over the din, she stumbles backwards towards the sound of the summoner's voice, wildly brandishing her one drawn revolver around as she backs up. The pace is slow, uneven and faltering as Liette sluggishly makes her way into the zone of protection afforded by Nathaniel's magic.
"What the நரகத்தில் was that!?" The gunslinger curses as loud as she can in Celestial, blinking her eyes and trying to clear her vision. "I can't find her! Its gotta be out there somewhere!" Liette looks up, squinting against the sun, looking for where she could be.
Think, soldier. Think. Liette chastises herself. You were trained for this, you know this demon, you know its abilities! You can figure this out!
_______________________
Sigmund responds to Liette's outburst by opening his eyes and squinting at her. He seems to realize for the first time that there are strangers amongst them. Desperate not to be fooled again, he staggers towards her, holy symbol held out in front.
He calls out in celestial as he channels, trying to see through the illusion he believes cloaks Liette.
"What!?" Finally hearing Sigmund's voice, Liette jerks her head over to the fello wcrusader. "I-- You குருட்டு முட்டாள்!" Squinting one eye shut to stop the strobing colors in her vision, Liette trains her revolver on the paladin and cocks her head to the side, then spins the gun around and shows the sword emblem of Iomedae embossed on the grip.
"I am Captain Liette d'Argent, Fifth Mendevian Auxiliary Marksman Unit and crusader of Iomedae!" Identifying herself as resoundingly as possible, Liette whirls her gun around to grip it properly and taps the pendant around her neck with the muzzle, then trains it back on Sigmund.
"Soldier!" Liette shouts, "about face and focus on the real enemy! There's a demon hiding out there, damn it! Help us find it!"
"blind fool"
If it is an illusion, it must be something large to cover her.
Kenan fires 3 arrows, each one aimed to one of the large boulders in the chasm (B55, U7 and O50) and trys to pierce the illusion
Barek briefly looks around, sparing an angry glance at the foolish cleric who only now begins to rouse himself, waiting to see how things unfold before acting.
HP: 125/125
AC: (19 due to charge) 21 (T: 15) vs. outsiders/abberations (19 (T:12) otherwise)
---24 (T: 18) to confirm critical hit
DR: 4/-
Fort +15, Ref +8, Will +6 vs. outsiders/abberations (+12/+5/+3 otherwise)
Movement: 40 ft/x4
Cannot be knocked prone
Rage: active (4 of 23 used if it gets to a new round)
Knowing that there is an enemy present the ankylosaurus's nostrils flare and its head turns back and forth for a moment before...
Crissor grips his holy symbol and steps closer Liette and the rest of the group. "Foul demon you will not harm my friends and allies." he holds it bow and arrow icon of Erastil up and channels healing energy to his allies again.
Round 4
Nathaniel looks around him and frowns. "Everyone, again, gather round me, my magics will protect us somewhat..."
Wracked by pain and recoiling from the dissonant lights and sounds, Liette shields her eyes with her one free hand and staggers backwards. Blotches of color and humming sounds buzz in her head. Hearing Nthaniel's voice over the din, she stumbles backwards towards the sound of the summoner's voice, wildly brandishing her one drawn revolver around as she backs up. The pace is slow, uneven and faltering as Liette sluggishly makes her way into the zone of protection afforded by Nathaniel's magic.
"What the நரகத்தில் was that!?" The gunslinger curses as loud as she can in Celestial, blinking her eyes and trying to clear her vision. "I can't find her! Its gotta be out there somewhere!" Liette looks up, squinting against the sun, looking for where she could be. Think, soldier. Think. Liette chastises herself. You were trained for this, you know this demon, you know its abilities! You can figure this out!
Abigail directs Sacha to the area pointed by the others. Senses alert, she hopes her cougar will pick her scent.
Sigmund responds to Liette's outburst by opening his eyes and squinting at her. He seems to realize for the first time that there are strangers amongst them. Desperate not to be fooled again, he staggers towards her, holy symbol held out in front. He calls out in celestial as he channels, trying to see through the illusion he believes cloaks Liette.
"What!?" Finally hearing Sigmund's voice, Liette jerks her head over to the fello wcrusader. "I-- You குருட்டு முட்டாள்!" Squinting one eye shut to stop the strobing colors in her vision, Liette trains her revolver on the paladin and cocks her head to the side, then spins the gun around and shows the sword emblem of Iomedae embossed on the grip. "I am Captain Liette d'Argent, Fifth Mendevian Auxiliary Marksman Unit and crusader of Iomedae!" Identifying herself as resoundingly as possible, Liette whirls her gun around to grip it properly and taps the pendant around her neck with the muzzle, then trains it back on Sigmund. "Soldier!" Liette shouts, "about face and focus on the real enemy! There's a demon hiding out there, damn it! Help us find it!"
