Andakos studies #2, then stabs with his spear.
Cal finishes his casting of summon monster, and in his haste to get back into the fray of combat he fires off an acid dart that is poorly aimed. At the last fraction of a second, he realizes his aim is too low and he's going to hit Lori, and whips his hand to the side, sending a long, thin glob of highly caustic energy splashing harmlessly against the stone wall next to him.
Elodie has better luck. While two of her attacks miss (one catching air and the other scratching harmlessly against the armor under the cultist's robes) her beak catches flesh on the cultist's neck and tears a piece free, causing the cultist to cry out in pain and anger. She yells "Eat butt, fascist!" in French with a sing-song voice. Celestials are weird.
Andakos continues to be a force to be reckoned with as he takes a split second to size up the newcomer, bat aside one arm, and dip his spear-tip into the softer leather under the cultist's armpit. The spear doesn't go in very far, but it doesn't need to. Andakos can feel resistance and then a soft pfft as the spear pops and collapses the cultist's left lung. He falls to the ground, a wet sucking noise whispering from under his arm.
The cultist in front of Elodie steps back from the bird and frantically fires a shot, which sails wide. The cultist behind her also fires, but it doesn't go as planned.
The wood of the arrow was clearly of shoddy quality, as the sudden force placed on it from the bowstring causes it to shatter, sending small slivers of shrapnel into the archer's face .
ROUND 2
[color=green]
Caladaer (30/30 hp)
Thulae (15/15 hp)
Andakos (32/32 hp)
Cultist 1 (13 dmg, unconscious and dying)
Cultist 2 (12 dmg, unconscious and dying)
Cultist 3 (5 dmg)
Golloriel (39/39 hp, Life Link)
Cultist 4 (1 dmg)
Cabe (32/32 hp)
[/color]
Golloriel curses her bad leg, knowing she can't cover the distance to the remaining cultists. Instead, she stands over the fallen cultist in front of her and touches Cabe on the shoulder while whispering a prayer to Sarenrae. A protective burst of energy surrounds him.
Riding high on his success at a younger man's acrobatic insanity and Lori's bolstering spell, Cabe tries to dart past the cultist archer to get to her side so there's room for Andakos and the others to move into melee as well.
Unfortunately the archer swats outward with her bow and knocks him back a half step. She can't do any real damage at this range but she keeps him from moving forward. Grumbling, Cabe stands his ground, mithral blade sweeping out form its sheath in a single lightning-fast motion.
Cabe's blade is almost too fast for the naked eye to follow. The lag between the shimmer of the blade through the air and the massive spray of blood that trails behind it feels like it's almost a half second or more. The archer doesn't even have time to cry out in pain; she simply opens from hip to clavicle in a wide, gory arc and falls to the ground on her belly, eyes rolling into the back of her head as she goes unconscious from shock. One long, hideous gray loop of intestine slides out from under her body with an absurd schlorp.
ROUND 3
[color=green]
Elodie (5/5 hp)
Caladaer (30/30 hp)
Thulae (15/15 hp)
Andakos (32/32 hp)
Cultist 1 (13 dmg, unconscious and dying)
Cultist 2 (12 dmg, unconscious and dying)
Cultist 3 (18 dmg, unconscious and dying)
Golloriel (39/39 hp, Life Link)
Cultist 4 (1 dmg)
Cabe (32/32 hp)
[/color]
Elodie flies up and over Cabe's head and tries to land a bite from directly above #4.
---
Cal thinks the others have this well in hand, so he takes a few steps forward and picks at some dirt under his fingernails.
Andakos carefully steps over the multiple bodies in his way and enters the hallway. Seeing only one cultist left, he raises a hand to Golloriel, then addresses the cultist: "We don't want to kill you. Surrender." He glances back at Golloriel again and points with his eyes and a gesture with his head. Help me out here.
Golloriel catches Andakos's meaning and steps forward, lowering her scimitar. "Yes. If you drop your bow and surrender now, I swear by Sarenrae's light, you will not be harmed."
