Each of the six nuckelavees has 1000 gp worth of various jewelry made from coral, gold, and small gems on it.
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Well when I sat down and did the math, further damage was not needed. :D
The remaining foes fall to your attacks, leaving the Golden City clear of enemies. Looking south, you can see the maftets taking to the air again, returning to circling aerial patrols in case any of the fell fey slipped through their lines.
This week was kind of crazy for me, I'm just getting caught back up on all my games now.
The water elemental does better at evading the frost than the nuckelavee. Fin downs one of the nuckelavees with his arrows and wounds a second. Maka's fire blast evaporates a chunk of the elemental, as does Kalchine's blade of flame. Quasit finishes off the wounded nuckelavee, and Bulvi carves a couple pieces from one of the remaining two. The survivors counterattack. The water elemental continues slamming pseudopods down on the roof where Fin is firing from.
It wings Fin with one smack. The nuckelavees target the people in melee with them.
But they completely fail to penetrate Quasit's or Bulvi's defenses.
Two of Bulvi's attacks hit, carving deep wounds in his target. The nuckalavees retaliate with their breaths, putrid waves of foulness flowing over most of the group.
The elemental, meanwhile, flows over the low wall around the cistern and across the clifftop. It's tall enough to reach Fin where he's standing atop the roof of the building.
The creatures don't seem much bothered by the vortex. The flame strike, on the other hand...
Between the flame strike and Maka's fire blasts, one of the water elementals evaporates. The nuckalavees near it get a little singed by the holy power of the flames in spite of their immunity to fire. Fin's arrows badly wound another. Amazingly, Quasit's feint actually works on her target, perhaps because it was busy getting hit with arrows, so she's able to finish it off.
It's been up and down, you seem to just need to get lucky.
Maka's blast turns a portion of the spout to steam and falling rain before it fixes itself. Two of the nuckelavees in the area manage to jump clear, but one falls a long, long way down. It doesn't emerge from the huge splash it makes when it hits the water. The rest race ahead, reaching the cistern... where two water elementals also emerge from the waterspout with them.
It's not a huge place, you have a pretty good idea of where she could be. :D
The guard captain insisted she remain 'safely' in the city.
Maka's fire blast hits whatever's around the outside of the waterspout and burns it away. Another bolt of lightning tries to blast Maka.
Meanwhile the waterspout bends over and connects to the cistern in the north of the city. You can vaguely make out movement in the base of the waterspout as it connects.
Maka's blast strikes something just above the surface of the waterspout that quenches the flames. Moments later a bolt of lightning lances out from the clouds towards her.
The strangely still storm over the sea offshore from the Golden City continues growing darker over the next few minutes as the party straggles into the village. Suddenly the sea heaves upwards, another waterspout forming far more swiftly and violently than the last.
As Maka's flames pierce through the swirling waters, violet-gold flames spread out from the point of impact, burning invisible lines of magic. Soon the waterspout collapses back into the waves... but Maka can sense that the magic is merely suppressed, not eliminated. Still, she's bought some time.
A portion of the waterspout flashes into steam... and is quickly replaced by more water from the ocean. Maka gets the impression that simply blasting the waterspout will be ineffective--the magic that's going on here can just pull more water from the ocean to replace any she boils away.
XD I want to see this.
Kit: Kit nods, thoughtfully. "That should be quite doable... hopefully she's as amenable to a temporary alliance as you suspect. We'll want to take Theodrac with us..."
He flicks his ears and refocuses on Cassisoche. "Yes, that would be most helpful." He hesitates for a brief moment. "And thank you."
Bulvi finishes the last of the larger enemies, and the maftets start pushing back against the remaining smaller foes. Captain Rajet flies over to Bulvi, Quasit, and Kalchine. "We can handle what's left here. Go, protect the city!" he shouts, then swoops down to attack a lesser fey. Maka reaches the stormy area in time to see the water beneath the dark clouds starting to spin and rise upwards. It's forming into a waterspout!
Quasit's target makes an attempt at a snappy comeback... by dying.
The earth elemental (somehow) is overwhelmed by mixed feelings of desire and shame, which... well, perhaps it's for the best no one here can read its body language. The nuckelavee in front of it continues to attack it.
The other one is caught up in Kalchine's winds...
It manages to keep its footing and lashes out at the elemental-form druid.
Maka and Fin can both see obviously unnatural dark clouds forming over the sea just offshore from the Golden City as most of the party races towards it.
The nuckelavee evades the words of Kalchine's winds, but takes a solid blow from the the earth elemental. It fights back, and other surviving one also attacks it.
Quasit and Bulvi race across the beach to join in the melee.
Quasit's first two attacks hit, and all of Bulvi's attacks hit. Fin's arrows then finish off the two nuckelavees they were fighting, leaving only the two who've now worked their way around the wall Kalchine summoned.
Sakitu's frost downs a few of the smaller foes, but the two large nuckelavees are still moving forward. Several of the maftets are rallying to slow them down. ...and then you hear, above the din of battle, the resonant bong of a gong being struck. Someone is sounding the alarm back in the Golden City!
Maka and Sakitu blast a number of the weaker enemies, though the one stronger one that was in Sakitu's freezing sphere mostly evades the attack. Fin downs another of the larger nuckelavees. Quasit and Bulvi both hit with their attacks, causing significant wounds (though Quasit's target obviously resists some of the damage from her swords). Kalchine's wall does force the pair of nuckelavees to stop and go around, buying some time to get to them. The maftets, thanks to the area attacks, are holding well against the smaller enemies, even starting to drive some of them back towards the fog (when they're not killing them). There are currently four larger nuckelavees visible--one each in melee with Quasit and Bulvi, and the pair currently working their way around Kalchine's wall. The two in melee attack their respective targets.
