Figuring Joren is better suited to deal with Andra, Malachi rushes forward to help Ashley with the Marshal, turning her head to allow her to easily spit out the water she swallowed earlier. As they tend to Lanya, Malachi shares an uneasy glance with Ashley and whispers “The coward and the kinslayer? What is Andra going on about? And what hundreds is Vilus talking about, could his organization be that big?” Malachi pulls out his dagger, preparing to cut the rope binding the Marshal.
Ashley looks to Malachi gratefully as he heads over to assist with getting the water out of Lanya's lungs. She whispers back as they work on the Marshal, "No idea what Andra is referring to. As for the hundreds? I just figured Vilus was bluffing, trying to get Andra off his game, but I could be wrong." She pulls Lanya's arms away from her body when she can, making it easier for Mal to cut the rope. Never taking her eyes off of Andra.
Standing guard on the ledge not far from his echo which is hovering above the cultists in the water, Joren is relieved to see Malachihelping Ashley revive Marshal Lanya. But this distracts him as his echo takes an ineffectual non-lethal swipe at one of the cultists in the water with his greatsword.
To hit with advantage from Grease: still only 8. (Rolled 2 2s at advantage).
Growling and disgusted with himself, and seeing Andra back on terra firma, Joren moves 30' west towards the area, halfway between the burning tracks to the north and the ledge to the south. He re-summons his echo with his bonus action and sends it 30' ahead. If he can and it is not too far, he interposes it between Andra and Ashley, Malachi and Marshal Lanya, in case Vilus' grapple proves unsuccessful.
Andra easily twists out of Vilus's hold (22) and turns to face him down angrily.
Lanya coughs and sputters as Ashley performs chest compressions on her, forcing water from her lungs. Malachi cradles her head as she convulses for a few more moments. Then she goes still, and her chest begins to rise and fall with more regular breathing.
Seeing as the others have Lanya in hand, Samir keeps his eyes on Andra for the moment, his weapon trained on the cultist. In his mind, however, the threads of magic have become visible once more, suggesting another course of action should it be needed...
Samir will ready an attack with his bowgun and will attack if Andra makes a hostile move towards himself or any of his companions.
Andra holds his sword in a defensive position and looks around at the bruised and battered, but still very lively party. He scowls and spits, lowering his sword tip to the ground. Then pulls off his left hand glove with his teeth. This time, no ring adorns his fingers. Rather, a tattooed band circles his middle finger with runes more intricate and complex than have been seen before.
"Razmus! I beseech thee, take your price and come to my aid!"
With that, he thrusts his hand out to the side and holds it there.
Malachi:
Malachi hears the voice in his head in an urgent tone. "Run!"
With Samir backed up enough to be at a ranged attack range from Vilus and Andra, the Goliath observes Andra's pose, open, defenceless. Clapping his hands Infront of him hard he casts Shatter (con save DC13 or take 13 thunder damage) his hand clap erupting in with force, leaving a piercing ringing in the ears of those directly surrounding him. He then quickly takes out two daggers and prepares himself.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
No!
Whatever Andra was doing, it was bad, that much was clear. The moment the man began to call out to Razmus, every instinct in Samir's body screamed at him to run, to take shelter. But something else burned within the artificer's mind: those threads, gleaming and glowing and crackling with the raw power of existence itself. Even as his body tensed to flee, his mind reached out, taking hold of a handful of snapping, glimmering threads, weaving them into a new arrangement, a new symbol. For an instance those threads revealed themselves to the world at large, flashing into existence in a almost blindingly vibrant runic symbol imposing itself into the air between Samir and Andra. at the same time, the half-orc's voice rang out, echoing his earlier internal cry.
"NO!"
Even as Vilus' magic exploded around Andra, a second blast of sound and force erupted from Samir's blazing sigil. Thunder filled the cabin as the sigil exploded outwards, crashing a wave of pounding force into the cultist, threatening to hurl him backwards into the water. Samir blinked, his eyes watering, and darted back towards the entrance.
Casting Thunderwave, DC 14 Con Save. 10 Thunder Damage and be pushed 10 feet backwards. Save for half and no movement.
