Positioning herself in the courtyard to get the best chance of success, Nike gallops forward - jumping, she clears the pool and, momentarily drenched by the cooling waterfall, lands on the wide conveyor. It groans and creaks under the sudden loading but is stable enough...
Startled, the plate-clad woman looks up from her work and shouts, "Whatever that is... Take it down!!!"
...prepared and with razor sharp awareness of his surroundings, Tychi is the first to act...
Nike whistles a challenge, and charges forward, horn lowered. She hits goes for a gore on the undead looking rifleman. Nike also detects evil in the room (free action for a Unicorn) covering the woman and undead rifleman.
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Tychi unleashes his attacks on the armored woman instead...
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"YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR CRIMES AGAINST THE INNOCENT CITIZENS OF ALKENSTAR, EVIL BASTION!" The Tengu says as he swings his whipsword over and over again, trying to draw as much attention to himself and Nike as possible in the room.
"I like his subtlety." Lector says as he gets ready to walk into the room...
Drinking and tossing aside the newly empty vial, Figwidget says, "He does have a light touch, I agree."
The conveyor, whilst sturdy, proves to be a poor platform from which to attack...the moving parts upset Nike's balance so much that she misses in her charge against the undead gunslinger - Tychi's attack against the woman fare little better... One single swipe of his weapon finding it's target whilst a barely believable four go astray...
The woman's bodyguards are quick to respond...pistols drawn and blazing almost instantly.
Stepping backwards from her attackers, the woman holds a symbol of Brigh aloft and, as she utters a prayer of protection, a vast and high wall of iron - with clockwork ticking internally within it - bursts from the ground blocking Nike's way forwards...
As the wall rises, Tychi sees the ratfolk and gnolls start to move into the room...
Tychi see's the gun shot about to hit Nike, and taps her withers with a finger. Ingrained practice causes her to sidestep, and the shot goes wide.
Figwidget scurries inside, and looks at the closer ratfolk (#2). "We don't want to hurt you! Run back outside, there are more ratfolk there."
Guns. An interesting way to wage war. It lacks the close feeling though. His cold voice turns to Casey. "Casey, Fidwidget, come in further so I may protect us all with a spell." Lector leads them in then raises his free hand. "Thirku suacoic." Cylinders of upward wind rise around every member of the party, moving with them.
"You got it." Casey moves up next to the cleric and takes aim at the first gnoll he sees and fires.
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Tychi looks at the wall with contempt, and Nike gives a horselike whinney. Then she leaps straight up and over the iron wall as if it was not there, and lands on the caster and the gun toting thing!
At Figwidget's suggestion to down weapons and leaving, both of the ratfolk seem briefly conflicted...between running and defending the room - for now, both of them cower...waiting to see how the fight unfolds...
Casey's musket catches one of the gnolls in the shoulder - there is a small explosion of blood and bone as the musket ball exits on the other side of the limb...
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Nike's horn spears the gunman as she drops onto him, yet, in it's semi-skeletal form, the damage isn't quite as ruinous as it would be on a living creature...
Miraculously spared Tychi's whirling blades, the full-plated woman steps back and, watching for further attacks, utters a vile litany... instantly Tychi and Nike feel an aura of evil descending upon them.
As the spell takes hold, the undead shieldmarshals (for that is what they appear to be) launch another salvo of pistol fire...
Taking a position in the corridor, the gnolls level their guns at Lector and his compatriots... Their lips curl back in a feral snarl...
...and the ratfolk, unsure as to how the fight will play out, flee...
Lector marches on slowly, as if there's not lethal weapons pointed at his chest. Or as if he doesn't care. He gives a cold smile and walks forward, then viciously brings up his greatsword.
Happy to see the ratfolk fleeing, Figwidget runs forward. "What are you doing in the name of Brigh?" he calls out to the woman. "The clockwork infecting Alkenstar are abominations!"
As he does this, he ligts and tosses a bomb at the two gnolls engaging Lector, targeting #1.
Casey moves to avoid hitting the others and fires at whichever gnoll is left standing.
Flinging a bomb towards the gnolls standing sentry in the corridor, Figwidget wreaths one of the ‘guards’ in fire – squealing, it’s neighbour jumps clear of the worst of the flame…
Reloading and bringing his musket up, Casey further wounds the burnt gnoll as it staggers from Figwidget’s bomb…
Striding forwards, Lector bears the brunt of a salvo of blunderbuss fire before, with a brutal swing of his greatsword, slaying the most heavily wounded of the gnolls.
With the unicorn and the crazed-looking tengu hardly affected by the blasphemy she just uttered, the armoured woman curses.. Stepping back, she sneers and wishes you the best of luck with 'Gurstweld'...
