The Father of Waters

Game Master Fighting Chicken

"Yd is still where he was." Nat breaks the silence to pass valuable information on to her allies.

Trying to take advantage of Nat's summoned holy beast Oios steps close to the blue ogre and tries to hit the hurt and grappled abomination, before he does so he calls on Damballah to guide his strikes.

Cursing silently at his unaugmented state, Imix channels the power of Life into the light from his shield. When the ogres flinch he steps back, gaining room for something more complicated.

Bolt gives Istiel a swift kick, waking the monk - just in time for her open eyes to see the wraith rise through the floor. The wraith reaches towards Istiel, but the monk scoots just out of the way. As soon as it was there, the wraith disappears back into the ground.

Nearby, the grappled ogre is pulled to Chaquapetl, screaming in rage and pain - until Imix's power washes over it, and the ogre falls limp and silent in Chaq's jaws.

The second ogre, growling in frustration, turns his attacks on Ayida-Wedu's herald, which vanishes into a swirling mist upon the ogre's second solid strike.

From the darkness, a small bead of green energy streaks towards the heroes, exploding into a shower of acid mere inches from Nat.

Yd's voice, screeching and angry, echoes across the square.

"You take my family, I make you family!"

COMBAT MAP

Nat ducks on instinct as the magic darts towards her; the hot acid still burns her skin, but she avoids the worst of it. Standing, her dark eyes flash defiance at the ghost: "No. Toyme for you to rejoin your family."

Opening her left palm and stretching out her arm, she concentrates; and a stream of hazy, pale vapour extends from the holy symbol tattooed on her hand, arcing out from her towards the wraith. The glowing, vaporous light is life and health - to the living; to the undead it is purest poison. It's how she scoured Shadeholme of the nest of bodaks that were present there.

The ogre flinches and cries out in pain, as the Suriname's energy boils the creature's blood within his veins. Looking to Imix, the Ogre says, through clenched teeth, something in his native tongue. The meaning is clear. You're next.

Drazan transformed skin is the only thing that saves him from being melted away to nothing, and sensing his time here is nearly through, he leaps through the earth to close the gap with the remaining ogre.

The ogre's leg hurtles into the darkness, a spray of blood trailing behind it, courtesy of Drazan's Baneaxe. The ogre has just enough time to look shocked before his face is erased with Drazan's second swing.

Istiel wakes with a start, pushing herself off the floor as a ghostly hand swings at her. She has had many limbs and fists thrown at her for many years, but this one truly bothered her; it made no sound as it passed through the air and back into the stone.

She checks on her companions, watching as Drazen slices the face of the second ogre clean off. What happened? It does not matter. I must focus on Yd.

The monk focuses intently, waiting for the wraith to pop from the stone. If he attempts to flee, she meant to intercept.

Oios groans as he is splashed with acid. Still Drazan needs his attention more and he heals the warrior. The Wraith needs to be ended.

Yd's voice rings out, a quick and sharp laugh, before falling silent.

"Wraith! Hahahahahaha!"

Then, scraping, stone on stone, lots of it, moving...

Bolt yells:

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Next Round
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Drazan, tell Bolt to retreat!

Drazan burrows along the surface of the floor, his magic cutting the rock like a fin through water, in the direction Nat and the others had pointed earlier and more importantly to Bolt. There is no weapon that you can wield to harm this death-born. Fall back to those three and stay with them. Drazan orders Bolt in the native tongue.

Denied her interception, Istiel determines the wraith is moving through the ground to avoid their line of sight.

The monk silently lifts off the ground as Drazen burrows beneath her, the two warriors threatening any avenue of safty the wraith may try to hide in.

Istiel has become the huntress, weaving back and forth above the chamber in search of her prey. Her torchlight casts a yellow hue from above, illuminating the ruins like giant, deadly lightning bug.

Oios' eyes snap open as he finishes his silent exhortation to Damballah. He points to the greatest source of magic he can detect that isn't cenetered on one of their own. Great magic, is there! then Oios spreads his arms out wide and calls upon the Gods of the Valley to protect the last of their children. An aura spreads out centered on him giving all around just a bit more of their protection.

COMBAT MAP

Nat takes advantage of the relative lull in combat to heal Drazan some more.

Magic! Oios calls out as he moves up. Illusion magic to the north and something.. other in the South

If not impeded Oios will start making his way towards Isitel as she seems closest to the magic he detected

Imix trembles as the monster before him is bought down. Adrenaline courses through his shifted body as he confronts the nightmare life-in-death... and lives.
Striding forward he calls out the Frozen Bolt, flipping his pick around so the handle points towards his ally-in-life. 'No one should be helpless against these'.
Once level with the Drazan he once again channels power.

