War of the Burning Sky: The Scouring of Gate Pass

[Mike_Lemmer]

Helionaluxis

Helionaluxis looks up at the former staircase, growling under her breath. She turns to Cyrick & Lyanne.

"I don't think you'll be able to follow us up, Cyrick. Go outside and tell the woman help's on the way. Lyanne, follow me if you can, else head outside with Cyrick. My auras don't extend very far."

With that, she goes up to the wall and quickly scales it. It looks like she's clawing her way up it with her bare hands.

(OOC: Using SLA Spider Climb to get up. Would it be useful to toss a rope down from the top, or would it burn up?)

[Proven_Paradox]

Cyrick says, watching her climb and not moving, "You still speak as if I fear the flames. You will not be able to get the woman down like that; find her and get her out, and I shall help you get her down." He stands calmly as the aura that protects him from the flames falls away.

[kamikasei]

Lyanne focuses on her breathing, keeping it even, maintaining her calm. The burning building does not bring back pleasant memories, and the prickling sensation of danger between her shoulder blades has nothing to do with Helionaluxis' magic.

"How far can you extend this aura?" she asks, managing to keep her voice steady. "Could it protect a rope? If you stay on the balcony, I get the woman, and Cyrick stays here to help her get down, that will give us the most area of protection."

((Climb check, plus any modifiers if we can get a rope: Climb (1d20+1=13)))

[Mike_Lemmer]

Helionaluxis

Helionaluxis shakes her head at Lyanne. "About 30 feet, if there's no obstructions. My aura can only affect living beings, else I would have used it to extinguish these flames."

She looks at Cyrick for a moment, then continues up towards the 4th floor, going ahead in the climb but making sure Lyanne's within range of her protective aura.

[Fax Celestis]

Helionaluxis proceeds up the wall with some effort, her aura protecting her from the raging flames. There are screams coming from the fourth floor only: either anyone else in the building is dead, or wasn't here when the bombing began. Since it's the new year, it's a pretty safe assumption that they were out celebrating.

Lyanne is close behind, but is having a harder time with the wall than Helionaluxis is.

Helionaluxis comes to a closed door burning merrily--well, as merrily as a house fire can be--where the screams are coming from. The fire up here is intense: it looks like it found a highly flammable substance somewhere, and it's more than just a wood fire now. Maybe grease, perfume, or even just wood treatment. In any case, it's a pretty intense flame, and taking her out through it would probably kill her--or the infant she holds in her arms.

[Mike_Lemmer]

Helionaluxis

Helionaluxis hesitates a moment, then steps through the flames towards the pair, keeping an eye open to make sure Lyanne's still within range.

(OOC: I will back up if it causes more than 10 damage through my fire resistance aura, else I walk through it to the pair.)

[Fax Celestis]

Helionaluxis keeps Lyanne within the range of her aura, but even she suffers mild burns at the hands of the fire.

Fire (3d6=16)

[Mike_Lemmer]

Helionaluxis

Helionaluxis just grits her teeth and muffles a grunt of agony; it wouldn't do any good to scare them, to have them realize she didn't have the situation under control.

She puts a hand on the frightened mother's shoulder & looks her in the eye.

"Calm down. Bahamut is watching over us. We'll get you out."

Helionaluxis quickly looks around for some unburnt cloth & rips it off, handing it to the mother.

"Swaddle the baby. I'll carry him in my backpack down."

Helionaluxis quickly opens her backpack and empties it, dumping out a coil of rope with grappling hook & a bedroll. She dumps the bedroll off the balcony & sets the grappling hook, then plops the open backpack in front of the mother.

"You'll have to climb down yourself. I'm sorry, but I can't take both of-"

She looks the woman up & down again, then reconsiders.

"I can take both of you. Swaddle the baby, put him in the backpack, I'll carry the backpack, you hang on to me while I climb down. It's risky, but it's the safest way."

She turns back to Lyanne in the doorway.

"Go back down! The flames are too hot to cross; we can't go out this way! I'll climb down with them; get back outside and be ready to help if something goes wrong!"

She turns back to the woman and watches her progress.

