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Bone Bearer scurries into a position adjacent to the dwarf as Lioness moves the skeletal forms closer to her. He can't move them under her without harming one of his fellow Pathfinders but he can limit her escape options. Then, he drops a Shroud of Night on her, encasing her head in darkness.
Finally, as the battle has shifted, he backs off, finding himself a little too close to the action for comfort.
Lioness scrunches his eyes against all the electricity flying around, his fur standing on end. He also growls in frustration as Bone Bearer, despite all his attempts to the contrary still gets seriously injured int he scrum. Instinctively, he partially banishes his familiar back to the otherworldly realm from which he came to prevent some of the damage.
He then concentrates on the skeletal limbs rising up from the stone and moves them closer to the undead dwarf. Finally, after moving closer , he summons a Shield of magic energy to protect himself.
"It was mostly just to give you all an advantage in the opening moments of the fight. And to protect Bone Bearer!" the disembodied voice of Lioness calls out to explain to Khaul. "Though, I probably should have made Raph invisible and left you visible since he's probably not going to do anything to break the spell and you already did," he continues, thoughtfully. He is too far from the fight to do anything effective so he moves closer then mentally goes through 3 different possible tactics before settling on one. "Time to be reunited!" he calls out to some of the undead hands and misshapen, oversized skeletal forms spring up from the stone floor, each notably missing a hand. They slash at the hands with shattered, jagged radii an ulnas.
While Lioness flickers into view, Bone Bearer scuttles deeper into the action, still invisible.
"I knew we were going to fight those hands!" Lioness declares. "Sorry Raph," Lioness says, though it isn't clear why he's apologizing until he casts a spell and he, bone bearer and all the Pathfinders EXCEPT Raph turn invisible. He then moves to a spot where he can see the chamber from a better angle, Bone Bearer at his heels.
Lioness' sense of victory at figuring out the crest is quickly dashed by his utter failure at befriending the fiendish felines. (He has no evidence that they are actually demonic but they must be evil to turn against him so seriously.) He examines the dead end halls curiously though does not go down any of them. In this place, he wants at least two obvious exits out of every place he goes, or at least some room to maneuver. He hisses chidingly at Raph. "Shhh! Don't get her attention!" he says in a stage whisper.
"Wait! I think Raph may have it right! Mostly," Lioness says, giving the crest one more try - orange, blue, orange, red, orange, violet. When they get to the office, Lioness rushes to try to stop the ink spill from ruining as much as he can. Then, he turns his attention to the cats. "Cats are not the most friendly or least sinister of pets," Lioness comments. "Though they are simply animals. Usually. "The key is to let them come to you. Be still. Be calm. Be patient." Nonetheless, he picks up one of the kittens and coos and pets it, ignoring its hissing and scratching as he soothes it.
Then again...what does he know about cats?
Lioness is more than a little unsettled by the skeletal servants. Undead generally have murderous intent and the whole time the group is near them he watches them warily, assuming that some unknown trigger will be tripped and they'll leap into violent action. He almost doesn't notice their actual danger, namely that the whole place may fall in on their heads, until Nakru is already repairing the damage. In the strange music room, he pauses long enough to dance around, trying to make an interesting melody but then hurries to follow the rest of the group as they move on. "Impressive work," he says to Nakru, patting her on the shoulder as she shores up the last of the weakened stonework. His mouth waters as he sees the nicely salted organs, but he knows that others don't see leaving such meat untouched as wasteful so he avoids any snacking. But he does nod at Khaul's comment. "If those hands don't try to kill us before we leave this place, I'll buy everyone a night's worth of drinks," he says. He has no skill at thievery but a little knowledge about science and he tries the stones on the crest in rainbow order - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
Lioness hates leaving an unopened door, especially one important enough to be trapped but when it becomes apparent that no one knows how to deactivate the trap, he decides it's not worth trying to open. He has much less psychic dissonance over not drinking the sludge. Kholos (including him) may be known for eating questionable things, but this stuff has no temptation for him. So, instead, he moves on to the next passage, heading to the left and positioning himself at the entrance to the northwest passage. "I think this one," he comments.
Dread fills Lioness as Bone Bearer comes very close to being destroyed. Though he knows the being is spiritual in nature and would reform a corporeal body in time, it carries his connection to his patron and his spells and he would be little use and quite defenseless without those. "Thank you, Tiger. You have done me a grave service, this day," he says and gives the monk a hug after he has healed the familiar. "Stay close," he tells the familiar, knowing its grasp on this physical form is still tenuous. He won't be ranging around frightening anyone any time soon.
As Lioness' grandmother used to say: "if at first you don't succeed, do the exact same thing over and over again until it works." He Sustains the Shroud to keep the creature's vision cloused, and Bone Bearer's ominous presence nearby keeps it Frightened. He then flings another bit of debris at the creature.
Sometimes he wonders if his grandmother's mind was slipping...
Bone Bearer springs forward, darting up the steps and crouching in the protective area under Loong's feet but next to the Charnel Creature. He releases an eerie cackling cry as Lioness sustains the Shroud of Darkness.
