Andaisin's head whips around to fix Shane with a chilling look. "You lie poorly." But she still gives the illusory elder vampire a wary glance.
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Pava gives a kiss to the blade of their ancestral klar as Andaisin draws closer. "Time to se if Da's right, and you're really mad I shortened the blade."
Without her weapon, Andaisin considers the situation for a moment. Then she hisses "HALT!" with an air of absolute command as she clutches the unholy symbol of Urgathoa at her neck. She doesn't even flinch as Elric's arrow speeds past her cheek.
Shrike is already scanning the remaining zombies for her next target, but at the word, her attention is inexorably caught by the dark priestess's unholy symbol.
Audria rethinks her tactics as once again she struggles to do anything, unfortunately, the young paladin's muscles seize as Andaisin's command rings out. All she can do is float in the air and watch as the priestess drops down to the floor.
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Kandru glares at the priestess from behind her mask as her limbs freeze up, her holy symbol still held aloft.
Her wolves, on the other hand, continue to attack the blinded zombies, trying to break apart the line of undead between the party and the master cleric.
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Still frozen in place, Elric sends a mental plea to their ghostly guardian.
Zellara, if you are watching, I could really use your help. Her grip on my mind is too strong!
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Fueled by holy rage and empowered by her goddess, Audria spins her glaive around and finally connects with Andaisin as she starts to get out of the paladin's reach.
Audria drops next to the priestess and tries to do it again.
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Aided by the invisibility spell, Pava lands two solid hits on the priestess, her blood shockingly red on her pale skin as the cut-down klar slices down a thigh, then between two ribs on the backswing.
Andaisin gasps in pain and outrage, her eyes blazing with a dark fire that promises painful retribution. And that retribution comes, as a sickening backwash of energy that floods through the Shoanti.
Meanwhile, the summoned wolves continue to tear at the undead guards, one of them managing a bite.
As Andaisin contemptuously turns her back to Audria and begins to move away, she has reason to regret that decision, as the paladin's glaive scores a deep, bright gash down her back. More guarded now, she stops Audria's second attack with crossed forearms.
Careful not to expose herself again to attacks, she utters an incantation and her right hand begins to burn with an eerie dark fire. With uncanny precision, she reaches out towards the one who has stolen her scythe, touching one finger to an invisible cheek.
"Now, I shall take back what is mine."
One of the zombies lands a powerful blow on the summoned wolf in front of it, but the other two flail around uselessly.
Elric struggles in vain against the magic command holding him in place.
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Shrike watches, frozen, as Andaisin gathers the shadows around herself and reaches out with a hand wreathed in darkness. She does not know what it means, and cannot see Pava to know what it does, but it cannot be anything good. If she could only force her forward foot to move... One step. Then another.
It is not easy. Not a blaze of rage and refusal like breaking through the hated necromancer's command. Instead it is like pushing against a great weight. We tracked you. Followed your trail. Caught you in your den. Step by careful step. Patient and stubborn. The Hunter guided us, but we took those steps. I will not stop now.
Her foot shakes, but it moves forward, by one staggering step.
Shrike shakes herself free of the rest of the spell with a jerk, and darts back into the fray. Twisting her head, she can see that Kandru and Elric are frozen, but the zombies are also still blinded and reeling. One looks weak enough to be taken down, and she could draw the others away.
Audria steps back and shifts her grip on her glaive, letting her take full advantage of its length. It also allows her to put Andaisin on a line between her and Shrike.
"A spell to slay living?" Alarm fills him as Pava is the target even if he can't see all the details and effects. Please, gods above, let them be okay!
Shane moves , glad for the blinded undead and wolf barrier. He has to angle this next spell just right. He doesn't want to catch an ally.
A word of power tripping off the tongue, a gesture arcane, and just a pinch of ground mica... whether it works or not, this spell will make an entrance.
Audria flies, for 78 rounds left, 77 starting next round
cat's grace creww for 23 rounds remaining.
Shrike also had stone skin for 73 rounds or until depleted dispelled ..sixty out of 80 left?).
