Climbing Mount Olympus (IC)

[Toliudar]

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Cure spells channel positive energy. Temp HP's aren't either positive or negative energy - they just are. Cheiros and Hestia would be delighted to chow down with Berenike, and if permitted, he'll toss the leftovers to some of his not-so-skeletal minions.

As morning dawns, Cheiros rises from the spot where he has spent much of the night discussing the nature of death with Damien. His views were less grand than the warrior's - he was clearly not so sure that "to keep doing" was any kind of reward - but it was clear that he had enjoyed the conversation.

While the others wrapped up their camp or prayed for an elaborate feast, Cheiros pulled out his cloth again, and sent the hounds back into their hole. After a moment of thought, he pulled out a different packet of cloth. Tapping it with a finger, he raises his voice to address the group.

"I'm not sure if any have thought further about how best to reach Olympus. If Poseidon is already roused to anger, travelling by ship seems insanely dangerous. The land route to the east requires a great deal of travel out of our way.

"One of my companions is a fellow survivor of the underworld, a great winged serpent who can carry several men on her back at once. I took her from the realm of Hades, but she is not unscathed by this. She can travel great distances at great speed without tiring, though. If it would help us reach our goal, she could take up any of you who -"

He nodded at Angela and Alcaeus.

"Are not already blessed with wings. But if the presence of the serpent will cause offense, I will content myself to walk, if need be."

[RaggedAngel]

Damien comes from the tableside to the gathered group, finishing a small bit of cheese as he does. He no longer needed to eat, thanks to the power of one of his various magical trinkets, but he seemed to do so with great enthusiasm and gusto. He has a new staff in hand, the branch from the night before nearly unrecognizable after being properly trimmed and sanded.

"I have no qualms riding atop your flying lizard, Cheiros, and it sounds like a better way to travel than just running the whole way myself. I can't really understand, honestly, why anyone would be bothered by it, monstrous or not. After all, are we to automatically hate anything unlike ourselves? It seems a foolish way to get by in life." He speaks lightly, and though he slept very little it is clear that he is well rested and in high spirits, especially considering his mood at the end of the previous day.

[lostsole31]

As Cheiros is about to feed "leftovers" to his guardians, Berenike quickly says, "Stop!"

She calms for a second and then says, "Cheiros, this is a magical food. If you do not finish all of your portion ... yourself, that means you split your portion ... even what you'd consider scraps, then by not having a full portion, you would gain no benefit."

Does Cheiros seek to continue to feed his little pets?

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Original, in response to Cheiros' mention of a flyer:
Berenike says, "Well, just in case we're attacked ... we don't want one flier to be the end-all and be-all .... so I'll be with Alcaeus. You know, just so we don't put all of our heroes in one basket."

[Igneel]

Having eventually go back to her starry tent with enough time to refill her used Glyph with a spell (Cure Critical Wounds) she spends her time praying to Artemis for a bountiful day of hunting (read: recharge spells) under the moon. After finishing with that, she closes the tent flaps and gets to sleep. Waking up with everyone else, she takes a drink from a waterskin in a fold of her tent for some ice cold water to help her wake up, and prepares for the journey by packing everything up. The last thing to be put away is her tent, which after she comes out of it she wills it into a cloak once more and drapes it over her shoulders before coming to join everyone at Berenike's feast.

"This food looks good, and I thank you for it Berenike. May it keep my strength up, and my mind sharp."

At Cheiros's mention of a flying creature, undead more then likely, Angela almost scoffs at the idea of a hunk of rotting flesh and bones taking to the air. Had she not seen such beasts in the past she would think he was joking rather then being serious. "Whatever makes it easier for you to travel, Decaying One. I will be obviously flying under my own power. I just hope that my not being as fast as Alcaeus won't slow us down too much.

Taking a bite and swig once more she looks to Berenike.
Before we go, I suppose we should concern with any offerings the kings and nobles offered to help expenses first. As I recall, you are one of our spellcasters that has more expensive components required for such power that might be needed. Have those that made promises dropped off their donations, or do we need to pick them up?"

