Astraden nearly skewers the choker northeast of her, but it holds on to her, hissing and spitting.
Which one is choking Eben out?
Carina aims a shot, but the choker seems almost completely inconvenienced by its choking charge and is able to dodge her bolt with relative ease.
The choker strangling Eben blinks twice, but it seems too uncultured to appreciate Eben's harmless act. So it just keeps tightening its grip. "Guests. Welcome. Guests."
~Finish him, my pets,~" the brain hisses. Eben feels the command touch his mind, but only for a second before it slides off like hot water on ice. ~If he cannot serve, finish the fool. Break them all down.~
The other choker scrabbles up onto the brain where its "brother" met its doom and lashes out at Farrukh.
Again, though, Farrukh's armor, shield, agility and magic protect him from the grasping fingers.
Well, that was completely useless, Rodrigo thinks of his grease spell. Should have greased up Eben by the looks of things. Oh well, maybe some more hell will improve things. Rodrigo gestures, tearing open a portal to the lower planes. There is a sudden cacophany of barking as a huge three headed dog leaps through. The dog lacks skin, so its musculature gleams dully in the light. It tears into the choker next to it, starting with the one between it and Tanith. With the beast in place, Rodrigo moves a bit further from the combat.
LE Medium outsider (evil, extraplanar, lawful)
Init +6; Senses soul scent; Perception +15
DEFENSE
AC 18, touch 12, flat-footed 16 (+2 Dex, +6 natural)
hp 92 (8d10+32)
Fort +12, Ref +8, Will +4
OFFENSE
Speed 40 ft.
Melee 3 bites +13 (1d6+5 plus cerberus's jaws)
Special Attacks rend (2 bites, 1d6+5 or 3 bites, 1d6+10)
STATISTICS
Str 20, Dex 14, Con 23, Int 6, Wis 15, Cha 9
Base Atk +8; CMB +13; CMD 25 (29 vs. trip)
Feats Alertness, Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative, Stand Still
Skills Acrobatics +13 (+17 when jumping), Perception +15, Sense Motive +4, Stealth +13, Survival +10 (+14 when tracking undead); Racial Modifiers +4 Survival when tracking undead
Languages Infernal (cannot speak)
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Cerberus's Jaws (Su)
Curse—bite; save Fort DC 18; effect dimensional anchoring. A creature affected by this curse cannot utilize extradimensional travel such as teleport, as if it were under the effect of a dimensional anchor spell. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Soul Scent (Su)
This ability functions as the scent ability, save that it also grants the cerberi a +4 racial bonus on Survival checks made to track undead. This ability even allows a cerberi to track the passage of an incorporeal creature.
The dog rips into the choker, who shrieks in pain. It spits fell curses in the language of aberrations (at least, that's probably what they are).
Farrukh studies the nearest Choker and attacks, stepping over and moving to the one by Astraden if it falls.
Farrukh slashes and slices with his scimitar and klar, managing a single cut along the choker's scalp. The choker's hands leave Eben's throat and fly to its head, as purplish sludge begins oozing out. It collapses.
Tanith curses as Ebon passes out under the choker's... choking. The big man retrieves the more potent of the two healing wands and touches it to the bard's bruised neck. "Stay with us Eben. Purple's not a good color on you."
His last thoughts before everything goes black is Did I offend the god of chokers in a previous life?. Then aside from the disturbing visions assailing his mind while unconscious, the next thing he knows is being brought back by Tanith. And, while normally he would quip back about how can make purple work, instead his reaction is a bit atypical. "Purple? Purple? The light is purple! It's not a statue, kill it, kill it, KILL IT!" His eyes never leave the giant stone brain, and his hands fumble in his quiver for an adamantine arrow.
Carina and Tanith suddenly feel a searing sensation, as though they've been set ablaze. A moment later, Eben feels it, too. Because the room Carina was in appears to have exploded.
"Fools!" howls a familiar voice. "Thought I was dead, did not you?"
True to Farrukh's grim predictions, Elsaroth has emerged from hiding and flung a bomb—this time one of a more combustible nature—right at Carina's back. The fire blasts straight ahead, hitting Tanith and Eben as well.
The drow cackles. "Little did you know that long ago I learned to rearrange my organs in order to feign death! It doesn't even hurt! Well, it does. A lot. It's actually still quite excruciating. But it matters not! You will never reach the Master alive!"
Carina can see several spells—a familiar shielding spell in particular—swirling around him as he advances.
Tanith avoids some of the blast but still burns and then burns more from the feedback caused by his bond with Carina. "Someone kill that guy!"
Eben sizzles a bit from the bomb, but doesn't even turn his attention to the drow, instead pulling out an adamantine arrow as he stands and firing it at the stone brain with a wild rebel yell.
