Age of Ruin IC: Tempting Fate

[knewsom]

Seeing the havoc the red-robed Zhan are wreaking, Runa quickly retrieves a pinch of sand from a pouch on her belt, throwing it in an arc covering as many of them as possible, as she muttered an arcane phrase...

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casting Greater Slumber, affects up to 10HD of enemies. Will save DC 17 negates.

[Toliudar]

Dion

Well, it seems like these three red-robed guttersnipes want to dance. But first, let's help the "boss" out with that pirate captain, if we can.

Dion concentrates for a moment, and shifts her appearance to that of a male Mokai sailor, young, skinny and nursing a badly burned left arm.

Not quite ready to leave the safety of her boom, Dion shifts to hide her actions from the three red-robed figures as best she could, and called on the mighty hammer of Calamesh. The great red hammer appeared next to the scarred Zhan warrior, and swung immediately towards his head.

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By my math, I think Darkfire has just now expired. Sigh.

Using a move action to shift the image being projected by her hat of disguise, as described above. The injured left arm is to disguise the reality of the shield on her forearm.

Casting Spiritual Weapon, set to appear next to the scarred man attacking Verlyn. I realized that we haven't discussed a specific weapon associated with Calamesh, but a big red warhammer (x3 crit multiplier, bludgeoning damage) seemed about right for him. If you've got a different image, Ozzy let me know and I'll amend the text above.

Hammer's attack:
(1d20+9)[25]
(1d8+2)[8]

[Lycar]

Verlyn

The scarred man with the green fiery sword snarls as his crewmates are peppered by crossbow bolts and darkfire and fall to their deaths.
He steps forward towards Verlyn. Davethran b*stard! he shouts, as he swings his sword in a lethal arc. Imshaeroth take you!

Verlyn noted with dismay that his attack didn't disable the pirate. He is content that his bodyguard's magic took care of him though.

(Very well, the underlings fight one another. Time for the real warriors to face off. This would be the captain's place really, but I am sure he doesn't mind me fighting in his place. Much.)

As the enemy captain approaches, Verlyn strikes a pose and announces himself.

"I am Verlyn Felyx Stillwater of House Stillwater. I will kill you now."

But then the pirate captain strikes true.

It hurts.

A lot.

Verlyn is furious, how does this .. this.. pirate dare to hit him?!

"That was your last mistake, pirate scum!"

And with a feral snarl, Verlyn starts to slash away at the enemy.

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Swift action to enter Blood in the Water stance.

Full attack
1st attack: (1d20+7)[26], dmg. (1d4+3)[6] +2 vs. humans.
2nd attack: (1d20+7)[10], dmg. (1d4+3)[5] +2 vs. humans.
3rd attack: (1d20+2)[14], dmg. (1d4+2)[6] +2 vs. humans.
4th attack: (1d20+2)[11], dmg. (1d4+2)[4] +2 vs. humans.

Lycar

[Ozzy_G]

Runa casts her spell, and the sand drifts over to settle on two of the red-robed Zahn, but they scream mockeries of human laughter, and it seems to have no effect.

Downstairs, Ruka looks past Jackel and up towards the red-robed Zahn outlined in the doorway.
You rouse everyone else, she snarls, I deal with pirates! She unhooks her acts and charges the laughing maniac, swinging her axe in a deadly arc, which is blocked by the man's shield.

[Ozzy_G]

4 of the 6 pirates down on the deck try to engage the phantom warriors, but to no effect. The other two run off to seek easier prey, giving three of the phantom warriors and Reyhan opportunity to strike at their unprotected backs. Reyhan claws one of them, badly wounding him.

There are also four remaining up on the badly listing compartment with their captain and Verlyn. Looking at Verlyn and their captain squaring off, one tries to stab Verlyn in the side, while the other three swing on ropes down to the rigging, which they start to climb down, obviously trying to avoid the phantom warriors who attacked their friends.

[The Great Skenardo]

Jackel Betruger
Jackel scratches his head for a moment, looking after Ruka. Then he shrugs and begins jogging down to rouse the others.

[Ozzy_G]

The two piratess easily dodge the phantom warriors and, while one of them is badly wounded by the bird, they reach a young sailor, barely more than a boy, and brutally hack him to death.
The bird lashes out, its vicious talons pulling the intestines out of two of the pirates, leaving them screaming on the deck.
Verlyn slashes out with his sword in a flurry of cuts, but the captain manages to deflect all but one of them with his sword, though that cuts him badly.
With a boom, a red hammer flickering with lightning flies out of nowhere and whacks the captain on the back, knocking him forward slightly, and eliciting a howl of pain. But as he stands straight again, it was evidently more shock than real hurt, as he still doesn't look badly wounded.
The mokai sailors are mostly retreating into the forecastle cabin, as several of them have been killed already, but they fire off a couple of shots as they go. One hits a pirate in the shoulder, almost knocking him off his feet, but he manages to stay up, though badly wounded.

