**
Qizz and Kallik lead the mycos, who are not particularly organized, or used to fighting aboveground. Nonetheless, they make a good distraction for some of the left flank, and their shifting nature prevents them from taking any significant damage.
**
The silver-eyed snakes do something magical (or "craft", as salamanders would day) to their contingent in the southeast, but the details are difficult to make out. They go into hiding among a large copse of trees.
**
The oreads concentrate their fire in the middle, taking out two units of snakes (map updated)
"Now, on to the slavers."
Samen's eye go crimson, and the very air around him that is filled with hope for his allies becomes a miasma of despair for his enemies.
He then soars across the battlefield and hovers just over the leftmost slavecrafters. "Your focus is broken! Your slaves are turning! Run for your lives!"
"They can run if they truly wish, but their lives are forfeit after their last treacherous attack. A snake dies when you cut off it's head after all, and I doubt these snakes are much different."
"Suffer as we have suffered. Suffer as you make Wamblee, and the trees themselves suffer. You foul this place with your presence."
Samen knows well how the brain functions, and he also knows all its dysfunctions, as well. The air about him crackles with invisible, writhing auras that trick the senses, translucent worms and bugs that the eye cannot look away from.
**
And though the slavers have withstood the aura of insanity, the struggle with their minions causes them to cross Abnaki's second wall of nauseating despair:
Focusing solely on Samen now, the two remaining slavecrafters to the east try once more their dominations magicks:
But Samen's latest form gives him protection not only from javelins, but from mind-magic as well.
**
Seeing their masters fail so thoroughly--and with their dominating magic aimed elsewhere, three more units of snakes begin fleeing.
(map updated)
**
One of the metalcrafters focuses its fire on Abnaki, while the other two take refuge in the trees, as the silver-eyes has done.
The one-heads near the trees glow with a silvery light, small threads of the stuff encircling their bodies, floating about them. One by one, they dissolve entirely into these silver threads, which then go racing through the air toward the magical effects on the field:
And though they are successful at getting rid of the black mass of tentacles, their crude methods of dispelling do little against the powerful magicks of the party.
The newly-freed snakes rage and boil over the walls, using their dead and dying brethren as a ramp upward. The oreads were preparing to throw oil and larger boulders on the immobilized targets, and the sudden shift takes them off guard. (map updated with oread casualties)
The mycos are rallying, and defeat one unit of snakes.
The oreads destroy all the nauseating snakes at the wall, and are now dearly defending the right flank.
Gabriel repels another wave of climbing serpents. They are easy targets as they finish their climb though there is no trace of mercy in the blows.
Standing shoulder to shoulder with the Oread fighters Gabe attempts to push the snakes back from overwhelming them.
With Gabriel's assistance and the healer/shaman support, no more oread strength is lost, and the snakes are fought to a standstill. The next round will determine the tipping point.
The nauseated slaver belly-slithers west, only able to move this round and nothing more.
One slaver manages to find their bearings within the awful miasma of vomiting and screaming, but is hampered by the two confused snakes still attempting to grapple and bite them. The slaver spends the round re-dominating the snakes. (map updated)
The silver-eyed snakes' project is revealed with a sudden crashing of trees - the copse is utterly destroyed by the appearance of a...snake golem?
The segmented war machine, held together by green metalcraft, is surrounded by an aura of silver-threaded antimagic. The hulking juggernaut squashes the remaining eastern slavers, picking up a residual aura of fervor and determination.
As the silver antimagic brushes by the southern nausea wall,
it pops like a bubble of bile, its unworldly stenches dissipating.
(map updated!)
As the war machine emerges from the trees, Gabe gathers his resolve. "I'm sorry my friends, I think I'm needed... elsewhere."
Without a further word, he flings himself from the wall towards the artificial snake. As he starts to fall, his ring's magic takes hold and lowers him to the ground. As soon as his makeshift glide comes to an end, he sprints to the side of the artificial snake. Attempting to find a weak spot and to test the things durability, he lashes out with a kick.
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Samen makes a double move down to the remaining metalcrafters to attempt driving them mad.
Now would be a good time to manifest Sun's glory all over that thing over there. Just... be careful of Gabriel. It wouldn't do to fry half the human population.
"Softskin! If piercing does nothing, we will crush you!"
With a lurid green glow, the metalcrafters meld together javelins, rocks, and armor into a crude square directly above the flying Samen. Then, with a ponderous finality, the metal square falls.
With surprisingly agile wings, Samen avoids the heavy raft of metal. It thumps onto the ground, sending reverberations through the rock and soil. You wonder if you would have survived the weight of the thing, even with your enhancements.
In one last gambit, the remaining slavecrafters look toward the cautiously optimistic oreads that have poked their heads above their walls of stone. Pulping their minions' heads and drinking their brain juices, the slavers focus their yellow attentions on those stone-headed fools:
And orean eyes, normally the vibrant greens and browns of the forest, all turn a lambent yellow. It takes just seconds for the slaughter to begin as friend turns against friend.
(map updated)
On the right flank, the defenders keep the snakes at bay, but with much of their support being channeled to the left flank, they cannot dislodge the snakes from the walls entirely - a stalemate.
[ooc]Third verse, same as the first. One last persistant boosted wall torture for the road,
Abnaki hurls his harsh words at the two remaining slavers, and the troop harassing the mycos. Then he melts into the ground, and moves 60ft closer to the walls. His voice can still be heard, saying "Samen! The Oreads on the wall, can you break their curse?"
The snake and the slaver both fall prey to the final wall of bile-inducing hallucinations. They bellow in disbelief and outrage as the mycos (keeping cautiously away from the wall itself) dispatch the helpless salamanders.
