Maiathreen lands on the stairs lightly his wings folding tightly against his back. His blade at the ready as he starts to walk into the tower.
As Sir Damian is about to start climbing the stairs there is a wooshing noise behind you and you see the last Red Dragonflight soldier on the tower, the one that had been at the top of the tower and was badly wounded, go shooting by, plummeting to his death. He is silent as he falls, and if it weren't for the whistling of wind through his plate armor, you would not have noticed him.
OPTIONS:
-DC20 Fly check to catch up with him.
OR
-DC25 Fly check to grab him and haul him back up.
OR
-DC25 Fly check plus successful DC18 Disarm check to grab the abomination from him and head back up.
No initiative. First one to go gets first crack!
"Damn it!" Maiathreen curses as he jumps off the perch allowing himself to drop like a stone using his wings to speed himself along. When he reaches the soldier he grabs the relic kicking out at him using him as a spring board to start his way back up towards the party.
Before anyone else in the party realizes what is happening, Mai, the Aellar, launches himself straight down off the perch, plummeting with enormous velocity into the clouds and after the falling soldier. There is silence. Then, mere seconds later, the elf-like creature comes flying back up and lands on the perch.
In his hands is a staff, a nice quarterstaff, with a metal disc attached to one end and on that disk is the Snowglobe of Winter's Fury, mounted to the metal through strange alchemical means that betray the hand of Pike DePhazz. Apparently the abomination compelled the young alchemist to wield it atop a staff, as a trophy and means of destruction all in one.
Belsarious winces from the shadowy energy emanating off the thing, but confirms that this is indeed the object you sought.
"So this is what you were looking for?" Maiathreen says as he holds the staff barely containing a shudder as he feels the shadows pulling at him through the staff.
Damian, Keythan and Maiathreen, Livain hurry let me heal you we have tha abomination in hand, yet we are in more danger now, as we have tah keep it....they will be on us afore we have a chance tah breath"
Steps forward and heals Maiathreen first.....
"Tis tough tah touch when your body is whole an yer mind at peace does tha staff lessen it any?"
Damian
"You fought well an through you we were able tah secure tha abomination."
Keythan
Other heal whomever needs it....
As the dragon twin falls past the landing perch, and far below to certain grisly oblivion, Min lowers his bow and sighs with relief. He ignores the burning sensation frm the damaged caused by the dragon twins foul magic, focusing more on what may lie up the stairs before them.
Lin slowly folds her wings back to a more comfortable position and grimaces as the singed membranes crack and bleed, she had reacted to slow and was paying for it dearly. She tsked at her singed and damaged scales on her chest. But as Belsarious's magic takes hold she gives a sigh of relief and bows her head appreciatively to the elven wizard.
Min shudders as the feeling of the wands magic sweeps through him washing away his pains, but as his wounds begin to mend a new stabbing painappears. Seeming to almost consume his skull in its painful grasp. He grimaces as he uncovers a hand and rubs at his aching head...
As he feels smooth skin he stops for a moment, shocked as it dawned on him what the pain entailed, before running his hand around on his now smooth and hairless head. Lin looks back puzzled for a moment before rumbling loudly with laughter.
"Thats a good look for you~ She gives Min a large tooth filled grin as he glares playfully back at her.
"True... I always wanted to ride a black dragon~ He smiles rougishly back at Lin as she nearly whips her head back in disgust.
"Now that's just low..."
As everyone starts to gather Min dismounts with Belsarious, drawing his bastard sword and readying his buckler he starts towards the stairs before Mai suddenly streaks past. Min spins around along with Lin to face whatever is behind them just before the strange dragon elf returns. Seeing what he has Lin backs off with a loud huff of disapproval and Min gives a low whistle.
"This guy is pretty good..."
Lin shakes off the revulsion and moves towards the edge of the perch, spreading her wings she launches off the perch and moves to remove the remaining threats. Rubbing his bald head absently, he watches her quickly disappear, as she flies towards the tower top, frowning slightly before nodding and moving towards Damian with his weapon at the ready. "She'll keep an eye out for us... I'm ready whenever you are."
"It reminds me of the ink they'd use on us only with out the searing pain."
Maiathreen says frowning slightly as he thinks about it. "There have been two things that have been bothering me...when we first met for reasons I don't know you seemed familiar and still do...and more disturbing I saw a strange shadow apparition behind you." He says to Belsarious laying his hand on his shoulder before he walks off.