Farrukh looks at Tanith incredulously, and sighs.
"No, Elarith, we're not surprised you're alive.These guys just wouldn't let me track you down and finish you earlier."
Eben's arrow sinks into the stone like it's made of glass. It cracks, and everyone can see that blue-purple lights glow beneath the surface like bloody veins.
The drow and remaining chokers both look enraged.
"Stay out of my head, you squid faced creep!"
"Ugh, fine." Leaving Farrukh and Tanith to deal with the brain and chokers, Astraden ducks back into the previous room and tries to jab her rapier into Elsaroth's shin. "This one's my problem, Carina - focus on that brain."
Elsaroth stumbles away, trying to avoid being stabbed in the shin, and falls to the ground. "Damn it!"
"I could probably tinker with that thing and turn it off, though it looks like it'd be faster to just smash it. Do you guys want to wait until we finish these guys off so I can fiddle with it? For all we know it could explode if smashed."
Carina winces as the bomb's explosion burns her, but doesn't even deign the idiot drow behind her worthy of her attention. With Astraden going after him, she's free to focus fire on the brain Eben is shooting at.
She twirls a bomb in her hand and throws it at the brain!
Carina's bomb flies true, further damaging the brain as well as the creature on top of it.
The last two chokers move into position and gang up on Farrukh.
Finally, one of them lands a hit! Greedily, its fingers begin to snake around Farrukh's neck...
...and they slip off just as easily.
Eben feels the power assaulting his mind again, and this time, everyone hears a voice inside their heads.
~So, you thought to place protective wards before coming down. You really are very clever. Magic circles, I suppose? Promising. And none of you are so smart as to be a liability. Speaking of which, do try to keep better track of your priestess, MacTeague. Where is your mind going these days?~
"Augh, dammit! Guess I'm out," Astraden says, wincing when she realizes what she's just done. "That brain thing must've blown my common sense to s%!&."
Noting that Eben was still in bad shape, especially after the drow's explosive, Tanith touches the bard with his wand again before tucking it into his belt and moving to help Farrukh with the choke-happy monsters. "That thing can see us? How?!"
"Brain...sight. I guess." Farrukh says as he attempts to fend off the chokers.
Seeing the bomb go off, Rodrigo groans and steps into the room. With eyes on the drow, he shouts "Astraden, get back," and mutters some garbled terran. The ground underneath the drow's feet disappears into a deep pit.
Meanwhile, the cerberi turns its three slavering maws on the choker which is standing on the brain.
Hit, Miss, Crit, Confirmed
Eben looks a bit abashed at losing track of Astraden in his rage. But the brain re-invading and burning at his own puts that shame on the back burner. "KILLYOUKILLYOUKILLYOU!"
"Brain...sight. I guess." Farrukh says as he attempts to fend off the chokers.
Farrukh attacks, but the choker is too nimble this time.
Elsaroth nimbly rolls away from the pit. Meanwhile, the cerberi rips into the choker, nearly tearing away its entire head.
Despite Astraden's presence, Elsaroth rises and throws another bomb at Carina. This time, the area of effect is normal.
After taking another bomb to the back, Carina opts for a different approach--she yanks a flask from her belt and chugs its contents down.
She then runs over to Tanith, looking quite singed. "Tanith, could you throw some healing my way, please?"
"don't care if it blows up its hurting my brain it has to go" Eben's words are a rushed, mumbled litany of hatred. Three more adamantine arrows find themselves launched towards the (thankfully, large and immobile) brain, even with Tanith's considerable bulk blocking their easiest path of flight.
Attacking the statue seems to relieve him momentarily, enough to pay attention to the rest of the battlefield. "Yeah, that's a good idea, because that guy's going to keep throwing other stuff her way, if you know what I mean." Eben says nonchalantly to Tanith, like he's discussing the weather. "Really pretty smart, when you think about it. Hurting her means hurting you. It's like a buy one, get one free sale!" He giggles, then snarls at the brain. "STOP BEING SMART."
Tanith cocks an eyebrow at the partially mad Eben and reaches for the freshly stowed wand. "Of course Red."
Astraden stabs Elsaroth as he stands up, then steps around the drow and shoves him hard with her shield. Panting, she summons her last copycat image.
"don't care if it blows up its hurting my brain it has to go" Eben's words are a rushed, mumbled litany of hatred. Three more adamantine arrows find themselves launched towards the (thankfully, large and immobile) brain, even with Tanith's considerable bulk blocking their easiest path of flight.
