The Sea of Starry Night II [IC]

[bhdrake]

Lumpy

The burly half-orc would have breathed in a sigh of relief as the second sentinel fell, if he could spare the time to stop panting. Regardless, his elation was tangible, even as the last guardian on the ground lunged through to strike at Hajih.

Shaking his head to clear it and regain focus, he lunges at the stone troll, pouring on guarded strikes at it as it turned it's attention back to him. His feet move with surprising speed for the normally limping warrior, but through the dust and debris of the two fallen golems, he is unable to land a definitive strike, blows skittering off stone hide uselessly. His voice rings out, gravelly and strained, taunts apparently so integral part of his fighting that he spares the wind for it. What starts out a series of vitriolic cursing and insults in orcish eventually melds into common,

"Almost there!"

((OOC Still with expertise


8 + 4 = 12

[Phasm]

Lissa

Lissa trots along where Callos guides her, listening to try and gauge the positions of Darius and the stone monster. Her foot encounters something soft and wet- Darius's hand, wet with his own blood. "Is this Darius in front of me? Good. Cover me, someone!" Quickly Lissa bends over and presses her glowing hand onto the fallen fighter's body. The glow dissipates, and Darius seems to be breathing a bit easier. He still looks pretty bad, though.


OOC: And move with Callos, releasing the prepared CLW once she gets to Darius. That last bit might be next turn- I can't remember if releasing a held spell is free or standard.

[HempRope]

Achkby

"May Dragonnes pour from the sky upon the heads of whatever created these infernal creatures!
Hold on, Darius! Lumpy, Fizahn, get yourselves up here!" he calls out loudly.

He beings casting his spell of long, loopy gestures and harsh words once again, adding the twist to shape its manifestation more to his liking.

"May I strike once again," he intones, and releases the bolt. Electrical energy courses towards the construct.

[OOC]Nat1+5=6 to hit (DAMN! Karma for the 20.). For good measure, 18 damage to whatever he does hit.[/OOC]

[Zeal]

Hajih, Human Ranger

Standing up, Hajih slides in beside the stone 'monster' and stabs the creature with all his strength

(Attack: 18 +8=26, Damage 10+5= 15)

[Dr._Bob]

In the alley

Lumpy and Hajih hack and slash at the sentinel as best they can, chips of rock flying everywhere as steel rings against stone.

The construct fights back, raking Lumpy with its claws again. Both Lumpy and Hajih manage to avoid Darius' fate however.

On the roof

Fizahn rolls to the side and stabs the construct in the foot. The sentinel finds the attack irrelevant.

Darius seems to be going into shock. He hardly complains when Djital dodges in bare-chested and unarmored and grabs his sword. Although Djital's act is brave and decisive, it is also foolhardy. Djital barely has time to scream a challenge at the sentinel before he is cut down and shredded by its formidable stone claws.

Callos manages to drag Darius over to where Lissa is waiting. She quickly lays hands on him, shocked at how bloody he is. The hemorrhaging slows somewhat, but the fighter is still critically wounded, and Djital may be even worse off ...

Linda is on her feet now (having just gained the roof). She sends a trio of magic missiles into the construct. "Those were my last ones!" she exclaims worriedly.

Achkby curses as yet another ray misses its target.



OOC: Lumpy misses. Hajih hits. The sentinel misses with a 10 and hits with a 24 for 8 damage.

Fizahn misses. The sentinel's AoO misses. Darius is partially healed by Lissa. Achkby misses. Linda autohits with her last MM for 11 points. The sentinel hits with a 17 and a 26 and rends for a total of 33 (7 + 9 + 17)points.

Sentinel #3 (in the alley) has taken 8 damage. Sentinel #4 (on the roof) has taken 61 points of damage.

[bhdrake]

Lumpy, Half-Orc Warrior

The taste of blood and bile rise in the back of Lumpy's throat, copper tang mixing with sickly sweet - the taste of a losing battle, and he knew it well. He should have told Hajih to head for the roof sooner. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to hold up long enough now, and he'd be damned if he was the first to cut and run. Throat tensing, his voice calls out, more subdued and directed at Hajih,

"Back, up the roof now! Ain't gonna hold much longer!"

