(CSDGH) Demon with a Glass Hand [IC]
Creamsteak
Explorer
Psion, do you have an action for Haros?
Psion
Adventurer
[Sblock=Actions]
Haros will delay for Suvarion moving the Gauntlet to him and then use the Boots of Big Stepping to move to A10.
[/sblock]
Haros delays momentarily considering what to do next when he sees the gauntlet flying towards him. He waits for the gauntlet to come to him, catches it, and then shimmers out of existence... only to reappear in the west hallway.
Haros will delay for Suvarion moving the Gauntlet to him and then use the Boots of Big Stepping to move to A10.
[/sblock]
Haros delays momentarily considering what to do next when he sees the gauntlet flying towards him. He waits for the gauntlet to come to him, catches it, and then shimmers out of existence... only to reappear in the west hallway.
Creamsteak
Explorer
Initiatives
Suvarion 19
Haros
Dian 18
Shard 16
Thalnil 12
Iantia 10
Guard Captain 5
Suvarion: Throws the gauntlet and takes cover.
Haros: Haros takes the gauntlet and activates his boots to make a movement to the other end of the room.
Dian: Tries to cast another spell, but fails her concentration check losing the casting.
Shard: Shard attempts to magically persuade the giantess, but the effect does not overcome her will save.
Thalnil: Thalinil charges through the room to the other side.
Iantia: Iantia calls out, "Do not be mistaken, we must get the artifact outside of the city. Only darkness will fall if we leave it here!" She takes a 5 foot step and takes her full attack action against the guard captain. Two attacks with her main hand hit, one of her off-hand attacks crits, and everything else is deflected. The first two attacks deal 30 and 29 points of damage. The critical hit deals 58 points of damage. The combined strikes seriously wound the guard captain, but he's still standing at the end of it.
Guard Captain: Not able to step out of the reach of Iantia, he takes his full attack action but fights defensively and makes use of combat expertise to increase his defenses. Only his primary swing hits, dealing 24 points of non-lethal damage. "Dian, I'm going to need some help myself! Iantia is far too strong!"
Suvarion 19
Haros
Dian 18
Shard 16
Thalnil 12
Iantia 10
Guard Captain 5
Suvarion: Throws the gauntlet and takes cover.
Haros: Haros takes the gauntlet and activates his boots to make a movement to the other end of the room.
Dian: Tries to cast another spell, but fails her concentration check losing the casting.
Shard: Shard attempts to magically persuade the giantess, but the effect does not overcome her will save.
Thalnil: Thalinil charges through the room to the other side.
Iantia: Iantia calls out, "Do not be mistaken, we must get the artifact outside of the city. Only darkness will fall if we leave it here!" She takes a 5 foot step and takes her full attack action against the guard captain. Two attacks with her main hand hit, one of her off-hand attacks crits, and everything else is deflected. The first two attacks deal 30 and 29 points of damage. The critical hit deals 58 points of damage. The combined strikes seriously wound the guard captain, but he's still standing at the end of it.
Guard Captain: Not able to step out of the reach of Iantia, he takes his full attack action but fights defensively and makes use of combat expertise to increase his defenses. Only his primary swing hits, dealing 24 points of non-lethal damage. "Dian, I'm going to need some help myself! Iantia is far too strong!"
Attachments
Shard scowls and looks at her staff.
"No...we're not supposed to kill her...she's just confused."
She pauses.
"Maybe a little."
The crystal in her forehead burns with white light as she lifts a hand and makes a grabbing gesture.
Dust in the air around Iantia stirs as an invisible -something- passes through it, coalescing around her and holding her as tightly as a gigantic, powerful hand might.
(Telekinesis! Used to initiate a grapple manuever. Assuming caster level is still 15...that gives a grapple bonus of +25. This makes my TK roll: 32 http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1365886 )
"No...we're not supposed to kill her...she's just confused."
She pauses.
"Maybe a little."
The crystal in her forehead burns with white light as she lifts a hand and makes a grabbing gesture.
Dust in the air around Iantia stirs as an invisible -something- passes through it, coalescing around her and holding her as tightly as a gigantic, powerful hand might.
(Telekinesis! Used to initiate a grapple manuever. Assuming caster level is still 15...that gives a grapple bonus of +25. This makes my TK roll: 32 http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1365886 )
Creamsteak
Explorer
[sblock=Spoiler-Don't Read Unless You Want an Out of Game Explanation]Since initiating this combat has slowed us down a bit more than I'd like (I expected it to be over more quickly, and expected activity to be a bit higher), I'm going to expediate things with a little D-E-M to skip to a more important part of plot development.[/sblock]
Shard wrestles Dian free from the giantess, Dian then touches the giantess with a paralyzing spell.