To the extent that his echo was not wiped out by the are of effect magic invoked by Vilus and Samir, Joren positions it just at the cliff's edge, in melee with Andra to Andra's east (unless Andra was pushed over, in which case the echo hovers just over him in the water).
"That bastard is saying something about Razmus and paying the price for aid. This may not be ending well. More explosions, more undead, I am not knowing. Getting the Marshal out of here now, at least, as she is helpless. Can one of you help carry my pack?"
Joren takes the dash running up 20' just to the east of Lanya'sunconscious form, using his free action to pick her up and heave her over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. With the remainder of his movement (40', but 20' as he is now encumbered) he carries her back to his original position.
He gestures for someone to relieve him of his pack with their free action if they are able so he can carry the Marshal unencumbered, not wanting to drop it and thereby lose it, remembering what happened to it last time with the exploding Jon Shep.
Shadows along the cave wall begin to coalesce into a long, snaking tendril of inky black, that extends to reach Andra's outstretched hand. It wraps around his middle finger, winding its way up until encircles his finger right at the tattoo. The moment the tongue closes a loop with itself, there is a blur of shadow, a flash of movement, and a spurt of blood. For just a moment, a spectral maw filled with pearly white teeth clamps down. Then it is gone, as is Andra's finger.
He smiles widely, but is then rocked by a blast of pressure and sound from behind him. Strips of his cloak are torn away as it billows about him. Then is buffeted from the other side by Samir's magic. He staggers and windmills his arms as he overbalances and tips over the edge. With a splash, he hits the water and is immediately dragged down by his heavy armour. His severed finger leaves a trail of dark red in the otherwise unclouded water. But as he sinks, he looks upward at everyone and finds his smile again. A low rumbling fills the cavern.
Marion leaps over the flaming rails, wincing as her armour heats up, and intercepts Joren, unslinging his pack in a smooth motion as he runs past.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Malachi’s eyes go wide as the voice echoes in his head and be begins to realize what he is hearing and seeing. As Joren rushes forward and grabs Lanya, hoisting her unceremoniously to his shoulders, Malachi shouts to the others “Run! Now!” He gets up, pulling Ashley along with him, and dashes back down the tunnel, moving beyond Joren if he can.
As he moves, he looks back over his shoulder, trying to see what is coming for them. Perception: 24.
As everyone else flees Andra's falling place, Vilus alone stands ready to face whatever fresh hell Andra is conjuring.
Then Malachi, tuning in his senses to prepare for whatever is next, feels it coming. His head suddenly feels like it will cave in from the pressure, and for a moment he has the sensation of treading water in the middle of an ocean, watching the fathomless depths below him darken and swell as something immense comes for the surface.
And he knows in his head, This is a God.
It happens in the blink of an eye. One moment, Vilus and Joren's echo are standing there over the churning water Andra fell into. Then, like a breaching shark made of the smeared colours used to paint the ground and water around Andra, there is another mouth from below. A dark smear of reality but with teeth, swallowing up everything caught up within it. Vilus starts to turn his head to look back at the others...
The next moment, the only things remaining are a crater, the echo, and half of a leg that once belonged to a goliath. A leg that once belonged to what some may have called a friend. There is a crash of water as the subterranean lake sweeps in to fill the large hole left behind by Razmus.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
As Ashley runs for the exit, she sees Malachi turn and the look upon his face makes her stop dead in her tracks and turn back as well. She isn't sure what she is seeing right now, what just happened, but seeing Vilus's leg, laying there, she screams out in pain, horror, loss... she runs back to it and kneels, looking over the edge, trying to see if there is any possible way to get to him.
Perception 18
Having a strange feeling from her divine soul, she looks at the goliath leg in front of her. She then picks it up and somehow manages to shove it in her bag, tearing a strip from her clothes to bunch at the end of the stump.
She gets up and goes back to the others. "Don't ask me why I did that, it just felt like I needed to. We have to find a way to get to him, need to find him. Now that our medallion no longer works, do we have another lead?" She looks at Joren holding Lanya, and reaches up to put her hands on the woman. Casting healing word she hopes that will bring back their Marshall.