Shane goes BLUR (20% miss chance for 78 rounds counting this one)
Protection from Evil for Shane as he needs the +2 AC bonus also 78 rounds (counting this one)
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Pava tries to howl in pain, but no sounds escape their strangled throat. Darkness swallows up the edges of their vision, only driven back by the jagged flares of pain that striking against a goddesses beloved has earned them.
But then... The smell of pasteboard, the scratch of a card's edge scraping a table. A respite.
They strike like a serpent, willing to fall themself if they can bring the architect of so many horrors to the earth with them!
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Shrike musters the will to resist the compulsion and cuts down a second zombie, while Audria repositions herself; and while the paladin does not manage to land another blow on the priestess, clearly the memory of the one time she did hurt her is still painful, and Andaisin struggles to keep her attention on all the possible threats.
The shower of glittery particles further distracts her, which allows Pava to strike her twice more - although they pay the price for it.
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Kandru springs into motion as she shakes free of the spell - rather than directly attack, she blesses Audria again, but her summoned wolves continue to press their assault against the undead minions. The injured one yelps in pain, dissolving into motes of light, but the uninjured one moves around the pool, coming to Pava's aid. The wolf snarls at the wicked cleric, leaping at her throat, but it fails to get past Andaisin's defenses.
"You dare strike me?! Taste my Lady's gift, then! May your agony please her!"
Putting her back to the rock wall of the cavernous chamber, Andaisin casts another spell. A cold, cloying miasma spreads from the hands of the statue, covering almost the entire room.
The blinded zombies, now bereft of any targets in their immediate proximity, mill about uncertainly.
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(round 4 for Shane I think)
As Shane moves to get better line of sight, he idly wonders if maybe the vampire WOULD have been the easier foe! Even without her scythe, she was damn near untouchable, and her spells devastating.
And it was his turn to get caught in the effect of one.
"Unholy Blight," He tells the others, "It's going to sicken some of us and.. hurt, a lot."
He remembers being told about the nature of necromancy by Callibrie. At first she had sought ways to harness it for healing. The half elf and she had been friends, even lovers now and then. But as the years at the school went on, she became less concerned with helping, and more so with the power of it "If you do it right, it's like the necromancy is feasting on your foe ,and sharing the meal with you." she had said once.
"I hope you choke on it," Shane mutters to his assailant.
His ill wish of defiance seems to strengthen his resolve, and he resists the worst of the spell, though the pain is still intense.
He draws the wand of magic missile Weak, but at least it should hurt her and it isn't likely to miss.
The magic wand fires two rather unimpressive looking bolts of magic at Andaisin, but the good news is, they literally can't miss.
cat's grace crew for 22 rounds remaining.
Shrike also had stone skin for 73 rounds or until depleted dispelled
Shane goes BLUR (20% miss chance for 78 rounds counting this one)
Protection from Evil for Shane as he needs the +2 AC bonus also 78 rounds (counting this one)
While not blinded, Andaisin IS sparkly all over thanks to Glitter dust, for seven more rounds
Elric continues to struggle against the magic command, but still in vain. He takes solace in seeing his allies land blow after blow, even if it comes at the cost of pain and injury.
The projectiles of magical force streaking from Shane's wand do hit Andaisin, and the priestess whirls to glare at the tiefling, but she is still standing.
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Audria and her guide start coughing as the miasma swirls around them. Despite their best efforts, neither is looking good. Tally sings a trilling note, giving Audria a spark of divine guidance to help her before taking off and flying over to Shane's shoulder. Audria leaps up in the air and flies over Pava's and Andaisin's heads to pin the priestess between herself and the Shoanti rake, choking up on her glaive as she does so. Knowing how had it is to hit the priestess, Audria changes her tack, going for finesse instead of raw power.
Shrike grunts as the pain and nausea of dark energy wash over her. She's too hard to hit. Got to even the odds. "I've been tickled harder. Girl, with me." She slides in the same direction as the priestess went, keeping her at the same distance as before, and lashes out with the twisting blades of the branch-spear for Andaisin's ankles, once, then twice.
