Completely unprepared for a physical attack, Julian Opal takes the fist head-on. A small crack appears in the purple gem, approximately where his left eye would be.
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For just a split second, you are inside a large wooden box, tall enough to stand in. You are surrounded by glittering bracelets and brooches. You realize what kind of a box this is - a jewelry box.
A deep tolling voice chimes, don't glitter so bright, unless you want someone to catch you.
"Ah Mr. Opal, which of us tried to catch the sun in our hands? You're certainly the one glittering brightest now, and I have no intention of letting you go." Abnaki is smug, confident, and barely the same El that had gone to visit the Quiet Elder all that time ago. Still, he remembers the threat vividly, and wouldn't miss the opportunity to rub some salt in the wound.
"It's funny," he muses, "If you weren't such a slimy S.O.B., we might have actually tried to find a two state solution. But after the threats and half-truths... no this is the correct path."
Julian stares at you, the faceted face unreadable. Yet, a blush of pink, followed by red, takes hold of the exquisite purple gem for a moment; embarrasment, or anger? "I will tell you, sirrah, when you are foolish enough to cross my master and I--" A pause, a cough. Sharp fragments from his broken cheek fall sparkling to the ground. "When my master--"
Julian Opal has time only to stiffen in horror as a massive, gem-encrusted pincer materializes above him, decapitates him with one quick snip, and disappears with its prize. A small fountain of diamond-dust blood spurts into the air from Julian's neck, and his body slumps to the ground.
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Abnaki suddenly wishes he was blind again...
His quarry being snatched up like that leaves Gabe at a loss. Great, another giant thing that looks unassailable... what do I... His inner monolog trails off as he notices the buildup of powerful magics. Using his keen senses, his knowledge of movement, and the terrain around him, he readies himself to dodge whatever comes next.
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Samen knows exactly what's about to happen and curses his limited ability to manifest physical magics. He presses his amorphous body along the northern edge of the entryway, hoping to minimize the line of sight to the corpse.
If any of it gets too close, he readies a Dispel Magic to dissipate it.
Julian Opal spills out of the head of the corpse: a wail of despair echoes off the hard crystalline walls. Opaline light, its passage a silent concussion of force, gushes from the cracked skull like a final wound. Focused beams of light careen about the room, whizzing and burning in every color. The chamber heats up from the sheer force of magic being released.
Abnaki immediately falls flat on his face in surprise, but falls through the floor rather than onto it. Within the yellow crystal surfaces, he evades the burst entirely.
Samen avoids most of the blast, but a few strands of light reflect around the corner, threatening the mind mage. With an effort of will, a disruptive thought arrows through the beams, dispelling their power before they reach him.
Gabriel uses every bit of cover he can; with his quick movements and active shadow, there seem to be several Gabriels dodging, all at once. He shrugs to the side as one final blue blast zings past; it hits the last gaseous giant, who promptly turns to stone.
With the immediate threat expended, Gabe looks first to see if the trapped 'thing' in the corner is still there. Next, a glance back to his companions to make sure at least one is still up to help the others. He spots the stone giant but keeps scanning as though it were a decoration in the room. Lastly, he looks up to where the giant claw emerged, hoping to head off any other threats that may emerge.
The ethereal claw is gone, back to whatever place it calls home. Julian Opal's body does not steam; the faceted flesh held no warmth in life, and releases none in death.
What Samen might call a Sunlord is still trapped in the corner, bound by chains of gleaming silver and arcing celerity.
Abnaki lifts a hand out of the yellow crystal, and waves it around. No burning, searing pain. Good. He sticks his head out. No technicolor mind melters. Good. He climbs out of the floor. "Well that seems anti-climatic. Closest thing I had to an arch enemy, and he just gets beheaded. Shall we work on getting this Sunlord out of irons?" Abnaki seems almost disappointed, but perks up immediately. It's unclear if he thought of something that cheered him up, or if he just forgot about his disappointment in the blink of an eye. Troubling.
Abnaki, you find yourself choking, unable to speak, as cold silver encircles your throat - the imprisoning chains birth new chains unto themselves, and one of the newest has grasped you tightly.
Not understanding the strange writhing vines, Qizzlvutz tries to cast a spell of agony into the chains, but the spell fails.
Student of Stone he may be, Wamblee is nonetheless light on his feet as he jukes and duves between scintillating rays. He tires of the violence and chaos, and thinks of his tent at home, with warm embers and a welcoming wife.
Not tonight. But soon, Chapawee.
He stays alert for any threats coming from the other two hallways.
Not knowing what else to do, and lacking any physical method of attacking the chains directly, Samen hopes disenchanting them will at least make them go inanimate.
Not being certain how to effectively attack living chains, Gabe opts for trying to assist the de-facto Fey Leader. Rushing to Abnaki's side he tries pulling on the chains, using his own knowledge of binding he attempts to loosen just the right spot for Abnaki to wiggle free before he gets broken a fourth time.
