|
Khaul';s shield starts to buckle, but even as it does so the rune of a mighty hammer flares on it for a moment, streghtening its already impressive stucture.
Deciding that the two Fetchlings, while irritating did not present as yet an unreasonable threat, Khaul remains between them. Keeping his shield up he lashes out, trying to finish the green one.
* raise shield
* strike
* stirke
Ezran runs into the room but stops short when he sees the many foes before him. He strains to see the shadowy monster and his first thought is to try and recognize the beast. Seeing Khaul and Liam engaged in a heated battle, he opts to instead aid their immediate cause. The wizard lets loose another arc of electric fury!
Quickblade's quick shot fells his target, leaving Kahuls able to focus on the other fetchling. This one seems a bit sturdier, though the dwarf's first swing still leaves a mark.
Ezran manages to arc lightning out against both remaingin foes even with the larger being wreathed in shadows. The sparks badly shock the fetchling, but the shadowy thing seems to dodge out of the blast's center. And even the glancing blow that does arc through it doesn't leave a mark!
Initiative
Erryn
Liam
Even blessed Liam's strike fails to land on the fetchling.
In fact she in trun disengages from the dwarf and moves around to lash out at Liam, taking advantage of the large being's distraction . The inventor manages to turn away both blows due to his raised shield!
for plus
for plus
Meanwhile the large thing continues its assault agaisnt Khaul. It's first blow lands hard on the dwarf (though the shield blocks most of it) but a mote of shadow seems to cling to Khaul even as the staff pulls back.
for
for
for
Initiative
Khaul 3 damage (shield 3 damage), need Fort
Erryn
Liam
Quickblade
Ezran
Ezran watches his arc of lightning not even singe the shadowy beast and begins to focus...
"What are you, you miserable aberration?"
Arcana +11
Occultism +9
Religion +6
Quickblade loads a special bolt into his bow and fires. The ammunition narrowly manages to cut to the heart of the thing , and while it doesn't seem to actually have done much harm to it the illuminating bolt stuck in the thing helps guide the rest of your attacks.
Ezran is not quite sure exactly what the thing truly is, though from the strong but simple way its moving the mage suspects its some sort of strange construct. .
Liam quickly strikes another blow against the fetchling, who falls. With only the large obstacle remaining, Khaul is free to step closer to the being and lash out at it instead. The dwarf may not know exactly what it is, but with the light from Quickblade's shot serving as a...well a beacon, his hammer bashes against it. Bits of shadow seem to flake off the creature and dissipate as they hit the ground even as Khaul experiences more reverb than expected.
Initiative
Erryn
Ezran (two actions)
Ezran shakes his head in frustration. "Blast, perhaps if I had more time to study. No time for that now."
The mage points at the shadow and unleashes a ray of icy frost toward the beast.
Erryan sustains the Ward on Khaul, then casts another spell. A ghostly rapier emerges and shoots through the air to stab.
for
The spectral Araznian rapier fails to pierce into the shadowy construct.
Seemingly undeterred from the glowing bolt still embedded into it, the thing keeps lashing out single-mindedly at Khaul.
for
for
for
But all three swings glance off his armor.
Initiative
Khaul 3 damage (shield 3 damage), protected ward'ed
Erryn
Liam
Quickblade
Ezran
Quickblade fires off another shot. This one hits a lot harder. While the crossbow bolt still seems to suffer some resistance on the impact, all of you see within the darkness slightly lighter ‘dark’ cracks form against the inky black of the figure’s form. These cracks spread quickly, and a cascade of misty shadows slumps off of the figure onto the floor, where they quickly dissipate into nothingness.
The creature remains standing, but seems thinner and less bulky now. And Liam and Khaul take this as an opening to strike! Slam! Slam! Slam! a trio of blows smack hard against the guardian. It’s figure careens to and fro between the hammer/mace bros, before shattering into pieces.
With the fetchling and construct guardians dealt with, you race forwards towards the group of intruders beyond. The man in fine garb seems surprised and concerned as you approach, but just as you near there is a bright *FLASH* of darkness – and when it ends the figures are gone. But while the humanoids have vanished, several documents still seem strewn across the floor, left behind in their pressured haste to escape.
A few minutes later you hear the loud tromping of booted footsteps approaching. Luckily, when their wearers come into view its only more Pathfinders, with Toldrar in the lead. The hobgoblin looks at you with a tight but faintly satisfied expression.
Agents. Good to see you. The rest of the Grand Lodge seems secure. Are you all right? What do you have to report?
|
"They were doing some kind of ritual in here. Summoned--or created?--some kind of big... shadow.. combatant? We didn't actually manage to stop them from doing it, but we did destroy it and get past it."
He's distracted trying to quickly assess the documents.
"No, wait, the ritual magic was for fleeing. I guess the shadow thing was already here?"
|
|
After the escape, Khaul checks the floored fetchlings to see if any might be saved before slipping off to death.
---
"Armmm sorry ta report that th' miscreants did get away from us." says Khaul.
"But we did find us these here documents. Blast if I know how they did it. One moment here, the next... gone.. in a flash of darkness."
He shrugs.
"The good news be no dead pathfinders. And a lot of injured invaders.."
He looks around the room gesturing toward the injured fetchlings.
"And that thing..." he says pointing to the shadow-construct's remains.
Ezran sighs exasperated. "Indeed Erryn. Sorry to report that we did not apprehend what appeared to be the leaders of this incursion. That creature was enough of a force to cover for their escape. We did manage to thwart their other endeavors here so that is something I suppose. Any clue as to what these shadow dwellers were after?"
We're not quite sure. the hobgoblin admits. The intrusion is repulsed, but an investigation into exactly what and how they slipped past us could take some time.
---
Ah, thank you for coming right back to the Grand Lodge after your rest and debriefings! Toldrar says I know oyu seem a bit frustrated the other day, but your work help save the Lodge and possibly saved agents' lives. As such, I wanted to report our intial findings to you personally.
It seems that your analysis was correct Liam. The attackers seemed to have use some sort of 'shadow walk-esque' magicks to slip past our wards. The Lodge is protected against teleportation effects of many kinds, but it seems that specific type of spell wasm't accounted for. A hole in our security that is being corrected as I speak.
Luckily, you and other security teams were able to apprehended number of intruders. In interrogating them, we have confirmed that the intruders were part of the Onyx Alliance. Toldrar shakes his head. I must unfortunatley say we don't yet know the full why of the intrusion though. At least not yet. Most of the captured or surrendered fetchlings seem to be under the effects of some sort of enchantment that is preventing them from revealing too many details about what their mission was. What we do know is who directed the attack: an individual named Marcien Blakros.
The hobgoblin's expression sours further. More ominously, we found something else as well. Thanks to your efforts actually. While this Marcien did indeed escape, your immediate presence looks to have caused him to leave several documents behind in order to avoid capture. We've looked through those papers, and they're all related to Pathfinder Lodges across the Inner Sea: histories, layouts, records of their finds and artifacts. Over the past few months I've heard of multiple strange troubles occurring at some of our lodges: thanks to your efforts it looks like Marcien may have been denied the chance to get critical information that could have exposed even more of our teams and facilities!
Toldrar sighs.
For now, enjoy a few days off. Celebrate your victory. I have to finish the last of the paperwork on this attack, but then I can take you all out for a celebratory meal and drinks. Wounded Wisp. Or Pig's Paunch: your choice.
Oh! he starts, recalling something. And don't worry about your trip to Osirion. We'll work something else out.