[dice=shortbow+good hope+PBS-Rapid Shot-cover]1d20+12+2+1-2-4
[dice=damage+Arcane Strike+good hope+PBS+Deadly Aim]1d6+2+2+2+1[dice=shortbow+good hope+PBS-Rapid Shot-cover]1d20+12+2+1-2-4
[dice=damage+Arcane Strike+good hope+PBS+Deadly Aim]1d6+2+2+2+1[dice=shortbow+good hope+PBS-Rapid Shot-cover]1d20+12+2+1-2-4
[dice=damage+Arcane Strike+good hope+PBS+Deadly Aim]1d6+2+2+2+1
[dice=crit confirm]1d20+12+2+1-2-4
[dice=crit damage]2d6+4+4+4+2[dice=Sense Motive+good hope-Wis damage]1d20+16+2-1
Attacking the statue seems to relieve him momentarily, enough to pay attention to the rest of the battlefield. "Yeah, that's a good idea, because that guy's going to keep throwing other stuff her way, if you know what I mean." Eben says nonchalantly to Tanith, like he's discussing the weather. "Really pretty smart, when you think about it. Hurting her means hurting you. It's like a buy one, get one free sale!" He giggles, then snarls at the brain. "STOP BEING SMART."
Thunk. Thunk. The brain begins pulsating with violet energies, readying for another burst of mind-breaking energy—
ThKRACK
The last arrow breaks through an already injured point, burrowing deep. Cracks begin to form. The pulsating turns strangely wobbly, and for a moment reality seems blurred.
Then...CRASH. The brain cracks apart and crumbles into several large pieces. Everyone in the room suddenly feels a pressure they didn't quite know was there fade away.
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Carina cheers! "Yay! Way to blow his mind, Eben!"
Astraden stabs Elsaroth as he throws the bomb.
Finally realizing Farrukh cannot be grabbed, and enraged over the brain's destruction, the chokers attack the punning Carina. They each wrap claws around her throat, and together begin to shake her brutally, like a rat in a terrier's grip.
Eben watches as Carina begins to be throttled to death by the tag-teaming two chokers. "Oh, that's why they always go after me," he calmly says, as his damaged mind somehow achieves an unlikely epiphany- possibly as a result of the brain damage. "They don't like puns." As his adamantine arrows twinkle back into his quiver, he raises his bow, looking back and forth between the three remaining targets.
As much as he wants to turn the choker throttling Carina into paste with his fists, Tanith grabs for the wand. "Hang in there Red!"
He then prays to the Brawler for strength against the strain from Carina's suffering.
"Hold on, I'll try and cut her loose!"
Slash 1: 35 to-hit, 26 to Confirm versus the one I'm flanking.
Slash iterative: 29 to-hit, not Confirmed for sure.
"Come on Elsaroth, you've got a sense of humor, so you can't be too bad a guy. Can't you try fighting the guy who actually enslaved you?" Astraden asks after her attempt to knock him over fails.
"Plus I'd hate for you to die before finding out whether your hair is natural, or dyed somehow. Because, really, it looks great, and I wouldn't mind giving it a try myself if it's a concoction...." Eben calls from the other room, semi-supporting Astraden's case.
Damn, my efforts to control the battlefield are failing horribly. Maybe I should just watch Treble work. There's a certain something in the way those jaws shred, Rodrigo thinks. He then steps back and strokes his chin, looking for some other way to be useful.
Treble the cerberi steps to the side, and continues to kill chokers.
Crit, Confirmed, Miss, Miss
"Come on Elsaroth, you've got a sense of humor, so you can't be too bad a guy. Can't you try fighting the guy who actually enslaved you?" Astraden asks after her attempt to knock him over fails.
Farrukh near-decapitates the choker west of him, then buries his scimitar in its skull. Even with its curious bone structure, there's clearly no recovery as it slumps to the ground. Meanwhile, he slams the other choker into the wall and knocks it to the ground. It twitches, barely still conscious.
The devil dog barges past Tanith and Carina to deliver a single bloody bite. When its heads pull away, the last choker is in two pieces that together comprise roughly two-thirds of what used to be its body.
Elsaroth needs to save again, since he ended his turn on the edge.
Realizing his danger, Elsaroth flings another bomb at Carina and dances to the side. He seems to have recognized Carina's spell, for this is not a fire bomb like before. "You stupid clergywoman. Zyrxog is no slaver!"
The vial bounces off the marble doors and lands right at Carina's feet.
In the aftermath of being nearly choked to death by monsters (seriously, everyone's a critic these days) Carina's reflexes aren't good enough to keep her from being slowed down by the void bomb. Perhaps the lack of oxygen is to blame.
Though Carina can't move well due to the void bomb, she's not about to let that stop her.
She levels her crossbow at the drow and fires!
As her bolt flies through the air, she reloads as fast as her impaired reflexes will allow.