"I'm as skilled at scaling walls as a dragon; you'll be fine as long as you can hold on to me."

[kamikasei]

Lyanne hesitates at the door for a moment, far from unhappy at the idea of leaving the fire behind, but unwilling to abandon Helionaluxis and the woman. A thought occurs.

"Here," she calls, throwing Helionaluxis one of her waterskins. "Try soaking the baby's swaddling, use damp cloths to breathe through. It'll help fight the heat, and the smoke."

She looks down to where Cyrick waits below.

"We'll wait for you outside - catch you if you fall. I'll see if our employer has anything that will help."

She turns back from the door to make her way back downstairs.

[Proven_Paradox]

Cyrick nods as he hears the shouting. "I shall wait outside below the window, to help bring them down!" he shouts, before heading out the door, placing his shield between himself and the worst of the flames.

[rangerwickett]

*glances around*

Where's the DM? You've got an audience to entertain.

[Fax Celestis]

Leanne meets Cyrick downstairs without incident--well, no more incident than a burning building would normally provide--and the two dash out the door. Helionaluxis begins working her way down the wall, the woman and child in her arms.

The building seems to be coming apart at this point: the superheated masonry appears to be cracking, and the top of the building has started shedding stones like a wet dog with dandruff.

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Helionaluxis: I need a Str check to hold onto the pair.
Those of you on the ground: what're you doing?

[Mike_Lemmer]

Helionaluxis

Helionaluxis tries to climb down as quickly as possible (15' Climb speed w/ Heavy load). Once on the ground, she guides them, and anyone else, away from the collapsing building.

Str Check: 13
Str check (1d20+2=13)

[Proven_Paradox]

Cyrick waits below, looking worried as the building begins crumbling. He looses his shield and drops it, waiting below Helionaluxis in case something should go awry.

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Cyrick will stand below the descending group and try to either catch them if they should fall, or as least cushion their fall at his expense, quite possibly in a manner that would be quite comical in a less serious context. He'll attempt to dodge and stones that he can without moving too far away from the descending group. Any stones he would have to move out of the way to dodge, he'll just take like a man. Assuming they're not so big as to kill him; he's not stupid. He will prioritize catching the woman on Helio's back, hoping Helio herself is hardy enough to survive the fall, should she drop.

Since I can see probable need for these, a pre-emptive strength check and reflex save-
Strength Check: (1d20+4=10)(Bah)
Reflex Save: (1d20+1=17)

[kamikasei]

Lyanne gestures at the others from the inn to start herding the crowd away from the unstable-looking building, hoping they'll understand her meaning over the crackling of the flames and the cracking of masonry. Positioning herself beside Cyrick, she readies herself to assist Helionaluxis and her charges should their climb take a turn for the worse.

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More or less the same action as Cyrick... she'll be trying to dodge anything nasty, but it looks like she'll be failing.

Strength, Reflex (1d20+3=19, 1d20+4=8)

[Fax Celestis]

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OOC: Okay, that's enough of a chance for the others. I'll see what I can do about grabbing some of the alts to put in soon.

Helionaluxis climbs part of the way down the building before being struck by a piece of debris.¹ The infant is unharmed, but the woman is knocked out of Helionaluxis' grasp and begins the plummet to the street below. Cyrick rushes forward and manages to catch her before any harm, but as he is recovering, another piece of the building tumbles towards them. Unable to avoid the blow, their fate seems sealed until Lyanne miraculously dives through the air and pushes the flaming piece of debris at the last second², diverting it just enough to where it crashes into the ground next to Cyrick and his ward.

Helionaluxis, no longer encumbered, manages the rest of the way without issue. Lyanne nurses her hands, and Cyrick--a bit shocked, actually, but still in command--sets the lady on her feet, checks to see if she's alright, and brushes his hands off.

The building, at this point, seems a lost cause, but the woman is grateful for her life and that of her child's.

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¹ Helionaluxis: Nonlethal + Fire (1d6+1=7) (6 nonlethal, 1 fire)
² Lyanne: 1 fire damage from contact with the flaming debris.

