Nissa canNOT determine whether fire harmed the cloud of Nanites, but it definitely got bigger!
She moves away as far as possible, leaving a fire trail!
Unity, hearing the door click, ram their full weight into it to try to open it.
They slip a little on the floor as they do, and don't get nearly the force they'd hoped for.
Nissa watches as the nano-goop grows larger. It approximates Nissa's form--a central mass and appendages--but does so only in the crudest way. The nano-goop doesn't act, but draws in what little heat is in the surrounding structure and grows larger still, as new layers of frost coat everything.
Watching Unity tackle the problem again, Theo swims back up and gives his best to open the door.
Legato moves next to Theo, as the godling pushes Legato holds his hand out. Particles leaving his hand forming a glob around his cupped hand. Legato clenches his fist compressing the mass, then creates a knife hand forming the particles into a long bladed strip. "Leverage for you Theo." as he jams it into the edge of the doorway and starts to pull to the side trying to help Theo's efforts.
Legato however is unable to slip his magical crowbar into the opening. "Rggh. If we can pop it a lil I might be able to do more."
Nissa feels her super nova is ready to burst! …but would that only make things worse? :: Henri! The nanites absorb my fire. Can I overload them? ::
Unity try to dig their claws into the floor and push the door open again.
[dice=Strength]1d20+6 Unity try to dig their claws into the floor and push the door open again.
"Still working on something," says Hamel directly to Nissa and Henri's friendly nanite braincomms. "It's like swimming in mud up here!"
He abruptly disappears again.
The mindpalace connects you with all the biocircuitry of this place. You've unlocked the door, which was the main biocircuit at this juncture. You could travel through the structure, unconstrained by physical limitations on speed, but risk running into more nano-goop.
Henri can see the nano goop spreading and taking a vaguely humanoid form. The goop exists both in the virtual and actual spaces. Henri is physically on one side of the door, but virtually on the other side, so if you have a way of attacking them technologically you could do that ...
”Nissa, you will have to trust your instincts. I for one wish I had some dry ice!”
☀️☀️☀️
Nissa replies to Henri, :: My instincts are probably wrong, except for the part about keeping my distance! ::
She doesn’t Super Nova. Yet.
For now she rushes in close and leaves a trail of fire. She then moves away, and glances back to see what the swarm does with her fire.
The black crawling insect like nanites in the virtual world sidestep Henri's attack. When Nissa lays down more fire, the nano-goop follows it, drinking up the warmth and then using that heat to create new nanites.
The nano-goop grows even large. It is now human-sized and has taken on even more humanoid features. It seems to be using Nissa as the model for the form it's taking.
It has yet to attack, choosing to suck up heat and increase in size each round instead.
Legato braces up and tries to dig into the edge of the door again to help Theo. "Put your godly back into it bro!"
Legato cannot find purchase and is growing frustrated "This frign thing!"
Nissa says to Henri, :: The nanites are forming a beautiful humanoid shape. They look like… well… me kinda? But taller. I mean of course taller, but taller than I ever was.
And wow is she beautiful. Them, technically. ::
The godling tries once more to force the door open.
Nissa just stares at the door.
Did I miss some of the ice?
Ta-Hashar steps forward and calls out in Atlantean, which none of you on this side of the door understands, "Again, godling, aided by a descendant of Atlas, son of Poseidon."
"Almost there, friends," says Hamel to Nissa and Henri through their nano-comms.
Unity growl deep in their chest at the door's stubbornness. They can be more stubborn. They dig their claws deeper into the floor and heave.
"We did it, Godling," says Ta-Hashar before turning and seeing it had been Unity working with him on the door. He's a bit surprised, "Good work, Moreauvian!"
Since he's speaking Atlantean and Nissa isn't there to translate, this goes unheard.
:: Henri, I will attempt to communicate since I cannot harm the nanites. They aren’t harming me, but are very likely quite capable. ::
Nissa blazes a trail of fire…
…and she also attempts to communicate with the nanites.
“Are you enjoying the taste of my fire?” she asks. “What is it that you want? Why have you chosen to look like me?”
Charles, with some assistance from the young Atlantean, pulls open the door just in time for everyone to see a large hulking mass of nanites pulled together in Nissa's shape, stab at the fiery pixie with a spike it forms from its arm.
Hamel's face appears on the back of the swarm's head and sees Henri, Theo, Ta-Hashar, and Charles at the newly opened door.