With Samen's spell suppressing the chains for several seconds,
Gabriel hastily undoes the chain, roughly yanking Abnaki through before they spring to life again.
Abnaki resumes(?) his performance.
"Thank you friends. Let us free this Sunlord. Break his chains, break this whole prison!"
Being inspired by and having the direction of Abnaki, Gabriel nods and moves closer to the chained Sunlord. Depending on his superior reflexes to dodge the arcs, he assumes a different stance as he searches for the proper place to apply some strikes. These chains look difficult to break... maybe the crystal wall is easier... Gabe wonders to himself. Deciding action is better than watching, he gives the wall a whack to test his theory.
Kallik lifts her axe to swing at the chains but stops when Qizz puts their hand on her hip. A growl forces its way past the phantoms bloody lips as Qizz starts rooting around in her mind. The axe lowers but she maintains a white knuckled grip.
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Bubbling out a quiet, "Wait. Idea... Stone.."
Focusing on memories that are not theirs but feel so vivid. Creeping though the forest, insects buzzing and birds singing fills the air. Bow grasped tightly in their hands while trying stop the little rabbit they had been hunting. It was a tiny thing of browns and greens meant to improve their tracking and aim.
Chula always said to not getting tunnel vision while hunting. It's dangerous. Slowly stepping around the large tree to come far too close to a massive cat with muscles carved from multicolored granite. Any hopes that it is a statue fade away with the growl that backs their bones shake. I don't wanna die!
Rubbing Kallik's thigh because that scar suddenly hurts but pulling from that memory. A deep growl rumble behind them.
The prowling creature of hewn granite stalks out of Kallik's memories and onto the battlefield. The layers of colored granite are beautiful to behold, and the big cat strides boldly forward on muscles haunches.
The celerity arcs and writhes around the stone leopard, but to little effect. The cat swipes at the chains and begins slowly tearing them apart, like a kitten worrying at thread.
The silver chains respond to this immediately, and the bulk of silver twist, writhes, splits, and knots into a horde of silver golems. Smaller, flying things, like wasps the size of apples, buzz angrily around the room. Two larger golems unfold themselves, gathering strength to strike at the feline intruder.
Wamblee sprints forward and lands an ineffective clunking blow to one of the large golems. He hopes, at least, to distract the thing before it punches Abnaki from behind.
You hear the dying bellows of efreet from far down the corridors. The agonized yelling goes on and on; the salamanders are not making their deaths quick.
Neither the Sunlord nor the golems react to this.
Abnaki stops his performance. But then immediately starts it again. It has the same effect as before, but also all bad guys within 30ft have to make a DC 20 reflex save or fall down. That's his move action. He 5fts away from getting head punched As his standard, he casts enhance form on the leopard, giving it a +4 bonus to strength for the next 9 rounds.
"To me! To me! I have lain them low, now finish them!"
The crystalline floors and walls resonate with the power of the Stonesinger's words. One of the golems loses its balance, and Abnaki barely avoids being crushed as it falls down with a crash.
(map updated)
The citrine crystals begin to shatter under the pressure of bardic words and falling golems. You wonder if the floating gem palace will break apart before you free the Sunlord.
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Rolling her shoulders and shaking her arms to chase of the chill accused by seeing that stone leopard again. "Gotta work on boundaries Qizz."
Tugging on their backpacks strap to pull the little mycos along. Getting larger with every step and not seeming to realize it. Qizz on the other hand gets thinner and turns a paler brown. Bits of flesh sink in leaving them looking more like a morel than their more root like appearance. Dangling from the backpack Kallik has a hold of and dropping a few feet when the pair reaches the leopard.
Seeming oblivious to the changes in herself or Qizz, Kallik turns her back to the stone cat and looks out with a rumbling growl. Fought scarier more dangerous things since then. Shifting the grip on the axe and waiting anything to get into range. If the damn thing had to be here than it better be worth it.
Kallik, you swat away a cloud of buzzing golem-insects that try to swarm onto the leopard. You manage to keep them off your ally, but your tactic leaves you open to attack.
Wamblee's normally placid expression turns to fear as the floating palace begins to crack. He has great pride in his heritage, but he doubts that even a Student of Stone would survive a mile-high drop into the barren fields of the deadening feylands.
Turning his attention away from the golems, Wamblee instead focuses on the problem of the cracks and fissures. He breathes in, slowly.
But the ringing of the damaged crystal penetrates his ears for a moment, throwing him off balance. He struggles to find his center.
Having little to no effect on the wall, Gabriel re-assesses the situation, Lightning is arcing on the stone cat thing. Golems are trying to stop cat thing. Looks like punching more wall like things is the right move...