[Mike_Lemmer]

Helionaluxis

(OOC: BTW, Helionaluxis's aura negates the fire damage on herself & Lyanne.)

Helionaluxis grunts as the debris hits her, then looks on in horror when the mother falls.

"NO!"

She quickly scales down the rest of the building and rushes over, quickly checking on the mother & the child. She's visibly relieved when she sees their safe. She nods in response to the mother's thanks.

Helionaluxis: "We could do no less. May Bahamut shelter you under his wing."

She turns to the others.

"Let's get going again."

[Proven_Paradox]

Cyrick nods and mutters thanks to Lyanne as he puts the woman down, quickly regaining his composure. He looks to the woman and, after Helionaluxis finishes speaking, says, "Find a safe place as swiftly as you can. We must take our leave; may the gods be with you and your child." With that, he scoops up his shield and readies it again on his right arm, ready to continue the treck. He quickly scans about looking for the others.

Rolls:

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Spot: (1d20+2=8) (Can't see sh*t, captain!)

[kamikasei]

Lyanne flexed her - surprisingly - unburnt hands. I guess I have Helionaluxis to thank for that. Next time, try to remember to push the people out of the way. They at least tend not to be on fire. Still, she felt undeniable relief that their intervention had paid off.

"Aye," she chimed in when Helionaluxis spoke. "Let's get on; we're still working to a deadline."

[Fax Celestis]

Torrent merely nods, a bit awestruck by the whole ordeal, before leading the party forward.

The road ahead is blocked by a mob of people. Some are looting, but most are attempting to get out of town. The more observant of you¹ notice overhead that there is fighting going on above. Looks to be Gate Pass griffinriders combating invading wyvernmasters.

Panic spreads through the mob in an ascending wave.² The reason for this is rather more apparent: a reddish dragon-shaped beast flies overhead, terror trailing in its wake. Flames blast from its throat and take out a number of both griffin- and wyvern-riders, though it appears to be indiscriminately discriminate: its primary targets are the griffins, but if a wyvern gets in the way, no big loss.

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¹ Awareness (DC 15)
² Will save (DC 21) or be panicked. Draconic creatures are immune.

[kamikasei]

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Awareness, Concentration/Will (1d20+1=16, 1d20+10=20)

...ah, shazbot. Assuming this is an actual dragon, Duration - (4d6)[2][5][4][4](15).

Lyanne happens to be looking overhead, her eye caught by the fliers above, when the beast passes. Though she attempts to steel herself for danger when she sees the panic building among the crowd, her resolve melts and the calming mantra dies on her lips as the creature comes into view. Awareness of their dire peril sinks in like a blade of ice in her gut.

"Flee!" she shrieks at the others, taking her own advice without stopping to check if they do the same, heedless of whether the direction she chooses leads towards their goal so long as it seems to lead away from the threat.

[Mike_Lemmer]

Helionaluxis

Helionaluxis strides towards the crowd, looking around. Her vision is pulled upwards as she sees an enormous shadow flit across the ground.

Now they're unleashing dragons on our city... Adravorungis will not be pleased.

She steps out of the way of the fleeing crowd and looks back at the party, only to see some of them succumb to fear.

Dammit... why can't we all be draconics?

She rushes after her fellow party members, gently trying to coerce them into staying together...

"No, not that way, this way to safety!"

...which is as useful as extinguishing a building with a bucket of water. Helionaluxis's eyes flare up when she sees it isn't working. She snarls at her fleeing comrades as she runs alongside them, smoke issuing from her nostrils & her voice dropping an octave to a scratchy, booming tone.

"You yellow-bellied cowards! Keep your minds together or you'll run straight into the jaws of that beast! This way, go this way!"

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Being dragonblooded, Helionaluxis is immune to a dragon's frightful presence.

Awareness: 15
Awareness (Dragon) (1d20+1=15)

Diplomacy: 6
Intimidation: 19
Diplomacy; Intimidation (Regroup) (1d20+4=6, 1d20+9=19)

[Proven_Paradox]

Rolls:

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Awareness: (1d20+2=15)(Hey, I can see it!)
Will save: (1d20+2=9)(I would like to state now that THIS is the reason I find it ridiculous that crusaders don't either get good will saves or some form of fear immunity. Also, this would still fail even with the cha-to-will-saves I forgot.)