(map updated)
Kallik takes particular pleasure in guiding Qizz's scythe to strike these vile beings from the face of the land. These creature are nothing but greed and hate.
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Samen shouts back at Abanki, "Be right there!"
He moves just far enough north to be able to get off a dispel magic on the Oreads, then moves back to keep the metalcrafters in the insanity aura.
Samen's mind magic cuts through the slaver's domination like a scaling knife through a soft underbelly. The oreads are freed, rally to the right flank, and dispatch two units of snakes as they express their anger over this invasion of their homes and their minds.
(map updated)
**
The metalcrafter laughs and laughs as it sees you hovering above it. It creates another heavy square of metal, but in the wrong position; it imagines you to be directly above itself, when in fact you are off to the side. It proves to be a fatal mistake.
The metal square falls with a thud, entrails and blood of the insane metalcrafter spilling out the sides of it.
(map updated)
Inside the steel war machine, the smell of reptile skin and black oil is overwhelming. The screeching sounds of moving metal are joined by a strange humming/hissing from the salamanders, and you wonder if this is the closest thing the savages have to music.
The silver-eyed salamander lies in the middle of the cramped space, in the belly of the beast. You can tell all the crafters are completely distracted by the magicks they are utilizing; none of them have noticed your presence.
Though you don't have the comprehensive knowledge of magic that Samen does, you can surmise that the silver-eyed snake is the one generating the threads of anti-magic outside this vessel. If you were to kill this one, the others inside would be vulnerable to whatever nastiness Abnaki and Samen could throw at them.
Abnaki spends his turn earth gliding to the last place he remembers seeing Wamblee.
Wamblee is pierced through the shoulder by a sharp metal javelin, which proceeds into the ground - he is pinned down. Two dead healers and a score of dead warriors lie nearby.
He turns his head toward the sound (or perhaps the ground vibrations) of your approach. One side of his face shows exposed muscle and patches of bone - the work of the salamander's poison. His once-impervious skin has sloughed off like old snake hide.
"Ah. Griot Abnaki. It..." he coughs up blood, "it is always good to see you."
From the outside of the juggernaut, all the combatants see the antimagic threads vanish.
Qizz smart. Qizz sneaky. (Summon) fast fast cheetah, (run) across field when no one looking. (Knew) sneaky Gabe would be sneaky too. With not-magic-magic gone, cheetah gives silvery snakey the stink eye. Then poof away before (get crushed).
"Chin up friend!" Abnaki says stepping out of the earth, "We're here now." He leans down and kisses Wamblee on the head, not worrying about the grossness of the situation.
"Let's get you fixed up,"
Samen sees his chance to interfere with the golem, but cannot claim the minds of so many, so far away, so shielded. Instead, he surveys the construct and comes up with a more mechanical solution.
Manifesting chains of pure thought and force, Samen causes the war machine to veer sharply to the right, taking it off-course.
(map updated)
Gabriel, give me a reflex save to avoid falling prone as the juggernaut makes an abrupt pivot to the right.
Almost bouncing off the wall from the jarring motion, Gabe attempts to stamp out whatever protective energies this war machine has. He unloads into the stunned snake creature with lethal intent.
Like a ghost, Gabe vanishes again.
"Chin up friend!" Abnaki says stepping out of the earth, "We're here now." He leans down and kisses Wamblee on the head, not worrying about the grossness of the situation.
"Let's get you fixed up,"
Wamblee smiles wanly as you add vitality to his very bones. The skin around his face patches up, though it will obviously leave a nasty scar from the poisons. "You...have saved us. You have saved me." He lifts a hand toward the remaining oreads. "Please...see who else you can save. Every life is precious."
After several jabs and one final crack to the skull, Gabe manages to slay the silver-eyed snake.
As the green-eyed snakes are thrown from their exploding juggernaut, both rage against their invisible foe, crafting a whirlwind of sharp metal bits created by the explosion.
A cheer goes up from the walls as the juggernaut is ruined, and the oreads crush the last remaining snakes beneath boulder and fist.
(map updated)
Samen grins at the machine explodes. Unless there are more surprises, it seems the worst is past. The metalcrafters are lined up too perfectly to not send righteous radiant sunlight right through all of them.
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Abnaki nods. "As you say, so it shall be."
Gabe takes a moment to clear the stars from his vision and assesses the battlefield. The snakes forces being significantly diminished tells him they are in clean-up now. These metalcrafters are some of the last remaining foes in fact. Looking to rectify that situation, Gabe sheds his invisibility as he launches more attacks to follow up Samen's sunbeam.
The sunbeam blinds the snakes, which Gabriel capitalizes on with sneak attacks to the metalcrafter in front of him. The remaining metalcrafter is quickly dispatched by the rocks, slings, and hurled boulders of the remaining oreads on the walls.
A cheer goes up as the oreads realize they are alive, and victorious. Half the oreads push open the gates and swarm their saviors --Samen, Abnaki, Gabe, and the mycos-- while the other half tend to the wounded. It will be a long night.
Combat Over!
"Whoof! I haven't been this tapped out in a long time," Abnaki remarks to Samen, as he greets his friend through the gate. "I don't suppose you can put out any of the trees on fire? I might be able to, but it'll be through moving earth, not using water."
With victory in hand, Samen scans the crowd, looking for his brother. He breathes an enormous sigh of relief upon seeing him.
"We got back as soon as we could. Our mission was a success, but victory in one place nearly brought defeat in another. The 4th level of the library was more of a creative nexus of reality. While it was necessary, it was incredibly dangerous for Abnaki and I to be there. We could've ascended to godhood. Abnaki at least got some worshippers out of the deal."
Samen winces. "Oh, and I'm pretty sure dragons are no longer extinct. Sorry about that."
"How bad are the casualties here?"