Amigail manages a careful step back to the dwarf so he can cure some of her wounds.
for
The megaraptor watches as its meal moves away but turns to face the snake that is attempting to wrap around its leg. It's two foreclaws tear deeply into the the back of the snake.
Innis' symbol pulses with power. Its chaotic energies makes manifest her fury and spite. She transfers her divinely empowered rage sharping Cassandra's Glaive into an instrument of agony
DC 15 Will save
You cause a weapon to exude a palpable aura of divine fury. While wielding this weapon, a creature gains a +2 morale bonus on Intimidate checks. When an attack made using the targeted weapon hits, the wielder can spend a free action to discharge the effect to inflict agony on the creature the weapon hit. If that creature has spell resistance, it applies against this effect. If the creature fails a Will save, it is nauseated for 1d4+1 rounds. If it succeeds at the saving throw, the creature is instead sickened for 1 round. The sickened condition created by the instrument is a mind-affecting effect.
Lililinda whips out a scroll she nearly used earlier, and begins reading.
Cassandra caught that Innis needed her to wait for her to do something before attacking and once she had lashed out with her glaive. She didn't put a lot of force behind it, she did worry about defending herself more than normal, she just gave a quick flick at the beast.
Calistria's Entropy throws off the normally balanced warrior of Shelyn.
Innis continues to issue commands with unshakable certainly of her team's success. As the team's wildcard she adapts her myriad plans on the fly.
Merelda reaches out an touches Amigail gently.
"I'm sorry Ami!"
Lililinda takes out the scroll and begins to read the eldritch passages connecting the verses to unlock it's magic. Cassandra strikes at the megaraptor with her ensorcelled glaive but misses as the megaraptor turns the attack with its foreclaw. Kirzon and Merleda work in tandem to heal Amigail's injuries as their magic closes most of her wounds.
Boros sinks it's teeth into the thick hide of the megaraptor and you see the megaraptor falter for the first time. However, once again Boros is unable to wrap it's body around the megaraptor.
Amigail's eyes refocus and she thanks Kirzon and Merelda for the timely healing. Taking a careful step forward, she again hacks at the dinosaur but isn't very accurate.
for
A swing and miss by the cautious warrior, Amigail, is not enough for the megaraptor to deter its focus away from Boros as the snake again it sinks it's teeth into the dinosaur.
The megaraptor's response is deadly as two claws rip through Boros' body flinging the snake away.
The creature then turns and resumes it's attacks on Amigail. The teeth crush down on her immediately grabbing her by the shoulder and wringing her about. There in it's mouth the creature gashes her with a foreclaw before the warrior can free herself.
Cassandra saw Boros nearly get his head ripped off by the raptor and then saw it chomp down on on Amigail. She knew this was going to be very bad and they needed to take it down right now. She knew Lillilend was up to something and waited until she was done when the aurochs appeared behind the raptor. Taking the opportunity to lash out at the beast her glaive snapped out at tore into the thing's flank.
Cassandra's glaive strikes home and Innis' fury wracks the deadly predator with agony. She unleashes another ray of fire but misses as the raptor thrashes about wildly.
At the last moment, Lililinda slides the summoning point back a bit from the dinosaur, to give the incoming entity room to get up to speed. Then with a flash of celestial light, a great wild bovine creature materializes and immediately charges into the fray!
Dropping the now blank and tattered parchment, Lililinda waves to the oversized lizard. "Yoo hoo, I'm the one you want to watch, big boy!"
As the celestial bovine appears from the Elysium Fields it charges snorting it's irratation at being disturbed from it's eternal grazing. The auroch pounds into the megaraptor causing it almost topple from the unexpected impact. Cassandra aided by the attention now given to the auroch spears her glaive deep into the megaraptor's gullet. The creature spasms whipping its body about madly as it finally dies.
Merelda will remove the two largest toe-claws from the megaraptor with a dagger and presents one to Amigail and Lililinda.
"You deserve these!"
Amigail gives Merelda a strange look before wryly stating, "I think I've seen enough of those things already, thank you very much!" Nonetheless, she accepts the gory trophy and stashes it in her pack.
Wincing in pain from her latest maiming, the young woman wonders aloud, "Why are these giant lizard-things helping our enemies? Or are we just trespassing in their territory?"
Merelda shrugs, ignoring the gore still on her hands.
"My speculation is they are just animals defending their territory. The undead and disease the cultist carry with them probably scares them off as non-food items."
Kirzon is able to stem the blood loss from his faithful companion as the rest of you gather about deciding what to do next.
This massive stone staircase as luck would have it provides the easiest route
to reach the other half of the great cavern. Carved into the middle of the wall, the 20-foot wide stairs double back on themselves numerous times before
they vanish into the roiling mists hundreds of feet below.
The stairway is decorated with hundreds of carvings and busts of leering demons, no two of which appear identical.
Amigail waits at a respectful distance as Kirzon stabilizes his beloved Boros. "What doesn't kill us makes us stronger, right? Then why do I feel weak as a kitten right now?" she asks with a wry smile. When the dwarf hesitates to use his wand to heal his reptilian friend, Amigail quietly urges him to use however many charges it takes to get Boros back to fighting shape. "And I could use one or two healing spells myself," she admits, grimacing in pain.
