The Father of Waters

Game Master Fighting Chicken

As the first boulder begins to move Drazan speaks, "Are these Nargun? Use your words of peace! Or is the only answer laying them low? As the other boulders shift and turn the advantage back to their numbers along with a noxious smell, Drazan drafts another idea, Clear a path through to the tower.

Then Drazan, feeling the need to act, does the only thing he can do against inevitability. He charges the first boulder, unleashing his anger and hate.

Istiel is last on shore due to the dual problem of being in the back of the canoe and Rock's clumsy exiting of the watercraft.

The smell hits the monk's nostrils harder than a punch to the face, and she momentarily reels. "Guh! Use the words!" She echoes Drazen's statement before watching the warrior take off down the island towards one of the rocks.

Nat doubles over sharply and retches at the smell, doing her best to concentrate on maintaining the beacon of holy light around her.

The creatures tremble, almost as if they are, for lack of a better word, unpacking themselves. Their rocky forms shift and ripple, and within seconds, large stony bipeds stand before you. The smell cloys your nostrils, as if the earth itself is decaying around you. Slowly, the creatures begin plodding towards you, the earth of the little island shaking as they step, the water of the lake churning furiously.

Drazan's baneaxe chips off of the creature, hewing rock from rock, as the creature he's attacked howls, a low, rumbling sound that echoes off the lake...

"Ons kom in vrede! Shouts Imix - and realises as a chip falls from the first Nargun that words may not be enough to overcome centuries of conflict when blood - or rock - has been drawn.
Concentrating, he channels healing energy into the area, holding up a hand to forestall more attacks from his allies. 'I hope they heal as we heal' he thinks, staring at the massive stone man before him.
To emphasise the point he draws his sword - and tosses it to the ground.

The water thrashes around you, the ground shakes, and a booming unison of voices vibrates through you, the creatures speaking all at once, while the move inexorably forward.

"Verzwakt! Gedwongen! Vernedering!"

Drazan stops to see what happens with the creatures after Imix heals them.

Their language is ancient, the dialect strange. Still, those that speak Terran can make out the intent:

Even as they speak, the move towards you, stony limbs held high...

Istiel grinds her teeth at the uncertainty of the situation, teetering between doing nothing and beginning her attack.

"They still advance! Imix! Do we attack?!" She shouts at the Suriname, glancing fervently around at the Nargun slowly surrounding the group.

Understanding dawns as Imix translates the words.
Understanding - and resignation.

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Round 1
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The translation of Imix's words is all the monk needs to make her next decision.

She concentrates and grasps at the other, familiar consciousness that touches the edge of her mind like a pond-skipper hovers on the surface of the water. The pressure in her temples is joined by the sensation of her mask pressing into her face until- pop. The river of time flows above, the bank always seeming full and ready to burst from the heavens.

Suddenly, a war cry competes in volume with the noise of the nearby falls as Istiel explodes into a powerful battle-sprint. She continues yelling until she reaches the nearest Nargun, slamming her fist directly and repeatedly into its rocky exterior with little concern for the hardness of its skin. I must defeat this one myself! I must claim this victory!

Israel's war shout moved Drazan to action in just as violent manor; though his attacks are undisciplined, unfocused, reckless, and fueled by the rush of rage.

Nat coughs, still clearly not in the best of conditions; but her concentration holds, and so does the beacon shining down on her.

She prays again to Ayida-Wedu, and is rewarded by a lessening of the nausea.

Drazan and Istiel find one attack each connecting, the others bouncing off the creatures' bodies, like a wave against a cliff. Istiel's one hit lands solidly, sending a large crack racing up the creature's side, while Drazan's attack seems to be blunted a bit by the armor-like, rocky surface of the monster.

Oios runs forward into the middle of the group of you, and holding his holy symbol aloft, calls down the will of the Damballah. Everything gets a little clearer; your eyesight sharpens, your reflexes are quicker.

The creatures move ploddingly forward, and some of them begin shaking as they move, a large crashing and grinding emanating from their bodies. Then, parts of the creatures explode outwards, rocks and dust spewing from them, coating you, bludgeoning as they hit. A stone the size of a large gourd flies directly at Oios' head; the shadow just ducks out of the way as it flies harmless past. The caprataur, caught by surprise, is pelted with all manner of flying debris, and growls in anger.

The two creatures closest to Drazan and Istiel pummel back at the warrior monk and man from Fire Peaks, large swinging masses of rock and earth, battering and bruising.

Rock stabs three times at the creature to the south of him, his spear each time thudding uselessly into the creature.

Nat easily ducks the worst of the shards that fly towards her, although the scar tissue around her chest and back protests at the swift movement.