[DrK]

The expansive magical feast looks wonderful in the camp of Naxos as the food is enjoyed by all. Even the servant of Hades is able to touch a few mouthfuls to his lips to transfer the magical benefits across.

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While undead, undead can still eat - othwerwise how would they devour all these adventurers - and presumably must have some vestigal internal processing left over.
The temp hitppoints don't have any +ve or -ve energy so should be ok.

Watching the shore some 1200ft away, over the course of the hour long feast you can see several of the ships setting sail and oar as the long galleys begin to pull towards distant shores.

Some of you may also note the strange collection of dark clouds skidding across the sky, coming towards the ships even in the face of the wind that is blowing a brisk breeze out to sea...

[Toliudar]

Cheiros rises from his meal, bowing again his thanks to Berenike for the blessing - while at the same time pondering the source of that blessing. Irony, to find solace and nourishment from the blessings of those same gods who they were now rising up to challenge.

Unfolding yet another packet on the ground, he stepped back, as a massive reptilian head snaked up from below. The serpent was all ruddy brown scales, bunching muscles and sparkling eyes, although with a scent that did indeed suggest that time had not been kind to it. It struggled up out of the hole in the ground and spread leathery wings. A trio of leather saddles were strapped along its back.

"So, Cheiros. You have need of me again?"

The old man nodded.

"This one is worse than most of our journeys, I'm afraid. Not looking for lost shepherds this time. But we may end up paying a visit to your old friend Hades."

The serpent snorted and says nothing as Cheiros bends to fold up the fabric. Hestia rose up and drifted over to the beast, running an affectionate hand along the brow ridge.

"He's right for once. It's bad. But perhaps there's a chance for rest. Or even redemption. Who knows?"

Nodding, the great serpent extended a foreleg, and Cheiros clambered awkwardly up into the rearmost saddle. Hestia floated up and nestled into the saddle in front of him. The old priest nodded at the approaching clouds.

"I'm no expert on such things, but when clouds move, they're supposed to all move together, right? Perhaps that one should be our first destination?"

[Igneel]

Watching as Cherios brings out yet another undead creature, but this one was much larger and more clearly a dragon as it retained its flesh. What manner of creature was that?, is the only thought that runs through Angela's mind as she finishes up her meal.

Noticing the sky and how the clouds are acting despite the obvious wind currents blowing in the opposite direction, Angela focuses on trying to figure out possible answers for why they are acting in such a peculiar manner. "It does seem awfully unusual... We just may need to look into that before we leave."

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Knowledge (Nature) [to see if I know its 'natural']: (1d20+15)[35]
Survival [Same as Know./predicting weather]: (1d20+20)[32]

Edit: Whoo! Natural 20!

[RaggedAngel]

Damien rocks back onto his heels as the dragon emerges from the portal, taking it in both as an asset and as a potential threat. He muses about how a fight with it would go, and though he predicts victory it would be costly. A good ally to have, a poor enemy to make.

Damien keeps an eye on the clouds as he circles around the great creature, moving until he can look it in the eyes. He raises a hand in polite greeting. "Hail there, great one. My name is Damien, of the Nine. I have done battle with your kind before, and I respect both your physical strength and your mental prowess. I request permission to ride upon you, noble lizard, and if there is anything you wish of me I am at your service." He bows slightly, and then glances back to the clouds, unconcerned.

"One of you may have a fancy weather-changing spell, or something even bigger than that, but I could run up near one of those and unleash desert fire into it. I've torn apart a thunderstorm before in such a manner; the sphere of flames turns a portion of the cloud arid, ruining the flow of wind and rain inside." He squints at the clouds, thinking. "If those are magical, or powered by Poseidon's wrath, it won't work. But it's better than nothing."

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His Inferno Blast is hotter than lava (20d6 on contact, average 70 damage versus his 109) and is a sphere with a 60ft radius. Magic obviates the need, of course, but it's an option.

[Toliudar]

The red-grey beast nods slowly to Damien and extends a foreleg, offering a relatively smooth stroll up to the saddles some 10 feet up.

Cheiros smiles at Damien's suggestion.

"Having seen you in action, I have no doubt that you, or Berenike, could indeed punch holes in any cloud. My fear is that the cloud itself is a kind of chariot for another divine force. Not King Zeus, I hope, but perhaps Aeolus, or Hera."