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Innis works her healing magics on the team. " 'A healing spell or two' A little respect these are not half penny tricks. A Goddess has taken note of our cause. And that wand will be exhausted if you contend to bleed so freely. Cover each other out there or you will die" she states as-matter-of-factly rather than her usually biting remarks.
Due to the sickness the effort to call upon such powers drains her. After finishing she staggers and lapses into a coughing fit. "We press on but ask no more of me today." she says raggedly catching her breath.
"Kirzon I'll be taking that Pearl" she holds out her hand expectantly and is clear that this is not a request.
Unless Kirzon has the gall to disobey her the team moves forward without conflict. Cinder to continue scouting ahead.
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Despite it's tiny statue Innis feels the significant weight of power the pearl possesses as Kirzon places it in her hand sensitive as she is to all things magical.
Kirzon advises using her wand to finish healing their wounded teammates no doubt out of affection for his snake more than anything. She decides to push further lest the team gluttonous as they were get overly-complacent on their dwindling magical supplies and forget who it was that keeps them alive.
Once again she sags with exhaustion.
Instead of pushing the team onward she decides to take out her harp and play a song. Deeming it's been too long without music and she needed the reprieve. When she is done, she will allow the team to continue.
Innis' song is full of passion and life, challenging the ancient darkness of the cavern and no doubt the horrors to come. They are gifted with a memorable performance, stoking the flames of courage within them. She pours herself into her music, perhaps the only time when she is truly genuine. In it there is no fear-mongering, no cleverly planned deceits, no viciousness, spite or grand proclamations of power. Just a red and gold passion dancing like a candle that one can hear but cannot see threaded with the azure of loneliness.
Lililinda breathes a sigh of relief, and pats the massive bovine on the nose until it vanishes.
She receives the claw with a bit of trepidation. "OH! That is, large, and, um, still juicy on the end there, um, thanks!." The claw is as big as her head.
Aided by the last of Innis' healing magic you begin the climb down the stairs. While there is no question to it's stability you still feel a little wary with the way the stone demon faces leer at you almost as if they would swallow if they could.
You eventually come to see a large landing dominated by a fifty foot tall statue of a boar-headed demon. Beyond the statue the paved road continues south into the darkness.
Innis not in the least intimidated by the stone carving inquires irreverently "Who do you think he is?" in case there might be some relevant information to be used at a later time.
She will check the statue's base for inscriptions or any secrets that might be pried from it.
Merelda stares at the statue for a minute.
Whatever or whoever the statue is neither Kirzon or Merelda can determine. Maybe it is warning but to what you can only collectively shake your heads in confusion.
Detecting no auras upon the statue Innis shrugs and continues ahead to see if there are any inscriptions on the base of the statue which might tell you more. The rest of you follow behind.
Innis takes no chances with her investigation as a Child of Magic she keeps a myriad of powers close at hand.
She makes a mental note to herself as Kirzon takes his duty as vanguard quite fervently placing himself at the fore as her own curiosity draws her (perhaps recklessly) towards the massive statue. She feels a pang of regret for how she treated the old dwarf and her less than kind-spirited reasons for trapping him in the role. Now with a clearer head she sees some strategic merit in it nonetheless. As such there would be no apology forthcoming. She bestows protection on him as danger seems to be a constant companion.
Amigail silently keeps watch for outside threats while her comrades check out the statue in more detail.
Just remember it is DARK down here you are basically only guided by the light that is on Amigail if I remember right and Merelda's ioun torch.
You move to the statue cautious that about why someone would erect such a imposing monument when you hear the echo of some rubble or debris coming from the statue. Unsure what to do you ready yourself just in case.
A voice unlike anything you have heard of – almost alien – calls out to each of you within your mind. Trespassers. Death.
"Callistria's fickle moods! Kill it before it moves!"
She then draws her hand crossbow and fires a bolt while there is still a clear shot.
Crit?
While Merelda is quick to pull the trigger Innis attempts a different tactic.
"I trespass nowhere, guardian. By blood and right I am where I belong. Hinder my path at your peril" Her words are imperious and so self assured that even her teammates cannot tell truth from fiction.
In your minds you hear the alien voice again Prove. Self. Pass. Threaten. Death. Leave. Live.
Amigail looks to Innis; the Calistrian's words leave no doubt in her mind that she's not the only party member hearing words and alien thoughts in her head. With no plain target to attack, however, Amigail delays.
"Prove ourselves? A test?" Lililinda asks of the disembodied voice. "What kind of test would this be?"
Cassandra was relieved that the giant raptor finally fell and that everyone had survived, if only barely. The strife there after was absurd but at least it ended well enough. As they pressed on and found the statues Cass too was unnerved.
When the strange, alien, voice entered her mind Cass felt worried. This was wrong, statues couldn't talk, and they certainly couldn't be in your mind like this, so it couldn't be the statue. She looked worriedly at her companions, her glaive in a defensive position, and asked, "And just how should we prove ourselves?"
Innis Queen-of-Lies commands her companions (subordinates?) "Attend.". She continues towards the statue. "Provide your test Guardian if you have one. My matters are urgent and I'll be delayed no longer than I must."