Straightening up, she gazes calmly at the enemy. "Alroyght, if that's how you want to do things..."

Her eyes glow like the sun as she prays again, and the great shining form of the enormous coywolf appears silently in front of the closest creature, attacking it with tearing jaws.

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Round 2
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Istiel feels nothing in the long-dead nerves of her knuckles as her fist smashes into the Nargun's rocky exterior, sending a spiderweb of cracks up its flanks.

Fighting such large opponents always proved to be challenging- she could not rely on the holds and joint locks that could immobilize human foes, and her reach was greatly limited. Fortunately, with all the breaking and crunching of the battlefield, no one could hear the sound of her ribs breaking as the Nargun's arm smashes into her side to send her tumbling across the mist-soaked ground.

She digs her fingernails and feet into the stone to slide to a faltering stop, only to look up in time to see dagger-like shards of rock exploding from the Nargun's exterior. The monk flattens herself on the ground as the shards fly overhead; she groans as her cracked rib strains the limits of her pain tolerance, but the rock shards do not touch her.

Calling upon her inner strength, the warrior-monk seeks to fulfill her tenant. She pushes off the ground with enough force to send her body flying in the air, leaping in close to the Nargun. Istiel dances around its bulky frame and delivers frigthenly powerful blows to the rocky protrusions protecting its joints.

The creature that Istiel attacked shudders and cracks, and with a low rumble, falls in on itself, littering the battlefield with rubble.

Fine! Drazan raged as the creatures pelted his elemental body as he continued his reckless assault. If not this is not for the tower, then this is vengeance! You creatures should not have messed with Rock's people; I will show you no more mercy than you did the last few of his own!

Imix concentrates, and a wave of power washes over the field.

Two more of the creatures implode, one to Drazan's axe, and the other to the twisting of Great Chaquapetl's jaws. Relentlessly, they move forward, a howling shaking the very air.

A boulder connects with Oios' head with a sickening thunk, and the old man scampers backwards even as he grunts in rage and pain. And then, in the blink of an eye, the Shadow has disappeared and reappeared by the open doorway of the tower, stooped and holding his neck.

Rock's spear flashes forwards three more times, chipping at the creature in front of him, the caprateur growling in frustration as the creature returns the favor, bloodying and bruising your ally.

Nat's eyes glow once more, and healing energy passes through the form of the coywolf. Revitalised, it chews at another of the creatures.

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Round 3
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A dizzying rush of emotion fills Istiel's soul as the Nargun crumples in front of her. Yes! My deeds will catch up to Drazen!

The momentary celebration is cut short as another Nargun rumbles up, battering the monk's arm as she attempts to block its blows.

Rock's frustration reaches her ears. It's easy to see the Capratuar is struggling and bloodied. Acting on her oath to protect the creature, Istiel disengages from the Nargun currently assaulting her with a dramatic backflip over its swinging arm, twisting in the air to land on her feet running in the opposite direction.

"KI-YA!" She screams, smashing her fist into the center of the chipped Nargun's mass and attempting to end the assault on Rock.

Your numbers will mean nothing and after I'm done with you! Drazan continues to hack at hard skinned creatures, sparks pouring from when metal meets stone. On occasion, a solid blow requires rocking of Bane back and forth to free it.

RAggghhhhhh!!!!

"Oios! Nat! Can you break their compulsion?" Imix calls, desperate.
Imix's form twists upon itself, warping into that of his true Suriname form.
"We need to try to subdue one!" he calls, as he lumbers towards the nearest lone Nargun.

Oios pulls a potion from his satchel and drinks it, before yelling, and then again, in Abyssal: "Into the tower! NOW!" Then, the Shadow ducks into the tower's darkened doorway.

Istiel charges the creature closest to her, landing a solid blow, but the Nargun pivots on its axis and lays the bulk of its body into her, smashing into the monk with the force of a wall.

Drazan fares little better, trading ferocious blows with his adversary.

Great Chaquapetl, even worse. Rocks encircle the coywolf's giant neck, and with a snap, Ayida-Wedu's champion vanishes from the world.

And poor Rock, he has the worst luck of all. Stabbing at the Nargun in front of him once, the caprataur turns to flee, trying to duck under the creature's flailing form. Stumbling, perhaps on a bit of marsh grass, or slipping in the mud, Rock stops and straightens up, lifting his head into the path of an uncoming boulder. Rocks head disintegrates into a fine puff of mist, and the caprataur's body slumps forward into the lake.

The Nargun shake and tremble, the ground shakes, the water thrashes...

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Round 3
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Istiel doesn't even see the Nargun's arm as it smashes into her flank with enough force to propel her into the air. Everything goes black and time ceases to exist.