After Lioness sustains the Shroud of Darkness, he considers his options. His patron is one of darkness and night, the antithesis of flame and light so someone else may have to bring the fire. He's not quite ready to bring out the big spells on this creature so he starts by flinging a bit of debris at it.
"Galimus?" Lioness says, finding something familiar in the figure. "Not Galimus!" he declares as he gets a better look. Despite the downright creepy nature of what he has seen and heard and the general feel of this place, he moves closer. Then, he tries to blanket the creature's head in darkness.
Then, he tries to figure out exactly what it is.
Anyone who is averse to the smell of wet fur is travelling with the wrong group, though at least Lioness wet fur smell is different from Narkru's wet fur smell and the midnight black hyena that always has a bone in its mouth that travels at Lioness' heels doesn't have a smell at all. Also fortunate is the fact that Lioness' breath is sweet as honey and overpowers the smell of his body. If he's talking and someone is close enough. "I'd like to point out that while we were invited by the owners we were not invited by the inhabitants and the owners are not here but the inhabitants, by definition, are. I don't mind going in the front gate, but I don't expect a warm welcome," Lioness comments and makes sure he's toward the back of the group. Lioness bought an extra vial of holy water from the priests and when he communed with Bone Bearer at midnight the night before he had his familiar impart the knowledge of Force Barrage instead of Fear in him. And, as Khaul bravely marches toward the front door, Lioness uses his Mystic Armor wand on himself before holstering it and following.
"Hello Tiger, I'm Lioness," the kholo says Loong, bemused by the similarities in their names and equally pleased by the unusual ancestries that make up their happy little band. He listens closely to the briefing. "Always good to save knowledge," he comments and makes mental notes regarding provisions that will be useful for this particular mission. "I assume you summoned the priests to the Lodge specifically so that we can pick up the proper supplies from them?" he asks the Venture Captain.
Coming down a side path, and only adding to any complexes about his height the dwarf might have, a 7 foot tall gnoll joins the group. He has pale tan fur with darker stripes and wears robes decorated with patterns from the Mwangi expanse. He's using a staff with brain sculpted at the top as walking stick and a hyena with nightblack fur follows at his heal. "I think creepy keep is also where I am going. Are you also Pathfinders?" he asks.
It was rough going there for a few moments, but Lioness' potential targets quickly fall and he has to Step around the corner to see anyone to attack. Fortunately, he still has a dose of Phantom Pain in his staff. Brandishing the wooden shaft with a carved brain on the end, he projects that pain at White. and persistent mental damage with a DC20 Will save.
Lioness is beginning to question his life choices. Or at least the one that lead him to investigating this room. They've taken down one of their opponents but the guards here are more than holding their own having put one of their members down and another very close. Since he doesn't want to find out what one of those clubs feels like, he does what he can to keep the people between him and them in the fight. Pulling a wand out of a loop on his belt, he aims it at Tharpe and Soothes some of his wounds.
"Ohm my gods, the electricity puns are shocking," Lioness comments. He brandishes his staff at red, expending some of the pent up energy in it. Mental and
Lioness takes a moment to see if the target is still standing and, if red is, tries to engulf it in darkness once more.
Otherwise, he creates a around himself.
Lioness helps tie up the leader of the crew. "I thought your name was Fennic," he comments in confusion before shaking his head to dismiss the thought. He looks around at the other members of the group, going around and giving them pats on the back to congratulate them on a job well done. But as they talk of going back he interrupts. "I think they'll confiscate our Wayfinders if we don't fully explore this facility. It's part of the motto and all. Besides, if this is really an Aspis facility, there may be other valuable information, items or people." He heads for the exit that leads deeper into the structure. "You guys coming?" he asks, looking over his shoulder at the other Pathfinders.
Lioness manages to somehow completely avoid the effects of Fennic's scream. With a little room, he piles more psychic trauma upon Fennic in return for the man trying to bespell him.
Rather than Cackling, he simply concentrates and makes wiggling motions with his fingers at about rib level to Sustain the Laughing Fit.
Lioness does not like being in the thick of the action. He much prefers being far back where no one will notice him. So, he steps away from the people trying to hurt him with sticks and blades and Soothes himself.
He also Cackles, the eerie sound cutting through the fight to Sustain the Laughing Fit.
When the Grand Princess makes her announcement, Lioness stands up straight, but he looks hopefully at the other scholars gathered, gauging whether or not they trust the Pathfinders to make good on the promise. "Excellent job, Tharp," he says when the man makes short work of the lock. he pulls out his staff and makes sure his wand is at hand before entering the storehouse. "A shame we need the research intact. One ignition spell would take care of this Aspis base," he comments as he sees the contents of the storehouse.
Lioness likes to see the good in people but it's things like this that make him think there is no good int he Aspis. Bad enough that they lied and stole and tried to frame the Pathfinders for their theft. It was unforgivable that they slaughtered an innocent man in pursuit of those nefarious goals. He helps gather up the evidence and marches toward where the Grand Princess is waiting for them. "We've been framed!" he declares when he comes into her presence. "It's all an Aspis ploy and here's the proof!"
