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"Oh nice!"
Eager to get in on the action, Sasha fires off two near-perfect shots of her own. Yet much to her dismay, the first is barely able to nick the devil and the second simply shatters on its preternatural hide.
"Dammit!"
She takes a knee to give Mal a clear shot if he wants it. Turning to Lureene, she whines, "That's no fair, I want some magicky stuff too!"
Lureene resists the urge to laugh at Sasha’s plaintiveness. Well, if that fiend is successful at resisting my magic, she may have to ask IT instead!
She quips back,”I think we should go shopping, once we get off this rock Sash! I think it would be SOOooo much fun!”
Teeth creaked in a clenched jaw as Mal watched the monster dive at Alis.
Gotta make it easier to see...
In an attempt to aid his charge, he cast a simple fey spell upon the black-skinned demon, but beyond crafting simple talismans and gear, magic had never been his forté and the spell failed.
Move, move, MOVE!
He could feel his thews strengthening with primal power.
When the cloud of dust stung his keen eyes, he thought for certain to find Alis' entrails dripping from its claws. Yet seeing her still standing did little to assuage his concern.
"Dammit woman, GET BACK!"
With a curse, Mal charges forward, attempting to tumble past the devil to give it more to think about. As he rushes past Lureene and Sasha, he growls, "Help or get out of the damn WAY!"
Unfortunately for the big warrior, the monster is not fooled by his footwork. Even though its own reckless attack nearly puts it off balance, it still stops the big man in his tracks and on uneven footing.
Acrobatics Checks
Good, managed to provoke the damn thing into a ground fight for now. Time to let the experts do their part...
Wary of the devil's terrible claws, Alis retreats a bit further. As she passes by Darvesch, she whispers, "Luck, be a lady," and touches him on the shoulder. Instantly, the young Lightbringer knows exactly what the devil's next move will be.
Acrobatics Checks
no
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While the elf girl gets her spell off successfully, the instant she tries to move out of range, the Red Mountain Devil lashes out with everything it has. Luck it seems is a fickle mistress. Although her protections and agility would be enough to throw off all but the best swordsmen, thru either luck or sheer determination, the beast delivers a vicious slash that opens her back.
Her incredible agility keeps the monster from grabbing hold of her, but it seems intent upon its prey and emboldened by the sweet scent of elven blood. With a powerful thrust of wings and legs, it springs into the air, leaping over Mal and Darvesch's heads as it reaches down and tries to scoop up its bloodied prize. Alis only just barely manages to evade its clutches, and it's claws snap shut like a steel trap on empty air.
Yet even as her heart pounds in her chest, Alis feels a hot sticky liquid splatter across her face and bust as the monster tries to gain altitude. Looking up, you see a stream of vile, dark blood pouring from a gash rent in its side by Darvesch's powerful axe when it hurdled the proud warrior!
In desperation, Alis attempts to slash at it with her rapier as it passes, but the thin blade merely scrapes along its scaly hide with no effect.
; RMD
MAP: Y-The Tide Stone, (Round 5)
ghoul fever 1/2 saves DC 16
diseased
Lureene heart jumps again in her throat when she sees 'Lis get slashed and nearly snatched by the Devil. She prays, Her luck held true there, I pray it continues to hold...
She looks up at the Devil who just streaked overhead, and steps back off the trail, pointing her finger at him. His form is clearly illuminated in her darkvision. She chants a spell and a bolt of electricity flies at it!
Lureene presses herself against the cliff wall next to Sasha. A bolt of lightning streaks from her finger only to dissipate harmlessly the instant it intersects the winged monster.
"Oh no you don't!"
As the devil sails over her head defying Lureene's spellcasting, Priyya raises her bow and lets fly another two shafts. The injured monster is fast enough to dodge one of the rays of golden sunlight, but the other strikes it soundly causing it to roar with anger.