Deciding on his target, Gabe steps up behind the golem Wamblee is threatening and lets fly a series of fiery punches that all seem aimed at the exact same spot.
Samen looks around, surveying the threats and evaluating the tools at his disposal. Golems, chains, and crystal are have mindlessness in common, rendering a majority of his capabilities irrelevant. Furthermore, contemplating them more deeply doesn't seem like it would grant any tactical insight.
Oh well, civilized pure body aside, I suppose brute force is as a good a tactic as any here.
Samen shapes his cloudy body into a concave parabolic disk and vibrates madly in the direction of the golem that Gabriel isn't assualting.
Round 14 Results!
Kallik keeps the golem-drones from hurting the stone leopard's progress.
In the process, the sharp blades of the drones cut into you. The sudden pain is surprising - you realize their edges have the sting of magic.
**
Samen's hideous, ear-rending scream causes the golem to shake uncontrollably in sympathetic vibration.
(dazed, updated as orange-border)
The second cloud of drones takes advantage of Samen's spell, and attacks him in response.
**
Gabriel, your shadow laughs in your mind--a quiet, papery sound--as you mercilessly pummel the downed golem into scrap metal. The shade seems to enjoy the violence.
(golem deleted!)
**
Abnaki continues to weave Words with his words, and summon Stories into the imaginations of his comrades. The strength of heroes' blades runs through the blood of his allies, inspiring them to greater heights.
Wamblee breathes. Despite the danger all about him, he breathes. Like Obdurate told him. Slowly.
He takes a half-step to the left, and suddenly everything aligns. He understands where the cracks and damage came from, and reads the pain of the yellow crystals in the vibrations under his feet.
With a deep humming, Wamblee changes the song, changes the shaking and the ripping and tearing. The fissures quiet down, and stop moving. Some of the cracks even heal before your very eyes.
"There." No more danger from below their feet.
Gabriel steps nimbly to the other golem to give it another target besides the summoned stone cat. Trying to force a reaction, he lines up a kick, though in his reduced state, it lacks the force he could normally apply. Expecting a counter-attack, he focuses on being ready to dodge.
Samen launches a barrage of mental darts at the remaining golem, hoping to add enough to take it down.
Round 15 results!
Kallik lends her axe to fury of assaults upon the golem:
Landing one hit. The phantom's axe screeches as it rends metal flesh.
**
Samen's soaring globes of unpleasant thoughts rattle the golem as they strike unerringly.
**
Gabe's attack also lands, denting the golem's back right where Kallik's axe landed a moment ago.
**
Abnaki takes advantage of the widening gap in the golem's body, driving the point of his banner-staff home.
cont.
The golem is about to collapse from its structural damage, when the smaller, buzzing drones fly straight toward it, melting in flight like beads of mercury, to form up with the golem.
**
Invigorated but slightly off balance, the golem has time for only one attack against the stone leopard-
-and grinds it to dust with a shattering blow.
Gabe attempts to destroy the remaining golem to prevent any further interruptions to breaking the chains. Who knows how much longer they will stay free from their grasping tendrils being this close to the fiery being.
Kallik lets go of the strengthening spell, hearing (or perhaps just feeling) Qizzlvutz's plan to summon another stone creature.
Qizzlvutz immediately begins casting the second summons, under the shadow of protection from her phantom guardian.
Samen finds it simple to keep pelting these golems with all the sharp, angry thoughts he had as an adolescent. Though he does not understand why his very thoughts should have such charged power, they are nonetheless efficacious.
Wamblee spends one last round stabilizing the ground around you, as well as the damage to the walls where the chains previously stood.
Round 16 Results!
With one last piercing volley from Samen, the golem is on its last legs. Taking advantage of its slowing mechanisms, Gabriel mercilessly pummels another golem into scrap.
Seeing that victory is close at hand, Abnaki continues his oration, but spends a moment to look over the Sunlord, and decide how to best appeal to his ego.
Qizzlvutz does not think of the blinding scary bright thing in the corner. The little myco also manages not to think of all the blood and metal and loud noises while they finish casting the summons. A call for help to brothers and sisters of dirt and soil and stone.
**
A jade tiger, thickly muscled, leaps through Qizzlvutz' shimmering portal, snarling like an avalanche. Sharp claws of mossy granite cut through the remaining celerity as if they are no more substantial than spiderwebs.
The tiger gives a great gravelly huff, seemingly exhausted from its rampage.
The Sunlord stands free.
The Sunlord, even dousing their own power, is still too bright for anyone to look at directly. They stand (mostly) on two legs, and have (usually) four arms. Their form shifts as slowly as peaklight waning in the evening, now masculine, now feminine, now draconian, now elenoid. There is a suggestion of wings, then many eyes, then claws. Flares like small alchemical explosions dot the Sunlord's skin now and then, bursting radiance upon radiance.