His eyes refocus on the sentinel before him, feet moving in rythm with the fight. That last slash had definately torn something inside him; he felt sluggish already. But if there was a chance to hold up, he had to ignore it and press on. Maintaining the best defense he knew how to, he lashes out at the stone troll again and again. The strangled growl gurgling in the depths of his throat rises to a muffled roar, the manic cry of a soul facing his end.

((OOC

Attack: 17 + 4 = 21, Damage: 2 + 4 = 6

[Erikkin]

Fizahn:

"Stupid stone beast! I will destroy you!" Fizahn mixes a few gnomish curses in with his battle cry for good measure. Angrily, he hacks at the construct with all his might. It seems like he might be getting a little too frustrated, because his attack does not appear very accurate.

OOC: 15... (6+7+2) 3 (1+2)

[Callos_DeTerran]

Callos

"Djital no! Stupid fool its too....DJITAL!"

A horrified look began to spread over Callos's rapidly paleing face as he watched the brutal blow that Djital took from the stone sentinal. For a long moment Callos could only stand there in shock before he dove for his friend's body. Desparate fingers sought out Djital's neck and the distraught mage felt for any sign of a pulse or a sign of life. Instead all he felt was a cold clamminess that he knew all too well from his younger days underneath his master...the cold pallor of death.

"NOOOOOO! HE WASN'T SUPPOSED TO DIE! HE WASN'T SUPPOSED TO DIE DOWN HERE!"

The mage wailed in despair as he began to climb up to his feet and turned towards the stone guard with a look that could have melted mithril. His teeth and hands clenched it was all Callos could do to keep from sobbing on the spot though tears still stung his eyes. With a roar of rage and sorrow Callos dived towards the stone creature, arms spread wide in an attempt to pull it against him where he might have a little more of an advantage or at least give it to his companions. Even as he dived though images of the time Djital and he had spent together flashed in front of his eyes and deep down the survivor that was Callos knew he would have no regrets if he died in this act.

((Cinematics aside Callos is enraged enough to attempt to grapple this stone creature and try and crush the life out of it.))

[The_King_of_Durf]

Darius

At first he doesn't even seem to notice his wounds, and he grips the sword tightly when Djital attempts to take it.

Then the pain hits. "Mmfh." Instead of words, blood drips out of his mouth. He almost drops the sword into Djital's hands as he falls to his knees.

"I didn't... didn't know I had this much b-blood in me!" He says to Lissa. He tries to chuckle, but it sends him into a fit of coughing and more blood slips out of his mouth.

"To think... I wished for this... wished for death..." He says quietly as he is healed

His armor is battered. His bow, lost. Even his sword is gone now.

" How... how could I wish for this?"

But also gone, it seems, is his will to die.

((Internet's been broken lately, sorry I missed last round))

[Phasm]

Lissa

Earlier...

The newly-minted cleric looks down with blind eyes as her patient speaks. Lissa shakes her head and smiles wryly at Darius. "'Cause you were being an idiot, that's why. Don't worry, it happens to the best of us." Despite her flippant words, her tone is warm.


Now...

Lissa lets loose with a few choice curses of her own, a mixture of Gnomish, Draconic and Undercommon. "Callos, you maggot-brained, oversized IMBECILE! Get your skinny rear back here before you get shredded! Or I'll shred you if the monster doesn't!" Yeah, that's a real fearsome threat coming from a blind gnome. Hearing Fizahn curse, her head turns that way. "Fizahn, I've still got magic weapon scrolls over here!"

She chants the same Celestial prayer, and her hand lights up again. Now Lissa faces a dilemma... heal the person in front of her, or wait for Djital? Hesitating, she bites her lip. Baravar, help me out here... which one do I heal? Unbidden, the sounds of battle intrude- grinding stone, shouts, the impact of spells, ripping flesh. That thing sounds BIG. Djital wasn't wearing any armor, and Callos seems to think he's dead. Didn't Callos say he was a necromancer? I'd think he knows what dead looks like. Taking a deep breath, Lissa again presses her hand onto Darius' chest and releases the spell.


