Zuriel steps forward speaking up. "On the authority of many. For those who want to preserve this world. I invoke the name of Ma'or, who slumbers."
This message was last edited by the player at 15:33, Wed 25 Mar 2015.

In reply to Zuriel Silendril (msg # 837):

There is a brief pause after the paladin speaks, then the voice returns.

"Then the Lady Love sleeps less deeply than she ought."

The volume fades to a more conversational tone.

"As the champion of Ma'or, you have the responsibility of reigning in her unrealistic naivety. Heed me: To free the ravenous maw is to hasten the End of Days; it cannot be allowed. What assurances have you toward Ká's good conduct, were he released from his prison?"

At this, Lyriel speaks up. The assurance of Tassada. I share your reservations, as does the Goddess. But oblivion does not serve Ka. The End of Days would leave him with hunger and nothing to sate it. Should I be proven wrong, however...

Lyriel's eyes flash, and a halo of fire wreathes her countenance. Justice will be brought down upon him in fire and fury.

In reply to Lyriel Vesper (msg # 839):

"I allow the paladin to speak for Ma'or because the Lady Love is incapable of speaking for herself, yet has still seen fit to grace him with the aura of her presence," the voice responds. "But though you espouse the beliefs of Tassada, young one, you do not speak for her. Such sacrilege ill befits a member of the clergy."

There is another pause, during which a nimbus of gray-blue light begins to take shape above the still-spinning crystalline egg.

"If the only assurances you offer are hopes, dreams, and the promise to smite Ká where he stands should you inevitably come to regret your decision, I must require you to prove you hold power sufficient to slay a god."

A silvery portal appears behind the P.A.R.T.Y., and a ghostly image of the burbling fountain can be seen on the other side.

"If ye lack the strength to do so, turn back. Abandon your foolish quest, and there shall be no further retribution for your folly."

[Private to Boreas Highwind: The nimbus of energy above the crystal does indeed look magical, but not "godlike" in strength. In fact, none of the auras you're seeing even measure up to the Everstaff's normal aura... an observation you're sure to find interesting.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:54, Wed 25 Mar 2015.

There are other powers in this world besides the gods, Boreas adds, his eye glowing with an inner fire.  We may not have the strength to slay a god, but we have the strength to defeat you, should you force us.

Lyriel's eyes blaze with fury. Who is to speak for the Goddess then, if not me? The foolish knights who pretend that personal glory is Justice? The priestess who sees no further than the doors of the Cathedral? My power is proof, and if you doubt my righteousness I shall be glad to demonstrate!

"If we're allowed to take our weapons out now, I'd be glad to demonstrate my ability as well. . . ."

In reply to Maeve Hassan (msg # 843):

Chubbs croaks.

All tremble.

In reply to Lyriel Vesper (msg # 842):

"So be it. Let it not be said that mercy was withheld, though there shall be none in the moments to come."

The nimbus of energy expands to a disk nearly 20 feet wide, then extends toward the ground to create a cylinder of energy that completely obscures the crystalline egg.

Suddenly, the energy fades entirely, leaving nothing in its wake except for a large, black-skinned humanoid creature. She looks like an attractive woman from the waist up, though she possesses eight long arms. Each fist is protected by a heavy stone gauntlet, and her entire body seems unnaturally hardened. Her lower half, however, is that of a massive serpent, and her eyes shine with a malevolent green glow.

Now that she has manifest herself, her voice sounds far less imposing than before... though still quite vigorous.

"You. Have. Erred."


This message was last edited by the GM at 16:30, Wed 25 Mar 2015.

Boreas moves swiftly to E5, taking aim with his eye and firing a blast of energy.

[Casting Eldritch Blast]
[Ranged Touch: 22]

It hits the creature, rainbow energy coursing through its body.

[Damage: 25]

In the literal blink of an eye, he fires another burst.

[Casting Quickened Eldritch Blast]
[Ranged Touch: 36]
[Critical? 17 - Natural 1]

It strikes the creature in the shoulder, narrowly missing its head.  The foe reels with the force of the blast.

[Damage 34]

"So be it."

Zuriel charges his shield with divine energy, and advances carefully towards the guardian.

[Divine Shield: +6AC]

In reply to Zuriel Silendril (msg # 847):

Keef slides to his right and raises one hand.  With a sizzle and a clap, an enormous bolt of red electricity leaps from his palm and strikes the abomination.  The bolt leaps from the creature's tail up to its head, then splits and arcs to catch two of its many hands.  When the light fades, however, the creature seems unaffected.

Keef lowers his hand slowly while Chubbs laughs.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:46, Thu 26 Mar 2015.

In reply to Keef (msg # 848):

Both of Boreas's blasts slam into the creature, causing it to hiss in pain. Keef's blasts of lightning cover Zuriel's careful advance, but the searing bolts of reddish light yield no reaction whatsoever beyond surprise and irritation.

The Warden rears up on her snake-like tail, takes a deep breath, and spews a haze of purplish gas everywhere (literally everywhere -- it's a 100ft cube and you're on a 50x50 platform).

[Fort(ZMBKL): 29,22,22,23,16]

The putrid gas leaves a bad taste in everyone's mouth, but nobody looks worse for the wear except for Lyriel. The cleric coughs violently and her skin takes on a deathly pallor.

[Damage (Lyriel): 6 CON]

The violet haze immediately begins to dissipate, its work completed for the moment.

The creature then looks down at the paladin, smiles, and wraps her arms around him.

[Improved Grapple vs Zuriel: 48 vs 34]

The moment the grapple succeeds, she coils her tail and twists her torso, leveraging a tremendous amount of tensile force to bodily hurl the paladin off his feet, off the platform, and into the abyss.