Damian sees the enemy soldier fall and the aellar's dive to capture the Abomination, all over before he can barely react. With the snowglobe safely in their hands, Damian moves to reassess the situation. "Are there any other of the abominations in the area, or is this the only one? How did he, get hold of it? Get ready to fight again, Skyknights. The Dragonflight won't let it out of their grasp for long."
@ Maiathreen
"Even more disturbing will be when tha black shadow is bonded to your soul as well."
@Sir Damian
"I agree though we must not tarry here, up the stairs and look if you must. I will go as well just tah be sure no other abomination is here, other than tha I say burn tha whole thing down."
@All
"Surely we must away an destroy all abominations!"
"Unfortunately I know more than I'd like to about shadows and souls. "
Livain starts when as she watches her husband leap off the landing, she swears her heart stopped beating till he showed back up.
Lin departed from the rest of the group, not because of the abomination presence, but to possibly act as a distraction, in case there were more unseen enemies flitting about. As she flew up, gaining altitude to climb to the top of the tower. Once she was above the upper parapet she looked about the area, taking not of the poor dragonflight soldiers still caught in the effects of Belsarious curious magic.
As everyone conversed Min ran his hand along the flat side of his mother's bastard sword, he reveled in the feeling of it. It has been too long since I have wielded this blade... Giving it a practice twirl he begins to quickly search around the gap of the landing perch looking down into the gap and then searching along the floor in case.
He couldn't help but be distracted by the bond, even as Lin grew more distance her thoughts were still ever present and could easily become hard to understand if he didn't pay close attention to what she was trying to communicate. He understood that she wanted to be bait in case more dragonflight soldiers were on their way towards them, but that thought caused his frown to deepen After searching for a time he makes a mental note of what he found before returning to Damian's side.
"Do you want me to take lead, just in case something terrible awaits us up there? I only say this because if your brought down then we lose our leader, if i'm felled you can strap me to Lin's back and we can still escape as planned. Besides after the wound I received from that damnable arrow, i'm fairly certain, my sword arm isn't as strong as yours. The choice is yours Sir Damian but no matter what I will follow you in and watch your back."
"Why did that soldier jump off with this? It would have made more sense to have someone fly off with it or did they plan on collecting it from the ground later?" Maiathreen says as he nods towards the abomination.
"Why did that soldier jump off with this? It would have made more sense to have someone fly off with it or did they plan on collecting it from the ground later?" Maiathreen says as he nods towards the abomination.
"If the dark shadow pulled at his soul, perhaps he felt it best to end things before he was totally consumed." offers Dolo, always quick to offer his theories.
"The next question is who is the artifact bound to? Each artifact has an infernal host that dwells in the individual it is bound to. Does this mean we have to go back and find Pike? Belsarious, is there a way of knowing this?"
"Looking now we may need Pike tah undo the bonding tah tha staff, I am not certain tha process of destruction can happen with tha abomination thus bound.....I hate tah say it seems Pike may not be in a frame o mind tah help us....
Damian leads the way to the tower. "Let's clear the tower and be on our way. We can either eliminate any leads they have or perhaps we'll find some bit of intelligence up there." Sword and shield in hand, Damian enters the doorway.
Min follows damian to the trapdoor with his blade and shield at the ready.
Min follows damian to the trapdoor with his blade and shield at the ready.
The tower is hollow inside. It is roughly 60' across and 80' high. The floor is decorated with a very beautiful and rare type of gemdust tile from Maho that was once arranged in a gorgeous mandala, but is now terribly defaced -- bits of tile and scrap litter the place. There is no furniture in here, but a pair of staircases twist their way up the inner walls to a catwalk not quite 20' from the top dome of the tower. A tile pattern similar to what was on the floor is in the ceiling dome, though that one is more intact. In the dome is a single glowing ball of light, the source of the blinding glow that spills out onto the landing perch. It is hovering 10' from the very top, halfway up the dome, and dead center. The catwalk at the top of the stairs, 60' up, stretches across the width of the tower and has a shrine of some sort in the middle.
There is no one here, and no doors anyone could be hiding behind.
Shielding his eyes as best he can Min pushes in behind Damian and turns to guard the knights back as they entered the great dome. Finding no one to confront them Min lowers his buckler and looks around, he unconciously gives a low whistle as he looks about the dome with a look of wonder in his eyes. It takes him a few moments to regain control of himself and raising his buckler he begins to move towards the left staircase, intent on making his way upto the shrine.
"I will take the left stairwell, meet you at the top."
Min makes his way up the stairs at a steady pace, he continually looks about for something out of place as he makes his way to the catwalk far above. He wanted to be gone from this place as soon as possible. He pauses for a moment as he felt a surge of anger flow through the bond...