[Igneel]

"Something tells me that isn't the work of something natural. Sadly the closest thing I can get to a spell would be a spell that allows me to temporarily control the wind. But if my suspicions are correct then what little control I can wrest won't be anything compared to Poseidon or even a Avatar of the Sea God. Either way, I can see that it would be worth attempting as he may very well be targeting the ships."

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I have Control Winds with a CL of 11 as one of my two 5th level spells. That's about all I can do to help.

[DrK]

The clouds darken slightky as they streak towards the shore. Small hints of thunder and lightning playing around them. The shape, the size and speed of travel suggests that they are ignoring the rules of weather- the clouds flowing against the strong wind.

More worrying to Angela's sharp eyes is the tides withdrawing from the beaches. Two of the ships keeling over on the shore in distant shouts of alarm as men and sails tumble to the beach.

The sea darkens, the tide slwoly beginning to circle the deepest point of the bay. Ships and oarsmen shouting over the rising tides and wind as oars pulled with all the strength of men against the heaving waves.

Clearly something bad was about to happen....

[PSinger]

Alcaeus says, "Nothing I can do. I wouldn't try to fly in that, lemme tell you. I don't know what to do."

On that last, he looks to Berenike, hoping she might have something up her sleeve.

[lostsole31]

Berenike thinks long and hard, and then looks at Damien. "It won't stop. You realize that. Correction: you realized that, and that's why I figure you had the best plan. There will always be a golden apple to deter us. May the gods be with those in peril, but if we don't move to the heart of the matter - which is not that cloud - then those perils will not cease. I suggest we mount up, and continue our mission. Use this baleful sight as our spurs, not out of cowardice, but sense of purpose."

[RaggedAngel]

Damien looks at Berenike, and he considers the mind behind her lovely eyes. She was correct, and he could see no wiser alternative. He peers back at the cloud for a moment before taking a few quick steps into the air, moving up and around the mighty undead dragon to stand near Cheiros. "If we are to take action, we should do so now. If they wish to bring ruin down on us, let them do it at the base of their own mountain. You are right, Berenike; we are doing nothing here but delaying the inevitable."

[lostsole31]

Berenike mounts up on Alcaeus, and heads out when the party's ready.

[DrK]

With heavy hearts the heroes turn their eyes North towards the towering spire of rock vanishing into the clouds. Behind them the first screams can be heard drifting up from the beach and across the bay.

The clouds stopping above the ships before lightning rains down touching fire to wood and cloth where it lands. On board many ships the lance of divine wrath are met by shields of magic- or in the case of Achilles a shield of polished magical steel.

Heroes with winged boots, helms or other magical accoutrements fly skwards and lightning and fire fly free form the ships alongside waves of arrows- one from the Pride of Ithica the size of a gigantic ballista bolt bursting into phoenix like flame.

A cloud explodes apart and the sky is filled with inhuman shrieks as dozens of furies rain down upon the ships tearing flesh or pitching men overboard even as man and hero alike repsond with spear, magic and blade.

From the heart of the bay, at the centre of twisting tides bubbles and foam crash as a shape begins to form in the spray. A shape to shake the sanity from a man and have him reach to claw his own eyes out.



The wolfs head lining her waist and the pale maiden's body atop marks the towering monster taller than any ship's mast as one of the Phorcydes, daughter of the Titan Ceto and sister to the gorgons. The heroes can only watch as the wolves head- each the size of large horse snap men off the nearest boat even as the long tentacle rip the wooden deck asunder leaving hundreds floating in the water as the weight of their cuirasses and greaves pull them under of or the razor mouthed wolf head's tear them apart.

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A nice view to depart too

[lostsole31]

Berenike is in tears. "What I have most feared is what has come to pass. The gods, in their foolish vanity, have loosed the titans. Even if they only intend to loose the one, the others will soon follow. Soon, folly shall be redounded on man and god both."

[Toliudar]

Cheiros has no tears for the destruction he sees. But while his heart no longer pumps blood, it has not lost the ability to lurch, to feel pain. He tightens his grip on the saddle.