; RMD, Lureene, Priyya
MAP: Y - The Tide Stone, (Round 05b)
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Grimacing from the painful gashes across her back, Alis says, "Cousin, ever want to attempt an airborne assault?"
When he meets her violet gaze, the fiend's black blood running down her face and cleavage, Darvesch suddenly realizes that she's talking about casting that limited flight spell of hers on him!
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"Anything to rid us of this fiend, *cousin!" Darvesch accepts the spell Alis offers, as he quickly assesses visually, the condition of the flying lizard.
Darvesch looks to Alis, and smiles, "Sorry for the blood splatter. Remind me that I owe you a nice dress." Before he can even see her reaction, he launches himself at the fiend, aiming to sink his trusted axe in its skull.
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Alis and Darvesch see the glint of resolve in one another's eyes and both nod at one another's eyes. She can tell by his grim determination that he knows the monster is on the very verge of where it might decide to stay and fight or flee.
We'll make it an easy choice...
At Darvesch's choice of words, her pearly teeth gleam in sharp contrast to her blood streaked face, a fierce smile for her. She shouts but two words in a tongue that no one one but Darvesch understands.
As if he were no more than a toy soldier catapulted by Alexis' telekinetics, Darvesch streaks after the Red Mountain Devil, axe held behind him in preparation for a massive swing using his shoulder for a fulcrum.
nope
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Sensing that something is wrong, the airborne monster wheels in mid-air, a vicious snarl rasping from its throat. In rage, it swings at the unlikely attacker it's iron-hard claws closing tight around Darvesch's torso even as it digs its claws into his back.
Yet therein lay the beast's error. Had it not held tight to the dwarf, the inexperienced flier might have been knocked from the air. However, he was instead now held within striking distance, exactly as he wanted!
There is an almost blinding light when Darvesch brings his axe down. With a tremendous roar of his own, the dwarf lays a crushing blow on the devil that bites deep into the creature's chest, hewing completely thru its shoulder and severing its left arm!
A primordial howl of pain splits the night sky even as Darvesch begins to fall away, the devil's arm still clenched around his waist. However if there was any strength left in the devil that that was it. The terror of Reaver's Shiv falls from the sky, splashing hard into the glowing green waters of the crab-claw lagoon.
Like a stone, it sinks out of sight, only a slick of oily, black blood marking where it was felled.
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Even though he fell first, Darvesch is rewarded with a fine view of his adversary's fall as the words, "Featherfall!" resound from the nearby gorge followed by the sound of jubilant laughter and running.
We did it! He did it!
For a moment, Priyya just stands and stares a the lake, her aura slowly fading to an almost imperceptible glow. She cocks her head to one side, regarding the bow in her hand, a melancholy look on her face.
With a short laugh, she shakes her head and holsters the weapon. Turning to the two 'cousins' next to her, she comments, "I've gotten used to her ruining my fun but now you too? Where's the chivalry?"
The warrior priestess takes step back and bows her head in respect to the dwarf's might. "You are a credit to your order, Hellhammer. You do your Kahn proud!"
Straightening, she sighs and declares, "I suppose I'll have to find another opportunity to glory Alíta's power tonight. For now though..."
A glow emanates from the Surya-ka-Vahaak's left hand washing over all present and mending your wounds.
MAP: Y-The Tide Stone, (Round 07)
ghoul fever 1/2 saves DC 16
diseased
Brow furrowed in consternation, one hand scratching his head, Mal looks at Darvesch and says, "You know, for a couple months now I've wondered if Alis was crazy. Had my doubts about you too, after that stunt you pulled with the rope and that avatar earlier."
Everyone casts a curious eye at the giant man, only Lureene seems thrown off by his accusatory tone.
Sh1t, these guys...
He lets loose a gut wrenching laugh. "Guess now I know at least that while Alis is definitely crazy, you're plain just fvcking insane!"
"Come on," he clap the deadly warrior on the shoulder, "I'll make you a trophy out of that arm once you've finished showing us what Ieana looks like on the inside..."