Out of habit, Joren's mind compartmentalizes the horror he and the others just witnessed. The attack from the god. Nothing to be done about that now. He moves 30' further east, carrying Marshal Lanya to safety in case the danger is not past.
Which of course, it isn't.
Joren's echo, somehow spared Razmus' maw, perhaps due to the alternate nature of its existence, moves again above the struggling cultists in the water. And once again, his technique fails him as he attacks from the echo's position. The echo perhaps having been disrupted after all by the god.
Looking back over his shoulder, Malachi slides to a stop as he sees the black maw swallow up Vilus. Eyes wide open with shock, he mouth moves silently, looking like fish out of water. “He… he …is gone!”he finally stammers, making his way slowly to the edge and looking at the water rushing in the new opening. “One second he was there, the next….. That was the power of a god. Who are we to stand against that?” He looks at the others, eyes still wide and shakes his head “What do we do now?”
Samir can only stare at the space where Vilus had been standing. The sound of the emerging eldritch horror that had swallowed the goliath had arrested Samir's movement, drawing his attention back to the underground lake to witness the unfolding event. He can only shake his head at Malachi's questions, slowly backing away towards the city once more.
The two swimming cultists, recognize the folly of trying to climb up. Instead they opt to dive deep under the water and push off, swimming hard for the opposite side of the lake and trying not to catch a blow from Joren's echo (The echo can make an AoO)
"This can't be!" Marion says, aghast. Then her attention turns to Lanya as she sits bolt upright with a scream, one hand clutching her throat and the other outstretched before her. She takes a few gasping breaths before calming down. "I'm... I'm alive." She pale, cold, and trembling, but she is indeed alive. She looks over to Ashley. "Thank you. Thank all of you... Wait. Where's Vilus?"
It's at that moment that everyone hears the sound of approaching footsteps, many of them, from down the tunnel back towards Tensmith. "Hold!" The echoing voice is a familiar one. Miter. All of the footsteps come to a halt, still a ways out of view, and muffled discussion ensues.
"Proklít všechno!" Joren curses under his breath as the cultists dive under the water and his lunging attack from his echo's position goes wide.
Greatsword attack of opportunity from echo's position: To hit: 11 Damage: 11
Furious with himself, he sends his echo to chase them and attack the more injured one again (non-lethally):
Greatsword attack on his turn from echo's position underwater: To hit: 26 (Natural 20) Damage: 20
Presuming the cultists had not made it very far with their swim speed, Joren then pulls the echo back to within 30' of himself to maintain it.
He attempts to address the others while concentrating on his echo's actions. "We must return Marshal Lanya to Tensmith so she... Marshal! You are waking. Vilus... he is gone. Andra too. Being taken by the cultists' god, perhaps. Please call out to Miter - he is coming now with men. Does not know."
Deep down, part of Joren's mind is screaming. But he ignores it as he always has. Walls it off as he has been taught.
Figuring Joren is better suited to deal with Andra, Malachi rushes forward to help Ashley with the Marshal, turning her head to allow her to easily spit out the water she swallowed earlier. As they tend to Lanya, Malachi shares an uneasy glance with Ashley and whispers “The coward and the kinslayer? What is Andra going on about? And what hundreds is Vilus talking about, could his organization be that big?” Malachi pulls out his dagger, preparing to cut the rope binding the Marshal.
Ashley looks to Malachi gratefully as he heads over to assist with getting the water out of Lanya's lungs. She whispers back as they work on the Marshal, "No idea what Andra is referring to. As for the hundreds? I just figured Vilus was bluffing, trying to get Andra off his game, but I could be wrong." She pulls Lanya's arms away from her body when she can, making it easier for Mal to cut the rope. Never taking her eyes off of Andra.
Standing guard on the ledge not far from his echo which is hovering above the cultists in the water, Joren is relieved to see Malachi helping Ashley revive Marshal Lanya. But this distracts him as his echo takes an ineffectual non-lethal swipe at one of the cultists in the water with his greatsword.
To hit with advantage from Grease: still only 8. (Rolled 2 2s at advantage).
