Narrowing her eyes at the fleeing giant, Farrina lowers the crimson scarf that covers the lower portion of her face.
"Now you've piqued my curiosity and that's always a dangerous thing," she says with a smile before beginning a spell.
With the boost of speed provided by his comrade, Tim streaks across the battlefield. He drops into a fighting stance when he nears the marked giant and takes a swing.
for
Cassiel manages to shake off the magical pull of Cerulean's cape, but not without a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Cerulean, you certainly know how to make an entrance." he comments as he strides forward, raising his shield, positioning himself between the giants who resisted the effect and his companion.
"The Dawnflower guides our path, and her light will protect us!" he declares loudly, amplifying his voice over the desert winds. "Lay down your arms or face the righteous judgment of Sarenrae."
Trigger: An enemy damages your ally, and both are in your champion’s aura; Effect Imperious divine light flashes out from you to surround your foe. The ally gains resistance to all damage against the triggering damage equal to 2 + your level. For 1 round, the attacker is affected by revealing light.
Brilliant Flash: Your light cleanses souls of fear. When you use Flash of Grandeur, the attacker is also off-guard for 1 round.
Revealing Light
Range 120 feet; Area 10-foot burst
Defense Reflex; Duration varies
A wave of magical light washes over the area. You choose the appearance of the light, such as colorful, heatless flames or sparkling motes. A creature affected by revealing light is dazzled. If the creature was invisible, it becomes concealed instead. If the creature was already concealed for any other reason, it is no longer concealed.
Critical Success The target is unaffected.
Success The light affects the creature for 2 rounds.
Failure The light affects the creature for 1 minute.
Critical Failure The light affects the creature for 10 minutes.
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Cerulean puffs their chest upset at the instant interruption of the distraction, "Esirelle seems to still misunderstand the point of a distraction. Cassiel, looks like our schedule has moved up let's dispatch of these ruffian Giants at once."
Grabbing the knights hand he feels a bolstering magic course through him before Cerulean dashes off to the aid of the kholo. Pulling free a crystalline vial filled with an electric blue liquid along their path from somewhere within the folds of their outfit.
"Come now darlings, away from your captors, there's blood to be shed and I'd rather it not accidentally be yours!"
Kharya jets off after the fleeing giant, flames firing from her feet as she corkscrews closer, catching the fleeing giant in an iron grip!
HP 127/116
AC 27
Fort +18, Ref +17, Will (mysterious resolve) +20
Halfling Luck: Skill/saving throw []; attack/Perception []
Hero points: 1
Focus Points: 1/2
Spells: 1st [][][][]; 2nd [][][][]; 3rd [][][][]; 4th [][][][]; 5th [x][][][]; 6th [][][] GP []
Effects: Cursebound xx (- xx speed)
Esirelle yelps, and ducks away from the giant. "Not me! You have bigger problems to deal with!"
Farrina’s illusion wracks the mind of the fleeing giant. Kharya rockets over to grab a hold of her! As Cerulean Skies and Cassiel move in, Timdok staggers into battle, scoring a critical hit! Esirelle falls back and tries to dominate another giant, momentarily stunning him as he fights off the compulsion.
The grabbed giant struggles in vain to escape Kharya’s grip. She spins around and around, stirring up loose sand to conceal herself and the inventor.
The other giants attack Timdok, the one who had been stunned moving around to flank the halfling.
With a harumph of annoyance that she can't see the fleeing giant, Farrina turns her attention to the remaining two. With a hasty gesture she vanishes from where she's standing and reappears on the other side of the antagonistic pair.
Now within distance to hopefully have some real effects upon the show being put on, she sends a magical wave of energy over the two giants.
Kharya cracks her helm into the giant's solar plexus, scrabbling in the gritty sand to maintain her hold over the towering slaver.
When the first giant's third attack whistles over Timdok's head, the halfling takes the opportunity to jab at its exposed stomach.
for
Tim feints at the giant, then jabs at it again.
for
He follows up by spinning around and smacking the other giant, who is still off-balance because of his stumbling stance.
for
With Cerulean nearby, Cassiel dashes forward to close the distance to the closest enemy and raises his shield, daring one of the giants to strike him.
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Cerulean moves alongside Cassiel, "Oh Timdok, could you use a hand deary?"