The cultist, soaked in his ally's blood and viewing the gore streaked across the floor and walls of this charnel hallway, cackles madly. "Of course you do," he sneers. "You 'hero' types are so hypocritical! Look at this! This violence that you detest so much! You pay worship to my blessed Princess without even realizing it! Why would we stop in the middle of benediction??" He titters again as he backs up a step, nocks an arrow, and fires it at Cabe.
The old man is fast, but not fast enough. The arrow flies into his shoulder--but bounces off at the last moment in a shower of orange-white sparks and a noise like a hand-bell tinkling as Lori's spell protects him. The archer snarls, drops the bow, and pulls the scythe off his back.
ROUND 3
[color=green]
Elodie (5/5 hp)
Caladaer (30/30 hp)
Thulae (15/15 hp)
Andakos (32/32 hp)
Cultist 1 (13 dmg, unconscious and dying)
Cultist 2 (12 dmg, unconscious and dying)
Cultist 3 (18 dmg, unconscious and dying)
Golloriel (39/39 hp, Life Link)
Cultist 4 (4 dmg)
Cabe (32/32 hp)
[/color]
Cabe shrugs and steps over the dying woman, doing his best not to step on her intestines as they spool slowly out from underneath her. "Suit yourself," he says, and swipes with his blade.
At first it doesn't appear that Cabe hit; nothing happens. Then the cultist blinks, and his head tilts back a bit. When he does, his neck opens like a wide, thin-lipped, toothless mouth that vomits surprisingly small, tight gouts of blood in rhythmic arterial spurts. The cultist collapses to the floor as he begins to rapidly bleed out.
COMBAT OVER!
The copper stink of blood is almost unbearable in the hallway. The cultist wasn't wrong; it smells like an abattoir.
On the cultists, you find the following:
- 4 scythes
- 4 suits of studded leather armor
- 4 wooden unholy symbols of Urgathoa
- 2 composite longbows (+0 Str)
- 37 arrows
- a combined total of 26gp
Cabe flicks the hilt of his mithral dueling sword to the side, and the rivulets of blood on it fly off. He then draws a kerchief and runs it along the blade, which continues to faintly vibrate with arcane energy for a moment before falling silent. When he pulls the kerchief away, it is mostly unstained. He returns the weapon to its sheath in a slow, almost reverent motion, before turning back to the others.
"These are cronies. I doubt we will find much on them. Still, best to look."
He begins searching the back areas.
Andakos looks at Golloriel and sighs. "We tried. Golloriel, can you keep a watch in this hallway while we check the rooms? Cabe! Let's stick together."
He then walks back to the first room with the beds, waves Caladaer along, and takes a look around, first in the small room, and then the larger room to the south.
+2 traps
+2 traps
Golloriel nods and looks wistfully at the cultists' bodies. What sort of person willingly gives their lives in service to such a terrible deity? She shakes her head and tears her gaze away, trying to focus instead on listening for any other activity on this level of the tower.
After a few moments, Elodie calls, "Au revoir, salopes!" and vanishes in a puff of glitter, the sound of a Kylie Minogue hit single fading into the breeze as she goes.
Cal and Andakos find multiple personal quarters throughout this floor, enough to house almost eight times as many people as you've met thus far.
Andakos inspects the bedsheets, and finds they have a small layer of dust on them. He suspects they were last used about a month ago. Many more bodies were here recently, but unless most of them haven't slept in several weeks, it appears they are no longer here.
Other than this, Cal and Andakos both find the personal effects of the remaining four cultists, mainly various sundries and traveling gear:
- 6 torches
- 2 coils of hemp rope (50ft each)
- a total of 6 days' rations
- 4 waterskins
- 8 whetstones
- 40 pieces of chalk
- 1 small steel mirror
- 8 sets of cleric's vestments bearing the colors and symbols of Urgathoa
- another 52gp
- various implements rusted from old bloodstains on them that can only be described as "Eli Roth-esque"
Cal also finds a journal, written in a language he doesn't speak.
