"Míril, do you have a moment to top up Steve?"
With the light fading, the pair of armies makes a defensive camp in the buildings on the southern side of the Ahari Bridge, with an active group of fighters and paladins supporting the squad which has been defending the prize from erratic attacks of demons. A few large stones, ammunition from the trebuchet capping the towers of Citadel Drezen, litter the bridge surface but don't seem to have done much damage to the defenders or the bridge itself.
Konstantin squints off into the distance, unconsciously mimicking the exact posture of the gyrfalcon on his shoulder. "Вы попали в трахаться шутишь," he mutters to himself.
"Ghouls," he says, gesturing .
"Míril, do you have a moment to top up Steve?"
"Of course." Míril takes Steve in hand, and concentrating, gives Steve an additional charges.
Konstantin squints off into the distance, unconsciously mimicking the exact posture of the gyrfalcon on his shoulder. "Вы попали в трахаться шутишь," he mutters to himself.
"Ghouls," he says, gesturing .
Anevia moves up next to Konstantin, shielding her eyes from the last rays of sun streaking across the ruined city. There is a small atavastic shudder when she makes out the forms feasting on the newly almost dead. "I'll go make sure everyone knows and make sure that the subtle ways into the building are covered."
Just before she walks off, "They'll attack in the dark."
Irabeth watches the dark-haired woman go off, "Counter-attack in the black of night would be hard for most of the men," out loud, but thinking mostly, "and they've had a long day."
A sigh, "Turtling up for the night might be for the best, then go after the undead in the bright of day..."
Samirah squints her eyes in an attempt to see the ghouls. "There is no black of night for me out here!" She says, jovially. "I would not mind a rest, but if I can do something to help while everyone sleeps...?" She shrugs.
Konstantin's countenance grows stormy. "No clear 'right' course of action. I am tempted to say that with the remainder of what we have, just the small group of us should go in as we did with the bridge and attempt to cripple the ghouls, so any attack in the night will be at least partially defanged. Then, in the morning, we go in with all of our troops."
"Do ghouls have metaphorical heads?"
Konstantin's countenance grows stormy. "No clear 'right' course of action. I am tempted to say that with the remainder of what we have, just the small group of us should go in as we did with the bridge and attempt to cripple the ghouls, so any attack in the night will be at least partially defanged. Then, in the morning, we go in with all of our troops."
Roshan places a finger by the side of his nose.
"Do ghouls have metaphorical heads?"
"A ghast cleric of the demon lord of gluttony normally." Irabeth says, although her eyes tighten in a way that would indicate remembering something rather than reliving experience, "Or a lacedon if there is water, I think."
Konstantin turns to Miril and Roshan. "Am I wrong in assuming you two can kill a ghast?"
Konstantin turns to Míril and Roshan. "Am I wrong in assuming you two can kill a ghast?"
"I've never faced one before, but I expect we can take one down."
"I've never faced one before, but I expect we can take one down."
Konstantin nods, a glint of approval in his eye. "Yes, this is what I think as well."
Konstantin whispers to Venobya. The falcon spreads her white wings and takes to the sky.
"if it's something worse, I will hold it in place for you to kill"
"I've never faced one before, but I expect we can take one down."
Miril gets the nose tap and point of concurrence.
"Do ghouls have metaphorical heads?""A ghast cleric of the demon lord of gluttony normally." Irabeth says, although her eyes tighten in a way that would indicate remembering something rather than reliving experience, "Or a lacedon if there is water, I think."
Roshan taps the symbol of the vault in the cemetery on the map. Gives the others a questioning eyebrow.
"And they are eating all the rats that they didn't scare." Venobya says.
Just before you leave the relative safety of the building, Aravashnial comes up flipping through one of his ever present books. "I've found my spell that lets me see the undead aura. Just in case they have a more subtle transformation that we don't know about." A slight pause, "I am certain that you will not need me to use it when you return."
Konstantin nods as the falcon chrips and croaks at him. "Venobya has found groups of them in these places," he says, indicating them on the map. "Let us seek out groups until we cannot fight anymore."
Samirah rubs her hands together, eyes alight. "The best sort of plan." To Aravashnial; "Will you be coming with us to use this spell?"
Aravashnial shakes his head, "I'd be a spectator. Most of my summons were used in supporting Kenabres's finest against the demons. But the detection will be good in preventing subtle infiltration."
The small group of heroes not focused on the protection of the armies' haunts slips into the early evening dark. About a block away, the sharp eared make out a quick run run pause run. Pausing at a protective corner, you make out a group of about 10 ghouls pausing and sniffing at a five story building.
Konstantin greets them by summoning a killing frost from the street upon which they stand.
Samirah pulls her scimitar and darts into the fray to engage the ghouls in melee range, having already blown her fire spell being fabulous earlier in the day.
Roshan concentrates on separating heads from shoulders with his circular blades. From a distance if at all possible.
The small group of ghouls is quick work - Konstantin's ice, Roshan and Samirah's blade, a well-placed arrow from Miril all mean that Chancre and Steve can oversee the carnage. A second and third group of the undead soon follow in their brethren's fate. But as you get further from the building where your army is trying to recover, there is a sense of a hunter in the darkness. Nothing you can quite but a name to, nothing seen, but a feeling that you are being watched, and evaluated.