OOC: Burn bless for CLW = 6 hp healing on Darius.

[HempRope]

Achkby, Halfling Sorcerer

No. Way. Why in the nine hells would he go at that thing like that?
And not his friend, too...!

"Get off of him!" cries Achkby. "I can't get a shot."

Achkby rushes to whomever seems most exposed (and least armomred), and begins a low chant of round syllables. Then, placing his hand upon them, he conjures a thin sheet of raw magical force about them for protection.

[OOC]Casting Mage Armor on the most exposed character with studded leather, leather, or no armor. But not if it brings him w/i reach of the construct. I can't tell who this should be because I'm not entirely clear on the layout, but maybe Lissa?[/OOC]

[Dr._Bob]

On the roof

Tears blinding his eyes, Callos charges the sentinel and wraps his arms around the stone construct's waist. He struggles desperately to wrestle the 8 or 9 foot tall sentinel off the roof, but the construct is too large and too heavy to budge.

Taking a running start, Sheyra leaps in from the side and plants a flying spinning back kick into the construct's chest. To her and everyone else's amazement, the stone gives way with a resounding crack! and the sentinel falls into pieces.

Callos falls backwards under a small avalanche of stone fragments, but Fizahn is there to quickly dig him out.

Achkby is just about to cast mage armor on Lissa when the construct on the roof is destroyed. He holds the spell and looks over the edge to where Hajih and Lumpy attempt to hold off a sentinel all by themselves ...

[hr]
In the alley

Neither Hajih nor Lumpy wants to be the first to cut and run. A small shower of stone fragments from above tells them that the sentinel on the roof has been destroyed, but the construct they are facing seems to have a lot of fight left in it.

Hajih chops deeply into the sentinel again from the left while Lumpy attacks from the right. The sentinel slashes both of them with its claws, opening up fresh wounds upon wounds.

Linda and Elthan scramble to new positions on the roof, then rain hellfire down on the last remaining sentinel from above.

"Get out of there!" Linda shouts to Hajih and Lumpy.





OOC: Sheyra hits for 8 damage. Sentinel #4 is destroyed. Achkby holds off on casting mage armor for the moment.

Hajih hits with a natural 19 for 8 damage. Lumpy hits for 6 damage. Sentinel #3 hits Hajih with a 28 and Lumpy with a 22 for 9 and 10 damage respectively.

Linda and Elthan both cast scorching ray hitting for a total of 27 points of damage.

Sentinel #3 has taken 49 points of damage.

[The_King_of_Durf]

Darius

Darius staggers up, he winces as his left leg shakes violently. He walks to Djital's corpse, yanking the sword from his grasp.

"Lissa, why is that when I say 'Nobody else is going to die', somebody always does?"

He jumps off the roof and swings at the final sentinel.

((This is probably a really bad idea.))

[bhdrake]

Lumpy

That last one had really gotten him, slipping over his guard arm, three off-skewed lines torn bloodily across scalp and over his left eye. It had missed doing any permenent damage, insofar as blinding him, but it made things hard to see regardless. He could still tell Hajih was therre beside him though,

Damn, why didn't he run! Idiot!

But with sounds of the last sentinel's destruction up top, debris raining down upon them ineffectually and the mages resuming thair salvo, just maybe they still have a chance. Murmuring between shortened breaths, a brief prayer to those close enough to hear it, he presses on against the statue, fighting yet a bit clumsier for his injuries, but now without passion and spirit.

((OOC Still using expertise
AC 23
Attack : 15 + 4 = 19 Damage: 5 + 4 = 9

That's a miss I think, unless Darius happens to land in a flanking position without dying from falling damage/AoOs. Here's to hoping
))

[Elmorwen]

"Damn it, not again," Sheyra mutters. She seems to be more desensitized to death. "Climb up the rope!" she yells at the ones still in the alley. "Then we can pick it off as it tries to climb!"