"Veara what are you doing...?"
After surveying around her, Lin flies over the top of the domed tower and begins moving towards the sleet covered soldier's. As she gets closer to them she couldn't help but become angry, she would never forgive the dragonflight for what they had done to them. She angles upward as she approaches the peak, gaining more altitude as she gets right above their remaining enemies. As her powerful wingbeats batter the soldier, she roars her powerful voice close enough to shake them where they stand.
"YOU HAVE LOST THIS BATTLE, DROP YOUR WEAPONS AND SURRENDER OR PERISH! YOUR CHOICE!"
As she awaited their response she felt somewhat bad about how merciless she sounded. The choice was there's now and hopefully they chose wisely...
@Min: The stairs are very old, and not the sturdiest, but you are able to make your way to the top. Once there, across the catwalk, you can see that the altar is a relatively simple table-like structure, looks like it's made out of steel. There are numerous scorch marks on it, but nothing else. Immediately to your left, and across the way at the other end of the catwalk, are doors leading to the "balcony" outside where the ballistas are.
@Lin: Your mighty wings clear the last remnants of Belsarious' magical storm from the other mountain peak, but there is nobody there. No soldiers, no bodies, nothing. Just the ruins of the Ballista.
She stares down at the empty platform, then searches frantically for any sign of their enemies before turning hastily around and pumping her wings powerfully as she head back to the perch with all haste. Something was dreadfully wrong and she wanted to return to Brook's side, in case the boy needed her protection....
Where had the enemy gone...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Min could feel Lin's anger suddenly turn to confusion and he turned and leveled his blade on the doorway that led out onto the balcony. He kept his eye on the rickety walkway as he remained wary of their surroundings something strange was happening. Wordlessly he continued to make his way to the door, fully intending to step out onto the balcony where the enemy soldiers used to be.
"Now tha abomination an Pike have tah get tah Izmir for tha high ritual must be done again."
"Those who know strategery can tell us where best tah rest an recover our health an magic, a safe respite til tha morrow."
Damian quietly thinks to himself. 'This can't be it. It was, frankly, too easy. Why would the Dragonflight entrust such a weapon to anything less than its strongest warriors?' Not one to let any doubt creep into his voice, he presses onward. "It appears that we are alone in here. We need to get off this peak, and we need to secure the other Abominations. If Dantoor and his group are successful in freeing Manaus, we can rest and assess the situation there afterwards, perhaps even convince Pike to undergo the ritual. Luckbender, Belsarious, where do you recommend we head to secure the next Abomination?"
Feeling Lin rapidly approaching Min pauses and turns back to inspect the point of light at the center of the dome. How such a thing was created boggled his mind but he was certain that powerful magic was at work here.
After a few moments he looks away and rubs at his burning eyes, he laughs at the thought of Lin's inquisitive nature being infectious as he turns back to the door and pushes it open to the balcony. Raising his buckler he caustiously peers out onto the balcony and looks around.
"I don't know where the next abomination is. Belsarious is the one to ask. Believe it that they'll be back for it. I just can't understand how they are moving around so quickly. My theory is that there is someone or something teleporting them around. Maybe we caught up to them while they were waiting for a ride. Perhaps they are working with the metallum and being transported through the earth. If that is the case, I wonder if the hive-mind is aiding them with information and, in the case of the suicide, controlling their actions." rattles off the Professor as he works out the logic of it all.
"Something has been bothering me since those two showed up. Now like I said when we were in training they controlled us through writing on our skin with the ink from that ink pot. With the two of them here is it not possible that the soldier who jumped was under their control?
Dolo's bushy eyebrows shoot up. "Are you telling me you can control minds?", his incredulity is clear.
"Not quite its not something we can do. They would control us each day by strapping us on a stone slab some wizard would come and write on our skin...the inkpot was a curious, deep blue color and it had a band of metal that matches the dagger. The ink would turn into living, malignant shadows that would then burn itself into your flesh, causing immense pain and agony...and then they could force you to do his bidding for that day. I once watched them command someone to drink alchemist fire."
Responding to Mai, "Well, that's different. I'm not sure that is the case with the one soldier jumping but I hear you."
"Did you say the inkpot was a deep blue color?". Dolo looks closely at the snowglobe on the staff. The colors match. He recalls the construction of the teapot as well and it was the same. He pulls out the dagger he was given and it was the same color.
"The abominations are all constructed of the dead flesh of the Metallum Aeturnum. This is very curious indeed. If that is the case, the inkpot can be virtually confirmed then as an abomination as well. Do you know how to get back to your captor Mai?"