Sense Motive Checks:
"Oooh!" Sasha's eyes light up at the mention of trophies and bloodshed, "If you don't want it, Darvie, can I have it?"
Lureene can only stare in amazement at the feat of heroism displayed by Darvesch. Once he has landed, she rushed over and gives him a great big hug!
"My hero..." she whispers in his ear.
Once Priyya has channeled Alita's healing power, she gazes about the area, "I know Ieana is still lurking out the, Priyya. You may yet get your chance to glorify Alita...."
As Mal comments on the mental stability of Darvesch, her eyes flash in annoyance, but she notices no one else seems to take offense. Is he JOKING?
She looks across to where the Tide Stone sits, "Should we check it out now?"
Moving back to the front of the group, to the Tide Stone, "Let's finish this. What do we need to do?" He looks to the others.
Lureene holds up her hand, "I want to check out the creature's nest" Gingerly she makes her way over to the nest, wary for any possible threats, and casts a cantrip as she moves.
Looking around, you can see the nest of sticks, seaweed, and bones lodged into the east end of the crevasse about 60-feet above the small, rocky beach upon which you are standing.
"Oh yeah," Sasha says excitedly, "I want to check it out too! El, maybe there's some little baby devils we could make into pets or something..."
Noting that the dwarf is unmoved by everyone's emotion and adulation, the tall hunter tunes them out and instead focuses on calming his inner beast, allowing the power seizing him to subside.
Breathing the cool night air deeply, green eyes scales the cliffs, tinged red by the moon, noting the series of rope bridges spanning the ledges. "Looks like its nest sits on the top-most ledge. Let's get to higher ground. You two can go check out the nest while the rest of us have a look at those stones..."
Looking to Talvyra and running a hand down his neck he says, "And just one person at a time on these bridges this time, got it?"
The big cat merely grumbles and licks her lips innocently.
"Mal, why don't you lead this time with a guy line," Alis says, "just in case..."
"Yeah, sure thing."
With little effort, the big man, ensures that the rest of you navigate the slippery, steeply sloped bridges and gravel strewn cliffs without issue.
As you reach the third and final bridge, Sasha taps Lureene on the shoulder and motions for Priyya and Darvesch to go ahead. Waving up to Mal who is ensuring everyone can scramble up to the top of the bluff ok, she points to the nest and says, "We're gonna go have a look in there."
MAP: Y-The Tide Stone, (Round 39)
"Oh yeah," Sasha says excitedly, "I want to check it out too! El, maybe there's some little baby devils we could make into pets or something..."
"Sash, I really don't think it had any baby devils, but it may have kept valuables up there."
Lureene looks up at the edge of the cliff, which stands about 60 feet above her. "Sash, do you think it is safe to climb, or should I just fly up there and lower a rope to you?"
"OK, be–" As Mal watches, Sasha smiles at Lureene's question then quickly flits across the slick and narrow ledge, skipping over rubble and ascending to the nest without any trouble at all. "careful?"
I really need to take some leave without any damn women in sight...
15-ft
nest
Turning around and not seeing Lureene yet, Sasha calls out, "Hey El, you coming? There's no babies but there's some other stu– OOH, is that a longbow?!"
Lureene replies, "Hang on, I am coming..."
She proceeds carefully up to the nest...
Unlike her carefree friend, Lureene proceeds with more caution. When she reaches the 'nest', she finds that it reeks of composting vegetation and of grizzly meals. Even so, after everything that her nose has been subjected to over the past week, it's bearable.
"I'll have to restring it, but just look at it, it's gorgeous El!"
When Sasha holds it up for her friend to admire, Lureene finds that the bow Sasha's holding is beautifully crafted from a deep rich wood, but it has lighter carvings of vines and leaves with a well-formed corded grip and gold nocks. Casting her spell, she turns the weapon over in her hands. It's definitely magic, but what it does precisely eludes her.