Istiel's alchemically enhanced eyes sweep over the scene before her as she flies near the chasm. Defenses. Ogres. Undead moat. Yd is prepared. The monk arches her back and turn around in the air, speaking as she flies back towards the group. "A 10' wide moat full of undead. to the northwest. A stairway to the moat is on the northeast end. A bridge over the moat to two more ogres. A rock dome stands between them. "

She reports as quickly as possible, still soaring through the air without any intention of losing her momentum.

Drazan burrows on where Istiel leads, his eyes adjusting perfecting to the darkness thanks to his elemental form.

Bolt heeds Drazan's warning, and runs back away from the ogres.

Once again, darkness grasps at your clothes, limbs. Istiel's torch is muted, casting only a feeble light around her. Imix's shield however, still shines brightly. Yet, the shadows grasp for you.

Istiel spins mid-air to avoid the shadows, knocking away those she cannot directly avoid. Knowing the group on the ground would be dealing with the grasping shadows, the monk flies off into the non-magical darkness and sweeps her torchlight over the ground and searching for danger.

After seeing enough she flips upright, turns in a corkscrew, and heads back towards the group to report what she has seen.

The old man is able to shift away from the foul spears and mutters a thanks to the goodly powers for that fact.

We are committed to the fight now. That dome is perhaps a ruse of illusion, perhaps it does not exist? We should throw something at it and see. Why else would it be guarded?

Istiel says to her companions as she loops back around: "Nothing to the southeast. If there are illusions, it is illusions of nothing."

Drazan looks back to Oios and the others, his outline only visible from the torchlight flickering above, ensuring they will make it through before moving to engage the ogres or the pit of death born.

Another bead of acid streaks through the air, detonating just north of Nat. Acid explodes throughout the area, sizzling and popping as it lands on the cobblestones, and catching Bolt off guard. The Frozen collapses, his skin bubbling and hissing.

Yd's voice travels to you from beyond the moat, while Oios' staff flares to life, warm yellow light grasping at the darkness...

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Next Round (4/5)
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Oios barely manages to suppress a scream as he gets burned yet again. He's close to his limit and he knows it.

I think there are TWO OF THEM! Oios shouts One close to us, and one casting spells from the moat!

Nat's eyes blaze like the sun as she restores Oios with her healing magic.

Round 5

Istiel briefly concentrates as she flies through the sky, feeling the familar pressure in her temples. She embraces it. The pounding in her head seems to threaten busting her skull open until finally a cold wave of relief washes over her. She can't see the River of Time above her, but she instinctively knows it is there, gathering her every thought and movement into its flow.

Willing her body northward the monk takes a roundabout way to the island, intent on using one ogre's body to block her from the other. At first sight of the hulking green undead she starts to rapidly descend, flipping around and attempting to smash into it feet-first.

Istiel pushes off its body and flips mid-air, using her near-neutral bouancy to spin in place and deliver kicks to the ogre's head.

Istiel's first kick scuffs off the top of the Ogre's head, but her second, and then third attacks, are more successful. Its teeth hurtling into the moat, the ogre collapses, dead again.

The monk's flickering torch reveals another ogre just on the other side of the rock dome. The ogre, and the dome, sit atop a collapsed building, leveled into a dias, about ten feet off the ground. Stairs lead down from the dias towards the moat, where they turn into a bridge, which crosses to the other side.

The flying monk's attack lighting the way, Drazan charges, and with a leap, hurtles over the moat. The Mountain Man tries another leap, but falls short, crashing into the side of the collapsed building. Instead of putting himself in harm's way, warrior bides his time - for a moment.

Stepping around the dome, the remaining ogre swings once at each hero, drawing blood from both.

To the south, the wraith emerges from the floor next to Nat and grasps at the midwife, but the cagey Nat steps just out of reach.

Around the dias, a brisk, cold wind picks up, enveloping the monk, and in a matter of seconds becoming severe.

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Round 5/6
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Round 6

Istiel feels her previous meal being displaced into her throat as the ogre slams its arm into her gut, nearly swatting her out of the air.

The sudden, powerful winds cause her to momentarily strain to maintain altitude...

Oios nods his thanks at Nat, before grabbing Bolt and dragging him away from the fight. If he can he will try and bring the Frozen back from unconsciousness, reaching out to Loco with muttered prayers.

Round 6, cont.

Istiel glances down at her touch, quickly noticing the inconsistency between its flickering and the winds buffeting her. As soon as she stops struggling against the torrent of air, it ceases to be a problem.

She instantly forgets about the illusion and focuses on bringing down the ogre, who is just out of reach. The monk accelerates forward dipping slightly before flipping in mid-air and flying up towards the undead with legs wide. Her groin connects with the ogre's throat and her thighs wrap around its neck in a death grip. The monk's abominables curl inward, her entire body flexing up towards the ogre's head. A primal yell echos throughout the cavern as her fists pummel and smash into the ogre's face like a baker pounding dough.