The journal recounts the daily activities in the tower. Skipping over the horrific sacraments--the clergy did not want to draw attention to themselves by kidnapping any locals, so they settled on live-captured animals for their perverse rituals--you find mention of "the prisoner" and their interrogation at the topmost floor. Though the prisoner is not at first mentioned by name, it's not a leap to assume it's Toff Ornelos, the headmaster of the Academae, and later entries confirm it:
"After another session with Toff at the top floor, Alhain finally sent the others off on their sacred mission today, led by that gangly bastard that's got Alhain pissing himself. What sort of leader are we following that shows such a small, pathetic little human such fear and obedience? Though, I admit, when he looked at me the first time, I felt my bowels go liquid for a moment. Maybe there's more to him than Alhain is telling us. There has to be. Well, he's gone now, off on the sacred mission Alhain spoke of. Lucky pricks. Why didn't I get chosen? I'm the most devoted to the Pallid Princess of all of those swine!"
And on the last entry:
"The gate is failing. I don't know why. Alhain seems unconcerned, says it's just a hiccup in the proto-dimensional Aether strands, whatever the f!$* that means. Maybe? But then why was he sweating when he said it? Where are the others? It's been almost a month. I thought they'd be back by now. Maybe it's a good thing I didn't go. Probably safer here at the tower anyway.
"I think Alhain is almost finished with Toff. Once we have what we need, we can get out of this dustbin of a tower and find more supple flesh for sacrament. The deer and wolves we've captured simply do not scream as satisfactorily as an untainted maiden (though I did enjoy the noise that rabbit made). Soon, sweet Princess! We will worship you properly soon. You will have so many delicious, supple sacrifices in your name. I will drink their fluids until they are but a withered husk, and call out Your Name in my ecstasy..."
The pages after this are blessedly blank.
"Tiefling!"
Caladaer dismisses the admonishing look from Golloriel at his use of the word. "He is a tiefling. He can read this." He holds out the journal to Andakos.
Andakos skims through the book, his face darkening and even visibly turning a little green through the deep red of his skin. He translates the entries about Toff aloud so the others can hear.
"We will need to study this further later, but Toff is here. Or was. We need to find him." He stows the journal and grabs his spear.
The party ascends another floor. The space is wide open and unpartitioned, the entire seventy-foot diameter of the tower taken up by strange arcane sigils of impressive radius (anywhere between two and twelve feet) that appear to be binding circles, though they are currently stacked with such a random assortment of dilapidated crates, rotting barrels, and assorted detritus that they've been damaged beyond repair. A brief scan of the room finds nothing.
By a quick calculation, you realize you're coming up to the top floor of the tower. You crest the top of the stairwell and find yourselves in another floor that has very little of it partitioned off, the vast bulk of it taken up with what can only be described as a throne room. White marble floors lead up to a raised dais with an ornate high-backed chair, the cushions of which were once crushed velvet but are now tattered and faded with the years. The red carpet leading up to it is also frayed and worn.
Behind the throne, a swirling circular disc of energy floats. It is a sickly pea green in color, and seems to drip some sort of hideous emerald liquid that evaporates upon touching the floor.
A group of individuals stand in front of the throne and disc. Two of them are hooded figures in dark robes; the other two bear the ragged, blood-stained remnants of the unholy vestments of Urgathoa. These two have purplish, leathery skin stretched tight over their gaunt frames, their bloodshot eyes and hideously long tongues lolling back and forth.
One of the robed figures appears to be human, their hands light, thin, and dexterous. The face is covered by their hood, but they appear to be either a woman or a particularly lithe man. The ambiguity of their gender is only further confused when they speak in a gravelly, otherworldly voice that sounds more like the buzz of a dragonfly than an actual person.
"They arrivvvve. Kill themmm, Toff. Or should I szzzay, Mag'oszzznik, newly ofvvv our ranksszzz?"
The speaker chuckles and steps into the disc, which vanishes in a puff of green energy.
The other hooded figure--Toff?--turns to face the party. You realize now that he's floating about six inches off the ground. He raises his arms, heavy sleeves drooping down, to reveal not hands, but two writhing masses of tentacles the color of cave moss, and a face that wriggles and twists in a mass. The only semblance of a human that remains is a wide mouth, and even that is filled with jagged, uneven teeth. The creature whispers, and it is so soft it shouldn't even be heard, but it reaches your ears and vibrates in your head in a way that makes you dizzy and nauseous.
