Mei's Tower (Part 2)
Halani is still smarting from the burning whip, a hole in her robes with scorched edges and blistering skin beneath evidence of the demon lord's strike. But she flows forward, keeping herself between Mei and Eclavdran, eyes never straying from the outsider. "Mei! Can you get back up through the hole?" She's only now realizing how misguided an idea this may have been.
Mei takes a step back from the demon lord, trying to stay outside his reach. It's no easy feat with that whip however. "I don't know. I can give it a shot, but I don't want to leave you down here to fight him Halani." He looks around the room frantically. "Maybe I don't have to." He sounds thoughtful.
GAME: Zeke rolls 1d20+37: (19)+37: 56 GAME: Zeke rolls 1d20+27: (14)+27: 41 GAME: Zeke rolls 1d20+21: (7)+21: 28 GAME: Zeke rolls 1d20+16: (12)+16: 28 GAME: Halani rolls 1d20+14+7+4: (6)+14+7+4: 31
Eclavdran lashes out several times at Halani with his whip, but fails to connect. Once the hit seems to land, but Halani deflects it and launches her own failed riposte. With a snap of his fingers Eclavdran summons a sword to his hand, the weapon massive and gleaming with dark energies. It seems like second nature in his hand, and doesn't seem like it hinders him at all in spite of its size.
GAME: Garak rolls 7d6: (23): 23
Garak's features set briefly in concentration. His form shimmers ever so slightly. Next he raises a hand a a burst of healing energy washes over Halani and Mei. "I'm heading back through the door!" he calls, suspiciously loud. He doesn't actually move towards the door.
Halani ducks, weaves, even manages to bring an arm up to connect enough to deflect a lashing at the last second.. with the weapon's heat reminding her just how out of her depth she is right now. She doesn't risk looking back at Mei, though she saves at least a part of her attention for the man who guided them here. "Can get out if you can, yeah?" she tells Mei. "What're you thinking? No wait.. don't tell me.." If Mei has an idea, after all, last thing she wants to do is have him tip off Eclavdran.
GAME: Aya rolls will: (6)+17: 23 GAME: Aya rolls will: (18)+17: 35 GAME: Zeke rolls 1d20+38: (17)+38: 55 GAME: Garak rolls perception: (5)+20: 25 GAME: Halani rolls perception-1: (19)+25+-1: 43
Aya moves back up the stairs, emerging from the shadows. She could possibly bypass them entirely, but cannot see the others on them and wishes to determine whether they already withdrew. Considering that they went from pot into the fire, that would be a no. "Go! Withdraw! We need not fight him here!" she calls to the others, though then reels somewhat at Eclavdran's ...presence. Still, perhaps his attention on her is not a terrible thing. "Not that he looks to be putting up much of a fight!"
GAME: Aya rolls perception: (4)+30: 34 GAME: Garak rolls 1d20+19: (11)+19: 30 GAME: Garak casts Blessing of Fervor. Caster Level: 14 DC: 19 GAME: Zeke rolls 1d20+9: (1)+9: 10 (EPIC FAIL) GAME: Garak rolls reflex+2: (7)+7+2: 16 GAME: Aya rolls reflex: (3)+22: 25 GAME: Halani rolls reflex: (16)+19: 35 GAME: Zeke rolls 20d6: (76): 76 GAME: Zeke rolls 1d20+22: (8)+22: 30 GAME: Garak rolls fortitude+2: (14)+14+2: 30
A huge gout of fire emanates from the balor, blocking out the view of him for a moment, and the flames wash over the room. Destroying everything in their wake. Destroying and burning... When it fades it's to Eclavdran's laughter as he looks out at the people that are aflame, burning with the unholy fire that he smote them with. "I suppose I will have to try harder dear Aya!"
GAME: Halani rolls heal: (11)+8: 19 GAME: Halani rolls fortitude: (17)+13: 30 GAME: Garak rolls 7d6: (17): 17
Fire. It's been a part of her nightmares, ever since. But rather than paralyze her, it kicks Halani into movement she doesn't even think of, fuelled my an almost panicked need to get out of the way.. and some how she manages. The splintered remains of the door, the piece of it still on its hinges, somehow manages to be just enough cover to shelter her, even as it disintegrates under the unholy heat of the fire bursting from the demon. Only after does she realize that this completely uncovered Mei, who seems to have been caught completely off guard. With despair in her eyes, Halani takes a step... and then her next step touches down right beside the fallen man where she crouches, immediately patting out the flames still burning him.
Aya was not as fortunate as Halani, yet moreso than Mei. "Get them out!" She is, now, somewhat torn, yet her joining the fray would not help them so, and Eclavdran's bargain, or the consequences of, still batter at her being. There is also still a task to complete, even if it is a personal one. She focuses herself to harden her soul that it might be some defense against the demon and then vanishes to reappear on the stairs above and past The Room, already dashing further up in search of ...something. Perhaps anything.
GAME: Aya spends TWO points of KI POOL.
Mei groans and rolls on the floor, consumed it seems by pain. The flames are difficult to put out, but her efforts are rewarded. The man points to the room he opened and he says something. Something that is more pained moan than words. Finally a part of what he said makes it through. "Hiding." What can it mean? The demon was certainly hiding this room. But why?
GAME: Zeke rolls 1d20+37: (5)+37: 42 GAME: Zeke rolls 1d4: (3): 3 GAME: Zeke rolls 1d6: (2): 2 GAME: Zeke rolls 1d20+33: (11)+33: 44
Moving forward in a rush, the demon's whip snakes out again, aiming for Mei's ankle, but Halani skillfully steps between the pair and takes the brunt of the attack.
