Death's End IC II

[3SecondCultist]

Arran, Ben, Calia, Elara, Myr: "Stay back! We can harm these things if we're careful enough." Myr's words ring across the glistening stones as the warrior takes a step back, guisarme still in hand. Although his own reserves have been sapped by the monster he faces, he manages to swing his weapon quickly and recover in time to prepare for a counter-attack. Fortunately, that attack will never come, as his second swing cuts through his enemy's ghostly visage, leaving only dragonfire behind. The other shadows clearly notice the threat, as they hover slightly out of range before setting up for another attack.

The warrior's victory is only slightly spoiled by Ala'thea's own transformation. Out of the corner of your eye, you can see her own shape begin to disappear, her gear melding into her body as she grows in size. Hands become deadly paws, her smooth skin becomes fur, and her slender face becomes an ursine snout. In a matter of moments, what was once an elf has become a sizable brown bear. She roars in the direction of the Six, a kind of promise of destruction to come.

Malthus' reply is immediate.

Extending one arm, the polymorphed mage hurls a bolt of charged lightning as if it were nothing. The spell illuminates the alley, soaring right over Calia to crash directly into the druid's face. Ala'thea roars again, although this time it is driven by pain. She stumbles - as though about to collapse completely - and yet manages to stay on her feet.

"Oooh snap! Nice shot, Malthus. I love the smell of scorched bear, you know. It reminds me of home." The robed man raises his voice slightly so that Calia can hear, even as his hands prepare a new spell. After a few lingering moments, he has completed another calling. You can tell immediately that this new creation is corporeal. Its wide frame seems to mark it out as one of the great reptiles, a cousin of the extinct dragons. But whatever grandeur its visage once held is now lost - its empty eye sockets and rotted wings now stand as a mockery of its former glory. Maniakh does like his jokes.

Your eyes are also attracted to movement along the rooftops. The two incorporeal wraiths fly through the cloudy afternoon air, soaring around the battlefield as they prepare to flank you. As they stare down at you, their umbral eyes are filled with foreboding.

"At least you're putting up a fight! I'm glad to know that we have such resilient toys to play with."

Spoiler: Actions

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Okay, here we go!

First of all, Myr took a 5-ft step back and full attacked the shadow with his guisarme, using Combat Expertise to take an additional -4 penalty on his rolls for a touch AC of 13 for the next round. On top of that, he gets to roll an AoO against the shadow when it tries to approach him again. He also used his swift action to activate his minor and major auras - Activate Dexterity and Motivate Attack, for a +5 to all Dex related things and a +1 to attack rolls (which I already factored in).

Next, Ala'thea used Wild Shape to become a bear. Nothing special here, moving right along.

Bam! A lightning bolt spell to the face. Ala'thea failed her Reflex save, so she takes the full (10d6)[40] damage from Malthus' spell.

Then Maniakh spent another rebuke attempt in order to quicken a summon undead IV spell, on top of his usual summoning ability. So there's a zombie wyvern as well as another quartet of shadows here.

Finally, we have the actual movement/attack actions of Maniakh's previous summons.

Myr AoO: (1d20+7)[10]
Myr Miss Chance: (1d100)[43]
Myr Damage: (2d4+7)[12] and (2d6)[9] from DFI
Myr Crit Confirm: (1d20+7)[12]:

Now, in the case of failure on Myr's part, the shadow is going to make its attack.

Shadow Attack 1: (1d20+1)[19]
Shadow Damage 1: (1d6+2)[7]

And the second shadow is going to try and attack the celestial bison that Elara summoned!

Shadow Attack 1: (1d20+1)[21]
Shadow Damage 1: (1d6+2)[8]

The shadow that Arran didn't attack is looping back to approach the candidates, leaving the fighter alone, and the wraiths are both on the roofs, getting in position to make their own strikes next turn.

Lirian: Several of the elves seated at the table stir at the mention of trouble coming to Arborgate. Evidently, the concept had not yet occurred to them. Isidar seems unfazed, though. He looks at Sylvia once, and it seems enough for him to make some sort of decision on his own.

"Thaira oth. Go now."

Without another word, the rest of the hall's occupants begin to file out. They don't even bother to glance your way even once on their way out, and you can hear furtive little conversations in elvish as they leave. Isidar simply sits in his oaken chair and waits for the last one to disappear, before waving his hand for the two of you to sit down. Sylvia takes the seat to his immediate left, leaving you to sit opposite her at the same end of the grand table. Isidar is the very image of fatherly concern, as his hand moves across the grains to rest near yours without ever touching.

"So, I have two travelers, both warning me of dangers that may affect this realm. As its chief ward, it is my responsibility to act on such threats. I would have you both tell me everything you know now. Leave nothing out, even if you think it inconsequential or pointless."