A few seconds later a brilliant flash of light appears next to Iantia. The light takes a full round to disappate, but when it's over you can see a powerful human-looking woman standing next to Iantia. This new figure has long blond hair, though her hairline seems to reveal more forehead than one would usually see. She wears platemail made of mithral, and has four greatswords strapped to her back (two on the left side, two on the right). This strange armament seems a bit much.
The figure lays a hand on Iantia, and the giantess falls to the ground asleep. Dian seems to be smiling from ear to ear. "My lady! It is excellent to see you awake!"
The human woman has a fairly deep voice, not manly, but as if it came from a larger creature (similar to Iantia's voice in depth). "Dian, you're sister will need extended care. The artifact has embedded... something... in her concious. Please take care of her." She then steps to the guard captain and rests one of her hands on his shoulder. A round later the vast majority of his wounds appear to have closed, though there seems to still be some injury to him. Haros and Shard identify that she cast the Heal spell.
"I'm sorry that I could not greet you myself. I heard that powerful walkers had come to my city. I also had an idea what might have been involved. I am surprised, however, that the twins were not able to handle the situation themselves."
"I am Undine."
She pauses briefly and looks over the group.
"I'm afraid that you come at an ill time. I can feel that the eyes of darkness have been cast upon my homeland. Even now factions of the darkness march on this citadel. My allies are distant and still have not recovered from an ancient battle in which one of our other cities was destroyed." Shard feels an eye on her, though there is no motion or look from Undine herself.
"I was witness to what the Urn revealed of the gauntlet. That hand, and it is a hand, belonged to a creature that lived before any of the god kings. That is the hand of Demrichai the Ashtalarian, the demon king. Long before this world was a desert, the Ashtalarian armies marched on this world. What I know now is that at some point, Demrichai was victim to an accident of some sort. Something pierced his soul, and in his moment of weakness his lieutenants turned on him greedy to consume his power. They killed him, devouring his innards, and with the aid of an ancient mortal Kingsmage they sealed his soul into what remained of his skin and bones. That hand is one such artifact."
She pauses from the description.
"I'm sure you have questions. Perhaps it would be easiest if I answered them myself. If you wish, I can have rooms within the citadel readied for you to rest. I imagine your battle with the wraith and this conflict here have worn on your strength."
XP for the last encounter was 450 each
Shard wrestles Dian free from the giantess, Dian then touches the giantess with a paralyzing spell.
A few seconds later a brilliant flash of light appears next to Iantia. The light takes a full round to disappate, but when it's over you can see a powerful human-looking woman standing next to Iantia. This new figure has long blond hair, though her hairline seems to reveal more forehead than one would usually see. She wears platemail made of mithral, and has four greatswords strapped to her back (two on the left side, two on the right). This strange armament seems a bit much.
The figure lays a hand on Iantia, and the giantess falls to the ground asleep. Dian seems to be smiling from ear to ear. "My lady! It is excellent to see you awake!"
The human woman has a fairly deep voice, not manly, but as if it came from a larger creature (similar to Iantia's voice in depth). "Dian, you're sister will need extended care. The artifact has embedded... something... in her concious. Please take care of her." She then steps to the guard captain and rests one of her hands on his shoulder. A round later the vast majority of his wounds appear to have closed, though there seems to still be some injury to him. Haros and Shard identify that she cast the Heal spell.
"I'm sorry that I could not greet you myself. I heard that powerful walkers had come to my city. I also had an idea what might have been involved. I am surprised, however, that the twins were not able to handle the situation themselves."
"I am Undine."
She pauses briefly and looks over the group.
"I'm afraid that you come at an ill time. I can feel that the eyes of darkness have been cast upon my homeland. Even now factions of the darkness march on this citadel. My allies are distant and still have not recovered from an ancient battle in which one of our other cities was destroyed." Shard feels an eye on her, though there is no motion or look from Undine herself.
"I was witness to what the Urn revealed of the gauntlet. That hand, and it is a hand, belonged to a creature that lived before any of the god kings. That is the hand of Demrichai the Ashtalarian, the demon king. Long before this world was a desert, the Ashtalarian armies marched on this world. What I know now is that at some point, Demrichai was victim to an accident of some sort. Something pierced his soul, and in his moment of weakness his lieutenants turned on him greedy to consume his power. They killed him, devouring his innards, and with the aid of an ancient mortal Kingsmage they sealed his soul into what remained of his skin and bones. That hand is one such artifact."