[Phasm]

Lissa

Swearing viciously in Gnomish, Lissa attempts to hold her patient down, to no avail. Darius is just too big and strong. "Curse it all, Darius, get back here and SIT! Down, boy! You're still in no condition to fight! I didn't heal you just to have you go out and do something stupid!" She curses again, probing the roof around her with her rapier to try and find her footing. I think it's the height. Maybe it's too much work for big folk's hearts to pump the blood all the way up to their brains, so they do stupid things. "Sheyra, can you get hold of Darius and make him sit?"

[The_King_of_Durf]

Darius

"Maybe I'm in no condition to fight, but they aren't either." he says.

((And the next stupid move award goes to me, hooray! BTW, Phasm you put my character's name at the top of your post))

[HempRope]

Damn you stupide fighter people!

Achkby, Halfling Sorcerer

A victory! ...oh, Hells, there's still one down in the alleyways.

...Aaand there goes Darius. Damn him, too. I think I'm supposed to be keeping these people alive!

"Damn you, Darius, you are going to die!" screams Achkby in a fit of rage as he jumps over to Sheyra

He releases his spell on the small monk and a silvery sheen momentarily covers her skin. Then he faces down into the alleyway once more, and summons up whatever energy he can manage for another blast of fiery power at the creature.

[OOC]Using the held Mage Armor on Sheyra, then casting Scorching Ray on the last sentinel. If I can't do both (I'm not sure the rules for discharging a held spell), I'll just cast the second spell.
To hit: 17
Damage: 14[/OOC]

[Callos_DeTerran]

Callos

After he is dragged out of the pile of debris by Fizahn, the necromancer still looks more then a little distraught at the loss of his firend. However a look of reason is at least in his eyes so he picks up a large chunk of rock from the destroyed sentinal and runs to the side of the roof. After setting his eye on the target Callos brought his arm back and flung the roch as hard as he could at the sentinal.

(( 18+3 for the thrown rock. Not sure what I would rule for damage though.))

[Zeal]

Hajih, Human Ranger

I'm better than that brute, I know I am!

Hajih slashes at the sentinel, unwilling to budge.

(Attack: 14 +8=22, Damage 3+5= 8)

[Dr._Bob]

Darius converses almost casually with Lissa as he steps off the roof. He cleaves downward with his greatsword as he falls, severing the sentinel's left arm. Darius hits the ground with a crash and rolls to the side, suffering little more than a twisted ankle.

Meanwhile, Lumpy and Hajih continue hacking away, though it appears that Hajih, with Thokk's bastard sword, seems to be causing more damage than Lumpy, with Djital's shortsword, much to Lumpy's chagrin.

The sentinel begins to crumble, even as it continues to try to attack Hajih and Lumpy. The last straw is a large boulder dropped from above by Callos. The rock caves it the top of the sentinel's head, and the entire construct collapses into an inert heap.

On the roof, the other members of the party look down on the carnage below. Rocks are scattered everywhere, the debris from three sentinels.
Hajih and Lumpy are covered in gray rock dust, making them look like statues themselves. Blood however seeps through the dusty covering in dark patches. Darius is in even worse shape, though he chuckles as he lies off to the side.

Lissa immediately turns to Djital, but his wounds have taken him beyond her ability to heal him. Linda and the Elthans stand over his body sadly.

Achkby lowers his hands and the arcane aura surrounding them fades. He can save his spells for later.

Aeroz, who had done little during the combat, stands and looks alertly about, making sure there are no more threats nearby. He calls out a warning. In the distance, two or three ... then five or six ... then more than a dozen faint blue lights appear ...



OOC: Darius takes 3 points of non-lethal damage. He hits with a 26 for 14 points of damage. Hajih hits for 8 points of damage. Callos drops a rock on the sentinel's head for 1 point of damage. Sentinel #3 is destroyed. Achkby does not expend either spell.

[King_of_GRiffins]

Elthan II

"So, what do we do now? Stick it out on the roof and wait for the blue guys, or jump off and run for it?"