GAME: Halani rolls strength: (20)+2: 22
"Not today!" Halani yells, dancer's feet helping her keep free of the whip's entanglement, though she still feels the sting and burn of its bite. Her twirl puts her at Mei's head, where she kneels, grabs him under the arms and then, bracing her feet against the jam of the secret door, hauls him bodily inside the room with the strength gained from a surge of adrenaline.
GAME: Aya rolls perception: (13)+30: 43
Aya dashes up the stairs, several at a time, until she reaches the next doorway. This appears to be the last doorway at the top of the stairs and she promptly darts into the open entryway. Only to find that she's disturbed the flock of bats in the belfry...
Except they are NOT bats.
Still, the swarm of screeching wings that engulf her are not so different; merely larger.
Mei grunts, tries not to scream when moved. He can barely move /himself/ but he does his best to help. He pants as he hangs rather uselessly in Halani's arms. "Leave me." He asks her, the words a groan.
GAME: Zeke rolls 1d4: (1): 1 GAME: Zeke rolls 1d6: (2): 2 GAME: Zeke rolls 3d6: (12): 12 GAME: Zeke rolls 1d20+28: (16)+28: 44
"Come out, come out, where-ever you are!" Calls Eclavdran, his whip snaking around the door and the door itself torn away as he tries to drag Halani out with magical force. She stands against it however, and Eclavdran laughs. "You have to come out some-time sweetheart!"
GAME: Halani rolls 2d6+2+4+8: (5)+2+4+8: 19 GAME: Halani rolls 2d6+2+4+8: (5)+2+4+8: 19 GAME: Halani rolls 2d6+2+4+8: (5)+2+4+8: 19 GAME: Halani rolls 2d6+2+4+8: (8)+2+4+8: 22 GAME: Halani rolls 2d6+2+4+8: (12)+2+4+8: 26 GAME: Zeke rolls 1d20+15: (19)+15: 34 GAME: Zeke rolls 1d20+15: (20)+15: 35 GAME: Zeke rolls 1d20+15: (6)+15: 21 GAME: Zeke rolls 1d20+15: (3)+15: 18
"Didn't drag you back just to leave you, yeah?" Halani yells back at Mei. Yes, she's stuck in yelling mode right now. She didn't much appreciate that invisible force pulling her towards Eclavdran, either.. and she feels out of options. The small room, nowhere to hide... the demon's taunt. The sinking feeling that he's absolutely right. But then... the contents of the room actually sink in. A part of her mind had been blocking them, trying desperately to believe the room could be a haven... ignoring everything in the room that suggested it very, very was not. She half turns, her eyes falling back upon the... altar, for lack of a better word. And revulsion sinks deep into her bones.
Now, Halani's not always the quickest of mind. But.. Demon waiting in a room? A horrific altar and vessel inside a secret room attached to that room? Pieces and a puzzle. And though certainly this puzzle has more than one potential solution, hope and perhaps a little bit of desperation locks Halani onto only one of those possibilities.. and in a flash she's throwing herself at the diabolical construction. Her fist and her feet are her hammers, and she slams them into the dark shrine repeatedly. It resists, at first, but she's accustomed to smashing her fists into all manner of objects, stone included.. and eventually even this yields to the inevitable, shattering... and splashing blood everywhere. All over Halani, probably as far as Mei.. the walls.. the ceiling.. the floor. The story that will get told later about this will have to be toned down for the children.
Outside the room the demon growls at the destruction of... whatever it was that Halani just destroyed. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HARD THOSE ARE TO MAKE?" He throws his sword down in fury and the weapon vanishes. "I don't have time for you fools. You /imbeciles/." With that... he vanishes. No puff of smoke, no furious fire. Just gone.
Aya obviously chose the wrong room and is starting to decend back down the stairs when she hears Eclavdran yell. Hopefully without a swarm of imps following her. His frustration is music to her ears; an enjoyable step towards, if not the true goal. She is batting the last of the flames from herself as she reaches the door to the now empty room. "He is gone... summoned? Bound?" He didn't leave the room, which, while nothing she disagreed with, was quite odd. She has witnessed him follow others across planes. Unfortunately.
Aya also fits pieces together, with what was witnessed, what she was told by magi, and, well, after watching him burn to ash before her. "He was still recovering from his death..." It isn't stated as absolute fact, but some education to the guess. "We found something he likely did not wish us to, or did not know of..." She then reaches into her clothing to pull out a blood-smeared paper and now take the time to examine the list. Unsurprisingly, this is much more easily done when not dealing with... him.
Halani turns about slowly when she hears Aya return. She is, of course, drenched. Caught between 'what can you do' and 'pretend everything is okay' she just looks at Aya, blinking.. at least until the blood starts to congeal, sticking her eyes closed. She has to wipe at them to clear them. Then she looks at Mei, points. "Got some of it on you.." she tells him in a voice that only quavers, just a little bit. "Gotta... gotta... gotta tell the Silverguard about this, yeah?"
Mei smiles a crooked smile at Halani, and gives her a thumbs-up. "You saved my ass." He says, grateful, and then promptly passes out amid the bloody mess all around him. Surely he would have agreed with her, but he hasn't the strength.
When Halani exits the room, she will find Aya standing there holding a blood-soaked piece of paper. It's an interesting bit of parchment which holds the names of many, /many/ of the members of the Adventurer's Guild on it. Their names in alphabetical order. Their full names. Some with little marks next to them. Aya's - near the top, has a little check mark next to it. Hers, is /not/ the only one.
There is one more odd thing about the list. It is longer than it seems. Some fiddling with it reveals that one can move the names up and down with a finger. Which means that the blood stains /move/. Every adventurer in the guild is listed. Every last one of them.
It's a long list. And a lot of check marks.
-End