Sluggish to react, Liette's whole body goes tense as the demon taunts, threatens and is set upon by the rabid pack of wolves that is her wrathful group. She feels her lead hand trembling, fingers twitching, and all she can hear in her mind is the sound of Nathaniel's body hitting the ground over and over. She can see his mangled husk of a corpse, feel her heart beating wildly in her chest, blood pounding in her ears.
Liette doesn't even realize she's screaming as loud as she can when she finally draws both of her revolvers, stepping around Viorel as she squeezes her triggers as fast as her fingers can draw them back. Each gunshot is a loud report, and the first one strikes the demon square in the head with a shower of blackened blood. The next few shots may not even be necessary as the scorpion creature lurches back, bullets punching through its thickened armor into its chest and arms, one blasting into the stinger, another hitting it in the abdomen and one of its legs.
All the while, Liette is just screaming like a madwoman, a constant wild and feral howl of anger.
_______________
The scorpion demon and her six copies rush forward towards Barek, holding her axe held in a low guard and waving her tails over her back. Once she's close enough she lashes out, throwing all her momentum into a tail strike. The bulbous stinger catches him in the chest, sliding in a half inch or so between two ribs and pumping a huge gout of clear toxin into the wound. Barek shudders as the poison fills his chest cavity. With a freakish and heroic flexing of muscles, he somehow manages to expel the poison from the wound. The clear liquid drips harmlessly down his rippling abs into the muddy sand below.
"You made a huge mistake, I have been itching to find something on which to unleash my anger," Viorel says, taking a quick glance around and noting that the group is a bit too far from each other. "Abigail get closer so I can cast my spell, others hold your ground untill then," the mage yells. He tries to scour his memory for information on their opponent. He recalls seeing a single passage about it once. "This thing's called a gharros, or scorpion demon. Normal demon traits, and its sting is poisonous...Go figure."
Abigail spurs Sacha to move up to Barek and stand beside him. As Sacha moves forth, she asks Erastil to bless her companion.
Viorel casts his spell, and the group can feel themselves speed up as it settles over them.
Sigmund scowls at the demon as she lands, and his response is swift. He bolsters his allies and launches a dispelling word to strip away the demon's defenses. As his spell hits her, her mirror images all glitch and then disappear. She hisses in anger at the cleric, pointing her battle axe at him threateningly.
Kenan stoically assumes his zen archery posture, and then his limbs blur as he completes his now familiar ritual. Five arrows are in the air before the first one hits the demon. She manages to whip the flat of her axe up to deflect the last arrow, but the other four hit in a perfect half-inch square in between and just below her breasts. She sharply exhales a small cloud of bloody mist, looking surprised.
"We don't have time to play with you." Crissor growls, slipping forward to stand beside Liette and Sigmund and calls out while drawing his arrows."Erastil grant me the power to smite this evil stain upon the world." Then hoping to add even more kick he holds out his bow and focuses on his bond with the weapon causing it glow bright white.
Barek roars through the sting of the demon, his heroic will forcing the poison out of his body as he enters a rage, steps forward and attacks. Barek swings his butcher's blade in three heavy chops. The demon parries the first two with her battle axe, but the third blow slips past her guard. The cold-iron greatsword connects with one of the demon's scorpion legs at the lowest joint, cleaving straight through it and shortening the limb by a foot. The demon staggers, limping slightly as she adjusts to her new body. "You'll die for that," she promises Barek.
Sluggish to react, Liette's whole body goes tense as the demon taunts, threatens and is set upon by the rabid pack of wolves that is her wrathful group. She feels her lead hand trembling, fingers twitching, and all she can hear in her mind is the sound of Nathaniel's body hitting the ground over and over. She can see his mangled husk of a corpse, feel her heart beating wildly in her chest, blood pounding in her ears.
Liette doesn't even realize she's screaming as loud as she can when she finally draws both of her revolvers, stepping around Viorel as she squeezes her triggers as fast as her fingers can draw them back. Each gunshot is a loud report, and the first one strikes the demon square in the head with a shower of blackened blood. The next few shots may not even be necessary as the scorpion creature lurches back, bullets punching through its thickened armor into its chest and arms, one blasting into the stinger, another hitting it in the abdomen and one of its legs.
