** spoiler omitted **
Seeing the newcomers, he says "Wait!!! It's Taron!!!"Vakkler glances towards Krays. "What? Oh! HADES!"
The kobold does not lower his crossbow.
"BACK OFF. If you think I'm bluffing, arklers,* you'd best pray your sister isn't dead. You'll be needing some healing."
The creature turns, a grim and bloody smile on it's face. It gently licks away some of the blood, seeming to savor the taste.
"Noott Taarron, stuupiid scaalies."
The creature shakes it's head as it just barely defeats the spell. It starts to step forward to slash the kobolds with it's claws, but is stopped by the grappling maneuvers of Fei.
"Leet gooo!" It growls before trying to latch it's gapping jaws on Fei's shoulder.
"Arg!" Vakkler opens fire once again, trying to avoid hitting Fei.
However, he is unable to shoot as accurately as he'd prefer because of the student.
Raises an eye ridge
"Stupid...?!? Now this is happening..."
Chants in Infernal
Harm
Touch attack
DC: 24 Will save
"Vakkler, if that's you again so soon you had better have new information!" Ryo says after Asch knocks. The door swings open and Asch can see that Ryo is standing behind three screens reading the data that flies across them. The Headmaster notices the armored figure in his doorway and peers between the screens for a better look, his eyes clouding over gray.
"Unless they are called for, please stop with the theatrics, Asch. I'll save you some time and assume you are here because someone poisoned Ephebe?"
The creature turns, a grim and bloody smile on it's face. It gently licks away some of the blood, seeming to savor the taste.
"Noott Taarron, stuupiid scaalies."
1d20+8
The creature shakes it's head as it just barely defeats the spell. It starts to step forward to slash the kobolds with it's claws, but is stopped by the grappling maneuvers of Fei.
"Leet gooo!" It growls before trying to latch it's gapping jaws on Fei's shoulder.
1d20+11
1d6+6
Fei exhales aubibly, though it sounds like rock scree settling after a landslide. He then proceeds to move the creature out of the reach of Nala, Krays and Vakkler
"Please....take....the....girl....elsewhere...." he says through gritted teeth as he somehow wrestles the beast away from the other three with a strength that belies his size.
"Stupid...?!?"
The creature convulses as the dark magic from Krays rips across it's body, but it remains standing.
Most of the shadows covering Asch drain away except for the shadows keeping the impostor from moving. "It is related. This one tried to finish the job by impersonating a healer." Asch says as he tosses her into the room.
Lost in the rapture of the dark energy cascading through him, he looks agin on the creature, a shadow passing over his features as his eyes become black as night, and his scales seem to fade, losing color as dark energy begins to form a jet black hooded cloak around him...and he begins to cast Inflict Serious wounds...
H'Tor rounds the corner and sees Krays, and runs and tackles him...
::NO! Krays! Don't give into it! We are to observe and nurture death when it comes, not cause it! Give over! Don't let it take you!:: He screams at krays telepathicly
Krays struggles with H'Tor for a bit, cursing at him in Infernal. He looks at H'Tor and meets his eyes...and slowly returns to normal.
H'Tor sits up, and cradles Krays on his lap as he recovers...
"Thanks buddy..." Krays says sleepily. "That was close..."
He shakes his head as if to shake loose the darkness that took him, and stands up, and offers a hand to H'Tor to help him up.
"I let the hate get to me...have to be objective..."
Looks around
"Fei, he should only take a nudge to knock out...Now where is Nala?"
Vakkler rushes to Nala and raises his crossbow. "Do not. Move. A muscle."
Knowing that it cannot escape Fei's lock on it, the creature tries to bite him again.
Knowing that it cannot escape Fei's lock on it, the creature tries to bite him again.
1d20+11
1d6+6
Fei winces as the creature's teeth sink into his shoulder, his mind clouded slightly. With the others still at risk should it get free, he brings his arms together in an effort to crush the thing's torso...
;
;
Sees everything is in order...
"Good work Fei!"
Looks to Vakkler
"Sorry for the insubordinate talk, sir. I will submit to whatever punishment you deem necessary." H'Tor nods at this like he'll make sure he does.
Nasima sits on the floor outside the healers' office, maintaining her vigil. She'd rather be at Ephebe's side but doesn't want to bother Mrs. Sunwake. She absently rubs at the diamond embedded in her forehead, unaware of the spectacular array of colors that follow her fingertips' every move over the stone's surface.