Letting out a short guffah Cer places one hand on Cassiel's backplate to let him know their still there. Before lobbing the brilliant mixture through the air...
The vial glistens in the desert sun, and strikes perhaps the giant perhaps the sands, but regardless a deafening crack of lightning fills the air as nearby sand and flesh is scorched to glass and scar tissue.
HP 127/116
AC 27
Fort +18, Ref +17, Will (mysterious resolve) +20
Halfling Luck: Skill/saving throw []; attack/Perception []
Hero points: 1
Focus Points: 0/2
Spells: 1st [][][][]; 2nd [][][][]; 3rd [][][][]; 4th [][][][]; 5th [x][][][]; 6th [x][][] GP []
Effects: Cursebound 1 (-5 speed)
Esirelle gazes at the giant flanking Timdok, and whispers, and suddenly gets insight into it, as if the words were flowing off a script directly into her brain. "Time for you to be cut!" she declares, casting a spell to further weaken it.
Kharya maintains her grip on the giant as she bashes her. Farrina afflicts two of the giants with despair. Timdok misses with his riposte but follows up with another critical hit to one giant and a bold blow on another! Cerulean Skies blasts the most injure giant with lightning, zapping his companion as well. Esirelle greatly weakens the flanking giant but does not demoralize him. She learns they have no specific weakness but are weak-willed.
The despairing giants sob uncontrollably! They still muster themselves enough to attack Timdok, as does the enfeebled giant flanking him.
Meanwhile, the badly wounded giant in Kharya’s grasp breaks down. ”I surrender! Please, don’t kill me!” she wails.
Choosing the least injured of the non-surrendering giants, Farrina squares her shoulders and smiles as a lion about to devour her prey. She considers her options for a moment before sending a vision of the giant's death into its weak mind.
for
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Seeing Timdok in dire straits even with the aid of Cassiel's magic they give the Champion a further tap on the shoulder, "Handle the brutes I've got our fancy."
Dashing the little distance between themselves and Timdok, Cerulean pulls out a pair of Crystal phials filled with an inert clear liquid, uncorking both, drops in a tablet of some sort which immediately saturates the liquid inside with a red dye, recorked they begin shaking the phials vigorously
By the time they reach Timdok they uncork the shaken pair again and slide one towards his lips. "Drink up you'll feel much better" They hold the other ready to hand over
The battered halfing says, "I know better than to refuse a drink from you," and winks sardonically before downing the elixir.
He takes one more punch at the giant he has marked.
for
As the giant's blow connects with Timdok, Cassiel's divine power erupts in a brilliant flash of light, shielding Timdok from some of the force of the attack ) and inflicting a relentless spiritual pain on the giant. . The battlefield is bathed in a radiant glow that dazzles and exposes the giants, rendering them vulnerable
Cassiel raises his scimitar and brings the shimmering blade down towards the giant as he says "Feel the brilliance of Sarenrae's light, purging the darkness from your soul!"
Divine Grace
You call upon your deity’s grace, gaining a +2 circumstance bonus to the save.
Flash of Grandeur
An enemy damages your ally, and both are in your champion’s aura; Effect Imperious divine light flashes out from you to surround your foe. The ally gains resistance to all damage against the triggering damage equal to 2 + your level. For 1 round, the attacker is affected by revealing light.
(1) Exalted Reaction: In addition to the enemy affected by Flash of Grandeur, each other enemy in your champion’s aura (30') is affected by the revealing light spell for 1 round.
(2) Relentless Reaction: The enemy also takes persistent spirit damage equal to your Charisma modifier (4), and it can’t recover from this persistent damage while affected by the revealing light from your Flash of Grandeur.
(3) Brilliant Flash: Your light cleanses souls of fear. When you use Flash of Grandeur, the attacker is also off-guard for 1 round.
(4) Revealing Light
Range 120 feet; Area 10-foot burst
Defense Reflex; Duration varies
A wave of magical light washes over the area. You choose the appearance of the light, such as colorful, heatless flames or sparkling motes. A creature affected by revealing light is dazzled. If the creature was invisible, it becomes concealed instead. If the creature was already concealed for any other reason, it is no longer concealed.
Critical Success The target is unaffected.
Success The light affects the creature for 2 rounds.
