Hunting Fiends pt17
"It's---- feeding on us. Draining our blood. This thing. It's made of the blood of its victims and- something else. Something horrible." The Monk has actually paused in the midst of her fighting to take a deep breath. She's just a little bit blue in the cheeks, visible even on her gray complexion, and her breathing is heavy and coarse. A brief pause. "We absolutely can't let this continue to exist." Then she's on the offensive once more, knocking aside a tentacle that sought to take advantage of her momentary distraction. That tentacle is splattered with a sudden strike with the blade of a hand, splattering crimson all over the ground... Only to reform. Then she's tearing at it, leaping away from where she'd been standing to go into a punishing aerial assault that has her tangled in scarle. animate fluid-like limbs.
GAME: Whirlpoopin' advances the initiative order.
Round One - Init 8.
It is now Serraphine's turn! BLood GOlem is next!
GAME: Serraphine rolls 12 + 3 - 3: (19)+12+3+- 3: 37
GAME: Serraphine rolls 7 + 3 - 3: (3)+7+3+- 3: 16
GAME: Serraphine rolls 12 + 3 - 3: (4)+12+3+- 3: 22
GAME: Serraphine rolls 1d10+3+18+9: (9)+3+18+9: 39
GAME: Whirlpoopin' advances the initiative order.
Round One - Init 6.
It is now BLood GOlem's turn! Constantin is next!
GAME: Whirlpoopin' rolls 1d20+13: (15)+13: 28
GAME: Whirlpoopin' rolls 1d20+13: (17)+13: 30
GAME: Whirlpoopin' rolls 1d20+13: (7)+13: 20
GAME: Whirlpoopin' rolls 1d20+13: (8)+13: 21
GAME: Whirlpoopin' rolls 1d20+13: (14)+13: 27
GAME: Whirlpoopin' rolls 1d20+18: (7)+18: 25
GAME: Whirlpoopin' rolls 1d4+1: (1)+1: 2
GAME: Whirlpoopin' rolls 1d4+1: (2)+1: 3
GAME: Whirlpoopin' rolls 1d4+1: (3)+1: 4
BLOOP.
Serraphine just got...yanked... by tendrils of blood... into the body of the damn thing. It is now trying to abosrb her directly. It does not look to be a pleasent experience... at all.
Still, it's weakning. There are gaps in the bulk of the monster that weren't there before your engaged.
GAME: Whirlpoopin' advances the initiative order.
Round One - Init 6.
It is now Constantin's turn! Hun'rar is next!
GAME: Whirlpoopin' rolls 1d20+21: (14)+21: 35
GAME: Whirlpoopin' rolls 1d8+11: (8)+11: 19
GAME: Whirlpoopin' advances the initiative order.
Round One - Init 4.
It is now Hun'rar's turn! Iskandar is next!
GAME: Hun'rar rolls weapon22-2: (9)+16+-2: 23
GAME: Hun'rar rolls weapon22-2-5: (4)+16+-2+-5: 13
GAME: Hun'rar rolls 1d10+9+4+3+1d6 fire: (2)+9+4+3+(1 fire): 19
Hun'rar continues to press on against the blood creature, sword wreathed in purple flame and he strikes at the tendrils, his blade striking deep while wards off other hits with his shield.
GAME: NEW ROUND!
Whirlpoopin' advances the initiative order.
Round Two - Init 25.
It is now Iskandar's turn! Kore is next!
Iskandar can't spot a good place to punch the creature, almost every part looks the same as the others. Finally he swings. The blow misses wildly. "It's, ah...it's quick. But I think we are wearing it down!" He peers into the mass at Serraphine. "Just hold on!"
GAME: Iskandar rolls 14+2: (3)+14+2: 19
GAME: Whirlpoopin' advances the initiative order.
Round Two - Init 20.
It is now Kore's turn! Morgan is next!
GAME: Kore rolls weapon0+2+2+1: (7)+13+2+2+1: 25
GAME: Kore rolls weapon0+2+2+1: (18)+13+2+2+1: 36
GAME: Kore rolls weapon0+2+2+1: (3)+13+2+2+1: 21
GAME: Kore rolls weapon0+2+2+1: (7)+13+2+2+1: 25
GAME: Kore rolls weapon0+2+2+1-5: (14)+13+2+2+1+-5: 27
GAME: Kore rolls 1d8+2d6+strength+strength+1+3: (6)+(10)+4+4+1+3: 28
GAME: Kore rolls 1d8+2d6+strength+1+3: (4)+(9)+4+1+3: 21
GAME: Kore rolls 1d8+2d6+strength+1+3: (5)+(9)+4+1+3: 22
GAME: Kore rolls 1d8+2d6+strength+1+3: (1)+(5)+4+1+3: 14
GAME: Kore rolls 1d8+2d6+strength+1+3: (1)+(5)+4+1+3: 14
GAME: Whirlpoopin' removes the timestop.