"If it is an illusion, it must be something large to cover her." Kenan says, before firing three arrows at the larger boulders in the canyon. The arrows shatter against the stone to little effect.
Barek briefly looks around, sparing an angry glance at the foolish cleric who only now begins to rouse himself, waiting to see how things unfold before acting.
Knowing that there is an enemy present the ankylosaurus's nostrils flare and its head turns back and forth for a moment before it shrugs and stands there unsure what to attack.
Crissor lets out a very 'hyena' like yip of pain as his eyes lay sight on Raina's aura. He stands there wobbling on his feet, unable to regain his senses quite yet.
Thinking hard, Nathaniel offhandedly raises his hand and utters a short phrase, shooting silver sparks into the air. "She is not simply hiding; I would see the trace. Could she be underground, or beneath an illusion?" He asks.
"Could she be under an illusion, hmm, I wonder?" comes Raina's voice into Nathaniel's head. "You guys are too fun! It's been millenia since I got to toy with mortals like this."
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"After we kill you and cut up your skin for scraps to sell, we will forget your name and sing of you in no songs and you will have LEFT THIS WORLD FOREVER."
Swiftly passing his hand before his eyes, Nathaniel growls loudly and points towards the cacti where Viorel had sensed a creature.
"Follow me, follow my direction! Let's SLAUGHTER this b*$%$!"
Hasted by his spell, he moves in concert with the rest as a horde towards where he suspects she is.
Kenan moves to N31 and fires an arrow at the cactus in Q47
Barek moves with the others, towards the cactii, his blade ready.
Sigmund's clarity is returning quickly as he replies briskly in Common.
The last time a female crusader turned up, she was a demon in disguise. She slaughtered us and crucified us in Hell. You'll forgive me if I trust Iomedae to show me the truth. Once bitten and all.
He seems satisfied with his mystical litmus test and looks in the direction that everyone is discussing. As the haste invigorates him, he moves where Crissor was looking and channels again.
Watching Sigmund cautiously, Liette's expression subtly softens at his explanation. There's one swift nod of recognition to his words, and then the gunslinger promptly follows Nathaniel's orders and moves alongside him with one Justice drawn and the Valor in its holster. For the time being she's doing her level best to keep an eye on the situation and be wary of her surroundings for any potential sneak attacks.
"Nathaniel, we have to come up with a plan. If she's invisible, us moving in a cluster isn't going to catch her off guard," Liette quietly asserts in a whisper. "We should withdraw and make her think she's won, give her the taste of victory, then lure her into an ambush of our own choosing."
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Nathaniel looks carefully around, still seeking with his feet for her.
"She's invisible and telepathic and lobbing spells at us- we've lost our chance of catching her off guard or luring her into whatever kind of ambush you could imagine. Moving as a cluster means we all can be protected by our spell."
The ankylosaurus sniffs about still searching for a foe, while Hallf's motionless torture continues.
"If that bloody demon lives after the battle I have half mind of selling the thing to Rosa's masters." The mage curses. "I am positive about the area, how she is evading being noticed in there is beyond my knowledge, it has to be able perceive us to use those magics." He continues with lowered voice. Viorel then casts a protective spell creating mirages of himself then moving towards Nathaniel not wanting to remain as a sitting duck wich is just about everywhere at this point.
"After we kill you and cut up your skin for scraps to sell, we will forget your name and sing of you in no songs and you will have LEFT THIS WORLD FOREVER." Swiftly passing his hand before his eyes, Nathaniel growls loudly and points towards the cacti where Viorel had sensed a creature. "Follow me, follow my direction! Let's SLAUGHTER this b&*&@!" Hasted by his spell, he moves in concert with the rest as a horde towards where he suspects she is. All he can feel is the cacti and the stones.
Kenan moves forward and fires an arrow at one of the cacti. The arrow thunks into the plant, quivering there.
Abigail and Sacha stay near Nathaniel, waiting for the signal from one of them.
Barek moves with the others, towards the cactii, his blade ready.
Sigmund's clarity is returning quickly as he replies briskly in Common. "The last time a female crusader turned up, she was a demon in disguise. She slaughtered us and crucified us in Hell. You'll forgive me if I trust Iomedae to show me the truth. Once bitten and all." He seems satisfied with his mystical litmus test and looks in the direction that everyone is discussing. As the haste invigorates him, he moves where Crissor was looking and channels again. As the holy energy of Iomedae washes over the group, Sigmund's eyes widen. She's right there. The huge glabrezu stands over Nathaniel, looking like she's ready to pounce when the channeled wave hits her. She flinches slightly as it burns her. "She's the cactus, right there!" Sigmund says pointing.
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