"Too true, Berenike. And the best way to discourage such tactics is to show that they will not go unopposed. The rest of you go on, and we'll try to catch up if we can. A simple magic will help us keep in contact for a time. I know too many of the sailors down there to simply fly away from this devastation."

Cheiros lifts his hand, and suddenly there is a background murmur of the others' thoughts. He continues silently.

"Good luck. Cychreides, we'll aim to come in from above the furies."

The dragon pauses for a second, to give Damien a chance to get off if he chooses, and then leaps awkwardly into the air, speeding towards the battle.

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Great picture, DrK!

Sorry, folks. Distraction or no, this is mass slaughter, and I just can't see my way clear to standing aside and not trying to help.

Cheiros is casting Telepathic Bond, which will at least give him a chance to communicate with the others the progress of the battle before he falls.

On their way over to the battle, Hestia will activate her invisibility and See Invisibility. Cychreides will aim to reach the battle site about 200' above the main mass of the furies. Cheiros will cast the following (all shared with Hestia):
Resist Energy (Acid)
Foresight
Spectral Hand
Magic Jar (casting on Hestia, whose body is then placed in Cheiros' pack)

Initiative: (1d20+13)[26]

Once he's within 1,400 feet of the combat, he's in range.

Knowledge checks on the furies and the titan. You pick whatever's relevant:
Arcana: (1d20+37)[44]
Religion: (1d20+37)[40]
The Planes: (1d20+20)[34]

[PSinger]

Alcaeus nods and says, "Good luck. Don't get too caught up, just buy them time. There's going to be mass slaughter all over the country, but all of us are needed to beeline to Mt. O."

[Toliudar]

There's a distinct sadness in Cheiros' mental voice as he responds.

"It's kind of you to say, Alcaeus, but I know how hard it has been for some of you to look upon those of us who look back from the other side of death. Perhaps this is for the best. And slowing the invaders down is not my intent - I doubt that there are any armies nearby to come to Delphi's rescue. Still, if we survive, we will be able to travel night and day, and should be able to catch up."

[DrK]

The dragon, worn by years of life in the underworld finds new purpose as it leaps skwards wings rippling as it streaks down towards the coast and the growing melee.

Already ships floated, spinning in the surge as their crews battled with the vast flock of furies unleashed by the storm clouds. Furies and grecian's battling, blood, human and monstrous flowing out of the decking.

In the centre of it all towered the monster of legends as she soared some 120ft in the air, tentacles lashing at ships tearing off masts and sails as the massive wolf heads sheared through wood. Above it all the human parts of her wrought devastating magic that sent jagged shards of lightning hopping along the ships until with a mighty sonic BOOM it clashed into a growing shield spreading around the red sailed ships from Sparta.

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The furies are essentially souped up Harpies on crack - ~Level 15 fighter standard

The fearsome Scylla is a collossal (literally) beast of legend (So some divine immunities...). Born of the blood of titans she is resistant to mortal magic and weapons (has good SR and DR) and impervious to the most virulent acids and poisons (read immune).

She is a creature of the sea and storms (i.e. Storm magic) and her wolf heads and tentacle can rip even giants to shreds and can act almost of their own volition. (so subtly breaking the action limit rules).

[RaggedAngel]

It takes Damien about half a second to decide that it would be madness to leave the ancient necromancer to fend for himself. He remains atop the massive dragon, gripping on with his legs and holding his greatsword above him, his cloak shrinking away to his dualist's half-cape. "I'm not going to engage the Titan directly," Damien calls over the noise, "but I'm not going to stand by and let those Furies swarm over you with impunity. If you have any undead that can fly, I can lead and empower them to better defend you." He stands tall on the dragon's back, balancing with almost effortless grace.

[PSinger]

Alcaeus salutes with his swordbow, nods to Angela to come along, and he's off carrying Berenike to the north, while the scylla lays waste to the south.

[Igneel]

Watching the chaos unfold, Angela can feel the beginning of tears start to form, but blinks them away. She only had to imagine how hard of a time she would have fighting in the storm to remind herself that despite how much she wishes to do battle she would be more hindrance then of use. Walking over towards Berenike and Alcaeus she stops to give a wave to the companions they were leaving behind.