Growling and disgusted with himself, and seeing Andra back on terra firma, Joren moves 30' west towards the area, halfway between the burning tracks to the north and the ledge to the south. He re-summons his echo with his bonus action and sends it 30' ahead. If he can and it is not too far, he interposes it between Andra and Ashley, Malachi and Marshal Lanya, in case Vilus' grapple proves unsuccessful.
Barn(Paladin1): Damian_May's Ereworn Under the Shadow | Lyra(Warlock2/Bard4): VitusW's Silverwood Forest | Nivi(Rogue5): Erik_Soong's Netherdeep
Joren(Fighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Quyen(Adept1, ba5ic): ConstancePhokas' Nentir Vale (Discord) | Seri(Druid1): Hunter_Orien's Saltmarsh
Xarian(Fighter3): Luna_Dust's Marks on the Map | Ophelia(Sorcerer2): BillM's Icewind Dale | Shin(Wizard1): Culuril's Strixhaven
Andra easily twists out of Vilus's hold (22) and turns to face him down angrily.
Lanya coughs and sputters as Ashley performs chest compressions on her, forcing water from her lungs. Malachi cradles her head as she convulses for a few more moments. Then she goes still, and her chest begins to rise and fall with more regular breathing.
Vilus simply smiles a bloodied grin in Andra's face as the man breaks his grapple attempt.
Seeing as the others have Lanya in hand, Samir keeps his eyes on Andra for the moment, his weapon trained on the cultist. In his mind, however, the threads of magic have become visible once more, suggesting another course of action should it be needed...
Samir will ready an attack with his bowgun and will attack if Andra makes a hostile move towards himself or any of his companions.
Andra holds his sword in a defensive position and looks around at the bruised and battered, but still very lively party. He scowls and spits, lowering his sword tip to the ground. Then pulls off his left hand glove with his teeth. This time, no ring adorns his fingers. Rather, a tattooed band circles his middle finger with runes more intricate and complex than have been seen before.
"Razmus! I beseech thee, take your price and come to my aid!"
With that, he thrusts his hand out to the side and holds it there.
Malachi:
Malachi hears the voice in his head in an urgent tone. "Run!"
With Samir backed up enough to be at a ranged attack range from Vilus and Andra, the Goliath observes Andra's pose, open, defenceless. Clapping his hands Infront of him hard he casts Shatter (con save DC13 or take 13 thunder damage) his hand clap erupting in with force, leaving a piercing ringing in the ears of those directly surrounding him. He then quickly takes out two daggers and prepares himself.
No!
Whatever Andra was doing, it was bad, that much was clear. The moment the man began to call out to Razmus, every instinct in Samir's body screamed at him to run, to take shelter. But something else burned within the artificer's mind: those threads, gleaming and glowing and crackling with the raw power of existence itself. Even as his body tensed to flee, his mind reached out, taking hold of a handful of snapping, glimmering threads, weaving them into a new arrangement, a new symbol. For an instance those threads revealed themselves to the world at large, flashing into existence in a almost blindingly vibrant runic symbol imposing itself into the air between Samir and Andra. at the same time, the half-orc's voice rang out, echoing his earlier internal cry.
"NO!"
Even as Vilus' magic exploded around Andra, a second blast of sound and force erupted from Samir's blazing sigil. Thunder filled the cabin as the sigil exploded outwards, crashing a wave of pounding force into the cultist, threatening to hurl him backwards into the water. Samir blinked, his eyes watering, and darted back towards the entrance.
Casting Thunderwave, DC 14 Con Save. 10 Thunder Damage and be pushed 10 feet backwards. Save for half and no movement.
To the extent that his echo was not wiped out by the are of effect magic invoked by Vilus and Samir, Joren positions it just at the cliff's edge, in melee with Andra to Andra's east (unless Andra was pushed over, in which case the echo hovers just over him in the water).
"That bastard is saying something about Razmus and paying the price for aid. This may not be ending well. More explosions, more undead, I am not knowing. Getting the Marshal out of here now, at least, as she is helpless. Can one of you help carry my pack?"
Joren takes the dash running up 20' just to the east of Lanya's unconscious form, using his free action to pick her up and heave her over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. With the remainder of his movement (40', but 20' as he is now encumbered) he carries her back to his original position.
