Mercy in the Nine Hells... a solo game for Isida Kep'Tukari

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

*With a sigh of relief, Tess relaxes a fraction.*

"I think I fooled it for now, it's going away," she says softly. "Sorry to wake everyone, but you can't be too careful. I'll keep on watch until it's Roscoe's turn."

 

[Emperor Valerian]

*Tess can here the distant skittering stop, then restart, slowing becoming louder again before once again stopping. It does not resume.*

*About a halfhour later, Tess is tending the fire as the snow seems to abate some. The winds have calmed down, and now she can see further out into the cold darkness.*

[Tess Spot Check: 22
Tess Listen Check: 35]

*She hears a slight rustling in the snow, as if something was pushing snow around. This is enough to draw her attention out into the darkness, mere moments before a powerful blast of cold slashes through the air, the wind howling with immense force. Her body, with years of experience honed in its form, dodges aside many of the shards of ice sent her way, though the cold rips into Tess' body to the bone. Her friends, asleep when the surprise assault occurred, were blasted from their sleep.*

*Roscoe appears more hurt than angry, while Haman is still surprised. Aust, however, looks very badly hurt. He is barely standing, and blood runs freely from his nose, and his fingers look black from their exposure to massive cold.*

*The skittering now resumes, very loud and close. Tess can make out, in the gloom, a creature that looks to be perhaps four feet tall with a body perhaps twice as wide. Its body looks to be hexagonal, almost like a roughly cut diamond. From its undersides come twelve short, spike-like legs, while a long, thin tendril emerges from each sharp corner of its body. THe six apparitions wave menacingly into the night sky as it approaches.*

[OOC: The creature regained the trail after the misdirection wore off, by posting a spot of 29 to see the party's campfire.

The creature launched a cold of cold at the party, doing 41 points of damage with a Reflex DC of 18. Tess' momentary warning allowed her to jump aside from a great deal of the blast, with a Reflex save of 22. She takes 20 points damage. The others, however were sleep and took the full brunt of the creature's blast. Currently the creature is approx. 50 feet away from the party and 'charging' towards them at a loping pace.

Current HP:
Tess: 91
Roscoe: 63
Haman:82
Aust: 1

Initiative after the surprise round:
Haman: 21
Roscoe: 20
Creature:16
Tess: 10
Aust:6]

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

*Tess gives a scream of anger as much to the creature as to wake the others up. Chiming her swift song, she hammers the ice-creature with a pair of sonic darts to try to shatter this ice-spider.*

*Roscoe will lurch up, half-covered in ice, and grab Devil Take Warning. As soon as he can, he will try to slip through the creature's grasp and slice and bash at it with his gyrspike.*

[OOC - First one vivified for a 100% increase in damage, second one normal. Roscoe will Tumble with a +5 to avoid an AoO (also using his Mobility feat, which gives him a +4 to his AC if he does get struck at, and calls Dodge on the ice spider). Then he attacks with extreme prejudice.]

 

[Emperor Valerian]

*Haman reacts quickly to the situation, and seizes her hand and a half blade. She charges forward, her blade raised despite her lack of armor*

*Roscoe will dash forward as well, his gyrspike flashing dangerously in the light of the campfire. As he rushes forward, the creature rushes towards him as well. As he and Haman draw within fifteen feet of it, the beast lashes out at both of them, its long, fluttering tentacles cutting through the air as icy whips. Roscoe is a blur in the snow, avoiding one of the strikes before two others slashed across his form, leaving his brow and shoulder bloody.*

*Haman, rushing forward in her cotton jerkins, is slashed wickedly by three of the tentacles, whose icy dagger tips cut deep into her chest and stomach. Mere moments later, a frighteningly perfect high C note thunders through the night, as the very air seems to pulse as Tess launches a ferocious assault of sound upon the creature.*

*The creature seems to tremble and shake as the sonic energies overwhelm it, bits and pieces of its form flying away in the screaming night. However, its tentacles continue to flutter menacingly in the air.*

*Aust stumbles to his feet, and rocks back and forth, regaining his bearings after his quite vicious wake-up call.*


[ooc: Haman moves forward 30 ft., getting a 9 on her Tumble check. Roscoe moves towards the beast 20 ft., and the beast moves towards him 20 ft. THe two are still 10 feet apart, yet the creature's long tentacles lash out at him and Haman. Roscoe gets a 6 on his Tumble Check.

Three of the creature's tentacles slash at Haman, all three cutting into her form (automatic as she doesn't have armor). Three others lash out at Roscoe, scoring two hits at 27 and 29. Haman takes 14 points slashing damage and 10 points cold damage from the creature's assault on her. Roscoe takes 13 points regular damage and 9 points cold damage from the slaps on him.

Tess rolls a 45 on her perform check, overcoming the creature's spell resistance. Her first vivified sonic dart does 38 points of damage, while the second does 20 points of damage on the creature.

Aust is still stunned by the vicious assault he has undergone, and spends this round regaining his bearings (it is impossible for him to pass a concentration check).

Currently, the creature is 10 feet from Roscoe, while Haman is directly in front of it. Tess is now 30 feet from the creature, as is Aust.