Looking around the nest further, the two women find several other items of note including a quiver decorated in the same style as the bow.
"Whoa!" Sasha reaches inside and pulls out several javelins. "How the hell does that work? They're twice as long!"
While examining the finds, Lureene realizes the quiver has to be similar to Alis' tiny backpack, although the spells used in its construction remain a mystery to her. Likewise, she can tell that most of the ammunition is magical, although only one arrow truly stands out to her, a long back shaft with an ornate head big as her palm, elvish inscriptions painted in silver, and great crimson feathers for fletching. It radiates a strong aura of necromancy. Upon studying it further, she determines it to be an arrow of aberration slaying.
The javelins also are magic, radiating with faint evocation and the power of elemental air — javelins of lightning.
Looking around, the only other magic items Lureene finds are a mithril hook made to go over the stump of a severed hand, and a magic buckler with a skull and crossbones pained on the outside. Examination reveals them to be a +1 mithril hook and a +1 buckler.
Besides these, Sasha turns up a brass sextant of fine make, and a number of coins scattered about. While Lureene goes about identifying everything, Sasha slips the quiver over her shoulder and restrings the longbow with a spool of waxed cord from her pack. She gives it a pull to check that the limbs aren't damaged before nocking one of her own arrows. Looking around, she spots a large bat flying overhead and looses. She bullseyes it and the dog-sized creature falls from the sky burning up in a burst of corrosive gas that rots its flesh away from the inside out.
" Haha! El, did you see that shot? AAAhahahaa! Oh I'm keeping this!"
- Magic composite longbow.
- Matching magic quiver decorated in the same style.
- Arrows with heads made from various special materials such as cold iron, mithril, adamantine, among other magic arrows.
- Arrow of aberration slaying.
- Javelins of lightning.
- +1 mithril hook
- +1 pirate buckler
- Masterwork brass sextant
- Coin: 13 pp, 234 gp, 246 sp
fail
fail
fail
Lureeme smiles at her friend, "Well, I cannot think of anyone else who is more worthy to wield such a fine bow." She laughs, "If 'Lis complains about this, maybe you should wrestle her for it!"
As far as Sasha can tell, there is no sense of irony in her voice.
Once they have finished, she responds "We should rejoin the others now."
When Sasha blasts the giant bat out of the air, Mal wisely decides to step back from the edge of the cliff.
I'll... just let them be.
Turning around, he looks to Alis who is busy examining what can only be the Tide Stone.
"Alis, looks like they'll be a while. Figure anything out?"
Walking up, he sees that Alis standing in the center of the formation, looking between some notes in her songbook and the monument, while the dwarf looks over the tall megaliths. Priyya and Talvyra stand atop the bluff, near the side of the mountain intermittently watching everyone else and gazing out over the glowing green waters of the lagoon.
Survival Checks
Alis looks up to see the bat get disintegrated and just shakes her head. In answer to Mal, she says, "Well, there's a strong aura of transmutation magic on this whole site. Also, it looks like someone trenched up around this red pyramid in the center. There's dirt and grass that's been dug out from around it."
Mal steps up and immediately his nose wrinkles from a familiar scent. A quick inspection of the ground confirms what you already suspected. "It's faint, but I can still pick up Ieana's scent. Also, it looks like there was one hell of a big snake that came thru here, but–" He scratches his head and looks around, lip curled in confusion. "I don't see any foot prints beside ours."
Was she flying?
"You can still see blood on the stones too," Alis points out. "It was smeared across the glyphs."
At Alis' words, Mal steps back to regard the site.
Four weathered stone monoliths reminiscent of stalagmites evenly spaced around and facing a three-foot-high, pyramid-shaped block of red stone. The vegetation and soil surrounding the central stone has been trimmed back and excavated to expose the strange block fully to view. The peak of the pyramid has a cup-shaped indentation — channels run down the four sides into empty basins at the base of the pyramid.