Cyrick panics along with the others and runs the other way. Totally going to have a complex about that later.

[The_Snark]

In the fleeing crowd, a figure stands out by simple virtue of the fact that she is not fleeing. A wiry young woman stands among the crowd, moving in its general direction, but only to avoid being trampled beneath the mob; she stares upward, gaze following the fast-moving beast as it swoops out of sight.

A knot of people nearly run over her as she gazes upward, nearly knocking her to the ground, and the red-haired young woman seems to realize the danger she might be in for the first time. She hears someone issuing directions, and right now they seem as good as any others to her. So there is someone defending this city. Or perhaps defending her own. She catches sight of the speaker, running with the rest. Oh... yes. Time to be leaving, she realizes, glancing back up at the skies.

She runs after the woman and her companions, taking note as she does of their size and the weapons they carry. Mercenaries, or the local army? Well, either way, best follow them, she decides. On a whim, she catches up to them, running alongside them opposite the shouting woman to keep them splitting off. Sideways glances at them, almost precipitating a stumble, reveal she's not as unnerved by the dragon's presence as everyone else is at the moment.

[Mike_Lemmer]

Helionaluxis

Helionaluxis's eyes lock with the red-haired woman's, regarding her for a moment. Her gaze, regal yet predatory, reminds the woman of the beast she saw earlier.

Helionaluxis nods to the woman, ever so slightly, before returning to herding her teammates through the sheer force of her voice.

[Shiny, Bearer of the Pokystick]

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(1d20+2)[21] will save.
(1d20+5)[14] awareness.

If panicked:
Varcolac mounts her beast and spurs it after Lyanne- reasoning that near the apparently potent fighter is a good way to stay alive...and staying alive is what matters right now.
She pushes her hair- disheveled by sweat and ash- out of her eyes and blinks back shame.

The unlikely one:
Varcolac gapes up at the scaled horror and gasps audibly, hefting her sword in a useless gesture before mounting and turning to follow Helionaluxis.

[kamikasei]

Lyanne seems to return to herself somewhat at Helionaluxis' challenge, her fear visibly turning to anger, though it looks to be directed inward rather than toward the other woman. Shamefaced, she takes a few deep breaths to steady herself.

"You're right... I... -where are the others?"

She looks around to see if she can locate Cyrick or Sovorian while the panicked crowd parts around and buffets against her. If she spots either, she heads towards them to rein them in; if not, she'll follow Helionaluxis' lead.

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Awareness - (1d20+1)[12] to find the others.

If Helionlauxis' Intimidate check wouldn't be sufficient to achieve the desired calming effect, then I guess you can assume Lyanne was running around for the duration of the fear effect until being caught.

I should also mention that I'm moving in the next few days to start a new job. I should be able to keep up checking/posting once a day at minimum, but in the event that anything gets held up a day or more waiting for me, Fax should feel free to decide Lyanne's actions.

[The_Snark]

The red-haired woman returns the other woman's gaze curiously, stumbling a bit but holding eye contact; even after the other woman looks away, she continues to look that way. Her own eyes are a strikingly vivid blue, visible even at a run. Not just a soldier, then... She moves just ahead of one of the running people, slowing slightly to try to slow her down.

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Intimidate to aid another, I suppose: (1d20+2)[11]

Sorry, can't think of all that much to do until people stop running blindly...

[Mike_Lemmer]

Helionaluxis

The red-haired woman, when she looks into Helionaluxis's eyes, will notice they're so golden they shine in the firelight.

[kamikasei]

Emulating Helionaluxis' example, Lyanne chases after the panicked Cyrick, alternately cajoling and threatening.

"Come on! We've a job to do, a lot of people are depending on us! ...And if you fail them, the dragon will be the least of your worries, believe me!"

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Diplomacy, Intimidate (1d20+6=10, 1d20+6=19)