Samirah shakes the feeling as nothing more than a brief distraction as she carries on with necessary work.
"We are being watched," Konstantin says. "Perhaps this is a sign to return... or to flush out our unseen opponent."
"I'm still doing well, and I have nothing better to do. So I'm fine to try and flush out our voyeur if everyone else is up for it."
Míril switches her arrows around in her quiver. "I'm going to guess that anyone watching and evaluating us will likely require cold iron arrows."
"I'm still doing well, and I have nothing better to do. So I'm fine to try and flush out our voyeur if everyone else is up for it."
Míril switches her arrows around in her quiver. "I'm going to guess that anyone watching and evaluating us will likely require cold iron arrows."
Konstantin gives a curt nod.
"Can you find the one who watches, გენაცვალე? Or can Venobya? Direct me and I will strike."
Another squad of ghouls, this one whose twisted, emaciated bodies are covered in old armor. Claws and teeth grey flashes in the bone white skin. One of the creatures actually seems to be paying attention to the environment around rather than the ravenous hunger of the others.
Konstantin speaks a few unfamiliar words, and the area around the ghouls explodes into radiance.
Saves DC18
Success, blinded, failed dazzled for rounds
Evil creatures in the AoE take regardless of save. And possibly hurts the shadow more, since that's the primary target.
Samirah merely follows Konstantin's lead.
As the group is about to take out the group of ghouls up the street, a shadow lengthens from the building behind the group. A creature gaunt and hungry with bat-like wings through which you can see the building behind, streaks out towards Chancre.
The only one to have spotted the almost invisible, incorporeal creature, a hard-packed ball of snow forms in Konstantin's hand, and slams into the creature as it attacks. () The ice coats the creature for just a moment, sinking in, but the creature continues to move, leaving a ice sculpture of itself behind to crash into the broken cobblestone of the ground. The creature that slams a claw into Chancre's chest looks wisper than it did prior to the barrage of ice.
... however, that means even if you are able to damage the soul to the point where it discorporate, it will just return to the body. Injured but not destroyed.
Save DC 22 or be staggered for 1 round.
Roshan
magic: +1/+1
masterwork: +1
Pt.Blank:+1/+1
Deadly Aim:-2/+4
Bard:
Samirah takes the opportunity to attack the creature while its focus is on someone else, hoping her heated blade puts a stop to the creature the way the ice didn't seem to.
"berbalang soul," chancre says, revealing the info under the spoiler.
"as a rule, they are jerks"
As as swift action, provoking no AoO, drinks a potion of lesser restoration
As a standard action, switches floating teamwork feat to escape route
As a move action, swings out through his allies' squares to where he will provide the best flanking opportunities for them
Míril aims her arrow at one of the leading ghouls, and lets her arrow fly.
"berbalang soul," chancre says, revealing the info under the spoiler.
"as a rule, they are jerks"
Samirah pauses just for a moment. "A soul... can it be damaged by our weapons? And does it have a body somewhere we can damage?"
Chancre moves with inhuman speed, first pulling and drinking a potion which restores his pallid glow. Then, with a grace and ease completely unlike Chancre, he slides around the incorporeal berbalang to flank for Míril.[spoiler=Chancre]
<- I forgot about Unwavering Skill - which give a 24.
Roshan dives between Samirah and the ghost-like creature (), just barely missing the nimble man . Then using Chancre's flank, he cuts the undead creature with Radiance.
Annoyed at having missed Roshan in his heedless move, the berbalang whirls onto his preferred target, again sticking a not-really there chilled hand deep into Chancre's chest.
Samirah takes the opportunity to attack the creature while its focus is on Chancre, hoping her heated blade puts a stop to the creature the way the ice didn't seem to. But her blade passes through the insubstantial body with no effect.
Konstantin turns his attentions on the ghouls, summoning a killing frost from the ground to chill them back to restful death. The lesser ghouls are frozen to the spot, most already destroyed by the arctic chill, but the leader still has his sights set on Miril.
The ghoul charges forward, () a claw biting past armor to draw blood. Miril's elven blood proves strong enough to keep her from being paralyzed by the ghoul's touch though.
Save DC21
Samirah growls in frustration and moves to attack the Ghoul Leader instead, seeking to flank the creature with one of her companions.
Roshan
magic: +2/+2
masterwork: +1
Pt.Blank:+1/+1
Deadly Aim:-2/+4
Roshan motions towards Samirah to take his place and flank with Chancre, then steps towards the oncoming solid undead releasing several blades, the second of which would have released a gout of arterial spray, had there been any blood flowing through it's unliving veins. A swift pivot low on the ball of his right foot, left sweeping out behind in counter-balance and Radiance again arcs towards the insubstantial berbala-whatsamacalit leaving shards of whispy darkling shadow trailing behind as it passes through its center mass.
Chancre takes out Steve, looks at the incorporeal berbalang, and says, "ٹیگ. تم وہ ہو."
Míril decides that the time for sniping has passed, so she drops her bow in favor of her short sword. Dancing around the ghoul so as to flank it with Roshan, she slices at the ghoul's undefended side.