All the while, Liette is just screaming like a madwoman, a constant wild and feral howl of anger.
--------------------------------
After only a few seconds of combat, the demon is already badly injured. She resolves to keep her promise to the kellid barbarian, and attacks him with expert slashes of her large axe. He struggles to fend them off with his greatsword, but she's fast as a demon. She cuts an X across his torso from shoulders to hips with her first two slashes, then brings the butt end of the haft around and smashes Barek in the mouth, sending a few teeth flying and breaking his jaw. The berserking Sarkorian warrior shoves the Gharros back as she continues to attack. Her tail darts forward but stabs only the air over the roaring barbarian's shoulder as his driving push rocks her back onto her hind legs.
______________________________________________
Hit
Hit
Hit
Miss
Miss
Barek snarls at the demon and chops at it with his giant blade. Two of the swings cut into it deeply.
HP: 87/140
AC: 23 (T: 16) vs. outsiders/abberations---26 (T: 19) to confirm critical hit
20 (T: 13) vs. others
DR: 4/-
Fort +15, Ref +9, Will +6 vs. outsiders/abberations (+12/+6/+3 otherwise)
Movement: 70 ft/x4
Cannot be knocked prone
Hero Points: 0/3
Rage: active (6 of 23 used)
Attacks considered good/chaotic/lawful/evil for DR purposes
Haste (+1 attack & AC & Reflex, +30 movement, extra attack on full attack)
After only a few seconds of combat, the demon is already badly injured. She resolves to keep her promise to the kellid barbarian, and attacks him with expert slashes of her large axe. He struggles to fend them off with his greatsword, but she's fast as a demon. She cuts a slash across his torso from shoulders to hip with her first slash, then brings the butt end of the haft around and smashes Barek in the mouth, sending a few teeth flying and breaking his jaw. The berserking Sarkorian warrior shoves the Gharros back as she continues to attack. One of her tails darts forward but stabs only the air over the roaring barbarian's shoulder as his driving push rocks her back onto her hind legs.
He doesn't stop, ducking low and driving forward, throwing the demon completely off balance. He quickly draws back and swings his man sized blade in an overhead chop. The slice parts four of the demon's arthropod legs from its torso, releasing a torrent of green goop from the holes where they were connected. His second slash takes her other four legs off. The demoness screams as she flops onto the ground. She drops her axe to catch herself before her face slams into the sand. As she's laying there propped on her hands there is just enough time for a look of true fear to enter her eyes before Barek spins with a roar and chops he head clean off. The head arcs through the air to plop at Liette's feet. The demon's face is forever locked in an expression of terror as it stares up at the pistol wielding paladin. Then both the body and head collapse and dissolve into piles of sparking red ash, like a bundle of burning paper.
Barek stabs his sword into the ground and leans heavily upon it, blood still trickling from his wounds, nodding his thanks on Abigail's heal. "Ugh. I hope this was the stronger and smarter sister. Another one like that could make for some real trouble," he says as he watches it dissolve.
Liette continues to fire into the demon's corpse with thundrous gunfire until both revolvers have been emptied and the demon's carcass a bullet-riddled mess of organs, blood and chitinous plating. Standing over the body, Liette seethes, breathing heavily and looking down at the corpse with an unblinking stare. Her triggers click a few more times, needless pulls that elicit not gunfire.
Then, after a short while, she takes a step back and swallows dryly.
Viorel looks at the revolver wielding woman contemplating. "அது சிப்பாய் வெளியே அச்சச்சோ!" Sharp voice demands. "Well I would like to think that I know alot about demons, and I barely remembered this one, so they can't be that common. That being said we are in the wound so it's not like this is usual grounds when talking about those." He notes. He walks over to the slumped body casting a simple spell to see if the demon had any magical items.
"Relax Liette, it's dead and gone." he gently shakes her shoulder. "Save your ammo friend."