Blows rain down on Bulvi's armor but none penetrate, while Quasit nimbly evades her foe's strikes. A maftet dives in behind Quasit's foe, briefly distracting it (she has flanking this round, but that maftet might be in trouble if the nuckelavee has another round to attack).
Fin brings down one of the larger nuckelavees with his barrage of arrows. Maka and Sakitu blast some of the smaller ones, with Sakitu winging one of the larger ones. The maftets are holding well against the smaller enemies, especially as you've been thinning their numbers, though about 400' down the beach, in the direction Fin didn't fire, you see a pair of larger nuckelavees gathering themselves to charge. The two closer ones, perhaps seeing they can't avoid you or perhaps hoping to keep you focused on them, charge the melee fighters.
Quasit narrowly avoids getting skewered by one's sword, dodging enough to receive only a shallow wound. The other one stops 15' from Bulvi, but moved too far to attack this round.
Fin downs three of the smaller monsters. Seeing their cover isn't saving them, the enemies charge forward, and all across the beach you see ragged groups of an assortment of smaller monstrous fey creatures bursting out of the fog bank. The maftets dive down to engage them, and you'd judge them fairly evenly matched against these lesser foes. You do, however, see about half a dozen of the larger nuckelavees spread out across the area.
Maka's fire blast kills a couple of the smaller monsters and burns a gap in the fog, revealing the survivors. Seeing their cover is gone they start charging forward.
Maka spots groups of enemies in the fog almost as soon as she gets in range to see through it. For the most part they're smaller, weaker-looking creatures than what you fought in the morning, but she does spot a few of the nuckelavees.
The day is calm, and when there's no immediate threat, the maftets start taking shifts, some sleeping so they'll be fresh should the attack come later. Night falls without any sign of the enemy... but an odd mist forms along the beach shortly after the last hints of dusk fade from the sky.
You talk details of the plan for a little while longer, then the meeting breaks up. A group of maftets go with you to the southern beach, ready to follow your directions in making preparations.
"We have thirty-nine trained warriors, though a few of them are injured or ill," Captain Rajet replies, scowling slightly (it seems a common expression on his face), "The hunters and fishers can give us some support, but they'd be best guarding the city itself and staying away from the front lines. We do have ways of signalling from a distance if attacks come from another direction." "Our only healers are Clan Shaman Jafira and her two apprentices," the Queen adds. "I fear they can do little about the terrible diseases these foul beings bring. They've already tried their best with those warriors who survived our first battle." "We have no... 'cold iron'." Rajet states when Quasit's latest words are translated. It's clear he finds the phrase Aklo uses for the substance unfamiliar. "Does it pierce these foes more easily than steel?"
You meet up eventually with the Queen and her top warriors in her throne room. Rajet, captain of her guard, gives you a brief description of the situation. "Our island is protected on three sides by tall cliffs. My scouts will see any attempts to climb them, though any flying fiends we may need help with. But most likely the main thrust of their assault will come at the southern beach. If they can get from there to the cover of the forest in the center of the island, it will be almost impossible to find them before they reach area we've cleared around the Golden City."
Queen Esmyra flies back up to the clifftop city to start organizing her warriors, apparently trusting you'll come when you're ready.
In spite of their evasiveness, the hail of blows you subject the surviving enemies to is sufficient to slay them all. Queen Esmyra lands a moment later, looping her scimitars back into her sword belt. "We are fortunate indeed to have you fight for us, strangers," she says, looking at the remains of the evil fey. "With you, we have a hope of victory. But these foul creatures will no doubt soon discover those they sent here are not returning, and they will attack in greater numbers. I go to rally our warriors and hold a council of war."
Quasit finishes off the most injured enemy. Two of Fin's arrows miss, but he and Bulvi (one of whose attacks missed too) together slay another of them. Sakitu's cone of cold does some minor damage to two of the enemy, one of which Maka further injures. The remaining foes attack Bulvi, Quasit, and Maka, ignoring the ghouls.
None of them score a hit.
That nuckelavee is hanging on to life by a thread... but still alive. It counterattacks Maka.
As usual, Maka nimbly evades the attacks, even when its seaweed-like tresses of 'hair' animate and lash out at her. The other four spread out and exhale clouds of foul miasma.
Queen Esmyra retrieves her scimitars and flies out of the cloud, looking largely unharmed.
Quasit and Fin's arrows strike home on their target, who gurgles in rage at the sudden attack. Maka's flames also find their mark... leaving the evil fey completely unharmed. Nor do they seem at all bothered by the wall of fires. Kalchine is rather surprised by this, as nothing he's learned about nuckelavees indicates they're immune to fire.
Oh dear XD
A quintet of horrific creatures, looking like flayed men merged with likewise skinless horses, emerge from the water and come up upon the little spit of land as the sun fully clears the horizon. The foremost among them laughs darkly. In Aklo, it says, "Ah, noble to the last, 'Queen'. Your death will make the conquest of your people all the easier."
Queen Esmyra seems momentarily confused by Quasit's offer, but quickly figures out what it's meant for. "No, I can carry no weapons with me. If you wish to hide my scimitars with you in your place of ambush, I can arm myself while you fight."
Well, you know, when you're on an island paradise in a demiplane in the Queen of Witches' hut that's just the sort of thing you have lying around.
"If you are ready, then come." She turns towards the cliff edge and spreads her wings to fly down to the sacrifice stone. Her chief warrior, who was trailing behind her, turns his scowl on you. "She'd better come back alive," he growls.
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