Timestop by Whirlpoopin' has left.
"It's not--- it's a mass of /blood/. How do you wear down something made of liquid?" Suddenly, Kore stops short. Surrounded by flowing crimson tendrils she turns slightly to look over toward Iskandar. Those blue eyes are intense as they stare past the rapidly encroaching sanguine tentacles that are crushing down upon her. "It's quick... How is it even solid? There's only a certain amount of blood to be had-" A beat. "Attack it from the sides!"
As Iskandar and the others bash into the bloody mass it twists and contorts to avoid their blows, splashing blood about the room until it smells of copper and fresh death. As the pool is struck it splits and coagulates, nimbly avoiding the incoming blows. Kore is standing quite still, though it means that the monster has her just about in its clutches. She watches, and she waits. Until the attacks cause its torso to narrow to its thinnest point. Then she lunges.
The Monk doesn't so much as leap to the attack as she dives through the center of the thing, using her body to split the masses of blood into two entirely separate semi-solid pools of writhing tentacles and ichor. That's when she starts to kick and stomp at it, as everyone gathers round the helpless thing, and they manage to beat it down until it pools lifelessly to the floor.
Hun'rar shakes his sword to clear the blood on the blade, its flames consuming the last specks that remain. "What a horrid and vile thing. Is everyone ok? I can provide a little healing if things are bade." he offers to the rest of the party.
The blood disperses into a giant sploosh, yes, drenching the floor and, yes, Kore as well.
Not that she wasn't already from diving through it.
In any case, you are still in the twisty basement where movement and directions seem disorienting, if improved here. You're not exactly sure how far you went to wind up here, but now that you can look around more clearly, several things begin to become apparent, the cultists came through here, the ones that escaped the assault on the temple, the ones no doubt shewltering Oinig, if he's actually here.
For a moment here, the ground seems to split apart, the entire room /reconfiguring/ with you in it, qa twisting set of stairs built by solidifying blood now leading down a gaping pit that formed from nowhere, like a great drain for the blood to flow down.
Great.
Iskandar stoops and picks up one of his arrows from earlier. His quiver is half empty after so many battles one after another. "Is that the way we must go next?" he eyes the drain where the blood is going.
"We could go through the drain if we need to," Kore replies slowly. She is taking a deep breath as she straightens herself and turns to look around the room. Dark monk's garb does not display blood stians, at least. "But we were trying to head upward. It won't take us toward the portal. Still... We can't really stay in this room."
Hun'rar nods "Onward... and idealy upward but this may also be a path. Hard to say but our hunt must continue even if we have to go into dark places. Shall we continue on then?"
Iskandar tilts his head back to peer up at the ceiling, then down to look at the drain. He rubs his chin. "The normal rules of nature didn't apply here," he notes. "We walked towards the tower and got nowhere, it was only when we walked alongside that we reached it. And then later..." he hesitates. He's not exactly sure how they reached this far. But he's fairly certain it wasn't anything sensible.
"Perhaps we can simply walk up the wall," Kore replies to Iskandar somewhat ruefully. She takes a deep breath and- tries jumping, jut to see where she will land. On her feet, most likely. But if it's possible to leap to the ceiling or stand upon a wall Kore will be attempting to find the way. Just... For a moment.
Serraphine blinks, standing there... covered in blood. She had finally been freed of the monstrosity. She stands next to Iskandar as he looks up - looking up too - then next to Kore as she jumps... and having satisfied herself with both, starts to walk down the stairs into the pit. "Not like we have much of a choice."
Hun'rar nods to Serra "Your right, its the only way ahead of us. Get ready for more of this, its unlikely to be the last we encounter."
Iskandar recovers one more arrow and inspects it briefly. He curses and then tosses it aside with a clatter. "Yes - best be prepared for anything." He moves for the stairs, an arrow knocked. "Remember, this time attack from a distance first, then close in..."
It's hard to tell if he's talking to the others, or himself.
Hun'rar starts walking down the stairs "A good idea, keep your senses about you, we are truly hunting the enemies territory now." he says half talking to himself. "Traps, ambushes..."
GAME: Kore rolls perception+2: (13)+16+2: 31
So, the rest of you are heading for the stairs when Kore passes through the ceiling like it isn't even there, then rises up through the sinkhole you're justy going down.
And she continues to 'fall'.