Viorel's shouting snaps Liette out of her rage, and the young gunslinger turns a wide-eyed stare to both he and Crissor. Embarrassment, shame and guilt all play across her face in the moments after, followed by her eyes reddening and tears welling up in them. Liette swallows dryly, wiping at her eyes with the back of one revolver-laden hand. Blinking back the tears, she steps away and looks down at the ground with a strangled noise briefly squeaking in the back of her throat before walking away from the others, shaky hands reloading her firearms.
Sigmund follows Liette as she walks away shaking. When she stops and begins reloading her guns, he puts his hand on her shoulder. He doesn't speak or try to interfere with her grief and rage, knowing personally how intense such emotions can be. Instead, he tries to be a support she can rely on, if she chooses to.
Sigmund's hand on Liette's shoulder causes the gunslinger to tense up. She looks, fleetingly, at the crusader but soon turns her attention back down to her firearms. "I'm fine," is exactly what she isn't, but the dismissive utterance comes quick and easy. Easier than actually talking about what's bothering her, easier than properly grieving.
09/06/4712 10:17
Abigail does what she can for Barek, and then the group starts moving again. As they are moving it becomes clear to Kenan, Viorel and Abigail how the demon was able to find them so exactly. The three drakes are still trailing them high in the sky above. The dragons must have very good eyes as they are hovering at the very edge of the crusader's vision, sometimes visible, other times swooping too high.
It's a mere ten minutes further down the riverbed when the group hears the familiar sucking pop of a demon teleporting in. This time the demon appears behind them in the riverbed. Her lower torso is that of a massive serpent, transforming into a reptilian woman from the waist up. Her long fingers end in wicked looking black claws. A miasma of horrible swirling darkness surrounds the demoness, shadowing her features.
"My sssky brothersss tell me you killed my sssissster," she hisses coldly. she screams, flinging three fiery rays at Abigail. The burning beams catch the unsuspecting cleric right in the face as she turns in response to the noise behind her. Abigail's face bubbles and pops, filling the air with the acrid stench of burning human flesh. Someone is shrieking, it takes Abigail a moment to realize it's herself.
------------------------------------
Not pausing for the crusaders to react, the demon slithers forward with starling speed, heading for Viorel. She rears up beside him, hissing, looking like she's going to try to strike him in a moment's time.
____________________________________
Crissor:
Sigmund:
Kenan:
Barek
Liette
Viorel
Abigail
Sacha
Crissor:
Sigmund:
Kenan:
Barek
Liette
Viorel
Abigail
Monster:
Initiative
Demon 24
Party 22
Poss crit
Confirmed
Hit
Hit
"A mallar! Watch out for its fear gaze," Barek tells the others before becoming enraged and moving towards the creature, slashing at it with his blade. The demon lashes out with her spear and skewers him. Although he shakes off the hit, it slowed his momentum and his own strike misses.
HP: 80/140
AC: 22 (T: 15) vs. outsiders/abberations---25 (T: 18) to confirm critical hit
19 (T: 12) vs. others
DR: 4/-
Fort +15, Ref +9, Will +6 vs. outsiders/abberations (+12/+6/+3 otherwise)
Movement: 40 ft/x4
Cannot be knocked prone
Hero Points: 0/3
Rage: active (6 of 23 used)
Attacks considered good/chaotic/lawful/evil for DR purposes
Viorel curses in his mind as the demon somehow manages to get the drop on them. He hears Bareks warning but reacts a moment too late, soon he feels the fear trying to grasp hold of him but he pushes it back. Now his head clear he decides to risk one hit instead of many. He manages to retreat unscathed nex to Sigmund. He then casts the familiar spell of making everyone faster.
Seeing the demon and watching it attack Abigail, Crissor shakes and yells to everyone. "Fall Back and regroup!" He shakes and there is an obvious fear in his voice. And runs out past the rest.