"Ornelos is dead. His soul forged a new soldier in the armies of Abaddon. Come and see what his power has wrought."
ROUND 1
[color=green]
Cabe (32/32 hp)
Caladaer (30/30 hp)
Andakos (32/32 hp)
Mag'osnik (0 dmg)
Ghoul 1 (0 dmg)
Golloriel (39/39 hp, Life Link)
Ghoul 2 (0 dmg)
[/color]
Yep. Those are ghouls alright. Cal is safe from their paralysis, but nobody else is, and none of you are safe from the ghoul fever.
This is a daemon, the hideous residents of Abaddon. Daemons relish in death, and their aim is to kill all life in the Multiverse. They have no particular interest in wanton destruction like demons, nor in the corruption of souls like devils. They simply want to end as many lives as possible. It is rare for them to work with undead, as they see it as antithetical to their goals. However, they have been known to work with Urgathoa and Her followers on occasion, though such unions are tenuous at best.
All daemons have a suite of energy resistances and immunity to acid, death effects, disease, and poison, though the types of energy they resist depends on the type of daemon. This is a venedaemon, often created through profane rituals when a potent spellcaster dies. Venedaemons are resistant to cold, electricity, and fire, and have spell resistance. They also have powerful magic and Damage Reduction that can only be bypassed by good-aligned or silver weapons.
Not only do venedaemons retain some of their ability to cast spells (though all venedaemons, regardless of previous class, cast sorcerer spells) but they also have a handful of spell-like abilities too. The spells known by the venedaemon vary from one to another, but all have the same spell-like abilities:
- Command cacodaemon at will
- Dimension door, dispel magic, slow 3/day
- Summon daemon 1/day (1 venedaemon 50% or 2d4 cacodaemons 70%)
Venedaemons also have a power known as Swallow Soul. If they have a Soul Gem provided by a cacodaemon, the venedaemon can consume the soul within as a swift action to cast any sorcerer spell it knows without expending a spell slot. It doesn't have any cacodaemons with it now, but if it successfully summons them, it could theoretically have 2-8 free spell slots to lob at the party.
Realization drains the color from Cabe's face. "Oh. Oh gods. Toff, what did they do to you...?"
He turns to the others, his face painted in near-panic. "That," he says in a small voice, "is a venedaemon. That is very, very bad."
"Whatever you do," Cabe says as he pulls out a wand, taps himself with it--causing an invisible disc of force to pop up in front of him--and drops it, "do not let him summon any cacodaemons. That will make an ugly fight damn near impossible."
Damn good thing you decided to make Zelda as ostentatious as possible, you old peacock.
He takes a step forward and prepares for the onslaught.
He cast shield out of the wand.
Caladaer steps up behind Cabe and sees what they are dealing with.
Shit.
He reaches up to touch Thúlae while whispering an incantation. He opens his eyes, points at the thing that used to be Toff, and whispers, "Burn it."
Thúlae's eyes are replaced with burning embers and he launches himself from Cal's shoulder. He flies into the room and up to the ceiling, then turns his gaze on not!Toff.
Andakos groans as he realizes what they are in for. He pulls a shield extract from his bandolier, drinks it, and then moves forward, hopefully baiting the ghouls into approaching within spear range.
The venedaemon bursts into flames, which lick off its form... to absolutely no effect. It lets out a whispering chuckle like bloody glass shards tinkling over metal, and begins concentrating, gathering strands of magical energy to itself.
The first ghoul hisses and lopes toward Andakos down the stairs of the dais . It takes a lunging bite at Andakos, but fails to find purchase.
ROUND 1
[color=green]
Cabe (32/32 hp, +4 AC)
Caladaer (30/30 hp)
Andakos (32/32 hp, +4 AC)
Mag'osnik (0 dmg)
Ghoul 1 (0 dmg)
Golloriel (39/39 hp, Life Link)
Ghoul 2 (0 dmg)
[/color]
Golloriel limps into the room, getting close enough to all of the foes to cleanse them in Sarenrae's holy light. She grasps her holy symbol and beseeches her goddess to destroy these abominations.