"Voila!" says Hamel before looking down and seeing his back where his front should be. "...presque...!"
He disappears again providing no assistance this round.
"Henri," asks Mother, in Henri's head, "What's going on son."
Legato was about to reprise the stab upon the fairykin, as he took aim Hamel's face appeared. Makin him hesitate. "Uh. what? Nissa. Is Hamel in that? Do.. Do I blast it?"
Legato previous attempts at prying open the door unsuccessful, as it opens he reforms his magic swarm from a blade to a mass in his hands. Upon hearing confirmation to blast it, he lobs his ball of magic with both hands.
Mental ”Hamel! How did you appear in the cloud of nanites!?”
Aloud ”Cold. Do not attack with fire, it grows from heat!”
Henri's attack in the virtual battlefield distracts the mass of black nanites, which will hinder its attacks this round.
Hamel does not answer Henri. Is Legato using his readied action to blast it?
Otherwise, we will go to round 4, with Henri at the top of the round.
The creature reorganizes its body quickly enough to allow Legato's blast to harmlessly pass through a hole it has made in itself.
Henri continues his virtual assault, hoping he can delay it while his friends thrash it.
☀️☀️☀️
Nissa has no idea what to do, so she backs well out of the way and says to the others—
“It may look like me, but it has an insatiable appetite and it’s hungry for my fire!”
Nissa recalls a nutrition tip: ’you are what you eat.’
“It may look like me, but it has an insatiable appetite and it’s hungry for my fire!”
"The Fuçk it is!" Theo bellowed in his bubble, and positioned himself between himself and his daughter.
Unsure how to attack a glob-like thing, the godling raises his fist in anger. So focused on the danger to Nissa, The Olympian fails to see that fist is glowing.
Unity walk up to the mass of nanites and spit out a stream of acid, thinking it the most likely-to-work ability they have.
Theo crosses through the creature's area to interpose himself between Nissa and the nano-goop-monster. The creature takes an AoO on Theo, stabbing the godling with a spiked tentacle it creates from its mass. Theo can feel the nanites drinking his heat as they bury themselves in his skin, freezing wherever they touch.
It is too distracted by Henri to successfully avoid Unity's attack.
It prepares to make a second attack against Theo when it decides Henri is too much of a threat, in the virtual space.
Since Theo interposed between Nissa and the creature, Legato would have a flanking bonus, as would Theo's attack next round.
From North to South we have:
NISSA
THEO
NANOGOOP
LEGATO UNITY HENRI
As the nanite spike stabs through Theo, divine rage engulfs the godling!
In a deep powerful voice, The Olympian denounces the goop and shoots a tri-color last from his clenched fist.
Nissa marvels as her father’s voice thunders the language of the gods—his bellow surely a traditional battlecry, profound in its brevity!
Legato gathers the ambient energy and masses it twriling into his own magic swarm forming a glob not unlike the creature he views, that he compresses in both of his hands together until it bursts sending two lances of mana infused tendrils at the creature in recompense.
Unity angle themself to avoid injuring their allies and unleash their roar, the sheer power of it echoing in the enclosed space.
As the nanite spike stabs through Theo, divine rage engulfs the godling!
In a deep powerful voice, The Olympian denounces the goop and shoots a tri-color last from his clenched fist.** spoiler omitted **
[dice=Tripartite Beam]1d20 + 8
[dice=Dmg.]1d6 + 1d6 + 1d6
The nanite creature again avoids taking damage from an attack by reshaping its form to allow the attack to pass through.
** spoiler omitted **
Henri manages to avoid that attack in the virtual realm, repelling the creeping tentacles of nanites through sheer force of will.
His colleagues in the actual world can see Henri is busy engaging in virtual battles.
Legato gathers the ambient energy and masses it twriling into his own magic swarm forming a glob not unlike the creature he views, that he compresses in both of his hands together until it bursts sending two lances of mana infused tendrils at the creature in recompense.
[dice=Mana Strike (Swarm Strike) 20ft increment to hit ]1d20+8 [dice= Magical B/S] 1d3+6+14
[dice=Mana Strike (Swarm Strike) 20ft increment to hit ]1d20+8 [dice= Magical B/S] 1d3+6+14
When the creature reshapes itself to avoid Legato's attack, his tendrils bend to find the elusive entity. A black spray splatters from the creature at the point the tendrils made impact.