The noise of teleportation causes Liette to whip around just in time to see rays of searing hot flame lance across her field of vision and strike Abigail atop Sacha. The screams erupting from the cleric ring in Liette's ears, and the paladin backpedals, unable to recognize the scaled horror in front of her, even as Barek calls out its name and what its gaze does.
When it turns its attention on Liette, she locks eyes with the creature. But then what it said suddenly makes sense to her. It's sky brothers. The things that killed Nathaniel. Suddenly any nagging sense of doubt or fear is washed away in a tidal-wave of unbridled rage.
Liette lets out a scream and swiftly draws out her revolvers, firing wildly into the center mass of the demon, her movements and each draw of the trigger hastened by Viorel's magic. "You son of a b*tch!" Liette screams through the roar of gunfire, "Die! Die!"
__________
Hering the typical sound of another teleportation, Kenan makes a short spurt forwards away from the Demon
Then he turns around focusing on the demon.
Struggling to get a firm stand he only manages to send one badly aimed shot towards the demon, which misses her by a few foots.
Sigmund had not been wearing his smoked goggles lately and he surely would regret it after this fight. At the moment, he's too busy running for his life.
Not pausing for the crusaders to react, the demon slithers forward with starling speed, heading for Viorel. She rears up beside him, hissing, looking like she's going to try to strike him in a moment's time.
"A Mallor! Watch out for its fear gaze," Barek tells the others before becoming enraged and moving towards the creature, planning to slash at it with his blade. The demon lashes out with her spear and skewers his shoulder. Although he shakes off the hit, it slowed his momentum and his own strike misses.
Viorel curses in his mind as the demon somehow manages to get the drop on them. He hears Barek's warning but reacts a moment too late. He feels the fear trying to grasp hold of him, but he pushes it back. Now, his head clear, he decides to risk one hit instead of many. He manages to retreat unscathed next to Sigmund. Then he casts the familiar spell of haste, making everyone faster.
Crissor also tries to avert his eyes from the demon, but Barek's warning registers too late. He watches as it attacks Abigail, melting her face. Crissor shakes in fear and yells to everyone, "Fall back and regroup!" His voice is quivering in terror as he runs from the fiend. The most direct path away from her is straight through the demon grass, which slices the gnoll's legs as he runs through it.
Abigail screams in pain as her face is burned beyond recognition. Turning from the monster, she drops from her saddle to the ground, keeping her eyes locked on the high grass and away from the demon. Her hands shake violently as she summons the will to ask for His healing. "Erastil, hear me now! Touch your faithful servant with your healing touch, for she serves Your will!"
Meanwhile, Sacha growls in anger as he senses his mistress' distress. Yet he can't face the horror that washes over his simple mind, turns and bolts! He also runs directly away from the threat, straight through the razor sharp grass of the dead riverbank.
The noise of teleportation causes Liette to whip around just in time to see rays of searing hot flame lance across her field of vision and strike Abigail atop Sacha. The screams erupting from the cleric ring in Liette's ears, and the paladin backpedals, unable to recognize the scaled horror in front of her, even as Barek calls out its name and what its gaze does.
When it turns its attention on Liette, she locks eyes with the creature. But then what it said suddenly makes sense to her. Its sky brothers. The things that killed Nathaniel. Suddenly any nagging sense of doubt or fear is washed away in a tidal-wave of unbridled rage.
Liette lets out a scream and swiftly draws out her revolvers, firing wildly into the center mass of the demon, her movements and each draw of the trigger hastened by Viorel's magic. "You son of a b*tch!" Liette screams through the roar of gunfire, "Die! Die!" Several rounds pierce the demon, but without the devastating effect they would have had on mortal flesh.
Hearing the typical sound of another teleportation and Barek's warning, Kenan closes his eyes and makes a short spurt forwards away from the Demon. Then he turns around focusing on the demon, challenging it with his own fearful gaze. Struggling to get a firm stand in the damp sand of the riverbed, he only manages to send one badly aimed shot towards the demon. The arrow misses her by a few feet.
