As Malaric watches necromantic foulness blast around him, he breathes an appreciation to his Dark Lady. He grips his grimoire and diamond and steps away from his cover. With a trigger prayer to Shar, he slings another 4-inch diameter crackling blue sphere of thunder toward the dragon, then dives for cover.
I wilt have thee AND thy creator stand before His throne!.
For
Crit!
Bonus Action - War priest attack (last of the day)
For
Another Crit! Kelemvor is with him!
Holy might fills him, he sees the world around him, and his foe in perfect clarity. It is as if the skeletal dragon is moving in slow motion, and almost moves into the path of Final Rest. The blade crackles with magical energy as both man and steel move in unison for the very task they were created for!
Syrina scuttles forward from cover to cover. At one point she snaps off a blast of eldritch power at the dragon, but her foot lands on a child's battered stuffed teddy bear. It squeals in alarm and shifts beneath her boot causing her blast to fly off into the hellish sky. With a muttered curse she dives behind the nearest pile of rubble and does her best to stay clear of the dragon's withering breath.
Using Donal's distraction, the Doomguide leaps upwards, his mantle billowing like an eagle's wing. Final Rest goes hand over hand as a whirling deathblade spraying slashes with heavy momentum. Each attack clips into the strong femur bones like a dwarf hewing stone.
The strange elephant creature again blasts a deafening note with its long nose, this time instead of magic sparkles the effect seems to be a thunderous cacaphony of energy. The shockwave strikes the dragon right in the ankle, and the cobblestones of the market shatter and erupt into sand all around.
Malaric snipes another thunderblast into the dragon's pelvic cavity, where it bounces around a few times before thumping the brittle stuff with a sickening crack.
*RaaaaWWRR*
The dragon complains down at his attackers before a *whoosh* of its feathery cobweb wings carries it far across the battlefield...
...an aura of withering doom flies with it, afflicting all with malaise and despair.
Round 2:
Grim, Lulu, Mal, Simon, Reya, Lucian, Donal, Syrina, Astrid <--UP
Skeletal Dragon
Donal charges after the dragon, slipping around its flank again, to avoid bunching up, Spread out! Don't cluster!
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[edited]The Doomguide had read the signs of the impending breath attack and was moving even as it washed around him. He was still caught on the edge of area effect, the dark power flensing flesh and spirit both.
With the skeletal dragon in range to close in on, Lucian briefly considers closing the distance and switching to his sword before thinking better of it due to the monstrosity's speed. Taking aim with his bow, the ranger looses two more arrows at the dragon, but neither shot come close to the mark.
Grim is caught in the point-blank-blast, tumbling in the necromantic odors as Donal charges across the battlefield offering timely tactical wisdom. Lucian takes note and pauses his step, launching another barrage of arrows that go sailing wide...one arrow by random chance happens to catch a syndicate enforcer in the back who goes flying in surprise from the sneak attack (before dying).
Reya struggles to keep up with the swift creature, stumbling over the elephants broken cobbles.
The bony skeleton risen from the Fields of the Dead slashes at Malaric, that pesky caster who also appears to be the most snackable. Even necromantic dragons of the damned need a nibble once in a while. It smashes the little wagon Mal was using for cover out of spite.
Round 2:
Grim, Lulu, Mal, Simon, Reya, Lucian, Donal, Syrina, Astrid <--UP
Skeletal Dragon
Astrid 32 /32
Donal 41 /47
Evendur 15 /40
Lucien 44 /44
Malaric 26 /34
Simon 43 /47
Syrina 30 /30
Reya 35 /58
Lulu 8 /36
Astrid casts Shillelagh on her quarterstaff, solid mushrooms spreading out along the hitting end of her staff. She rushes forward and swings high at the skeletal creature.
Her spores pulse, infesting the skeletal dragon and attempting to eat away at it.
Trouble... Simon rushes away from the dragon and Lulu, looking for shelter.
The Baldur's Gate noble dives for cover as the massive dragon easily dominates the space of the battlefield.
Astrid strides forth undeterred from the horrible visage of the skeletal dragon...shillelagh law did all engage. Of course, Astrid was never alone and the cloud-of-life-community clung lightly to the gills of the erupting mushrooms. On impact, they swarmed like piranhas...
