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Chase sends an incredible bolt of supercharged empowered magical plasma--
--that zips past Kan-Zal and strikes a little desert frog.
Seeing the incredible mass of energy striking it, the frog nearly dies of a heart attack... only to wake up a few hours later, thanking its gods that this was non-lethal!
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Kan Zal turns his fist towards Eselar--
--who reacts, by slashing Kan Zal's arm, without drawing blood.
Kan Zal frowns, and hits back, slashing left and right at Eselar, hitting both times.
Drops of Eselar's blood fall to the sand...
The other two acolytes take a step back, and both fire their broad lasers at Drak--
--but the pirate's armor manages to soak the energy of both shots.
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Glaring over at the two other acolytes who had the audacity to shoot at him, Drak moves out from behind the fallen pillar and stides towards them. Pulling out his hammer, he moves up to right in front of both of them. "Now, I've said that I didn't want to hurt none of yall, didn't I? So why in the nine levels of hell are you still SHOOTING AT ME? If you don't stop attacking, I will have nothing to do other than protect meself!"
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Desha moves up and dives into cover behind another slim pillar as she calls out again, "Stand down, Kan-Zal! You and your friends can go back to your monastery in peace, but you have to let us do our job! I know the events in the Scoured Stars have wounded you--they've wounded us too--but that's why we have to find Jadnura. So that some of those wounds can be mended."
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"Ok, I guess we are fighting after all." says Starfinder-19. "Honestly, I don't want to kill any of you, but I don't know any non-lethal spells. Hopefully Desha can save you."
He then realizes that his arc pistol has a non-lethal mode, so he draws it, and casts supercharge weapon on it.
"You can use it if you want. Chassarch."
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As Iomedae gives the best powers of healing to Eselar, he hits the shaken Kan Zal hard with the flat of his sword.
Chassarch drops his plasma bolter in the sand, at his feet, to free his hands, and pulls out his flamethrower as he moves down closer to the fight, leaving the bolter behind.
The big flamethrower is quite heavy, and Chassarch seems to not really know how to use it... and he has trouble seeing how his flames will not engulf Eselar...
Realizing that he probably will not be able to fry the enemy without hurting his allies, Chassarch sees Starfinder-19 beside him casting a spell and then handing him a supercharged weapon...
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Eselar healed up and hit Kan Zal.
Chassarch dropped his plasma bolter, pulled out his flamethrower as he moved closer to the fight, and then realized that he could not find a good angle to fire at the enemy without hurting friends... and that the flamethrower was really heavy, and he did not know how to use it anyhow.
Starfinder-19 casts his spell and hands out a supercharged weapon for Chassarch to take.
Kan Zal takes a guarded step away from Eselar, seemingly retreating from combat...
But then he supercharges himself and suddenly unleashes a brief supernova of photonic light-- that burns like fire.
This corona of flashes out from Kan Zal, and engulfs Chassarch and Starfinder 19.
As the fire engulfs the two Starfinders, the red acolyte takes a guarded step and flanks the dwarf, slashing his sword at him, but having moved he is not fast enough to get back into a good attack mode, and misses.
While the yellow acolyte full attacks slashing left and right at Drak, using the flank to good effect, and hits both times... drawing blood.
The red drops hit the fake desert sand, imported from Akiton.
You think to yourselves: Pradulex Monastery is not a total failure in training Solarians.
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"Nineteen is right, Kan-Zal," Desha says, her voice now firm and furious. "We did not offer violence first, but if violence is all that you will accept, then you will have it!"
Desha raises a hand toward the enraged solarian and reaches into his mind, burrowing down to the root of the murderous anger that drove him to attack the Starfinders and turning it back on him.
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Kan Zal's mind is bent towards violence and maddened pain and thus he does not block out any of what Desha sends his way.
You see him stop, and his eyes grow big with fury... and then bloodshot... and then they seem to pop out of his skull, before freezing.
The Solarian drops to the ground, with blood pouring out of his mouth and ears.
He remains prone on the ground.
His solar weapon seems to have vanished from his hand.
His companions, the two acolytes, let out gasps.