With a graceless arc she tumbles into a shallow pool, and some god must have taken pity on her broken body given the way she landed with her head out of the water. The monk lays motionless, the streaming water pulling away a thick rope of blood into the surrounding river.

Nat doesn't panic. She lived through the fall of Cornucopia, when everything went wrong at once and everything needed to be done immediately, and nothing could be done at all. This is almost a picnic by comparison.

Seeing Istiel fall, she prays and her eyes glow like the sun; her magic quickens the monk's heart and slowly repairs the bleeding wounds.

In about three minutes, she'll be almost fully recovered.

They may not have three minutes, of course; but that is out of Nat's hands. Do what you can, and trust the Gods for the rest.

COMBAT MAP

Imix strode out of the water, shield on his arm. The eyes of the shield flashed gold with power, the healing surge they channeled reaching out to Istiel - but not quite to Drazan. Imix silent prayer did nothing though - Istiel's limp body stopped bleeding, but it lay slumped bonelessly in the pool.

As he fighting, Drazan looks back over his shoulder to the others still fighting a short distance on the shore. He calls out again, Move to the tower! I can not hold them much longer.

The Nargun tremble, and as they move forward they once again explode, sending rocks and dust spewing around the battlefield. The creature closest to Drazan pummels the Man the From Fire Peaks, even as Drazan's Baneaxe bounces harmlessly off the Nargun.

The creatures close in beginning to surround you, roiling "limbs" of stone raised, when Oios appears to the east, out of thin air. Waving his staff and spear above his head the Shadow yells, and the one closest to Oios peels off his pursuit of Drazan.

"Get to safety! I'll lead them away!"

Mechanics: 1d1d20 + 13 ⇒ (4) + 13 = 17
damage: 1d8 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14
damage: 2d6 ⇒ (2, 5) = 7 Reflex save half damage

Oios action: teleport to E17
[/spoiler]

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Round 4
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Adding further injury to insult, Istiel's body is pelted with a mass of razor-sharp stones that didn't even have the decency to be aimed directly at her.

Nat winces with pain as the shards strike her, drawing more blood; but the pain tells her that she is, for the time being, still alive.

She nods at Oios, heading for the doubtful safety of the tower. She pauses only to pray again, drawing Ayida-Wedu's power into Drazan.

Oios leads the Nargun away, all the while the great creatures shaking and shouting in their baritone language. A few minutes pass, and the Shadow reappears in the doorway of the tower, the wails of the Nargun plaintive in the distance.

Eventually, defeated, the Nargun return and settle into their boulder selves around the tower, waiting no doubt for the next disturbance.

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The tower is square, and well-built, but that should be obvious - it has teetered on the edge of a cliff for many centuries, after all. It is not, however, intact. The sky stares down at you as you regroup, the roof of the tower long ago having collapsed, as have the floors between the sky and you. Strangely, the room you are in is cleared of any rubble; the floor is smooth stone, with a stairwell along the far wall leading down into the darkness. The whole effect is rather more that of an abandoned grain silo than a defensive structure.

The most important - and intriguing - thing about the tower, is the writing, covering nearly every square inch of the inside walls. The runic script is familiar, especially to Drazan, who has studied it in his book. It is fine calligraphy, chiseled into the walls with precision, and still largely visible all these centuries later. Every now and then, the runes are punctuated with hieroglyphics, finely wrought images of the Darohm peoples, no doubt accentuating the text in places of importance.

Over the runes and hieroglyphics there is an additional layer of writing, also in the Darohm script, carved into the stone. This one is less precise, patently imperfect. It scrawls across the first writing with little regard to order or direction, snaking and changing direction and flow. Annotated to the second set of runes are hieroglyphics, though these are crudely drawn, little better than the stick-figure art of Takayan children.

Ayida-Wedu's light peaks over the walls of the tower, casting long shadows on the walls. The day dies soon, the air is humid, the sound of the falls a roar all around.

With the Nargun distracted, Imix takes the opportunity to pound towards Istiel - narrowly dodging shards of stone - and throw the unconcious monk over his shoulder.
Not wasting any more time he flees for the safety of the tower.

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Imix shook his head in shock. "A tragedy." he opines. "When the Flame stopped them so easily I thought perhaps the histories exaggerated the Nargun's capabilities."

Suriname training takes over. He quickly takes stock of the area, looking for defensible points.

"We need to prepare. I believe this tower still has a resident, somewhere below us. Darohm, by the writing. Potentially hostile, probably with invaluable information. I wonder whether the Nargun are here as protectors, or jailers."