Spores were dressed regally in uniform, keeping a tight formation as General Earthstar rallied them with inspiring words. But there was a commotion on the outskirts of the ranks, as the devil spore was elbowing his way into the line. It seemed he had turned over a new leaf with a clean cut appearance; indeed other than being unbuttoned his uniform was entirely regulation...nevermind the red lipstick stains on his cheeks. "I want to fight, d*mn it!"
It was somewhat paradoxical, this thing that generated decay was itself was protected from such a fate. As the spores attempted to circulate rot through the marrow and ligaments it became quite clear: this thing was wholly abhorrent to the natural cycles of life and death. The dragon stood outside such bifurcations...ruled above them.
Round 2:
Grim, Lulu, Mal, Simon, Reya, Lucian, Donal, Syrina, Astrid
Skeletal Dragon <--UP
Zombs & Skellies
Once again the dragon reared its skeletal throat skyward, the energy of death floating off the surrounding undead actually visible, being concentrated in one terrible vortex. The bones twitched with some obscene pleasure as the burst of cataclysmic horror could no longer be held down...spitting the life destroying vapors awash everyone...
The freshly raised syndicate skeletons made their way towards the towering lord of dead, bones clasping the weapons they held in life.
The skeletons unleashed arrows streaking across the burnt sky, just missing Astrid and Donal but catching Mal in the calf. The other 4 advanced, as if searching for something...
To the east, the zombies continued their suicide run across the trap field...inching closer and closer to the fresh gap in the wall and multiple juicy brains inside.
Suddenly the betrayer Companion scintillated from above the ruins of High Hall, sending a random-walking arc of lightning tracing far across Elturel and catching the skeletal dragon directly in the face. As if by design, a series of copper clad bones redirected most of the electricity along the spines of its back finally dissipating into ground.
Round 3:
Grim, Lulu, Mal, Simon, Reya, Lucian, Donal, Syrina, Astrid <--UP
Skeletal Dragon
Zombs & Skellies
Grim casts a spell, twitches the cloak so that it covers his head and then moves close to Donal.
Bonus Action = Healing word on self L2
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The Sharite looks up as the skeletal dragon flies up removing his total cover from that breath attack. Then, a burst of life destroying vapors washes over him. "Oh, sh.."
To insult to injury, a skeleton's arrow thumps into the halfling's unconscious body.
It had been some time since Astrid had faced anything of true challenge, and the skeletal dragon before her was quite the re-introduction to battle. She glances about, noticing new faces who are fighting as hard as she, and raises an eyebrow curiously. She didn't have much time to contemplate this before the thing breathes out a horrifying vapor.
She manages to dodge out of the way just in time to save herself from the worst of the damage. Although the life-stealing vapor stings.
Within her head, the spores are going crazy. The wartime efforts are in full swing and her community is ready, but her fungal army struggles to find an opening that they can exploit on the skeletal dragon's body. She snarls at the dragon between gritted teeth, fishing in her components pouch for a few seeds and a shiny stone.
The druid calls the spores back to her, holding the components in the palm of her hand to create a reflective surface that she aims at the skeletal dragon, projecting a Moonbeam at the beast.
After briefly visiting his Mitresses' realm, Malaric's eyes flutter open... adjacent to skeletal dragon! The dragonslayer was almost slayed by a slayed dragon.
He shuffles to his feet. He rips out his silvered sword from its sheath and slashes at the bones of the dragon. Look at the bones!
Then, with a trigger word, he disappears within a cloak of shadows.
"I don't like them skinless bast$%ds takin' potshots at everyone. Best see about thinnin' their numbers a bit. Whad'ya think Cuddles?" Syrina says.
"Cuuuuuddddllllleessss?" Is the confused reply of the fresh head dangling from the bounty hunter's belt. The more aged and battered head of the Indigo Rose simply smirks at his new companions confusion.
Ducking from her hiding spot, Syrina launches a blast of eldritch power toward the nearest skeleton and then scurries across the battlefield to the next bit of scattered cover. It isn't much. The blackened corpse of someone who could have been Cuddles chubby brother. But with nothing else but open ground around, Syrina slides down and makes the best of it.