More noises come from afar, then there is quiet. She twists her mouth wryly and looks at the ground. I wonder if Asch finally got the fight he's been spoiling for, or if that was the others? She leans her head back on the locker she's sitting against with a solid *thunk*. "How is this place even still standing?" she wonders quietly aloud "If this is what happens just on the first day of class?"
She rushed forward and set the empty vial on the desk.
"That's it right there, sir."
She gave Jiminy a sideways glance, worried. She'd never seen him this calm and serious before. It was unnerving to say the least.
She was inside a hall of mirrors, endless reflections bouncing this way and that. She hated it here. In front of her stood a young girl with violet eyes carrying a headless doll.
"Hello, other me," the girl said with that unnerving smile of hers that never reached her eyes. "I see you find yourself in trouble again. How depressingly familiar this territory must be for you."
"You're not here. This isn't real. You're dead." she said flatly, knowing both that it was true and that here it didn't matter. She was still inside Kronos' realm.
"Well, I'm dead, yes, but this is still real, as you well know. But you like to play dumb. You think it's endearing. I assure you, it's not. As we both know I'm not here for my health. Kronos can be very demanding when it comes to repayment for his favor. Even though you killed me he still wants me to help you. For the record, I think it's a terrible idea."
She shuddered as she looked at her evil counterpart. She hadn't actually killed her. Just pointed out the obvious to the time demon who created this duplicate, that evil-Ephebe was a threat to the time demon, not as an adversary but as a rival and potential replacement. "I don't want your help. I don't want anything to do with you."
"Of course you don't. You're so predictable. All those limits you place on yourself. Such a waste. Unlike you I don't waste time on silly things like compassion, and I never get distracted by the lives let alone happiness of those around me. And that's why I'll always be stronger than you. That's why you need me if you're ever going to defeat these Hunters."
"I said I don't want your help. And I don't need you! I won't win against the Hunters by becoming the very thing they accuse my kind of being. Stay away from me!"
She ran, straight into a mirror, the impact of her body shattering it into a million pieces, and once again she was falling.
Sees everything is in order...
"Good work Fei!"
Nodding to Krays as he disengages from the creature now slumped in his arms, Fei goes over to the other three. Not understanding why Vakkler is pointing a crossbow at Nala, he looks at her injuries.
"You have been injured. We should escort you to the doctor's office."
Nala stares at him, then at Vakkler, then at Krays and swallows hard.
"I don't think that's a good idea," she whispered.
Nala stares at him, then at Vakkler, then at Krays and swallows hard.
"I don't think that's a good idea," she whispered.
Still confused, but noting the concern in her voice, Fei looks like he's mulling something over for a second, then puts a hand over the largest of the bite marks. He closes his eyes, but a brief flash can be seen through his eyelids as Nala feels some kind of energy go through her - and her wounds start to close.
Nala nearly whimpered with relief as her wounds healed over and the pain subsided. Her mind still felt like it was wrapped in cotton balls, but at least she was still alive. For now. If she couldn't get to somewhere safe, though, she really didn't like her chances. She smiled weakly at the mysterious new student who had been helping her.
His eyes open as he withdraws his hand and exhales. With that, his posture no longer seems as 'heavy' as it did when he was grappling the creature.
Seeing that her wounds are all closed, he bows slightly to her (mirroring her faint smile, though it seems not a normal thing for him to do), then more deeply to Vakkler.
"Sir, is there a place where this lady may be safe from her pursuers?"
"She is being pursued because of her involvement in Ephebe's poisoning.
The question is, do we take her to Ephebe's mother, or her Uncle? Judging from Taron's apparent reaction, taking her to one of her brothers would be a death sentence."
Looks at Nala
"You really didn't give this a whole lot of thought, did you?"
"I..I didn't do it," she said, desperately, the words not sounding believable even to her own ears. She might not have done this exact thing, but she had been conspiring to murder her former roommate. She just hadn't planned on being the fall guy.
Sense Motive
"Nice dodge. I didn't say you did it, I said you were involved.
Unfortunately, her family thinks you did do it. It looks like you may take the fall for this, anyway."
Diplomacy
"There may be a way out of this..."
Sense Motive
1d20+15
Sense Motive
1d20+15"Nice dodge. I didn't say you did it, I said you were involved.
Unfortunately, her family things you did do it. It looks like you may take the fall for this, anyway."Diplomacy
1d20+19
"There may be a way out of this..."