[Callos_DeTerran]

Callos

Even though the last of the stone sentinals was destroyed, he couldn't help but still feel angry and more then a little empty. His friend was dead and all that he could show for it was a pile of rubble. Numbly he turned away from the edge and went back towards Djital's cold body where he fell down to his knees. Slowly his body began to become wracked with sobs as his face fell into his hands. It didn't matter to him that the blue lights had appeared once more. Callos was to busy grieving and aside from that his thought detecting spell would have worn off by now so he had no way of knowing if they were hostile. If someone was standing close enough they could hear him whispering to the body.

" This isn't right...you hadn't done anything wrong. Why does something like this happen have to happen now? We were so close friend! We had almost made it back to sunlight and then you had to go and try something like that! D-don't worry friend. I'll complete any business you had left and I'll find the forsaken bastards who developed this creatures and then you can rest knowing their gone too. R-rest in peace Djital.."

[The_King_of_Durf]

Darius

"Haha! We did it!" Darius sits down in a comfortable position. "We can't outrun them, they'll catch us eventually if they know their way down here. Let's just see if we can catch some rest before we have to do anything else."

Darius begins wiping the blood and stone dust off his armor, weapons, and face.

[Zeal]

Hajih, Human Ranger

With a slight cough, Hajih calls out to the group.

"The roof isn't the safest place, we need to find a shop or house to hide out in while we heal and plan our exit to the surface."

Peering around, Hajih wipes off his sword on his sleeve and rests it against his shoulder.

[bhdrake]

Lumpy

There is no exultant grunt or relieved look from Lumpy as the last sentinel falls, only a harsh squint through blood and dust at the crumbling stonework. For the longest moment, he remains in his last position, one arm shielding his eyes from the destruction, his sword partially thrust forward from his last aborted attack. It is almost as if he's afraid to even attempt moving his body, in stark contrast to the fluidity and determination he showed in combat.

Finally, he sags a bit, armor creaking as he drops his arms. he glances about cautiously as he shoves the sword through his belt, removing the gauntlet from his right hand. He scrapes blood and dust from his forehead and opposite eye as he speaks, threadily,

"Odds are we're gonna end up talking to 'em whether we like it or not. they got plenty'a advantages on us, far as chasing and hiding goes. And we're pretty beat up, ain't gonna get real far."

He flicks his hand, spattering accrued blood concrete against the wall beside him, inspecting his wounds, and the damage to his armor, turning to lean against the alley wall as he does so,

"'Sides, I think there's a pretty good chance them stone things ain't on their side anyway. Ya saw the gate, they tore their way in... Anyone got extra cloth? I'd like ta keep some blood in me, and it's hells-bent on getting out."

[Elmorwen]

Sheyra

"I've actually got two potions left. I was saving them for an emergency, but I think this qualifies." She pulls the potions of Cure Moderate Wounds out of her bag.

[HempRope]

Achkby, Halfling Sorcerer

Panting, Achkby lets the magical energies he had prepared harmlessly dissapate.

By the Gods! Why would they not flee?

"Next time," says Achkby, "When are running away, let's not stop part way through and fight, eh?"

[OOC]Is Frojoe still around?[/OOC]

[Phasm]

Lissa

Cautiously, Lissa makes her way to the edge of the roof. "Darius, you bone-headed moron, I'm going to smack you silly once I can see again! What, pray tell, was that particular stunt about? I just got you partway healed, and you rush off to get more holes in your hide!" The gnome pauses in her harangue. "Oh, sorry Lumpy. I've got a little more healing left in me, if someone wants to help me down off the roof."

[The_King_of_Durf]

Darius

Darius makes his way up the roof to get Lissa and bring her down.

"Well y'know, I figured the thing wasn't gonna attack me, as it's two primary targets were Lumpy and Hajih, plus I figured it was already pretty busted up from their attacks.

So I decided to lend my hand, try and prevent someone else from getting killed today.

And it worked didn't it? I took off it's arm, and all I got was a sprained ankle. Which by the way, that'd be great if you could fix it." Darius says with a little chuckle.

((I sprained my ankle taking of a golem's arm, and all I got was this lousy T-Shirt!))