Lucian takes the worst of the dragon's breath, the chill of the necromatic energy shivering the ranger to the bone.
Grim sutures his wounds as the Mantle of the Dead crackles with a soft glow. Malaric takes a full blast of dragon breath, and appears ready to rise again as an undead skeleton...but by some swing of halfling luck the plucky lil' murderer instead leaps up alive and stabs the thing right in between the toe-bones before teleporting away.
You've seen an elephant shoot glitter from its nostrils before, so it seems like it would be no big deal. Yet the avalanche of color from the floppy magic shnoz is still a startling sight to contrast the morbid horrors of hell.
*ToooTOOOTOOT*
Lulu seems very tired after this 3rd burst, her nose extra dangly and wrung out...out of juice both literally and figuratively. The effect on the undead lord is extreme, the glistening snot melting away its spine like acid.
An odd light that seems totally out of place amid the reddened ash sky grows from Astrid's hand, directing a beam of radiance to consume the dragon...
...the beast writhes in agony from the foul light of the Material.
Syrina finally tumbles out of nowhere with a crackerjack shot to a skeleton, blasting the things skull into uncountable tiny fragments that go spinning on the wind.
Round 3:
Grim, Lulu, Mal, Simon, Reya, Lucian, Donal, Syrina, Astrid <--UP
Skeletal Dragon
Zombs & Skellies
Astrid 18 /32
Donal 41 /47
Evendur 23 /40
Lucian 16 /44
Malaric 1 /34
Simon 36 /47
Syrina 30 /30
Reya 35 /58
Lulu 8 /36
Simon jumps out from behind cover, casts a spell as quickly as possible, almost without looking, and runs back. This is probably the reason for his first miss. But the infernal energy in Hell still can't work badly, and it's as if some invisible hand at the last moment unfolds a second projectile that would have already passed by without it.
As Simon pummels the twisted skeleton, with unbelievable speed the dragon turns on Donal, attempting to fillet him into Tormtar jerky. From the other side Reya spits at the dark Companion, wanting to tear it all apart...starting with this bone dragon.
Round 3:
Grim, Lulu, Mal, Simon, Reya, Lucian, Donal, Syrina, Astrid <--UP
Skeletal Dragon
Zombs & Skellies
Lucian tries to stretch out his sore muscles before closing in on the skeletal dragon, targeting the creature with another mark of the hunt, and firing off two arrows at the dragon.
(hunter's mark)
(hunter's mark)
Lucian skewers the solid bone with his arrows, like a mountaineer inserting pitons. Donal is there to hammer them home...piercing the nerve-filled necromantic marrow and causing the monstrosity to screech the cry of the damned.
Round 3:
Grim, Lulu, Mal, Simon, Reya, Lucian, Donal, Syrina, Astrid
Skeletal Dragon <--UP
Zombs & Skellies
==Donal
You've all seen martial prowess before. A fighter tumbling out of the way of an arrow at the last second. A warrior cleaving two men asunder with a single swing. But Donal standing against the towering skeletal curse...nothing could compare.
The bite was closing in, threatening to gobble up the Tormtar. Donal punched a rotten tooth with his shield of force, and the tooth lost splintering into an escape hatch out of the dragon's mouth. Enraged, the beast swung a left...then a right...but it may as well have been a child throwing the punches as efficacious as it was.
Donal was ever stoic, slow to reveal emotion...but you swore you saw a smirk curling at the edge of his lip that day.
A few skeletons lobbed arrows towards the magical elephant and Lucian, perhaps the most celestial of the creatures they could sense with their hatred of good. One skeleton, still wearing its gold-rimmed spectacles from life just moments before, zeroed in on the hunter's beating heart...piercing the second sun of his armor.
One wandered towards the melee near Grim, confused at the veil Kelemvor had erected around him. Another sniffed about Simon's cover, prodding the upturned wagon with its blade. A third was near Syrina's last seen location...which was of course quite different from her actual position.