He gestures for someone to relieve him of his pack with their free action if they are able so he can carry the Marshal unencumbered, not wanting to drop it and thereby lose it, remembering what happened to it last time with the exploding Jon Shep.
Barn(Paladin1): Damian_May's Ereworn Under the Shadow | Lyra(Warlock2/Bard4): VitusW's Silverwood Forest | Nivi(Rogue5): Erik_Soong's Netherdeep
Joren(Fighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Quyen(Adept1, ba5ic): ConstancePhokas' Nentir Vale (Discord) | Seri(Druid1): Hunter_Orien's Saltmarsh
Xarian(Fighter3): Luna_Dust's Marks on the Map | Ophelia(Sorcerer2): BillM's Icewind Dale | Shin(Wizard1): Culuril's Strixhaven
Shadows along the cave wall begin to coalesce into a long, snaking tendril of inky black, that extends to reach Andra's outstretched hand. It wraps around his middle finger, winding its way up until encircles his finger right at the tattoo. The moment the tongue closes a loop with itself, there is a blur of shadow, a flash of movement, and a spurt of blood. For just a moment, a spectral maw filled with pearly white teeth clamps down. Then it is gone, as is Andra's finger.
He smiles widely, but is then rocked by a blast of pressure and sound from behind him. Strips of his cloak are torn away as it billows about him. Then is buffeted from the other side by Samir's magic. He staggers and windmills his arms as he overbalances and tips over the edge. With a splash, he hits the water and is immediately dragged down by his heavy armour. His severed finger leaves a trail of dark red in the otherwise unclouded water. But as he sinks, he looks upward at everyone and finds his smile again. A low rumbling fills the cavern.
Marion leaps over the flaming rails, wincing as her armour heats up, and intercepts Joren, unslinging his pack in a smooth motion as he runs past.
Malachi’s eyes go wide as the voice echoes in his head and be begins to realize what he is hearing and seeing. As Joren rushes forward and grabs Lanya, hoisting her unceremoniously to his shoulders, Malachi shouts to the others “Run! Now!” He gets up, pulling Ashley along with him, and dashes back down the tunnel, moving beyond Joren if he can.
As he moves, he looks back over his shoulder, trying to see what is coming for them. Perception: 24.
.
(Whoa this is cool)
Ashley lets Malachi pull her out of her stupor on what all is transpiring and then dashes down the tunnel with him, hoping they aren't too late.
As everyone else flees Andra's falling place, Vilus alone stands ready to face whatever fresh hell Andra is conjuring.
Then Malachi, tuning in his senses to prepare for whatever is next, feels it coming. His head suddenly feels like it will cave in from the pressure, and for a moment he has the sensation of treading water in the middle of an ocean, watching the fathomless depths below him darken and swell as something immense comes for the surface.
And he knows in his head, This is a God.
It happens in the blink of an eye. One moment, Vilus and Joren's echo are standing there over the churning water Andra fell into. Then, like a breaching shark made of the smeared colours used to paint the ground and water around Andra, there is another mouth from below. A dark smear of reality but with teeth, swallowing up everything caught up within it. Vilus starts to turn his head to look back at the others...
The next moment, the only things remaining are a crater, the echo, and half of a leg that once belonged to a goliath. A leg that once belonged to what some may have called a friend. There is a crash of water as the subterranean lake sweeps in to fill the large hole left behind by Razmus.
Dead, erased, or whisked away, Vilus is gone.
As Ashley runs for the exit, she sees Malachi turn and the look upon his face makes her stop dead in her tracks and turn back as well. She isn't sure what she is seeing right now, what just happened, but seeing Vilus's leg, laying there, she screams out in pain, horror, loss... she runs back to it and kneels, looking over the edge, trying to see if there is any possible way to get to him.
Perception 18
Having a strange feeling from her divine soul, she looks at the goliath leg in front of her. She then picks it up and somehow manages to shove it in her bag, tearing a strip from her clothes to bunch at the end of the stump.
She gets up and goes back to the others. "Don't ask me why I did that, it just felt like I needed to. We have to find a way to get to him, need to find him. Now that our medallion no longer works, do we have another lead?" She looks at Joren holding Lanya, and reaches up to put her hands on the woman. Casting healing word she hopes that will bring back their Marshall.