She looks suspicious.
"What do you mean?"
Sense Motive
1d20+15"Nice dodge. I didn't say you did it, I said you were involved.
Unfortunately, her family things you did do it. It looks like you may take the fall for this, anyway."Diplomacy
1d20+19
"There may be a way out of this..."She looks suspicious.
"What do you mean?"
Looks at Nala, then sighs in resignation
"Look, whoever wanted to hurt Ephebe needed the help of others to do so, right? He needed your help. This means he is unwilling or incapable of doing it alone. If you were to cooperate with the Headmaster and come clean, you would be safe, and they'd get the real killer. A win/win."
And with one more (but certainly not the last) look of confusion, Fei listens quietly to the exchange between Krays and Nala.
"You have to be kidding me. You expect me to admit to conspiring with someone against Ephebe to her family and you think I'm going to be safe if I do that? Nobody is that gullible. I'm not admitting to anything."
"You have to be kidding me. You expect me to admit to conspiring with someone against Ephebe to her family and you think I'm going to be safe if I do that? Nobody is that gullible. I'm not admitting to anything."
"I do not think you are gullible. I think that in your entire miserable life, you've gotten by on deception, lies and false promises.
I mean, look at all of those kids that hang around you. Is it because they really want to, or because they think they want to? Your entire base of power is based on lies. All I'm suggesting is, for once, the truth is the only thing that will allow you to survive this."Looks at her, in the eyes
"All I want here is justice, with minimal casualties. No one needs to die over a miscalculation."
Her lower lip quivered.
"Don't be ridiculous. Of course they like me. They'd do anything for me. What difference does it make if I give things a little nudge from time to time?"
"I won't admit to anything, but I might be able to provide some information if I have absolute assurance that I won't be harmed."
Her lower lip quivered.
"Don't be ridiculous. Of course they like me. They'd do anything for me. What difference does it make if I give things a little nudge from time to time?"
"I won't admit to anything, but I might be able to provide some information if I have absolute assurance that I won't be harmed."
Looks sympathetic, and gives her a look that says she has no idea what she's dealing with.
"You poor thing, even now you're grasping for some semblance of control over this situation. You are in no position to bargain, you have no knowledge the headmaster can't just take from you."Sighs
"Well, no one can say I didn't try..."
Amada walks in with a little grin on her face. She was walking a little slow with something behind her back.
"Here we are again! Who's the happy bat at the principals office? I know i can probably assume the role of the happy goat on account of the horns"
She says as she points at her black horns with a cheesy smile. Amada takes a seat next to him and gently adjusts her clothes and fixes her hair neatly behind her horns. She takes out a small compact mirror from her purse and quickly freshens up her lip gloss making sure to carefully trace the bows of her lips. When she finished she plucked what she had in her back pocket out and gave it to him with a small smile. It was one of her drawings that she made him from time to time. It was a simple doodle in ink of Asch and Amada holding each other under a tree with a couple heart bubbles. The words "I love you" were etched into the bark of the tree. But of course her "romantic" doodles had some humor thrown in. They both had french fries up their nostrils and making silly faces as if having a picture taken at a booth after a food fight.
"Drum role baby!"
"TA-DA! Just for you, hope you like it!"
She said with yet another grin that reached from ear to ear. Her grin was so big she looked like her eyes were closed. She couldn't help but bust out laughing anticipating what Asch would think about the french fry up his nose. She tried to cover her laughing so hard that she even ended up snorting between laughs. She got it from her demon father.
"Sorry baby, I get my snorts from my dad when he laughed. He was never a serious man....bless his soul, well if a demon can be blessed that is!"
While attention is turned, the three burns marks from Krays' spell slowly fade, and the creature's eyes flutter open weakly before closing...
Vakkler has not spoken, having been deep in thought. Finally, he nods. "Indeed. Zamarosok, your best shot at living is cooperating. You're in hostile territory. Everyone is certain of your guilt anyway." The kobold waves his crossbow as he speaks, to emphasize his points. "Your slaves have made an attempt on the Sunwake's life.
"As the gamekeeper, I can't make any promises. But your options are grim. If you refuse to help, the parents will destroy you. Or the siblings." He gestures to what remains of Taron's attacker. "If you try to escape, you'll be annihilated, in an especially painful manner. If you help, I will at least argue for your life to be spared. But only if you help right now.