She pauses from the description.
"I'm sure you have questions. Perhaps it would be easiest if I answered them myself. If you wish, I can have rooms within the citadel readied for you to rest. I imagine your battle with the wraith and this conflict here have worn on your strength."
XP for the last encounter was 450 each
Seeing the giantess's blades rip into the captain, Thalnil steels himself to shed blood, but is relieved when the situation is resolved without her destruction.
Undine's appearance surprises him him, being in the actual presence of a god(dess)-Queen, is a momentous event, but strangely not as awe inspiring as he assumed it would be. Perhaps it is seeing the actual being somehow removes a layer of mystic from it.
"I am Thalnil from the Goliaths of Sealin Tor. I apologize for any sorrow that our bringing this artifact to you may have caused. If you can not deal with this, then I imagine it falls to us, as the care takers to deal with it."
"To that end, I do have several questions. Is there something in the Giantesses make up that makes her vulnerable to the Hands manipulation? If not, then why did it not try it on one of us? Is it's mental manipulation something we should expect?"
"Your... peer, the proxy of death, has come seeking this thing, it seems likely to me he is seeking the other parts as well. Do you know of any reason he would be doing this?"
Undine's appearance surprises him him, being in the actual presence of a god(dess)-Queen, is a momentous event, but strangely not as awe inspiring as he assumed it would be. Perhaps it is seeing the actual being somehow removes a layer of mystic from it.
"I am Thalnil from the Goliaths of Sealin Tor. I apologize for any sorrow that our bringing this artifact to you may have caused. If you can not deal with this, then I imagine it falls to us, as the care takers to deal with it."
"To that end, I do have several questions. Is there something in the Giantesses make up that makes her vulnerable to the Hands manipulation? If not, then why did it not try it on one of us? Is it's mental manipulation something we should expect?"
"Your... peer, the proxy of death, has come seeking this thing, it seems likely to me he is seeking the other parts as well. Do you know of any reason he would be doing this?"
Creamsteak
Explorer
Wrahn said:
"I'm afraid that while I would normally take that task off your hands, things here are going to take a turn for the worse very soon." She seems to smile very slightly with that statement.
"Poor Iantia... so many years of peace spoiled in an instant. The Urn of Wisdom Unbound appears to have acted as an amplifier, increasing the strength of the gauntlets voice. I suspect that, under normal circumstances, the manipulative powers of the hand are weak. Items created from demon souls are rarely perfect, and they decay over time. The folley of the kingsmage, as it's known. Or rather... as it was known." She pauses briefly then raises her right hand slightly. "Would you be interested in hearing the voice?"
"I don't know if any other 'parts' exist, at least on this world. Seto is a strange one... I know his eye is on this city even now, though he isn't the one I'm worried about."
Shard becomes very quiet when Undine appears and seems both fascinated by, and uncomfortable in the presence of, the transcendent humanoid that has come among the group. While she avoids looking directly at Undine, she can't quite look away either.
"Death honors the dead," she murmurs to Thalnil. "He's part of the world, though all fear him."
Then she looks guiltily up at Undine and for a moment locks eyes...just an instant before she jerks away as if burned.
"I'm sorry," she says after the goddess has spoken. "It's rude not to say who I am. I dropped my name, and it broke...but I'm called Shard when I'm called at all."
She pauses, then adds, "I'm glad everything's all right here."
"Death honors the dead," she murmurs to Thalnil. "He's part of the world, though all fear him."
Then she looks guiltily up at Undine and for a moment locks eyes...just an instant before she jerks away as if burned.
"I'm sorry," she says after the goddess has spoken. "It's rude not to say who I am. I dropped my name, and it broke...but I'm called Shard when I'm called at all."
She pauses, then adds, "I'm glad everything's all right here."
Creamsteak
Explorer
"Shard? I would think you should have a more apt name than that."
She pauses for a second before pulling a small crystal shard from under her belt.
"I have a gift for you. This little piece belonged to someone who like yourself had a similar crystal buried in his body. This one was concealed in his chest. Know that he was corrupt, serving under Drevin. He was defeated by a group of my warriors after a long fought battle in the deserts to the south. I am not certain if there is a connection between the two of you, but I feel compelled to give you this."
She pauses for a second before pulling a small crystal shard from under her belt.
"I have a gift for you. This little piece belonged to someone who like yourself had a similar crystal buried in his body. This one was concealed in his chest. Know that he was corrupt, serving under Drevin. He was defeated by a group of my warriors after a long fought battle in the deserts to the south. I am not certain if there is a connection between the two of you, but I feel compelled to give you this."