Failure The light affects the creature for 1 minute.
Critical Failure The light affects the creature for 10 minutes.
Reactive Shield
You can snap your shield into place just as you would take a blow, avoiding the hit at the last second. You immediately use the Raise a Shield action and gain your shield’s bonus to AC. The circumstance bonus from the shield applies to your AC when you’re determining the outcome of the triggering attack.
Shield Block
You snap your shield in place to ward off a blow. Your shield prevents you from taking an amount of damage up to the shield’s Hardness. You and the shield each take any remaining damage, possibly breaking or destroying the shield.
HP 127/116
AC 27
Fort +18, Ref +17, Will (mysterious resolve) +20
Halfling Luck: Skill/saving throw []; attack/Perception []
Hero points: 1
Focus Points: 0/2
Spells: 1st [x][][][]; 2nd [][][][]; 3rd [][][][]; 4th [][][][]; 5th [x][][][]; 6th [x][][] GP []
Effects: Cursebound 1 (-5 speed)
"Run!" Esirelle orders the nearest giant, putting all the power of her small form into the words. She points away from everyone in the direction she hopes he'll move.
"Niush?"
"Niush, I think she's giving up?"
Niush, you know Cassiel won't like this."
Finally the relentless jackhammer of blows to the giant's head pauses, and Kharya shifts to a strike precisely calculated to leave the giant breathing, still complaining that "Slavers don't deserve his mercy either."
Kharya repeatedly bashes the giant she is holding, pulling her punch at the last moment to knock the giant out instead of killing her.
Meanwhile, Cassiel wards Timdok with brilliant light, throwing his attacker off-guard. As the halfling ripostes and thrusts again, the champion moves in and finishes the giant off with his scimitar!
Cerulean Skies heals Timdok further, then the other two giants succumb to Farrina's and Esirelle's magic. Already on edge and in the throes of despair, the two don't need much encouragement to flee the fight. They rop their blades and run away at top speed, screaming and crying!
The twelve kholos had been cringing and avoiding eye contact as you fought the giants. Now that they are gone, however, they growl in frustration. "Great, why'd you have to go and ruin everything?" one asks indignantly.
"Now we have to go get captured all over again!" another one snarls.
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Cerulean let's out a yip of excitement as the Goants are driven off. Turning to the Kholo and get's ready to tell them it's alright that is, until they start to complain which throws them for a spin.
"Oh.. wait you meant to get captured? I... we thought. Oh dear... we messed up a rescue plan didn't we?"
Fretting for a moment they perk up a tiny bit, "Um.. well I could tend to your wounds if you have any."
"Wait, what? You have to be kidding me! What in the world are you doing?"
Cassiel steps forward, attempting to calm the frustrated kholos with a reassuring smile. "We meant no harm. We sought only to free you from the giants' tyranny."he says, his voice steady but not quite hitting the mark.
"My own people refused to fight when they were held in bondage. Are yours so cowardly too?"
As her compatriots struggle with assuaging the kholo's frustrations, Farrina struggles to restrain an overwhelming desire to bury her face in her hands in embarrassment. The show must go on, though, and she mentally girds her loins and does what she does best.
"Pay no attention to my companions, good folk. While we may have disrupted your attempt at infiltration, have no fear; We are masters at what we do," she declares conveying nothing but overwhelming confidence. "It matters not what challenges you face, The Heralds of Heroism are here to assist you."
She raises her hands skyward and sparks fly from her fingertips. A heartbeat later and she bows low before her impromptu audience.
The Heralds of Heroism?
"Yeah, well, I'll think of something better once we deal with these people."
"Oof, terribly sorry, chaps. You obviously have some scheme going on here," Timdok rubs his aching head, hiding his annoyance with the "rescued" kholos. "As my flash friend says, we are merely do-gooders who got carried away by the display of evident injustice. Please, straighten us out. What's going on here?"
Cassiel raises an eyebrow at Farrina's declaration, confusion evident. He whispers "Heralds of Heroism? Since when did we start calling ourselves that? It's a bit presumptuous, isn't it?"
Most of your efforts to impress the kholos fall flat, but Farrina's performance starts to put them at ease.