OOC: You were thrown 30 feet behind her, which puts you 20 feet beyond the back end of the platform. You would have landed prone on the ground, but since there's no ground to land on you are merely free-falling. At the time of this round, you are precisely at platform-level height... but you won't stay there for long.

"And then there were four," the creature sneers. "Turn back, or share his fate."

To punctuate her threat, she lashes out at Lyriel with a flurry of attacks.

[Attack (Lyriel): 35,24,31,28]
[Damage (Lyriel): 60]

The cleric goes down in a torrent of blood and pain (-6 hp).

"Three. I will not warn you again."
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:37, Thu 26 Mar 2015.

Lyriel spends a pleasant round bleeding out on the ground.

Maeve moves to H9 next to Lyriel, who has decided to take a nice nap.


[PA +1: 32]
[Damage: . . . . . . .5]

[7 if it doesn't have cold resistance]

In reply to Maeve Hassan (msg # 851):

OOC: Good news: It does!


This message was last edited by the GM at 14:52, Thu 26 Mar 2015.

Boreas dashes across the platform to E11, firing a burst of scintillating energy as he does.

[Casting Eldritch Blast]
[Ranged Touch: 23]

It strikes the creature firmly in the chest, causing it to reel in pain as the energy washes over it.

[Damage: 25]

He first another burst, which strikes immediately after the first.

[Casting Quickened Eldritch Blast]
[Ranged Touch: 23]

The creature howls in pain.

[Damage 23]

In reply to Boreas Highwind (msg # 853):

Zuriel!  Keef shouts, watching the Paladin soar like a majestic lavender-scented bath bar/stone.

Wait... I got you!

(OOC: waiting to see if Zuriel can save himself, if not Keef will)
This message was last edited by the player at 15:35, Thu 26 Mar 2015.

(OOC shit, thought Keef was before me. Sorry about that)

As Zuriel sails through the air, he replaces his ring of protection with his ring of Feather Fall. His descent immediately slows to a gentle wafting, like lacy curtains.

"I got this!" he calls out. "See to Lyriel!"

He then draws Wildheart's longsword, pointing it behind him.

"Corwynd!"

[Casting: Gust]

A sudden jet of air shoots from the blade, propelling the wayward paladin back onto the platform.

(OOC - that is a lot of actions, not sure how long it will all take, but I don't have any other options)

In reply to Zuriel Silendril (msg # 855):

Save Lyriel... Keef mutters.

He floats up off the slab and waves his hands in small circles.  Tiny ice crystals form in the corners of his eyes and between his fingers.  With a cracking sound, a wall of ice appears just below Lyriel's feet (along the border of Row H and I) spanning the length of the slab and protruding into space in each direction.  This cuts off Maeve and Lyriel from the monster... for now.

(OOC:  Not sure if that's close enough for the beastie to try to interrupt)

In reply to Keef (msg # 856):

As Keef weaves his magics into place between Lyriel and the creature, the Warden reaches her many arms into the space in which the sheets of ice are forming, disrupting the spell.

[Reflex: 29]

She shoots a dirty look at Boreas, but ultimately decides to deal with the warrior first by snaking out with her long arms to wrap Maeve in her deadly embrace.

[Grapple vs Maeve: 47,39]

Maeve does a better job of fending off the grappling attack than Zuriel does, and is consequently only thrown a few feet to the side, where she lands prone with a clatter.

The Warden then proceeds to unload on the wounded warrior with a flurry of punches that would make E. Honda blush.

[Attack (Maeve): 34,35,30,25,35,33,24]

The normally indomitable warrior finds herself unable to fend off the blows properly from her place on the ground, and is rapidly punched into submission and, blissfully, unconsciousness.

[Damage (Maeve): 123] (-3, bleeding out)

"I... I warned you," the Warden pants at Keef and Boreas, blood dripping from the corners of her mouth from Boreas's relentless attacks. "Now... now, it is too late."

OOC: Need stabilization rolls from Maeve and Lyriel, then we'll be onto the next round. Zuriel will be able to vault himself back onto the platform at that point, though he will lack a standard action when he lands.

OOC #2: The Warden, for all her fury, looks pretty hurt.

Lyriel, for her part, does not manage to stabilize

In reply to Lyriel Vesper (msg # 858):

Maeve enjoys the floor. The floor is her friend.

In reply to Maeve Hassan (msg # 859):

Boreas' eye glows a brilliant blue, and he shouts out, Uisce!

[Casting Solid Fog]

Thick, almost gelatinous fog rolls out from where the Warden stands, enveloping it entirely.  (20' radius spread, centered on J9)  As the creature disappears into the mist, it finds itself unable to move freely, the fog resisting its every motion.

Boreas then moves back to D11, drawing a wand from his bag as he does so.

[OOC]Solid Fog: This spell functions like fog cloud, but in addition to obscuring sight, the solid fog is so thick that any creature attempting to move through it progresses at a speed of 5 feet, regardless of its normal speed, and it takes a -2 penalty on all melee attack and melee damage rolls. The vapors prevent effective ranged weapon attacks (except for magic rays and the like). A creature or object that falls into solid fog is slowed, so that each 10 feet of vapor that it passes through reduces falling damage by 1d6. A creature can’t take a 5-foot step while in solid fog.

However, unlike normal fog, only a severe wind (31+ mph) disperses these vapors, and it does so in 1 round.

I have positioned the fog so that no matter which direction she moves, the Warden will be able to get a maximum of 10' if she spends the entire round doing nothing but that.

Also, as the fog is like, super-difficult terrain, the five-foot step would not work inside it.[/OOC]
This message was last edited by the player at 05:12, Fri 27 Mar 2015.