Andakos' spear finds purchase, tearing a huge, gaping wound between two of the ghoul's ribs that stretches from front to back, revealing rotten innards.
Sarenrae hears Lori's plea, and bright orange-white light tears through the desiccated flesh of the ghouls, a sound like roiling thunder not quite drowning out their agonized screams as their necrotized flesh burns and sizzles. The first ghoul's face disintegrates, leaving a charred skull behind as it drops to the floor dead. The second ghoul survives the onslaught, but is horribly burned and blackened. It wails and writhes in place before bounding off the dais and skirting around Andakos the long way, having seen what that longspear did to its companion. It leaps up at the source of its agony and bites at Lori's face.
The ghoul overextends at the last moment, and not only do its powerful jaws sail wide, it leaves its flank open to a counter from Golloriel.
ROUND 2
[color=green]
Cabe (32/32 hp, +4 AC)
Caladaer (30/30 hp)
Andakos (32/32 hp, +4 AC)
Mag'osnik (0 dmg)
Ghoul 1 (16 dmg, dead)
Golloriel (39/39 hp, Life Link)
Ghoul 2 (7 dmg)
[/color]
Cabe strides purposefully forward, gathering strands of the Aether in his hands, and splays his fingers out toward Mag'osnik, firing off a pair of force missiles that veer straight for the creature's chest in hopes of breaking its concentration.
Andakos and Cabe both feel their stomachs drop when the magic missiles slam into an invisible barrier just before striking Mag'osnik and dissipate harmlessly. Apparently the creature also has a shield spell up.
ROUND 2
[color=green]
Cabe (32/32 hp, +4 AC)
Caladaer (30/30 hp)
Andakos (32/32 hp, +4 AC)
Mag'osnik (0 dmg)
Ghoul 1 (16 dmg, dead)
Golloriel (39/39 hp, Life Link)
Ghoul 2 (7 dmg)
[/color]
"He is summoning! Interrupt him!" Caladaer enters the room, but can't follow his own advice because the thing is immune to his acid dart and -- Cal remembers now -- resistant to his burning hands. Instead, Cal centers a burst of glitterdust just in front of the portal thingy, avoiding blinding his companions.
Then he points at ghoul #2 and commands Thúlae to turn his gaze on it.
If Thúlae could roll his eyes, he would.
I was doing that anyway. I'm not stupid.
He flaps his wings hard to turn a little arc in place, staying 20' up, and stares at the ghoul.
Andakos takes a step closer to the daemon, studying its odd anatomy as he goes. Is there anything of Toff left in there? If they survive this, he will need to read up on this cruel transformation.
He finds a spot that looks vulnerable and aims for it.
Several things happen at once. Andakos' spear slides into the creature just under its ribs, but its weird, wriggling and writhing flesh is not as yielding as it appears and the spear doesn't push in as far as he'd hoped. Mag'osnik doesn't even bat an eye at the damage as it continues concentrating on the summoning power.
The moment he finishes concentrating and drawing the strands of Aether together into a tangled skein, glitter erupts around it, and it closes its eyes a fraction too late. It cries out and lashes out with the gathered power as the portal behind it shudders.
Just as the portal behind it erupts and collapses, five floating creatures burst through, their singular eye darting back and forth.
Cursing, Mag'osnik floats backward toward where the portal used to be and then vanishes from sight.
Two of the flying little orbs of horror dart into Andakos' space and bites at him. One chomps down on air, but the other manages to penetrate the investigator's defenses and take a bite from his shoulder . Andakos immediately feels like that was not a clean wound...
Yeah that doesn't feel right. Almost immediately, he hears a voice in his head:
Yes, yesss! You taste like the Master! He will be so pleased when I eat you! Maybe He will make me His new Lieutenant! I will be new servant of Graekimus! Mmmm...
Two more of the creatures fly at Lori, but both of them manage to chomp on the metal of her armor and nothing else, when they detach, there is a thin trail of some orange-brown slime left from their mouths. It looks... unwholesome.