[Ozzy_G]

Screaming his hate, the captain, now trapped between Verlyn and the floating hammer, lashes out with his green-burning sword. His attacks slash across Verlyn's belly. Verlyn screams, and collapses to the deck of the listing compartment, badly wounded and unconscious.

At the entrance to the innards of the ship, Ruka the Dar Ven battles one of the red-robed pirates, who drives his mace into her belly, which doesn't seem to slow her down much as she hacks frenziedly at him.

The one that is holding fire in his hand throws it at Runa, but it misses her, catching a rope instead, adding to the blaze of the ship.

The third charges towards Dion, jumping on top of the chests in front of her and swinging his mace at her, grinning and shouting over the screams of the dying Are you angry yet little boy?

[Toliudar]

Dion

Dion nearly doubles over from the blow, and makes no effort to conceal her pain.

Ah, well. If I can't get away from this lout, maybe I can confuse him.

Roiling, Dion shouts out: "No, you fool! the demon is breaking loose! I can't control him any longer."

Sparks dance in her eyes, and a nimbus of crackling blue light builds around her head. It blasts out at the mace-wielding lout, catching him full in the chest. Dion clutches at, and continues to make the most of, the chests in front of her.

Meanwhile, the Big Red Hammer continues to flail away at the captain, if a bit less accurately than before.

[knewsom]

Seeing Verlyn collapse on the pirate's deck above, Runa cursed quietly under her breath.

Damned fool... Hopefully it wasn't my employment that just collapsed as well.

Quickly, she barked an arcane command, sending three flashes of bright and deadly magickal energy flying at her red-robed attacker!

[Ozzy_G]

The red-robed man screams as bolts of magic wham into him. He staggers, wounded but alive.
Two of the pirates run forward, ducking between barrels, towards the Mokai sailors.
Another two attack Reyhan, swinging brutal looking cutlasses.
Another two drop from the rigging, stabbing the bird from above.
The pirate up with his captain and the now unconscious Verlyn shouts something that those of you down on the deck can't hear, and vaults over the side. He lands on the rigging below him, but lands badly, his foot twisting in the ropes, swinging him around as his ankle snaps, and leaving him screaming, hanging from the rigging.
The last pirate on the rigging starts climbing down towards his companions who are trying to reach the Mokai.

[NobleSavage]

Reyhan

As all but one of the pirate's blades miss, the one barely ruffling his feathers, the bloodied bird lets out a throaty, very human, laugh.

With a short hop upwards, the bird gains a few feet of elevation, claws and beak lashing out at the pirates once more.

[Ozzy_G]

Dion casts her spell, and the man screams as he's briefly outlined by lightning. But then it fades, steaming, and he chuckles to himself, lashing out with his mace to hit Dion.
The captain shouts as the hammer bonks him on the leg.
The Mokai fire off a few shots, pincushioning the pirate hanging upside down from the rigging, then they shut the door to the forecastle, with them inside.
As Ruka battles the red-robed Zahn forward, the oathsworn runs up from inside the ship, slashing the red-robed Zahn at the side, the firelight making the spider tattoo on her bald head seem to move like some demon.
The red-robed priest they are fighting snarls, and smashes Ruka on the head with his mace, but she is in battle frenzy, frothing at the mouth, and doesn't seem to notice.
The third of the red-robed pirates throws another blob of fire at Runa, screaming and chanting. Isana, Isana, lady of fire! You cannot escape her crimson dance, the dance of dreams and rage! He grins like a happy child, disturbing while he's surrounded by fire and dead bodies.
The captain jumps over the side of his ship, abandoning it with only Verlyn aboard, and lands in the rigging.

[Toliudar]

Dion

Dion grunts as the mace makes her left arm go briefly numb. Glancing up, she sees the pirate captain jump down from the airship, with Verlyn nowhere in evidence.

Fcuk! If he's gotten himself killed with his foolish leaping about, I don't get paid.

Positioning herself under the gondola, Dion does her best to avoid the red-robed man's swinging mace, and shouts out.

"The demon! It's taking me up! Up! Away!!"

With a swirl and a long ululation the sailor-boy/priest-girl swirls up into the air with a flourish, sliding forward to land softly in the pirate ship above.

[knewsom]

Runa shrieks as the flames scorch her, nearly bringing the slight woman to her knees. A hardness appears in her eyes, burning hatred mounting as she suddenly disappears!

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casting invisibility, and taking a move action to find a new position.

[Ozzy_G]

Reyhan claws one of the wounded sailors, who falls on the flaw screaming as his entrails spill out.
He's now surrounded by three pirates, who try to stab him. In a hurricane of bites and rakes, he rips one of them apart.
The other three pirates run forward across the deck towards the Mokai, from cover to cover, avoiding the flames everywhere.