"Captain Merit told us that a monk and his companions carry another abomination, the Box of Infinate Devouring. He marked on a map where we could find him."
"At some point we need to venture back to Izmir to disable the Abominations for good. This will render their magicks inert.
"I know where we can go to get a full description of all of the Abominations as well. I know of a library that has a book with the full descriptions of each abominations and their last known whereabouts. At some point we should venture there to do some research."
"I feel so strongly tha dark energies of this abomination I need tah be a bit further from it tah sense anything else. I will go to tha top of the tower an try tah sense another abomination!"
Perception
OR
I sit quietly and meditate
DM:
Can I take 10 and/or spend a hero point?
Hearing Belsarious loud voice Min redoubles his efforts to make sure the area is secure. He steps out onto the balcony and checks for possible threats.
He goes about searching the dead soldiers on the roof and gathering up anything useful for the groups needs. He smiles worriedly up at Lin as she rockets past and wheels sharply downward towards the landing perch.
{Min the last of our enemies have vanished! We must leave here, something is not right and I would rather be far from here and soon. I will watch over Keythan and Brook but please hurry~}
{Veara, we already plan on moving away from here soon but I will let the others know...}
Min, no longer smiling, doubled his efforts to search the dead and gather what he could find before heading back into the domed tower. Once back inside the tower he calls over the railing to the others as he makes his way towards the alter to investigate it before they leave.
"Comrades! The rest of the dragonflight soldiers appear to have vanished!"
Damian hears Min's warning and breaks nearly into a run. "All right, let's get moving. We'll fly south and get ready to retrieve the next item. Skyknights, prepare to fly!" He sheathes his weapon and shield and returns to Keythan's back. Giving Brook a comforting look and pat on the shoulder, he mounts the griffon and gives him a gentle kick. Keythan uses his majestic wings to rise up and hover a few feet above the ground, as the knight waits for the others.
Lin lands hard nearby her fellow fliers and young Brook, she bows her head apologetically to him having possibly given him a fright on her sudden speedy landing. Moments later she watches Damian come running down the steps, barely having time to bow her head respectfully to him, as he quickly gathered up Keythan and Brook. She couldn't help but rumble happily at the sincere, almost fatherly, concern he showed young Brook. He is indeed a fine master for the boy to learn from.... After they had gone she continued to look about, trying to watch for any possible threats, as she quietly awaited Min's arrival.
"I feel so strongly tha dark energies of this abomination I need tah be a bit further from it tah sense anything else. I will go to tha top of the tower an try tah sense another abomination!"
Perception
1d20+13
OR
I sit quietly and meditate
DM:
Can I take 10 and/or spend a hero point?
Min makes a quick circuit of the slain soldiers on the balconies, but aside from their weapons, gold, and a couple gems there is nothing of value.
"With tha abomination so near I fear I would have tah fall over another one to get a feel for it.....Perhaps gettin Pike an tha abomination in hand back."
"My people used tah say a bird in tha hand is worth two in tha bush, so right now destroying this abomination should be priority over findin more!"
DM
Lucky guess, like trying to find a candle at mid-day....
Standing looking back at the ball of raw arcane energy Min looks at the altar and winces at the daunting task of retrieving the Power Orb. After considering how few resources they all had left, he finally musters his courage and climbs up on the altar, pausing as it shifts beneath him as he stands up upon it. He keeps his breathing steady as he tries to time his motions with the rocking altar, slowly bending his knees and extending them until he felt the right moment...
And then he jumped! Reaching up for the orb he grabbed it with all the strength he could muster and brought it back down with him making a grand *slam* as he lands roughly on the altar. He quickly climbs off the altar and makes his way down to his remaining comrades with the item in hand.
"Sorry for the wait but I could not allow such a wonderous item to fall into the hands of our enemies... A Power Orb would give their summoning and scrying spells more strength and it would be a shame to see it abused by evil hands." He tears a section of his burnt shirt off, wrapping it up so it wasn't as noticeable. Min smiles broadly as he continues to speak. "I will be right behind you friends, but I think its time we caught up with Sir Damian."
"The abominations are all constructed of the dead flesh of the Metallum Aeturnum. This is very curious indeed. If that is the case, the inkpot can be virtually confirmed then as an abomination as well. Do you know how to get back to your captor Mai?"
"I do the only problem would be getting inside. It is defended quite well and in the forests we won't be able to fly well. Also all its defenders or at least most of them would be under the control of the ink and won't quite fighting even if suffering from sever injuries until their body fails them."