Noting the traces of blood on the stones, he steps closer and sniffs, brow further knotting. "Smells like the blood was from a giant."
"So much for a certain theory on why our mysterious scholar needed Captain Kovack then," Priyya comments with a snarky grin, enjoying the feel of Talvyra's thick fur running between her fingers.
Alis glances at Priyya momentarily before looking back to Mal and Darv. "Well, we're going to need some blood of our own as part of the ritual to activate this. We're also going to need a snake and some sea water carried up here in a vessel made of purest metal."
She takes out her goblet and eyes the lagoon 80-feet below. "My goblet is made of mithril so that should satisfy that requirement, and Lureene could probably summon a snake... I don't suppose anyone would care to volunteer some blood for ritual, would they?"
As Alis speaks, Sasha struts up from the bridge. Lureene follows a few seconds behind.
"Hey guys," she beams, face a huge grin, "guess who found herself a new longbow!"
"Greeeaaat," Mal drawls, "maybe now you can actually do something useful..."
"I'll volunteer. The sooner we get this done, the better." Darvesch grunts.
The red head just laughs. "Aww, jealous that Darvie killed the devil and not yooou? Say, who was it that got turned into an eel in that big fight last night? You know, the one back at that village we butchered? Think it rhymes with 'fail'."
At Darvesch's words, Sasha cocks her head to the side, ignoring the giant ranger cracking his knuckles a few feet away, "Oh, what are we volunteering for?"
"Ritual blood-letting," Priyya says darkly, eyeing the taller woman as if she hoped to bore a hole thru her head with her eyes, "care to donate a few quarts?"
Alis interrupts before she ends up with an entire cliff soaked in blood, "It shouldn't take much. Just a cut across the palm and smeared on each of the runes on the inside of the stones. Sasha, you're light on your feet, would you be a dear and fetch some water from the lagoon in my goblet? I need someone with a steady hand..."
"Take it easy there Priyya. Sasha is only joking, RIIght Sash?" She looks over the altar, "If we have to follow a dark ritual to catch up with Ieana, then I say we get this done and over with."
"Joking?" Sasha breaks her gaze away from Priyya and perks up when she hears that her skills are needed. "Oh sure, be right back, 'Lissy!"
With that, she grabs the goblet out of Alis' hands and flits off unmindful of the look of consternation upon the princess' face.
Lissy?
Alis merely shakes her head. Looking at Lureene she says, "Yes, let's be quick. Lureene, if you could summon a snake, we'll be needing one once Sasha returns with the water. Darvesch, hold off until she's back, please."
Through clenched teeth, Mal growls, "What should Darkmane and I do, princess?"
Alis' eyes dart about the bluff and she puts a finger to her lips in thought before responding. "Stand outside of the circle and keep watch. If anything happens as I complete the ritual, just be ready to grab me."
The big man merely nods to Priyya and the two take up positions nearby leaving room in the center of the bluff for Lureene and Darvesch to retreat to after doing their part. A short time later, Sasha returns, walking slowly and carefully, being certain not to spill so much as a drop.
Not wanting the effort of speaking to break Sasha's concentration, Alis says, "Sasha, just stand there and keeping holding that steady, I'll get that from you in a moment. Please stay silent everyone..."
The red head merely nods, lips pursed as she continues to stare down into the goblet marveling that the water therein fails to glow even though the lagoon still does.
"Alright, he-cousin, go ahead. Lureene, please get ready to summon a snake. Tut, you go sit with Lureene..."
With a squeak of disappointment, the little fellow reluctantly begins to climb down from his mistress' pack.
MAP: Y-The Tide Stone, (Round 92)
Darvesch cuts his palm on his axe and smears the blood on the glyph of each of the stones.
As Darvesch proceeds to smear his blood on the runes, Lureene chants a summoning spell and soon vipers, tinged with celestial blood appear on the altar.