Tess: 91
Haman: 58
Roscoe: 41
Aust: 1

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

*Roscoe will dash forward to slash the creature that dared to lay a hand on Haman.*

"Take this you foul creature!" the halfling snarls.

*Tess lashes out with her sonic darts, hoping to shatter the creature before it can hurt her friends any more.*

[OOC - Roscoe attacking, tumbling if possible to avoid an AoO. Tess launching three sonic darts, the first one intensified.]

 

[Emperor Valerian]

*Haman raises her blade high in the air, slashing and cutting with immense force. The beast's tentacles continue to wave in the sky as she dashs almost among them, shearing away pieces of the monster's icy carapace.*

*Roscoe leapts into action, his own gyrspike slashing with its blade and bashing with its flail, cutting and crushing even more off of the creature.*

*The creature definitely looks worse for wear, large chunks of its gem-like body crushed or cut away. To the surprise of everyone involved, however, no interior muscles or organs or even blood is visible... it looks like the body is made entirely out of ice.*

*However, the beast still has fight left in it, and two of its tentacles slash inward towards Haman, ripping deep into her unprotected body. THe majority of the creature's gaze seems to be directed a Roscoe, the attacker it had trouble hitting last time. Four of its tentacles lash at him, three of them cutting deep into him. Roscoe staggers for a moment, before resuming his footing, new blood covering him.*

*Tess' second pulses of sonic power, however, prove far too much for the creature to handle. As the three immense blasts of sonic energy overwhelm the beast, it seems to literally shatter into thousands of pieces of ice, as if a massive sledgehammer had crushed it and sent the remains flying.*

"What... in the Nine Hells... was that?" Aust will spit out through blood. The boy is wobbly again, and has to catch himself against a rock.

"It looks to be made of ice... most unusual..." Haman will say, as she starts to attend to the injured Roscoe, calling upon Jode to heal him.


[ooc: Haman slashes at the creature, with attack rolls of 27, 28, and 13, scoring two hits that deal 32 points of damage.

Roscoe tumbles forward with a roll of 13, and attack at a 29, which hits. His gyrspike inflicts 20 points of damage.

The creature, very close to death, lashes out four tentacles at Roscoe, and two at Haman. Haman is automatically hit, while the creature rolls a 30, 32, and 26 to hit Roscoe three times. Haman takes 11 poinst regular damage, and 10 points cold damage, while Roscoe suffers 23 regular damage and 12 cold damage.

Tess gets a 55 on her perform check, steamrolling over the creature's SR. Her first blast does 46 points of damage, and if that was not enough, her second does 24 damage and her third does 20 points of damage. Considering the creature had only 4 left after Haman and Roscoe were done... once again, Tess has literally cooked a creature with sound.

Haman uses 2 spells of Cure Moderate Wounds to bring Roscoe up by 21 HP.

HP
Tess: 91
Haman: 37
Roscoe: 27
Aust: 1]

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

"Damn... spider," Roscoe coughs, using snow to wipe away some of the blood. "Damned spider indeed. What was that thing...?" Tess mutters to herself.

[OOC - Bardic Knowledge... or knowledge of any sort to figure out what the hell that was?]

 

[Emperor Valerian]

[Tess gets a 45 on bardic knowledge, and a 23 on Spot]

*Tess is able to see in the snow there are no tracks... it seems instead the creature almost climbed out of the snow to attack, yet there is no burrow or mark other than its exit point.*

*Using this knowledge, coupled with her knowledge of ancient and arcane lore, Tess is able to figure out that this creature was most definitely not an ice spider. It appears to be some kind of cold elemental. She doesn't know its proper name, but there are songs from the far past describing beasts like this who served the darker forces in the north, such as priests of Nerull, a few errant demons or devils, and the like.*

*In addition, the wounds on Haman and Roscoe appear to form a pattern that cooresponds to words in Infernal. Haman, slashed more often, has a more 'completed' set that reads:*

Thus to all who oppo"

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

"Ooo! Ooo! Let me guess what they say when they're all put together," Tess says sarcastically, translating the Infernal, "'Thus to all who oppose Imir die,' or something equally trite, painful, and thoroughly disturbing. Did I mention how much we all hate demons and devils?" Tess throws up her hands in annoyance and goes to search the spider over. "Three coppers says this thing was summoned and boiled up right out of the snow. I don't suppose it left any clues or pretties for our trouble, did it?" Her searching done, Tess goes to talk to Haman.

"How are you doing my friend? Would you like me to tend to the boy?" she asks, ready to use her own healing abilities on Aust, though they pale before Haman's own holy powers.

 

[Emperor Valerian]

"Trite indeed," Haman laughs bitterly. "Why is it again everything in the Nine Hells is after you? And why do I keep jumping in the middle?" she'll grin wryly.

*When you ask her about healing, she'll look up.*

"Well, if you can help me with some of my own little cuts," she nod to the huge gashes on her shoulders and chest, "I think Jode can preserve Aust and Roscoe. Or at least keep Aust from tumbling into unconsciousness."

[Haman will proceed to go to town with her Staff of Healing, using 2 Cure Serious Wounds on Aust, 4 on Roscoe, and 4 on herself. THe staff now has 40 charges left.]