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Eselar stabilizes Kan Zal and calls out to the acolytes, but they do not react in a positive way, calling: "Murderers! He was right! Killers!"
The orange robed acolyte slashes away at Drak--
--the first blow missing the Dwarf, but it seems that was only a feint, because the second blow passes right through the armor and, though it was a weak attack, the blade slices a vein open!
Drak's knees buckle as his eyes close, and he obviously passes out, falling to the ground, dropping his hammer, and he lies there, in the sand, blood pumping out of the wound...
The red robed acolyte sees the Dwarf go down, and calls out: "Revenge for Kan Zal!"
He then glances around, and decides to try to clear a way to his comrade's body.
The acolyte levels his gun at Eselar, and fires away, twice.
Either well trained, or fuelled by hatred, the acolyte hits Eselar both times.
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Desha curses as Drak falls and his blood begins to wet the desert sands. With her options quickly running out, she draws her borrowed surgecaster, but doesn't use it right away. Instead, she reaches out again, this time toward the acolyte in orange robes, and probes his mind as she had done to Kan-Zal.
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Less angered maybe than Kan Zal was, the acolyte manages to put up some sort of resistance to the harming probe sent into his mind.
Drak remains in the sand, but the bleeding stops. He seems to have clotted his wounds up.
Just then, deciding he should delay no longer, Kan Zal jumps up from being prone, and, standing on his two legs, moves back towards his companions, calling forth his Solarian weapon once more.
His companions cheer.
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Kan Zal smiles at first, seeing Eselar's blade miss him--
--but some strange magic has the blade twist in mid-air and strike Kan-Zal.
The angry Solarian drops to the ground, his Solar weapon fading away.
Kan Zal, hit with the flat of the sword is knocked out cold.
Eselar's blade continues on, slashing into the orange-robed Kasatha, and wounding him, but, once again with the flat of the sword.
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As Chassarch overcharges Starfinder-19's weapon, the acolyte in orange lets both his pistol and sword fall to the sand, and, raising his hands, kneels down, and starts to tend to Kan Zal.
The acolyte in red casts a furious glance at his comrade: "Real fighters persevere!"
And he slashes twice at Eselar, but, despite the fact that Eselar left himself open, the acolyte misses... his companion no giving him any flanking help.
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"Your friend has the right idea," Desha shouts out to Red as she ascends the nearby stairs and aims her weapon down at the belligerent acolyte (Red). "Stand down, get back to your monastery, and take care of your wounded friends. Don't make the same mistake Kan-Zal has made and let your anger make you do something foolish. No one has to suffer any more, but if you keep attacking, we will defend ourselves, and you will go down."
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Drak rose from the desert floor, and, with blood and sand sticking eerily to his body, he trudges over to the side--
--while Desha admonishes the red robed acolyte, who starts shaking nervously.
Kan Zal opens his eyes again, stands up once more, but he remains with his head bowed and you do not see the Solarian weapon reappear.
"You are better killers than I am."
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Chassarch grabs the laser pistol and fires into the sand around red's feet, making him "dance" and be an easier target.
Tears appear in red's eyes, and he yells: "NOOO! We cannot surrender to these assassins! You are still standing, FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!"
He then turns towards Drak, and lashes out at the Dwarf with his sword: "Bite the sand, you murderer!"
Drak manages to block the first blow by raising an arm and fending the sword blade off.
Drak is happy he went into a defensive stance, since he feels that although intimidated, the acolyte would have put him back down to the sand...
And the second blow goes wide.
The orange acolyte looks around... and runs away!
Kan Zal turns towards red to lunge at him with all four arms, and, using the fact that Chassarch provided harrying fire, he manages to grapple red, and also pin the acolyte, blocking all his arms, and holding him tight: "WE HAVE LOST!" says Kan Zal.
_______________________________
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Desha lowers her weapon and lets out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Kan-Zal. We are sorry that things turned to violence. Now we are going to continue on our mission to find the First Seeker, and after that, we will try to find a way to return to the Scoured Stars and bring your parents home."
The former Steward climbs down the stairs and lays on hand on her wounded dwarven ally, healing his wounds even as Kan-Zal wrestles for control of his fierce friend.