Ordywyt makes his way down south along with Morthos.
Affyria carefully makes her way across the sleet and ice, letting forth another wave of healing energy across the room.
Kiffex finds his way through the webs, and follows the magister, attempting to keep him silenced.
Timo: Lumber to southern door
Daed: Dimensional Slide; readied attack
Raven: Move to southern door
Morthos: Move to southern door
Ordwyrt: Move to southern door
Affyria: Channel; Kiffex adjust position.
Asturu: Hold
Their path to the magister's laboratory blocked by the pit containing the ice golem, most of the villains move towards the southern door. Though locked, it presents their only immediate way into the magister's suite. Perhaps it can be battered.
Daidalos slips through a dimensional crack into the laboratory and prepares to cast spells and slice at the wizard just as Kiffex slips out of the webbing and draws nearer, bringing both of the casters into an eerie silence.
The wand-wielding, bespectacled magister glares at Daidalos, glances over his shoulder at the confounding imp, struggling to summon forth a plan. Then, with a flicker of a smile coming to his lips, he opens the door to to the bedroom, then watches the two intruders closely for any attack .
Timo slashes his blade across the door, hoping to get to the wizard quickly before he can cause any more problems. As he swings, you can hear him muttering, "Where's Grumblejack when we need him"
[dice="Power Attack" the door]1d20+7[/dice]
"Where's Grumblejack when we need him"
As the preternatural silence descends on them, Daidalos switches tactics. As the mage is no longer capable of casting, he's interested in keeping it that way. And that wand was a whole different threat. So long as he had that, he could cast a likely fairly destructive spell practically all day. So, hoping he's a bit quicker than the seemingly elderly wizard, he abandons all hopes of the arcane and relies on brute, crude steel and blood. Knowing his dagger will do nothing against enchanted skin, he instead elects to take an alternate course of action.
It's almost like playing Kings he muses, stepping forward and attempting to pry the wand out of Tacitus' hand with his dagger.
If the wizard tries any funny business, Daidalos' next move is to attempt a disarm again (if the first failed) or to cut open the wizard's spell pouch.
Morthos pulls a vial out of his pack and drinks it, in an attempt to heal some of his wounds.
Asturu has made his way towards the southern door along with the others. After Timo's initial strike against the door -- which fails to bring it down -- he slips in and manages to deftly pick the lock. "And. There. We. Go. Have at it..." he says as he steps to the side.
Timo glares icily at Asturu with an intensity that would have brought lesser men to their knees. "You couldn't have done that five seconds ago?"
Asturu returns Timo's glare with a placid expression. "You're so strong... you seemed to have it under control. You know. Argh! Smash!"
The magister tries to protect the wand from Daidalos' grab. Otherwise unarmed, he has nothing with which to fend off the thievery but his wile and determination.
It is not enough. A brief struggle ensues as the two wizards wrestle over the wand in a queer silence. In the end, Daidalos emerges the victor and the magister's face turns red with rage as he screams a silent epithet. Panic besets him, and he flees! Past Daidalos, through the door. Through the bedroom and running the gauntlet of villains and heading towards the stairs leading up to the fourth floor.
Once clear of the imp's area of silence, his screams for help ring forth. "Intruders in the tower! Lord Havelyn! Guards! HEEEEELP!"
Timo blinks in surprise as the door opens and the wizard scurried out. Timo quickly regains his senses and slashes at the wizard before he gets too far.
Affyria swings her mace at the magister as he barrels past her.
Daidalos grins with satisfaction as the mage starts to panic and flee. Not about to let him out of the Silence, Daidalos sticks out a leg as the mage runs by, trying to keep him from getting too far.
With the mage sprawled out on the ground, Daidalos spins his dagger in his hand and plunges it down at the prone spellcaster, hoping to, at the very least, weaken his protective enchantment, cursing his own weakness.
1. On his turn, the Magister elected to try to run.
2. After fixing my mistake with the rule, he did not make it through the door.
3. Daed elected to use his AoO to try to trip the magister. This had the potential to set off another cascade of retcons, so I decided to keep the magister at the door but now prone. I'm still going to allow the AoOs from the magister trying to run just because we need to get this combat over with and avoid further retconning.
4. With the magister now prone, Timo's AoO hits.
5. Asturu's AoO hit.
6. It's now everyone's turn, and I'll put this all in a narrative once your done.
Daidalos stabs the magister on the ground, but his rock-hard skin prevents the feeble wizard from leaving even a scratch.
With the wizard lying at his feet, Timo brings his blade down in a swift arc hoping to end his life quickly.
1. Daidalos. Stab.
2. Timo. Stab.
3. Affyria. Bless (+1 to Attack and Damage).
4. Morthos...
5. Raven...
6. Ordy...
Daidalos: Stab.
Timo: Stab.
Affyria: Bless (+1 to Attack and Damage).
Morthos: Delay
Raven: Delay
Ordy: Delay
Asturu: Steps out of the way
As the magister tries to flee, Daedalos puts out a leg to try to trip the man. It sends him stumbling forth towards Timo and Asturu, where he tries to push his way through the crush of villains but is rebuffed and send sprawling to the floor. Daedalos comes up behind him, chipping away at the magister's stone-like skin, as Timo takes a hack with his sword -- clanking against the stone but managing to draw blood -- while Affyria summons forth Asmodeus's blessings.
These sounds return to the magister's ears and he begins screaming for help. "Help! Traitors in the tower! Help!"