Round 4:
Grim, Lulu, Mal, Simon, Reya, Lucian, Donal, Syrina, Astrid <--UP
Skeletal Dragon
Zombs & Skellies
Astrid 18 /32
Donal 27 /47
Evendur 23 /40
Lucian 6 /44
Malaric 1 /34
Simon 36 /47
Syrina 30 /30
Reya 35 /58
Lulu 8 /36
Coming out of invisibility the priest of Kelemvor launched himself at the skeletal dragon!
or for
Alas... it was not for him to land the final blow...
The suddenly appearing cleric of death startles the mountain of bones, who swats at it reflexively...
Meanwhile the little celestial elephant approaches from the flank, mounting a ferocious counter-attack! *eep meep plumph eee plumph* the long nose aflappin' against dragon bone uselessly...its sparkle toots expended for the day.
Round 4:
Grim, Lulu, Mal, Simon, Reya, Lucian, Donal, Syrina, Astrid <--UP
Skeletal Dragon
Zombs & Skellies
Badly wounded, Lucian takes aim at the skeletal dragon, firing off two more arrows before ducking for cover against the onslaught of arrows from the dragon's skeletal minions.
(Hunter's Mark)
(Hunter's Mark)
The hunter honed in on the primal mote guiding his aim, for a moment Elturel in his periphery dropped wholly to black and white...except the skeletal dragon, a vibrant almost crystalline white crackling with deep purple necromantic jolts. Using the colors stolen from the world the Hunter's Mark painted a new target, an oscillating nexus of tightly bundled power...just near where the heart would be.
*zzzzzCRSH*
The guard's arrow pierced the nexus, and it imploded upon the steel tip like the iron core at the center of a star. Everyone, skeleton and syndicate alike turned their heads at the strange rapidly increasing pitch.
A spherical explosion of bone fragments filled the remnants of the market. One particular jagged fragment caught a syndicate enforcer in the neck, and he went down in a fountain of blood. The three-eyed dog (still tenaciously gnawing the bone) was ejected from the bursting ribcage and went flying over the little statue outside Mama Uptown's Chips & Crisps. The strange pitter patter of dry bone hitting metal and stone continued for a half minute at least.
The dragon was no more...yet still the undead plodded forward. The dragon was only one strong arm of the necromancy befouling this place, neither the source nor cause.
Astrid 18 /32
Donal 27 /47
Evendur 15 /40
Lucian 6 /44
Malaric 1 /34
Simon 36 /47
Syrina 30 /30
Reya 35 /58
Lulu 8 /36
Bone fragments patter all around her as Syrina curls up close to the wagon carcass she'd taken cover behind. "First Chad-rain, now Undead-Draco-rain. This place has the worst freakin' weather." She mutters to the two heads dangling from her belt. Unable to argue with the obvious, neither responds.
With bone shards still dropping from the sky, Syrina, pops up and sends a bolt aiming for the nearest undead menace and then shifts back into whatever shadows can be found in this little slice of hell.
Syrina's bolt catches a skeleton at the nape-bone, sending its skull flying. The headless body-bones run off after it, ultimately tumbling into a large vat of boiling, tannic acid.
Astrid makes a soft noise of surprise as the skeletal dragon explodes into shards and then swings her Moonbeam at the nearest skeleton.
Mal pulls an illusion over him to hide from everywhere else and hunkers down under his cover, a hare's breath from a premature audience with this divine mistress. From his vantage point, he tries to get his bearings oriented with the maps of Elturel that he has studied and study those who attacked the dragon with them.
Mal scans the scene...a 15 ft junk wall surrounds you almost completely, save one large gap to the east. Atop are a handful of motley armored archers still taking potshots at some unknown threat on the other side. However, they seem a little...off. Laughing maniacally is the norm. Some are wearing no pants at all. Some are wearing pants where their hat should be. Others are firing randomly doing jester-style tumbling in between, apparently more to annoy those nearby than to make any effective counterattack. One just pulled an actual white rabbit from its sleeve and chucked it over the side sarcastically droning "fffFur-getta about it!" Another apparently spent some time constructing a little plank out over the wall, and promptly proceeds to spring diving-board style a suicide off the edge. Your analysis? These defenses are wholly boned.
As far as safe spots, its a gamble. The fletcher's tower is clearly a repurposed military fortification. It seems sturdy enough to resist the occasional tremors and bolts of lightning from the dark orb in the sky, but might get surrounded easily and is certainly a fire risk (essentially a giant chimney when you stop to think about it...with plenty of fuel on the ground floor).