"Heralds of Heroism, is it?" the lead kholo asks. "We are the Cactus Eaters. Those giants captured several of our number and brought them to their master, the one they call the Slumbering King. We volunteered to be captured, hoping to trick the giants into bringing us to their lair in the Choke so we could then escape and seek our missing kin. We understood their might far outweighs our own, but we'd hoped the daringness of our plan and their own arrogance would even the odds. But now, we're back to square one with nothing to show for it!"
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Cerulean looks almost relived at that information, "Oh, you don't say. Well we're on our way to destroy their Slumbering King... again, so if you come with us then you could simply get them while we deal with the guards as we did here."
They look to the others in the troupe, "As they have multiple times... sometimes with a little help from the inside.. I We know how the slumbering king operates and I doubt the old bag of bones has changed up tactics in the scant moments since last we tangled."
"Yes, if you give us the local information about the king, I have no doubt that we'll destroy him straight away," Timdok assures the kholos.
Well, I have some doubts.
Cassiel listens intently to the conversation, his brows furrowing deeper with each passing moment. He glances between Cerulean and Timdok, confusion evident in his eyes. Their words don’t match what he knows to be true; they've never heard of this Slumbering King before, let alone have any plans involving him. He clears his throat, his instinct to speak the truth fighting against the need to maintain their advantage.
"Wait a moment." Cassiel begins, his voice firm and direct. He starts to step forward and clear up the confusion. "We never-"
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"No, we've never dealt with the Slumbering King with aid before," Farrina interrupts the champion, stepping to his side and throwing an arm around his shoulders. "But there's a first time for everything." She turns to Cassiel and places a finger with an elaborately painted nail on his lips.
"Now don't be selfish. They're welcome to join and risk their lives for the invaluable glory that awaits. While it's true that many of them may die, that's the risk that all heroes face."
She turns to the kholos.
"Isn't that right?"
"Don't argue, Darling. Just play along," she mutters quietly to Cassiel.
Cassiel is momentarily stunned as Farrina's arm wraps around his shoulders, her finger pressing against his lips to silence him. He wants to speak up, to clarify their intentions, but the wizard's words and the urgency in her tone give him pause.
The champion gives a small, reluctant nod to Farrina, allowing her to take the lead. He sighs quietly, his shoulders relaxing just a bit as he decides to trust in his companions judgment for now. "Very well." he murmurs. It seems Farrina and the others have a plan to help these creatures that he isn't fully aware of yet.
He looks to the kholos and picking up on Farrina’s lead says "Yes, all heroes face risks, but we face them together, and we protect each other. That's what makes us strong."
"Akhenaten has gone by many names in more years, but even if he slumbers, his dreams are still deadly enough. I understand that you wish to rescue your people, to take a part of your own destiny as a unit, but can you trust us to provide the same opportunity?"
Esirelle bites down on a sigh. She'd forgotten how frustrating it can be wrangling everyone. Farrina and Cassiel especially. At least they liked each other. It was far more difficult to deal with people who didn't when they clash. This time, Farrina had clearly made the play for how this would go, and she just needed to get everyone to their spots.
"Yes, what do you know of your kin's capture, and what other forces the Slumbering King has gathered this time?"
Cassiel's eyes widen as Kharya speaks.
Dreams.
Slumbering King.
"Oh. OH!" he exclaims, her words striking him like a bolt of lightning, the inclination hitting him for the first time.
"The Slumbering King... could it truly be Akhenaten?" he whispers. The realization sends a chill down his spine.
The idea that Akhenaten could be using another guise, another title, to pursue their dark schemes was alarming to Cassiel. He slams a fist into his shield and turns to the kholos with determination. "If this Slumbering King is indeed who we believe him to be, your people are in greater danger than you realize. We must work together to stop him, to ensure he doesn't bring more suffering."
As Cassiel gets fired up, Farrina throws a not-so-subtle glare in
Kharya's direction.
"Yes ... yes, of course. We must work together," she pontificates towards the freed slaves. Turning her back on them, she drops her face into her hands.
"Oh, f$*@ me."
Kharya lets out a hissing grunt as though her armor is venting something. "Did you think a different tyrant was in the same cave as Akhenaten? Either the Slumbering King is the Forgotten Pharaoh by a very small stretch of translation, or the Slumbering King is the trap meant to slay us. Either way, he is a link to our foe."