Sigmund hears Barek's warning in time to snap his eyes shut. He ruffles around in his belt pouch, grabbing his smoked goggles and quickly pulling them over his eyes. Then, with his nerves steeled, he reopens his eyes and stares directly into the demon's gaze. He feels the fear welling up in him, but only dimly. The Inheritor is with him, and he will not run!
--------------------------------
The Mallor hisses at Barek, before leaping aside and trying to roll past him. Barek's cold iron blade cuts the air, but the serpent demon is too fast. She slithers up to Viorel, reaching out to touch his face with one claw. Her claw glows with malevolent energies, but Viorel manages to duck out of the way at the last second and she touches nothing but air. "Hold ssstill little worm! Time to teach you what an idiot you really are," she hisses.
__________________________________
Success
Auto-miss
Aura of Heroism 0/8
Aura of Menace 4/8
Channel Energy 0/8
Touch of Glory 8/8
Touch of Good 6/8
Spells. CL 9. DC 15/16/17/18. Conc +13. * = cast.
0th: create water, detect magic, light, stabilize.
1st: (6+1) D-divine favor, ****endure elements x4, **weapons against evil x2
2nd: (4+1) D-bless weapon, *consecrate, *shield other, spear of purity, weapon of awe.
3rd: (4+1) D-*prayer, daylight, *dispel magic, *stone shape, *summon monster III
4th: (3+1) D-*holy smite, *dimensional anchor, *divine power, *restoration
Sigmund brings up his holy symbol, his eyes alight with fury beneath the dark glass.
"Get you back to Hell, demon!
The firey light of Iomedae burns out from the starburst and sword, scalding the demon and causing her infernal flesh to smoke and pop. Still, the strength of her corruption is a match for Sigmund's conviction, and she resists the worst of it, keeping her carapace from bursting into flame.
Barek moves towards the demon and slashes at it with his heightened speed, two of his powerful attacks slicing through the creature. Despite the strikes the creature is not daunted .
AC: 23 (T: 16) vs. outsiders/abberations---26 (T: 19) to confirm critical hit
20 (T: 13) vs. others
DR: 4/-
Fort +15, Ref +10, Will +6 vs. outsiders/abberations (+12/+6/+3 otherwise)
Movement: 40 ft/x4
Cannot be knocked prone
Hero Points: 0/3
Rage: active (6 of 23 used)
Attacks considered good/chaotic/lawful/evil for DR purposes
Haste
Seeing the demon trying to more actively defend itself, Liette watches the way it slithers and shifts, her eyes flicking towards weak spots in its defensive movements, to angles of attack it leaves open even through its attempts to be evasive. She looks for patterns and the Inheritor allows her to see them clearly.
Liette sees where the demon is weakest, knows that the arm carrying its spear is where it opens itself up to attack, but only when that arm is extended and its posture shifts. Revolvers drawn, Liette watches Barek waylay the demon with a flurry of powerful blows, and then the gunslinger does something remarkably stupid...
She steps in close, raises her pistol at point blank range, and fires.
The bullet strikes the demon square in the collar, punching through its hardened scales and out the other side. In reprisal, the demon lunges forward with its spear and lances squarely through Liette's jacket at the shoulder, through her mithral chainmail worn beneath, and lifts her square up off the ground.
The gunslinger screams as she's hoisted aloft, but now the demon has done exactly as she had hoped and exposed itself by its right flank. "It hesitates! Follow my aim! Destroy it!" Liette screams as she continues firing into the now defensive creature, but now her shots are guided by intuition greater than her own, and each plume of demonic blood erupting in the air is a marker for her team, a directed assault to penetrate the demon's defenses.
____________
Justice: 1/6
Valor: 1/6
Viorel smirks as the demon misses again and it just widens once Barek rips into it's flesh. The mage decides trying to taunt the demon so the enemy will just play cat and mouse with him while the other's kill it. He makes sure to not make an opening as he casts his spell creating six figments of himself. "Worm? quite fresh coming from one without legs. Stupid, please you can't even speak properly. Come try to entertain me some more before I decide to send you to hell." The choir of mages taunts as he moves again.