AC: 22 (17 touch, 16 FF)
Saves: All -2 for sickened: Fort +3, Ref +9, Will +7 (+9 v. enchantment, +8 v. compulsions)
Buffs and conditions: Sickened 4r, Cat's grace (22 rounds remaining), bless (72 rounds remaining), stoneskin (72 rounds and 60/80 points of damage remaining), daredevil boots (4/10 uses per day remaining), immunity to blood veil (plaguebringer's mask)
Andaisin's scythe clatters to the ground before Pava realizes that their nerveless fingers have released it. As they collapse, just before their cheek slaps against the floor and consciousness flees they have one last flight of fancy. Go on and pick it up; give Murder Bird just one chance...
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"Pava!" Shane call out as his friend, his often confusing cocky sometimes abrasive but fearlessly loyal friend drops with an audible thump and clank. They'll be all right. Pava is tough. but while he was afraid, now a growing fury is in him towards Andaisin. He doesn't have enough friends where he can let them be killed in front of him. I am going to send Andaisin to her goddess, but if I can arrange it, the journey is going to be a painful one.
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A look of supreme satisfaction spreads on Andaisin's face as her scythe is released. She easily avoids both Audria and Shrike's attacks and begins to reach for her weapon.
Braving the still-glittering area to reach her comrades in distress, Kandru steps around the undead guards to channel the healing power of Abadar.
The pallid priestess extends a black-slippered foot to step on one end of the scythe, flipping it upright and catching it deftly with one hand.
Gripping her weapon now in both hands, Andaisin swings it at Audria. The wickedly sharp blade cuts through the paladin's armour, and a flash of resonant energy erupts from the place of impact, spreading up the blade and the shaft and striking Andaisin as well. The priestess licks bloody lips, smiling darkly.
"And now, I shall reap you all for the glory of my Lady!"
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Shrike has been watching for an opportunity, and when Andaisin bends contemptuously to pick up her dropped weapon, she lashes out with the twisting blades of her spear for the priestess's long emerald skirts.
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Pava blinks awake just in time to see the Urgathoan reaching down for her scythe.
With an invisible sneer and all the force they can muster, Pava jams the blade of their klar up into Andaisin's armpit when she least expects it.
Didn't say you could have that back, did I?
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Audria lands a hit, but takes one in return. Her following attacks are clumsy as she tries to stem the tide of her blood flowing from the vicious wound.
(Round 5)
Shane backs up and tries the magic missiles one more time.
If I can whittle her just a bit more, the others can get a killing blow !
Audria flies, for 76 rounds left, 75 starting next round
cat's grace crew for 21 rounds remaining.
Shrike also had stone skin for 72 rounds or until depleted dispelled
Shane goes BLUR (20% miss chance for 77 rounds counting this one)
Protection from Evil for Shane as he needs the +2 AC bonus also 77 rounds (counting this one)
While not blinded, Andaisin IS sparkly all over thanks to Glitter dust, for six more rounds
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Her hubris is Andaisin's undoing; she has discarded the mortally wounded Shoanti as no longer a threat, and they almost stab her through the heart. Audria, too, adds a deep gash to the pale, lovely shoulder - although getting close enough to the priestess to strike her is not without consequences.
She should have fallen by now, surely. Yet, some dark force seems to sustain her as she smiles a bloody smile and raises her face to the statue in the center of the room, eyes closed as if in ecstasy.
Shrike snarls, guttural. "Your mistake." The nausea is not going away. But the beauty of dance is a pretty lie for the audience pasted over the steely endurance of suffering. She has danced with sprains, with cramps, with the flu, with bloody feet and missing nails and once with a concussion. This is nothing. She touches her heels together and then spins forward in an unexpected aerial, lashing out with her mailed fist almost as an afterthought along the way. She lands and darts around where she thinks Pava is, and the Thorn describes a graceful arc between herself and the girl's shining black glaive haloed in a faint rainbow.
AC: 22 (17 touch, 16 FF)
Saves: All -2 for sickened: Fort +3, Ref +9, Will +7 (+9 v. enchantment, +8 v. compulsions)
Buffs and conditions: Sickened 2r, Cat's grace (20 rounds remaining), bless (70 rounds remaining), stoneskin (70 rounds and 60/80 points of damage remaining), daredevil boots (3/10 uses per day remaining), immunity to blood veil (plaguebringer's mask)
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As Pava falls again, Kandru scowls at the Urgathoan priest, muttering an Infernal imprecation. Holding the golden key of Abadar aloft, she strides into the fray - moving to Pava's side, she casts a spell to heal the worst of the injured Shoanti's wounds, praying she is able to help the rogue.