Speaking of which, you notice two women (one totally covered in blood) and a gnome dart inside. As does anyone else not dodging the skeleton's arrows.
The next tallest structure is a giant burning warehouse which is slowly spreading its consuming flames over the smaller repurposed stalls scattered about the area. As you turn to regard it, a meteorite dripping with thick green acid falls from the sky obliterating it with a booming finality. One less consideration.
You turn around a few more times in place...for a second your hope soars as you see a beautiful woman erotically inviting you inside a large, warm looking house marked 'Inn'. However, on closer inpsection the woman is a transvestite and the house is actually a two-dimensional wall shambled together with string and mud. Further, the word 'inn' is revealed (as her belly-dance takes her to new positions) to actually say 'unwinnable'. No, there is no truly safe place to rest here...Traxigor had the right idea with escaping to another dimension, perhaps.
Reya catches your gaze, grabbing you by the shoulder and turning you to the west "The High Hall! Look, the castle yet stands! If there is any Order still standing against this hell, it will be within those walls!" before broadsiding a skeleton with her silver blade in a valiant two-handed sideswipe.
Meanwhile the flying elephant starts to glow with tiny flower-petals, fluttering oddly and bursting brightly with magical light. An instantaneous headache washes over everyone, as heavenly imagery invades the edges of your consciousness. Its Lulu, but a much larger version of her, golden and bounding across the plains of Celestia with a beautiful winged creature on her back. She sneezes (which is quite violent for the little snout) and the imagery fades.
Round 4:
Grim, Lulu, Mal, Simon, Reya, Lucian, Donal, Syrina, Astrid <--UP
Zombs & Skellies
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_____
Simon jumps out of hiding, unleashes streams of infernal energy into the undead and hides back, having managed to shout "we need to retreat!"
The skeletal body bursts on the end of Reya's swordtip, or more accurately falls to pieces under the influence of the more powerful infernal forces tearing it asunder.
Donal twirls the mace in his hand and swings at the remaining skeletons!
Donal grinds down a skeleton with many whacks of his mace, the bones still wet inside from recent life.
Round 4:
Grim, Lulu, Mal, Simon, Reya, Lucian, Donal, Syrina, Astrid
Zombs & Skellies <--UP
The illuminated bones, which had been snarling and clapping its jaw like a rapid dog, suddenly quiet as it gazes up towards Astrid's conjured moonlight. It pauses there as if aware its met its end, dropping its weapon it reaches with one hand upwards to the light...the scorching radiance rapidly turning it to dust in the wind.
Astrid, Lulu, Syrina (hidden)
One that had been shuffling around Simon's cover turns towards the shroom-whisperer, raising a clean and well cared for blade against her...
The spores coalesce quickly around the advancing threat, and while doing little harm to the undead menace at least give warning enough for Astrid to dodge the attack.
Lulu seems to be holding her own, despite heavy injury...her ivory tusks parrying the skeleton's blade with a *clang*. The final skeleton is unwilling to give up its search for Syrina, and is slowly clawing a tunnel into the fallen wagon it thinks the bounty hunter lay within.
The zombies have advanced just inside the wall, overpowering the trap field with sheer numbers. The first of them have spilled into the market clearing, falling over themselves with only one thing in mind: brains.
Round 5:
Grim, Lulu, Mal, Simon, Reya, Lucian, Donal, Syrina, Astrid <--UP
Zombs & Skellies
Seeing and hearing the zombie horde growing closer, Syrina estimates the time to make an exit is disappearing faster than an angel's virginity in hell. She pops up from her hiding spot and snaps off a shot toward the approaching bag of bones and then hightails it back north toward the spot Harkina, Molly, Two Fingers and Cat had hunkered down.
"We've got good folk, hiding out this a'way." She hollers to the one shouting about the High Hall and silly dreams of order. As if such was possible in this place of devil dreams and demon spawn.
A part of her named her a fool for even worrying about the others. But she'd made herself responsible for them and damned if she'd stop now. So, her only response to the voice is a quick curse and moving her feet faster across the bone littered landscape.