Finally, one of the creatures flies at Cabe and bites a long furrow into his arm, ripping his uniform and sending blood pouring from the wound .
Oh, sweet aged soul! You are delicious, like a fine wine. I cannot wait to devour the rest of you!
ROUND 2
[color=green]
Cabe (29/32 hp, +4 AC, feelin’ icky)
Caladaer (30/30 hp)
Andakos (29/32 hp, +4 AC, feelin’ icky)
Mag'osnik (0 dmg)
Cacodaemon 1 (0 dmg)
Cacodaemon 2 (0 dmg)
Cacodaemon 3 (0 dmg)
Cacodaemon 4 (0 dmg)
Cacodaemon 5 (0 dmg)
Golloriel (39/39 hp, Life Link)
Ghoul 2 (7 dmg)
[/color]
Cacodaemons are the weakest of the daemons, but still posses all their immunities, as well as damage reduction against good-aligned or silvered weapons. Their bites also carry a hideous extraplanar disease called Cacodaemonia, which not only drains the target's sanity over time, but also creates a mental connection between the victim and the cacodaemon, allowing it to speak to the victim mentally over any difference .
Cacodaemons also have resistance to fire, cold, and electricity on top of their acid immunity.
Additionally, once per day a cacodaemon can spend a full-round action feeding on a corpse that has died in the last minute to devour its soul. It digests this soul into a Soul Gem, which the cacodaemon can regurgitate as a standard action. Any evil outsider who uses the Soul Gem while casting a spell has the saving throw DC's increased by 2. In addition, venedaemons in particular can use the Soul Gem to fuel their sorcerer spell slots.
"Cacodaemons!" He quickly describes their resistances.
The ghoul meets the hawk's gaze and leers back at it, resisting the urge to burst into flames.
Andakos' strike against Mag'osnik misses entirely, but his attacks against both cacodaemons find purchase. Neither hit seems to do as much damage as it ought to.
Golloriel is frustrated. This exhaustion is limiting her ability to hurt these creatures with weapons. Fortunately for her, brute force is not the only tool in her toolbox. She drops the scimitar and watches the ghoul intently as she calls on Sarenrae's power.
Her empty hand is engulfed in a holy white light. Her eyes flash as she reaches out to transfer the energy into the ghoul.
The positive energy of Lori's touch races through the ghoul's chest like veins of orange-white lightning. A smell like lavender and ozone assaults her nose as the ghoul screams in agony. Its eyes sizzle and burst, spewing strange yellow pus-like goop all over her breastplate; the disgusting slime burns like candlewax, producing an acrid, sulfurous stench that mingles with the lavender and ozone for a particularly unhappy potpourri. The ghoul gurgles once, its hideous, smoking tongue lolling back and forth, then collapses to the ground on its back. Its chest has disintegrated in a spiderweb of charred lines where the positive energy coursed through it.
ROUND 3
[color=green]
Cabe (29/32 hp, +4 AC, feelin’ icky)
Caladaer (30/30 hp)
Andakos (29/32 hp, +4 AC, feelin’ icky)
Mag'osnik (0 dmg)
Cacodaemon 1 (2 dmg)
Cacodaemon 2 (0 dmg)
Cacodaemon 3 (7 dmg)
Cacodaemon 4 (0 dmg)
Cacodaemon 5 (0 dmg)
Golloriel (39/39 hp, Life Link)
Ghoul 2 (18 dmg, dead)
[/color]
Caladaer knows that his summons can overcome these creatures' resistances. He begins the lengthy but familiar incantation.
Thúlae doesn't know that these cute little guys have fire resistance, so he gives #3 a stare.
Andakos moves away from the flying mouths.
Deep, deep inside he feels a twinge of familiarity, of kinship, with these things. It is, to vastly understate it, unnerving. He shakes it off and stabs at #3.
Cabe steps back and faster than the blink of an eye, Zelda is out, humming with arcane energy, and cutting an upward arc across one of the cacodaemons.
Cal begins casting. Thul's burning stare doesn't even tickle the cacodaemon.