Bless - 75 rounds remaining
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Shrike's fist misses the priestess, however one of Thorn's blades impales Andaisin through the heart and she slides to the ground in a heap of velvet tinged with blood.
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Whether it's the sight of Andaisin's body dropping to the floor or the pure frustration of being immobilized while his friends bleed, Elric finally manages to snap out of the magical command holding him still.
In a blur of motion, he rains arrows coated in holy balm down on the remaining zombies.
HP: 80/80 + 16 temp
AC: 20 (13 touch, 17 flat)
Saves: Fort: +11, Ref: +11, Will: +6
Buffs: Cats grace (20 rounds remaining), bless (7 min remaining), immune to disease (Physician's Mask), 6 arrows with holy weapon balm
Elric destroys one of the remaining undead guards and severely injures the other.
Elric destroys one of the remaining undead guards and severely injures the other.
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This doesn't feel over. Hunter, guard us from Urgathoa's wrath for striking down her chosen and ending this abomination that sickens the village. Shrike wrenches her spear free from the priestess's dark heart and keeps a wary eye on both her corpse and the last of the strangely fast zombies as she speaks in the general direction of where she thinks Pava is.
"It was your kill. No crowing?" She is worried about Pava, but not unduly so. The sharp spray of Andaisin's bright red blood from an invisible blade when she bent to pick up her scythe had indicated that Pava had still been alive and kicking then. But they have heard no words from the acerbic Shoanti for an uncharacteristically long time. And every time Audria had struck her with the glaive, the dark nimbus of energy surrounding the priestess had flared, and the girl's face had grown grayer and more drawn. Likely that had been happening to Pava too, just invisibly, and the lack of blood on the floor is no guarantee of anything.
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Shane wants the last zombie dead so turns the wand on it.
Another two bolts lash out, this time at a zombie.
"Evocation, the angry wizard's crutch, but useful." He sighs.
"Shrike, do you know where Pava fell," Audria asks, obviously worried.
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"Over here," they croak. A cork clatters to the ground next to Kandru and they take an almost impossibly long swig from a vial.
They sigh wearily and haul themselves to their feat, appearing in the midst of refastening some of the straps of their klar. "A good job that Lady Despair taught her, else she might not have surpassed us in biting off more than she could chew."
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Shrike's posture relaxes fractionally at the sound of Pava's voice, hoarse though it may be. She jerks her head at the gilded statue of the half-skeletal goddess. "Wouldn't be a corpse-fly if she knew when to quit. She was always going to fight to the death. You didn't have to." From anyone else this would sound like a criticism. From Shrike, it doesn't.
The falsely short beak tilts toward Audria and the visible slash she had taken, as well as the less visible wounds to body and spirit. There is no blood on Shrike's dark clothes, and the mask hides her expression. A stranger would see only readiness to spring. But to those who know her, there is pain in her slightly bunched shoulders too. "We need the wand. Or more of the Judge's blessings." A nod to Kandru.
"But I don't trust her to stay dead." Shrike shifts to the side and closer so she can maintain a clear line of attack at the noise of Pava standing up, adjusting her grip on the spear. She stands prepared to strike downward with full force at the slightest motion or evidence of unlife from Andaisin's corpse. What odds that the shiniest, favoritest fly of the rot-goddess doesn't still have some scummer left to smear?
Audria sighs in relief as she hears Pava's voice. With everyone accounted for, she turns her attention to the corpse at her feet. Her stomach turns at what she decides to do next, but better a stain on her conscious than for the others to wind up stains on the floor, she supposes with surprisingly morbid humor. While Shirke stands ready to strike if Andaisin decides not to stay dead, Audria takes a more proactive approach.
Lady Shelyn, please forgive me for what I am about to do, but I don't think we can risk her coming back, she prays silently as she holds her glaive to her bowed head for a moment, then she begins the grim and grizzly task of dismembering the dead Urgathoan, starting with taking her head.