The odd hyena that's been following Lioness around leaps into action, running up to crouch next to the man in Red.
Lioness then engulfs that man's head in a weakened version of the darkness of night.
He then calls upon the powers of the Void to draw some of the life essence from the man. void damage.
Lioness simply cannot pass up an opportunity like this. It is so rare that his opponents get into a formation that is so suited for one of his spells. He strides to the optimal position then opens his mouth wide and an impossibly large mass of dark, clawed tendrils explode out, engulfing three of their opponents. plus
Lioness is quite humiliated by the theft while the Pathfinders are on stage, at least once the smoke is clearing and he realizes what is happening. How embarrassing to be accused of research theft before all these imminent intellectual institutions! His naturally stooped posture becomes even more so with the shame as they are escorted back to a separate room to be interrogated. Even before the Grand Princess reveals herself he spills out excuses and explanations and defenses. Though when the task they are assigned is revealed, he quickly uncurls, his head rising with pride. After all, is it not a testament to the reputation of the Pathfinders that they're going to be allowed to investigate the very crime they are accused of committing? "We will not let you down!" he declares to both Shane and Eutropia. Back out at the stage, he strokes his chin, thoughtfully, identifying 4 areas of interest before getting to work. He starts by closely examining the stage they were on when the theft occurred -
Then moves on to questioning some of the other researchers to learn what they saw, beginning with the Magaambya. "Esteemed Elders, I am honored by your faith in the Pathfinder society and your wisdom in seeing that we were framed for this heinous crime. Any information you might be able to share with us will no doubt go far in helping us find the true culprits."
After learning what he can from the other researchers, he examines the seats of the people who have suspiciously disappeared as well as suspiciously throwing suspicion on the Pathfinders.
And finally, heads backstage to see if there are any suspicious clues there, as that would have been a good place for the cads who actually stole the research to hide before staging their robbery.
Lioness bows low to Princess Eutropia when she waves. He knows it is common, noble courtesy but he is still honored. He gapes and his blood runs cold, his hackles rising as he sees the list of presenters. "Thank the gods we're at least going on before the Magaambya," he says as what seemed like just an interesting presentation shapes up to be them representing the Pathfinder Society against what are the most prestigious institutions of learning and research on two continents. He coughs and looks around nervously as they get on stage then gulps and begins. "For those of you unaware, Wayfinders, the signature item of a Pathfinder, contain an energy matrix field that creates a resonance with certain frequencies of magic generally found in certain magically charged physical items such as aeon stones," he displays his own Wayfinder as he speaks and delves into the magic aspects of the research.
"Of course, even with all we know, there is the unknown and we have accounted for some of those known unknowns in the design functionality of our proposal," he continues, delving into a different area of the research.
"We must also contemplate how these shards and our ideas will interact with the natural world, especially since we know that these shards are having a corrupting influence on nature."
"Of course, I am retreading some ground that has already been established by the eminent establishments that are represented here such as the treatise of..." he goes on to cite several other studies done by each of the other organizations, demonstrating his knowledge of them and their works.
An average sized kholo man (meaning the tallest person in the room) creeps in quietly in the middle of the briefing. He has pale fur with dark gray stripes which contrasts sharply with his brightly colored robes. The geometric patterns and designs of the cloth of his clothing suggest they are of Mwangi origin. A night black hyena carrying bone and with pure white eyes trots at his heels. "Yes, can you clarify exactly what we are meant to do? Are we demonstrating this technique or presenting our findings to the symposium?" He seems excited about meeting with scholars but clearly nervous about embarrassing himself, and the Pathfinder Society at large.
"Ok, ok, this is a good start my friends. Definitely a good start. But one of the most important things about security is that it's not just about keeping the wrong people out, it's about letting the right people in. So, you need to hide your traps and also set up some way for those who should have access to get past them safely," Lioness lectures, gathering up some of the caltrops to develop a more complex trap.
"And then, maybe a trigger over here..." he says as he cobbles something together that is barely holding together.
He manages to reinforce it into something workable.
Lioness knows better than to sign anything presented by a fiend without reading it closely so there is a slight delay as he does so. In the end, he nods and places his image on the document as a seal. Then, he turns his attention to the task at hand. "I am glad that you are seeking a peaceful resolution to the situation, Chief Thakik. These elemental beings could be powerful allies in defending the fan or they could simply be another enemy that you have to protect it against. We will do our best to ensure they are the former rather than the latter," Lioness says. He waits with obvious curiosity for an answer to Blackfeather's question and to what tasks Kazuuk is going to set for them.
A kholo dressed in long mwangi style robes and carrying an ornate staff joins them in the camp. Anyone who gets close enough will be surprised to find that his breath is delightfully sweet. A small hyena with a midnight black coat and a bone in its mouth trots at his heels. "I am Lioness Lapping Blood. It's good to see you again, Granny," he says to the familiar face and even gives Hungry a pat on the head. In fact, everyone gets a pat, or handshake, or some other friendly physical gesture. [b]"What sort of trouble will we be stopping...or starting...today?" |