"I fear I might not be of much help in such a storm, as the winds would batter me about like a feather in a gust of wind. So I wish you a victory in at least the form of succeeding in your mission to delay them in my stead. If your able to do greater harm, all the more epic songs should be sung of your bravery."

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OOC: Where is Demonic and his Binder?

[Demonic_Spoon]

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OOC: Sorry for my absence, it slipped my mind to check the thread, I assume it'll be retconned that I'm riding the dragon as well? Righto since it's a new day I have new vestiges bound. I assume I've bound them before dawn, since I only need 2 hours of sleep. In any case, bound vestiges are:
Orthos:Blindsight, Displacement, Whirlwind Breath, Whispering Wind
Otiax
Malphas
Andromelius
Zceryll
Gaia
Zuriel

Mopsus clings desperately to the dragon as it approaches the monster. Hopefully he would fare better today, as he had not prepared spirits for the diplomacy of a meeting but those of war.

[Toliudar]

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Happy to have Damien and Mopsus along on the dragon. Thanks!

[RaggedAngel]

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A Dread Necromancer at your level can call up some serious power, by not if you're covered in Furies. We can keep the superharpies off of you, leaving you free to cast all manner of powerful spells.

[Toliudar]

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That sounds terrific, RaggedAngel. Much appreciated. If you can deal with the up-close stuff, I'll do my best to deal with things at a distance. I don't know if I've got anything that can touch Scylla, though. Could be interesting.

[DrK]

As the dragon swoops towards the bay- the vast beast diminishing in Angela, Berenike's and Alceus's view some of the furies flocking and shrieking over the boats look up and with howls of triump start their flight towards the skeletal dragon...

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~10 Furies some 900 feet distant

IN the waters of the bay 3 ships have finally managed to row free and you can see the golden sail of AGammenon and the red sail of Menalus of Sparta as magical winds envelope their sails to push them rapidly away.

Scylla still thrashes about devouring 2 hapless boats and the 300 or so men floating in the water by her toothed tentacles. The female body atop spies the fleeing ships and a titanic bolt of red streaked lightning flies from her hands reboudning from a vast golden dome with a BOOM that sends a wave spreading out rocking and tumbling the nearby ships.

The last of the clouds are still some distance, concealing their monstrous cargo in dark roiling black thunderheads.

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Scylla is some 1600ft away

Last 2 clouds of transport monster are ~2000ft away.

[Toliudar]

As they get a bit closer, Cheiros brings in a floating bit of the madness of death, made manifest.

"Go, fly towards those clouds. Devour the furies you meet."

He then offers up a simple magic to speed the reactions of his colleagues, and the dragon takes on an extra burst of speed.

"Damien has it right, I'm afraid. I can deal out death in abundance when required, but I fear that Cychreides here is no match for all of those furies at once. Any help that you can provide against those who get close would be a matter, ironically, of life and death. Unless one of the two of you have a plan to deal with Scylla, I will focus on the tormentors above, and hope that their loss will discourage the sea-titan. Otherwise...well, there's a tiny chance that we could actually take over her form, but it's very unlikely."

As the furies approach, Cheiros double-checks the belt holding him in the saddle, and begins a slow chant that, he hopes, will frighten the bird-women off.

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Foresight is active, so if there's an obvious path of lesser danger, aside of course from turning around and moving expeditiously away, the universe might nudge Cheiros accordingly.

Round -5 - cast Magic Circle vs Evil, focused on Damien.

Round -4 - Cheiros uses his wand of Shield on Cychreides.

Round -3 - Cheiros uses his wand of Shield on himself.

Round -2 - begin casting Summon Undead V to bring in (1d3)[2] Allips, who are given instructions as noted above.

Round -1 - allips arrive, summoned to either side of Cychreides so as to not expose Damien or Mopsus. Just in case. Cheiros casts Haste.

Round 1 - (10 furies reach ~900' away). Cheiros casts a Maximized Horrid Wilting to deal 120 damage to all within 60' of each other. Fortitude DC 34 for half. Cychreides is moving forward and up on a 45 degree angle.

[/SPOILER]