...the sound of ticking fills the air before, with a pop, the woman disappears...
Undeterred, the undead continue their attack...
With its friend dead, the remaining gnoll considers darting...but instead, pulls a cruel looking sword and slashes at Lector.
Hearing a multitude of gunshot again, Casey trusts in the battle cleric to finish the gnoll off and he moves right past it - attempting to dodge his blade - and to see what's happening farther in. As he sees the reasoning behind the gunshot, he takes aim and fires.
Lector gives a slight smile as the blade glances off of his armor. He brings his greatsword down mercilessly twice.
Easily moving beyond the gnoll, Casey Jayne raises his weapon and fires upon the undead gunslinger… with a thud, the musket ball crashes into the shoulder of the sun desiccated walking corpse… with a hiss, it turns to see Casey…
Lector’s blade catches the gnoll as it slices upwards… the creature is close to death yet the cleric’s downstroke is wild and Lector misses the opportunity to finish the fight…
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Nike gores the creature.
Figwidget's attempt to recognize the spell that the cleric of Brigh cast:
Figwidget, seeing the woman disappears, curses under his breath. "She'll be back, I bet," he mutters, before underhanding a bomb over Lector's head at the gnoll.
Again and again, Taicho brings his blade down on the undead gunslinger… it slices into long dead flesh yet, somehow, the creature still stands… and, worse yet, avoids Nike’s attacks…
Once more, the gunslinger behind the conveyor raises his pistol and fire’s upon Tychi…this time, the shot is deadly accurate…
Stepping backwards from the unicorn, the other gunslinger lowers the tattered fabric that covered it’s face to reveal a leering, mummified skull…
…and then unleashes a salvo of gunfire into the flanks of the magical beast…
Meanwhile, after Figwidget realises that the vanishing woman was using Word of Recall to escape the combat, he hurls an accurate bomb to slay the remaining gnoll.
Nike flicks her head at the one who finally managed to hit her, and snorts in dirision. "Deal with these two, I'll deal with Tychi." She says. Fortunately, the military saddle on her back holds Tychi in it's grip. She moves around the corner and down the corridor, putting a wall between her and the undead.
She then uses a lay on hands on Tychi, obviating the need for a con check to stabilize.
Damn. Lector activated his haste armor and sprints across the room to get to Tychi.
Figwidget hears the shot and Tychi hit the ground (or sees? not sure how much of the stuff on the map would block all sight). He also hears Nike say that she will deal with Tychi, and trusts the unicorn.
He moves forward, and throws a bomb at #2.
Seeing the Pale Stranger fall, "That's one freak show taken down." Casey moves over by Lector and fires at the one remaining.
Figwidget lets fly with a bomb that almost vapourises the dried husk of the gunslinger that had assaulted Nike... When the dust settles and Lector runs past, he sees that there are no more than three or for small fragments of the corpse lying next to a ruined pair of pistols...
Casey's shot is equally accurate - blasting a hole in the chest of the second undead...
In retaliation, the last gunslinger fires a shot at Casey... Before dashing to the south...
Nike again lays on hands on Tychi as well as herself.
"I got 'im." Casey says as he follows the undead gunslinger around the corner, firing upon him once he gets a clear shot.
Lector places a glowing hand on Tychi.
Figwidget runs forward to the conveyor belt. He looks to see if Casey Jayne has finished the last pale stranger off. If not, he will also throw another bomb at it.
As Nike and Lector work to bring Tychi back to consciousness, Casey and Figwidget continue their attacks upon the hardy undead... A musket ball followed by another explosive bomb is not quite enough to stop the creature although, in an unexpected act of self-preservation, it is enough to make it flee into the smoke and steam to the south of the conveyor room...
"Well, it could have gone better... but it could have gone much worse, as well. The hot air and currents seem to have caused my sword to move unexpectedly during the assault. The element of surprise worked well, but the air and fire conspired to interfere with my attacks. Obviously the elements were not yet ready for us to kill the one in armor." Tychi says, stretching as bones knit and wounds close. "For a change, I wear more of my own blood than the enemy's blood. Obviously, I needed to learn some humility."
Nike snorts.
"Mhmm." Lector says as he heals Tychi once more. He grunts in approval as the wounds close. "A defeat is not a defeat if you learn something from it." He pulls Tychi up with a strong arm and looks after the pale stranger. "I can't imagine we're going to catch that one. Perhaps you can on Nike?"
"They are already alerted with the vanishing of the woman. Chasing the fleeing one without regrouping may be dangerous." Nike says, having more information than Tychi does. "I suggest we regroup, heal, and continue on, but be more aware of traps now that we have lost the element of surprise."