Kenan now aims more thoroughly and fires 5 arrows at the snake demon. But this foe is very nimble and only 2 Arrows hit the Mallor in the Torso.
The Mallor hisses at Barek, before leaping aside and trying to roll past him. Barek's cold iron blade cuts the air, but the serpent demon is too fast. She slithers up to Viorel, reaching out to touch his face with one claw. Her claw glows with malevolent energies, but Viorel manages to duck out of the way at the last second and she touches nothing but air. "Hold ssstill little worm! Time to teach you what an idiot you really are," she hisses.
Sigmund brings up his holy symbol, his eyes alight with fury beneath the dark glass. "Get you back to the Abyss, demon!" he shouts. The firey light of Iomedae burns out from the starburst and sword, scalding the demon and causing her infernal flesh to smoke and pop. Still, the strength of her corruption is a match for Sigmund's conviction, and she resists the worst of it, keeping her carapace from bursting into flame.
Abigail hears the din of battle, but she won't turn towards it yet. With haste, she moves her fingers through the familiar patterns of the cult, summoning strength and resolve through her faith in the divine. "Bear witness to the strength and resolve of your faithful and grant me the strength to support them!" Her size suddenly doubles and she allows a faint smile on her lips, for He is with her.
Barek moves towards the demon and slashes at it with his heightened speed, the demon tries to parry his blows but Barek's rage is titanic. She deflects one strike, but the next two slice into her. Barek first chops off the last several feet of her tail. Then he stabs the point of his long blade into the Mallor's sternum, and jerks it down, slicing open her scaled belly. Loops of oily black viscera drip down onto Barek and the other nearby crusaders as the demon reels under the brutal blows.
Viorel smirks as the demon misses again. His smirk only widens once Barek rips into its flesh. The mage decides to taunt the demon, so she'll just play cat and mouse with him while the other's kill her. He makes sure to not make an opening as he casts a spell, creating six figments of himself. "Worm? That's quite fresh coming from one without legs. Stupid? Please, you can't even speak properly. Come try to entertain me some more before I decide to send you to back to the abyss," the choir of mages taunts as he moves behind Sigmund.
Seeing the demon trying to more actively defend itself, Liette watches the way it slithers and shifts, her eyes flicking towards weak spots in its defensive movements, to angles of attack it leaves open even through its attempts to be evasive. She looks for patterns and the Inheritor allows her to see them clearly.
Liette sees where the demon is weakest, knows that the arm carrying its spear is where it opens itself up to attack, but only when that arm is extended and its posture shifts. Revolvers drawn, Liette watches Barek waylay the demon with a flurry of powerful blows, and then the gunslinger does something remarkably stupid... She steps in close, raises her pistol at point blank range, and fires. The bullet strikes the demon square in the collar, punching through its hardened scales and out the other side. In reprisal, the demon lunges forward with its spear and lances squarely through Liette's jacket at the shoulder, through her mithral chainmail worn beneath, and lifts her square up off the ground.
The gunslinger screams as she's hoisted aloft, but now the demon has done exactly as she had hoped and exposed itself by its right flank. "It hesitates! Follow my aim! Destroy it!" Liette screams as she continues firing into the now defensive creature, but now her shots are guided by intuition greater than her own, and each plume of demonic blood erupting in the air is a marker for her team, a directed assault to penetrate the demon's defenses.
Kenan now aims more thoroughly and fires five arrows at the snake demon. But this foe is very nimble and protected by an aura of evil itself. Three of the horseman's arrow miss as the serpentine fiend weaves out of the way, but the last two thunk directly into her eyes. The Mallor screams, whipping back her head as her body begins to dissolve into ash. Her huge iron spear makes a thudding noise as it hits the riverbed.
The mage walks next to the pile of ash as if to make sure the demon is dead. "We should regroup, the effect of it's gaze should disappear soon enough, but no sense risking that something else stumbles upon them while alone."He then casts a spell to observe the the spear. "A magical weapon aligned to chaos, since our enemies tend to be demons not really worth keeping for other purposes than selling it."