He stands up, taking any additional strikes that might befall him, and draws his dagger.
As the magister tries to stand, Daidalos kicks him in the knees, "If you know what's good for you, old man, you'll stay down and stay quiet."
As he falls, Daidalos gives the elderly mage a solid shove, putting as much of his (nonexistent) strength into trying to throw him out among the sharks as possible, following close behind.
As the wizard attempts to stand, Timo takes another swing at the man.
"Will you just die already!?!" Timo growls as he swings again hoping to bring the man down.
"Patience, Timo," the elf says, his voice a little raspy from his brush with death earlier in the fight. "I am sure he will oblige us sooner or later," he adds as he too adds his own sword to the attempt to end the mage's life.
"If we are voting... I'm all for 'sooner'," the antipaladin states plainly as he brings his sword down upon the wizard.
Affyria brandishes her holy symbol and fills the room again with her profane energy, healing her compatriots.
Ordywyt moves forward, not obliging himself in the banter of his allies, but joining their assault nonetheless.
With Ordywrt's final strike, the skin of stone that has wrapped about and protected the magister from your assault finally crumbles and dissolves. Beneath it, he is bloodied and bruised. He screams again, "No! Stop... Stop... I give up."
"Call off your golem and we just might spare you." Daidalos mutters, eyes turned towards the staircase, mind racing for how he might manage to spin this. With a sly grin, his form flickers and changes into that of the magister, the iron circlet getting plenty of use out of him.
He moves past his allies towards the upper staircase, panting and out of breath, "Help... Someone turned the golem against me! It's attacking! We need men." he tells whoever is up there, motioning for them to go down the stairs, "It's already taken down two men- they're fighting it, but need aid."
Timo sighs in exasperation. What exactly is our wizard planning? The magister yelled there were traitors in the tower. And what will the guards think when they see two of him?
He shakes his head and then focuses on the matter at hand, sending a death glare at the wizard while leveling his blade at his throat. "You heard the man, call off your pet and he might spare you."
Though not intimidated by Timo, the magister has enough interest in self-preservation that the extra 'persuasion' was unnecessary. He calls out loudly enough to be heard, "Hold!" Out in the hall, the ice golem freezes in mid-stride.
Just as it does, you hear armored footsteps coming down the stairs from above. One... two... three heavily armored men with weapons drawn. One of them in a resplendent suit of plate mail emblazoned with the star of Mitra.
The figures finish their descent of the stairs and there can be no mistaking their leader: it is Lord Havelyn, who you saw on the Field of Honor witnessing the duel of his two captains. His expression is stern but untouched by anger or rage. He quickly takes in the lingering signs of magical combat and the blood on some of your weapons. He notes the golem paused in mid-stride. He takes an unflinching step forward as his men fall in behind him.
"Magister... Explain."
Daidalos mentally steels himself. While his mind is racing for how to account for this sudden twist of fate, his mouth is running, practically on autopilot, and not really hoping for much more than a slightly delayed Smiting of Evil, long enough for him to slip away, at least.
He nods to the Lord, "Gladly. I was minding my experiments, with a pair of guards who volunteered to serve as extra hands tonight, when I heard a knock on the door. Upon refusing to answer multiple times, I heard a commotion outside, and the sound of fighting. Once I was ready, I opened the door and blasted the intruder- someone disguised as one of our own- with ice, and unleashed my golem. However, he did something and it began ignoring my commands, attacking anyone who got too close. While my volunteers-" he gestures at the rest of the 9th Knot- "Managed to... take down the intruder, I was working to stop the golem, and only just managed to do so now. I'm... unsure, however, as to how completely I have managed to regain control, and would advise not doing anything that might... provoke it back into its rage. I am sorry for disturbing you, though I do believe the situation is now under control, even though we may need a coroner for our fallen." he gestures to the two dead guards laying by the door.
Hmmm... Not my best work, but it mixes in what happened well enough that this may still be salvageable. If not, let's see... Grease at the bottom of the stairs- he can't be that nimble in that mass of metal- hopefully that makes him fall, and the others can move in and take him down. Barring that, they are close enough for a blast, and I do think that I've finally figured out Diamond Spray well enough that I can probably take down the two extras, at least. And maybe even the golem? No... it has too much immunity to magic for that. Okay, deep breath, you've got this...
Affyria does her best to appear as an exasperated guard, panting and glaring. "Commander, thank Mitra! I propose you order him to destroy that unholy creature immediately, it is obvious he is unable to control it! None of us did anything at all to set it off, it just went crazy and started killing with abandon!"
Hearing the conversation outside the room, Morthos looks to the Magister through the narrowed eyes of his fake guard appearance. "You would be wise to remain silent and make no foolish movements," he tells him, glancing toward his blade in an obvious threatening manner, "or it shall be the last foolish thing you do. You have been warned."
Daidalos glares at Affyria, ”Unholy? That isn’t even remotely fair. Golems do nothing more than they are ordered. It’s not my fault that someone sabotaged it! I managed to stop it anyway. Do you know how hard I work, day in and day out, with no appreciation from any of you? And then you call my work Unholy? How much nerve do you need to have?” he responds, getting more and more “outraged” as he goes on.
Affyria starts raising her voice as well, playing off Daidalos' performance. "Nothing more than they are ordered? So is that why there's two of us dead here? Commander, please, stay away from that abomination before it turns on you as well! I would not want it to attack you, Commander Havelyn," Affyria stresses that last sentence, glancing towards Morthos and the real magister in a meaningful manner.