"-Is- it though?" Iskandar muses softly as they descend. "-Is- this enemy territory? Remember outside - how many demons had been slain? Could that really be the doing of Oinig or his allies? I thought he worked for Asumit..."
GAME: Hun'rar rolls will: (6)+14: 20
Hun'rar takes a moment to cast a simple spell, trying a few times until it succeeds due to his armor but when he does he instantly stops the spell. "Gilea'd beard thats bright. So this is all magic, probably a good indicator that the Shard of Animus is nearby as it would take something really strong to warp reality like this."
GAME: Hun'rar attempts to cast Feather Fall but fails due to ASF.
Hun'rar takes a deep breath, his eyes briefly glowing with red flame "Slow down!" he calls out, his voice deep and empowered by the arcane energies flowing through his veins.
GAME: Iskandar rolls acrobatics+1d6: 9+(3): 12
GAME: Iskandar rolls 1d20+acrobatics+1d6: (17)+9+(2): 28
Iskandar watches Kore 'fall' a few times, trying to work out the timing. It's only when the spell slows her down that he seems confident enough to leaps. Powerful giantborn muscles in his legs carry him across the singhole, and his hand reaches and and grabs Kore as he sails by, pulling her with him to the opposite side.
Tumbling to a stop, Kore is rescued! She also is probably about to be violently ill from the disorienting nature of what she just went through. She'll need a few minutes to recover.
When she does, she is able to explain that she was able to see 'more' of the place when she was passing thorugh the floors, falling outside of the 'ubble' of its reality, so to speak. It's a bit weird to explain, but the gist is that she has a clerarer iodea of where ther is movement and peopole, and isble to guide you down the 'stairs', which really lead... up?
You FEEL like you're moving up, even as your eyes tell you you're moving... down.
Serraphine looks at this dance, her mouth pulling into a thin line she finally sighs and shrugs. "Okay. Sounds fine to me. Looked like fun though." She sits down on the stairs and waits to hear more about it from Kore before heading on further down-up... up-down... whatever, along the stairs.
"So - tell us about it." Serraphine grimaces at Kore, curiosity getting the better of her.
Iskandar nods knowingly. "You see? I had a feeling it would be something unnatural and senseless." He assures the others as he follows along.
...it is definitely senseless. Nearly as senseless as Serraphine!
(Okay, not quite that senselsss.)
You wind your way 'down' and up at the same time, somehow having the sense you've emerged higher in the tower. It is here you find bodies, more of them, cultists and.. others? Sacrifices, poor peasents from Vandalheim, it would appear. The kind of people nobody would miss forced to run the confusing maze. It looks like they died in agony from something, no doubt their blood contributing to the creation of the Blood Monster... down... up? stairs.
Direction has ceased to have a logical meaning and waves of sea-sickness hit you regularly on your trip.
Finally, following Koe's careful directions, you're able to pass through a wall like it wasn't even there and find yourself stumbling into what seems to be a single point of light in a vast, black abyss that suddenly encompasses you.
You've reached the border with the Abyss. Literally. A piece of Taara's realm that has /merged/ with this place when she tried to sieze control of it, but is held back by... something. No doubt that's the Hsard. Somewhere.
You pass through the darkness and find yourself again stumbling out a rather large room -- this time a clearly desecrated temple to Animus, where those who dealt here in worship once stood. It is a mirror of the one you passed through to get here's central chamber... it's just backwards.
And at its center is a man with a single rapier in his hand, sitting over the screaming, robed figure of a cultist which he appears to've been torturing with his knife blade.
"You've /failed/. Again and again. And now others are here chasing me -- and you. Your master will be displeased."
"He's your master too."
"You know, the fun part about a geas is that there's /limitless/ permutations of things you can get away with and still fall under its auspice. For example, nothing stops me from torturiong his servants for hours at a time, so long as I don't /kill/ them, and apparently, you can't die here. Win win, in my book."
Oh boy. This must be Oinig.
Iskandar steps into the temple, his eyes turning quickly to scan the room before they fix upon the swordsman. "Oinig, I presume?" He walks forward, but at an angle that leaves him a bit spread out from the rest of the party. Some instinct telling him not to stay grouped too closely. "We've been looking for you for ages."
"Was this the guy with the whole airship that we followed into that tavern and then to Vandalheim?" Serraphine is scratching at her chin now as she heads over toward Oinig - holding her sword in her free hand. She tilts her head and glances off toward Iskandar, "Or was that someone different? Either way... This is the person we're here for, right?" She points at him with her sword.
"Surrender." The Arvek frowns.
"Hm, no. I don't believe I will," says Oinig, turning to face the lot of you.
His stance is one belonging to a... very accomplished swordsmen. He smiles.
He smiles big.