With some more conversation, you are able to impress the Cactus Eaters. The previously nervous kholos begin to warm up to you. "If you have faced the Slumbering King before, then you must know his weaknesses! Please, you must go into the Choke and find our missing kin. Then, defeat this King! We're not sure who or what he may be, but he has rallied the desert giants to his cause. They have been bringing many kholos to him as offerings in the past few months. They never bothered us before. But now they have taken nearly two dozen of our kind from various settlements."
"Rescues are our specialty! Timdok lies. "Do you have any information about his lair that might help us?"
"They're probably trying to force your kin to work, since it's hard to find good help," Esirelle says. "Whatever their reason, if they're still alive, we'll find a way to get them back for you."
You fully win the Cactus Eaters over! The kholos reveal that one of their peoples’ treasure caches lies nearby; they’ll lead you to it and offer the treasure contents as advance payment for defeating the Slumbering King.
It takes only 1 hour to reach the cache from you current location. The kholos eagerly lead you there before departing back for their homes to the north.
"Hmmp." Kharya's voice echoes back on itself within her helm, emerging with a slight buzz. "This won't be wasted, at least. Even if our dreams are just toying with us." Her voice is sour enough to hide any satisfaction she might actually feel.
"Barely hours into this expedition, and we're already on a rescue mission," Timdok runs a hand over his sweaty face. "Unbelievable."
Cassiel chuckles softly at Timdok's grumbling. "Rescue missions are part of our calling, Timdok." he says with a gentle smile. "It's what we do best—offering hope where there is none, bringing light into the darkest of places." He looks at the others, his expression serious. "If Akhenaten or whoever this Slumbering King truly is has captured these kholos, then we have a responsibility to help them. We can't leave anyone to suffer under tyranny or darkness, no matter the danger."
He takes a moment glance over the treasures offered by the Cactus Eaters. "These gifts will help us on our journey, but I'm sure you all agree that the real treasure is the chance to protect those in need and stand against evil once more."
He slaps Timdok on the back with a reassuring nod.
"I hear my bed back in Sothis Calling--and a pair of britches that don't have sand in them." Timdok says, but there's no bitterness in it, now. "Let's find those kholos before a terrible villain turns them inside out, or drains all their fluids, or something equally appalling."
He gives Cassiel's arm a light punch, then rubs his knuckles, smarting from the impact with the champion's armor.
Farrina looks around the others as they discuss the upcoming rescue, her face holds an expression of disbelief.
"Wait ... wait, wait, wait," she finally declares, her face scrunched up and a hand held up palm outward as if to stop a horrible doom.
"Are you people actually intending to ... to rescue these flea-ridden savages?" she questions incredulously. "I thought we were just ..." Her eyes open and she gestures at Timdok beseechingly. "Timmy, Darling, you're not serious, are you? We were just laying it on for the rubes, right?"
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Cerulean binds Tim's wounds as they are all speaking with the kholo, silently enjoying the talk of culture and the heroics that are about to be had.
They apply slightly-pink gauze to the wound which smells strange(antiseptic) and burns slightly before binding the affair in place with sticky bandages.
Farrina looks around the others as they discuss the upcoming rescue, her face holds an expression of disbelief.
"Wait ... wait, wait, wait," she finally declares, her face scrunched up and a hand held up palm outward as if to stop a horrible doom.
"Are you people actually intending to ... to rescue these flea-ridden savages?" she questions incredulously. "I thought we were just ..." Her eyes open and she gestures at Timdok beseechingly. "Timmy, Darling, you're not serious, are you? We were just laying it on for the rubes, right?"
While Cerulean is pulling Timdok's bandages to remove the now blood-red gauze from the clotted and unnaturally quickly healing wounds with a satisfied look. Farrina's abjections catch a particularly sore note in their own heart and the gentle removal of one particular pack of gauze becomes a veritable ripping as Timdok's soft flesh comes away with it partially.
Cerulean looks like they actively deflate when Farfina calls the Kholo, flea-ridden savages. And all of the spark in their eyes drains away for several moments.
The usual rhytmic humming of some practical tune stops along with the sudden shift in attitude, Cerulean falling deathly silent and still aside from their hands. Which begin to tremble inches away from the Ex-assassin's aggrivated blemishes.