Andakos backsteps a few feet and thrusts at the more wounded of the two cacodaemons. His spear punctures the weird little red floating meatball and pops one of its many smaller eyes. It hisses in pain. The spear didn't do all the damage it should have, but it definitely did something.
Cabe's blade, on the other hand, rips through the cacodaemon like it was putty, leaving a massive gash across its face--body? mouth? across it--that spews some kind of viscous black fluid that bubbles and whispers mournfully as it puddles on the ground beneath it. The cacodaemon looks entirely unhappy about the turn of events.
For their part, the cacodaemons float at their respective targets and start munching again.
#1 and #3 bounce hysterically off Andakos' heightened defenses. If this were a sitcom, we'd be cuing the laugh track.
#2 pops into Cabe's space, despite the clear apprehension it has for his mithral blade, and bites at him, but the magus easily sidesteps the blow, not even requiring his magical spell's added defenses.
#4 breaks off and flies at Cal, seemingly bent on interrupting his spellcasting. Its slobbering yellow-brown fangs bounce harmlessly off the wizard's abjurant spell, allowing him to continue casting unabated.
The only cacodaemon to find purchase is the one harrying Lori, who manages to sink his teeth into her forearm .
She flicks the vile goop in the wound away almost contemptuously, fairly confident she kept the wound from getting infected.
ROUND 3
[color=green]
Cabe (29/32 hp, +4 AC, feelin’ icky)
Caladaer (30/30 hp)
Andakos (29/32 hp, +4 AC, feelin’ icky)
Mag'osnik (0 dmg)
Cacodaemon 1 (2 dmg)
Cacodaemon 2 (10 dmg)
Cacodaemon 3 (11 dmg)
Cacodaemon 4 (0 dmg)
Cacodaemon 5 (0 dmg)
Golloriel (36/39 hp, Life Link)
[/color]
Correction: #4 does not fly over to harry Cal during his casting, because as it passes by the magus, he flicks his blade at it and the cacodaemon drops away in two neat halves, spewing black ichor everywhere in an absurd gout of anime-style gore. He then draws his blade across in a tight arc as #2 comes in for an attack and turns the diagonal gash on its face into an off-center "X". Its lower portion falls away and what looks like a tiny brain just... drops out of the bottom. The creature's central eye rolls into its head, its tongue lolls out, and it falls next to its comrade.
ROUND 3
[color=green]
Cabe (29/32 hp, +4 AC, feelin’ icky)
Caladaer (30/30 hp)
Andakos (29/32 hp, +4 AC, feelin’ icky)
Mag'osnik (0 dmg)
Cacodaemon 1 (2 dmg)
Cacodaemon 2 (21 dmg, dead)
Cacodaemon 3 (11 dmg)
Cacodaemon 4 (23 dmg, dead)
Cacodaemon 5 (0 dmg)
Golloriel (36/39 hp, Life Link)
[/color]
Golloriel pulls a holy water from her bandolier and smashes it into #5's horrid mouth with a cry.
The cacodaemon ducks the vial and takes a tiny bit of splash from the shattering glass on the floor. The droplets sizzle uncomfortably against its skin but it otherwise appears unaffected.
ROUND 4
[color=green]
Cabe (29/32 hp, +4 AC, feelin’ icky)
Caladaer (30/30 hp)
Andakos (29/32 hp, +4 AC, feelin’ icky)
Mag'osnik (0 dmg)
Cacodaemon 1 (2 dmg)
Cacodaemon 2 (21 dmg, dead)
Cacodaemon 3 (11 dmg)
Cacodaemon 4 (23 dmg, dead)
Cacodaemon 5 (0 dmg)
Golloriel (36/39 hp, Life Link)
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Andakos finally has the chance to fully study these things, quickly flicking his eyes over #3. He finds what looks like a weak spot (inside the mouth, duh) and attempts to put his spear into it.
Having dispatched two of the three cacodaemons, Cabe looks around but still sees no sign of Mag'osnik. He has one more magic missile spell burning a hole in his pocket that he knows will be useless against the venedaemon; he decides not to waste it, and fires two missiles toward the cacodaemon harrassing Caladaer.