Out of habit, Joren's mind compartmentalizes the horror he and the others just witnessed. The attack from the god. Nothing to be done about that now. He moves 30' further east, carrying Marshal Lanya to safety in case the danger is not past.
Which of course, it isn't.
Joren's echo, somehow spared Razmus' maw, perhaps due to the alternate nature of its existence, moves again above the struggling cultists in the water. And once again, his technique fails him as he attacks from the echo's position. The echo perhaps having been disrupted after all by the god.
Greatsword to hit from echo's position: 8
Barn(Paladin1): Damian_May's Ereworn Under the Shadow | Lyra(Warlock2/Bard4): VitusW's Silverwood Forest | Nivi(Rogue5): Erik_Soong's Netherdeep
Joren(Fighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Quyen(Adept1, ba5ic): ConstancePhokas' Nentir Vale (Discord) | Seri(Druid1): Hunter_Orien's Saltmarsh
Xarian(Fighter3): Luna_Dust's Marks on the Map | Ophelia(Sorcerer2): BillM's Icewind Dale | Shin(Wizard1): Culuril's Strixhaven
Looking back over his shoulder, Malachi slides to a stop as he sees the black maw swallow up Vilus. Eyes wide open with shock, he mouth moves silently, looking like fish out of water. “He… he …is gone!” he finally stammers, making his way slowly to the edge and looking at the water rushing in the new opening. “One second he was there, the next….. That was the power of a god. Who are we to stand against that?” He looks at the others, eyes still wide and shakes his head “What do we do now?”
Samir can only stare at the space where Vilus had been standing. The sound of the emerging eldritch horror that had swallowed the goliath had arrested Samir's movement, drawing his attention back to the underground lake to witness the unfolding event. He can only shake his head at Malachi's questions, slowly backing away towards the city once more.
"We... we have to... we have to go..."
The two swimming cultists, recognize the folly of trying to climb up. Instead they opt to dive deep under the water and push off, swimming hard for the opposite side of the lake and trying not to catch a blow from Joren's echo (The echo can make an AoO)
"This can't be!" Marion says, aghast. Then her attention turns to Lanya as she sits bolt upright with a scream, one hand clutching her throat and the other outstretched before her. She takes a few gasping breaths before calming down. "I'm... I'm alive." She pale, cold, and trembling, but she is indeed alive. She looks over to Ashley. "Thank you. Thank all of you... Wait. Where's Vilus?"
It's at that moment that everyone hears the sound of approaching footsteps, many of them, from down the tunnel back towards Tensmith. "Hold!" The echoing voice is a familiar one. Miter. All of the footsteps come to a halt, still a ways out of view, and muffled discussion ensues.
"Proklít všechno!" Joren curses under his breath as the cultists dive under the water and his lunging attack from his echo's position goes wide.
Greatsword attack of opportunity from echo's position:
To hit: 11
Damage: 11
Furious with himself, he sends his echo to chase them and attack the more injured one again (non-lethally):
Greatsword attack on his turn from echo's position underwater:
To hit: 26 (Natural 20)
Damage: 20
Presuming the cultists had not made it very far with their swim speed, Joren then pulls the echo back to within 30' of himself to maintain it.
He attempts to address the others while concentrating on his echo's actions. "We must return Marshal Lanya to Tensmith so she... Marshal! You are waking. Vilus... he is gone. Andra too. Being taken by the cultists' god, perhaps. Please call out to Miter - he is coming now with men. Does not know."
Deep down, part of Joren's mind is screaming. But he ignores it as he always has. Walls it off as he has been taught.
Barn(Paladin1): Damian_May's Ereworn Under the Shadow | Lyra(Warlock2/Bard4): VitusW's Silverwood Forest | Nivi(Rogue5): Erik_Soong's Netherdeep
Joren(Fighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Quyen(Adept1, ba5ic): ConstancePhokas' Nentir Vale (Discord) | Seri(Druid1): Hunter_Orien's Saltmarsh
Xarian(Fighter3): Luna_Dust's Marks on the Map | Ophelia(Sorcerer2): BillM's Icewind Dale | Shin(Wizard1): Culuril's Strixhaven