Drazan stumbles back as the Nargun slugs on. The Narguns' defenses were too absolute, and their numbers too many. Drazan began to see a halo of stars around his vision, the fight was leaving him. The flight, a failure. The divine flame in Drazan's soul dimmed, inevitably of death had come, and Drazan closed his eyes so that he could draw on whatever energy he had left. In the moment where others say your life flashes before you, Drazan saw Rigel just as she was the moment he cut her down.

When he opened his eyes, the Nargun were lumbering away and the stars faded from his sight with Nat's magic. With the renewed energy and the opportunity, Drazan covered Imix and Istiel's withdraw into the tower.

Oios allows himself to exhale as most of the party manages to survive. I do not know their tongue, but at the moment I am more worried about the state of mind of whoever made these scribblings

Istiel wakes from her percieved torment on Domhnall's godly plane with the distinct taste of blood in her mouth.

She notes she is laying against something cold and hard. Stone, but the conintual spray of the falls nor the warmth of the sun touch her body The tower. Prisoner? The Nargun took me prisoner? The first thoughts flutter through her mind as she struggles to open her fatigued eyes.

The dull, pinkening sky viewed through the hollow tower greets her, and she suddenly knows what it feels like to be at the bottom of potion gourd.

Struggling to sit up, Istiel groans and contracts her body into sitting position, feeling every broken bone on her left side in the process. The monk feels at her left side- her arm and ribcage is being slowly reconstructed by some kind of healing magic. More worrisome are the small pieces of rock sticking out of her skin, that have done double damage on her robes.

Turning her eyes to the doorway, she sees the Nargun settling back down, and inferes the group must have retreated to the interior. Even Drazen, who she thought invincible, looks as bad as she- and not ggetting any better.

Istiel lays back down and wordlessly stares at the open ceiling while the others discuss the nature of the tower. Think. He is right. If I throw myself to glory I cannot uphold my vow of protecting the people of Shadeholme. He is always right.

Even when the regenerative magic runs its course, Istiel continues to lay on her back, gazing upward, thinking.

A moment to let the magic take its course and then we should seek through this place for a way to defeat the monsters outside. Otherwise the flight can not pass through here and all will have been for nothing. Drazan says slumping over with a wave of fatigue wiping his rage to calm. Do the writings speak of anything useful?

Nat prays again, the air glowing warm around her despite the gloom of the building. Her prayers continue to restore Drazan and Istiel back to full health.

As her body is knitted back together by the grace of the Mother, Istiel sits up, and then hops to her feet. Tens of stone shards fall out of her skin and robs, clattering to the ground in a cacophony.

"We will deal with the Nargun. You and I together can defeat them one-by-one, Drazen. They are slow. We lead them in a chase around the tower. Defeat them one at a time."

She looks to the stairs leading downward. "First we descend."

The stairs lead down into the earth, well below the makeshift lake. Where the water would be, it looks as if the stairway has been patched and maintained over time; a little moisture has seeped through the spaces between stones, and in other spots there is a steady drip, drip, drip, but on the whole everything is drier than it should apparently be.

A small puddle sits at the base of the stairs, which open into a series of three large, empty rooms, extending away from the cliffside. Devoid of furniture, the only distinguishing feature a series of cubbies carved into the wall, your eye is drawn to the other end of the last room. At its far end, a tunnel stretches into the darkness, sloped downward. A locked portcullis bars your way, its iron free of rust or obvious signs of age.

Beyond it, an empty weapons rack sits, as well as a lever, ten or so feet from the gate.

Imix channels divine energy - but it is much diminished in this place.
"We could spend a year translating these. I agree, let us see if we can find someone here."
As they descend the stairs Imix, still twisted into his SUriname shape, tries again. The energy is stronger now.

Istiel's torch is held above her head as they descend the stairs, casting reflective yellow light over the many puddles and slick walls. She could feel the moist chill in the stone through her mocassins- though cold enough, it was far too wet to be useful as a root cellar.

Nothing seems intent on jumping out at them as they make their way through the small rooms, but the gleaming portcullis catches her otherwise threat-orientated attention. That is not stone. She thinks, briefly mystified by the material.

The monk approaches the gate and touches it with her free hand. She recoils in surprise at how incredibly cold it feels. It stole heat from her body in an unsettling way.

"Metal." Istiel states the obvious, grabbing one of the bars and giving it an exploritory shake that rattles the entire portcullis. After a few more tugs and a bit of frustrated grunting it became clear it did not swing open as she expected.

"This is not copper. It is far strudier. It feels like Drazen's axe." She looks around, but see no obvious signs of entry. "How does this open?"

The mechanism, the lever on the far side. Perhaps Oios opines.

Imix comes over to run a massive, scaled hand over the bars. "This much metal..." he says, in awe.