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<blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 7355290" data-attributes="member: 143"><p>Chapter 128</p><p></p><p>All Bredan could do was close his eyes and protect his face with one arm before the <em>fireball</em> hit. Flames filled the air around him, and he bit off a scream as they scorched his exposed flesh. He staggered a step back, resisting the instinct to take a breath that he knew would sear his lungs.</p><p></p><p>The blast was instantaneous, but it felt like an eternity before he could open his eyes and breathe again. The first breath still burned in his chest and set off a spell of coughing as he looked around. The skeletal remains in the stone throne had caught fire and had added a lurid glow to the radiance cast by Quellan’s mace. The half-orc had caught the full force of the blast and looked like only sheer will was keeping him upright; the skin of his face was charred and blackened. He’d moved to shelter Glori, who looked to be singed but intact. Kosk had also avoided the worst of it by darting into the meager cover offered by the other passage.</p><p></p><p>Looking up, Bredan saw the skull, still floating above them, thus far barely touched by anything they had managed to unleash at it. And its first attack had almost destroyed them.</p><p></p><p>The part of his mind that was still capable of coherent thought was yelling at him to flee, but the way behind was blocked and the far passage offered only the promise of worse dangers ahead. Instead Bredan let out a feral roar and drew his sword, tossing the scorched leather scabbard aside. He felt the stirring of magic he’d felt earlier and embraced it. He felt a surge of energy fill his body, gathering in the muscles of his legs. He lifted his sword and charged forward several steps before leaping straight up into the air. That coherent bit acknowledged that he had easily cleared his own height as he rose toward the dome above, but the rest of him was already sighting in on his target.</p><p></p><p>The skull started to evade, but Bredan’s sword gave him the advantage of reach, and he took full advantage of it. The undead caster had refreshed its <em>shield</em>, but Bredan expected the resistance and drove through it. The tip of the blade drove into the burning aura and clipped something hard, and then the two were flying apart, the skull bouncing off the stone edge of the dome while the warrior dropped back to the floor of the vault.</p><p></p><p>Glori was looking at him with her jaw dropped, but she quickly recovered. “Keep pressing it!” she yelled, firing another arrow that made it past the <em>shield</em> only to get lost within the <em>blurring</em> effect of its fiery halo. Quellan was wavering, but he raised his holy symbol again and fired off a <em>guiding bolt</em> that slammed into its <em>shield</em> but failed to penetrate, briefly surrounding the thing with a flashy display of conflicting magics. The skull, emerging from that bright but harmless clash with a crack just visible over one eye socket, fixed its attention on Bredan as it gathered its magic for another assault.</p><p></p><p>But before it could strike, Kosk emerged from the passage where he’d taken shelter from the <em>fireball</em>. The dwarf ran at a full charge, not directly at the skull, but at the far wall of the chamber. He kept on running as he reached it, using his momentum to carry him two strides up the sheer stone surface before he kicked off into another leap. The skull tried to evade, but Kosk thrust his staff forward like a spear, trying to penetrate its defenses. The <em>shield</em> flared as he struck, deflecting the blow, but he used the force of the impact to spin himself around, lashing out with one foot that managed to tear through the barrier weakened by his strike. It looked to Bredan like it would hit, but the blow only caught empty flames, and Kosk dropped to the ground without having hurt it at all for all his efforts.</p><p></p><p>Even as he touched down, the skull unleashed another counter attack. It spun in mid-air, and Bredan barely had time to register that its fiery eyes were fixed on him before a stream of flames blasted down toward him. He reacted reflexively, bringing his sword up to parry, and while the steel was of no use against the assault the translucent <em>shield</em> that formed over it repelled the burning streak.</p><p></p><p>“Yes, Bredan!” Glori yelled.</p><p></p><p>But the bard’s cheer hadn’t finished echoing off the walls of the vault when the flameskull showed it wasn’t finished. Even as Kosk rolled back to his feet again it spun to track him. Quellan saw it and warned, “Kosk, look out!”</p><p></p><p>The dwarf reacted immediately, launching into another roll. He nearly got clear, but the trailing edge of the flame burst clipped him in the shoulder, igniting his robe. Kosk barely slowed, tearing the burning garment off and leaving him clad only in a breechclout and sandals.</p><p></p><p>“It’s too strong,” Glori said, as another arrow missed its target. “What can we do?”</p><p></p><p>“No mortal caster could maintain this level of energy output for long,” Xeeta said. She had her rod at the ready but held onto her magic, which had thus far proven ineffective against the undead entity.</p><p></p><p>“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but this isn’t a mortal caster,” Glori said.</p><p></p><p>“All we can do is hope to wear it down,” the tiefling said in response.</p><p></p><p>“Bredan managed to hit it,” Glori said. “Bredan, can you do that jumping thing again?”</p><p></p><p>Bredan could still feel the magic pouring through his body, but he’d held off on another leap. Having seen and felt the effects of its protective <em>shield</em> and obscuring <em>blur</em>, he knew that his first hit had been blind luck. Even as Glori called to him he was trying something else, concentrating on the skull, trying to find a way to pierce its confounding sorcery. He could feel the hilt of his sword growing warm in his hand. He still had no idea what exactly he was doing, but he let himself follow his instinct, to let the magic flow freely through him.</p><p></p><p>“Bredan?” Glori repeated. Her friend didn’t respond, and for a moment she worried that he’d been ensnared by some kind of mental magic. But before she could do anything else to intervene Xeeta shouted a warning.</p><p></p><p>“It’s attacking again!”</p><p></p><p>Glori looked up as the skull reached the far side of the dome and spun to face them again. The nimbus of fire around it coalesced around it until it formed a ball the size of an apple within its jaws. Once again it spat out its prize, and Glori tensed reflexively in anticipation of another blast. But this time the ball didn’t explode. Instead, it swelled in size as it dropped, until it hit the ground the size of a wagon wheel. The <em>flaming sphere</em> bounced lightly and started rolling across the room toward them.</p><p></p><p>Glori quickly gauged its target. “Bredan look out!” she warned. But caught in whatever reverie held him, he didn’t react.</p><p></p><p>She and Quellan both started forward, but Xeeta beat them to it. She leapt in front of Bredan and jammed her rod into the stone floor in front of her. The rolling sphere struck it and rebounded. The sorceress gritted her teeth as the flames splashed around her, searing her even through her natural resistance. But the contact only lasted a moment before the sphere was diverted. It quickly started to roll back around for another run, but she’d diverted it for a few precious moments.</p><p></p><p>Kosk was already running back toward them. Seeing Bredan’s distraction, he yelled, “Quellan!” The cleric had fortified himself with a <em>cure wounds</em> spell, and as he turned around he immediately saw what the dwarf had in mind. He dropped to one knee, raising his shield.</p><p></p><p>Repeating the trick he’d done with Bredan earlier, Kosk used the cleric as a springboard for another leap. Quellan gave him even more of a boost than the smith had, and he flew up to where the skull waited. Summoning the sphere had cost it the wreath of flames that had protected it earlier, but as the monk swung his staff he once again hit the translucent barrier of its <em>shield</em>. But this time the dwarf was ready for it. As the skull moved to set up another attack he bounced off the far side of the dome and rebounded. The skull realized it had been tricked and started to turn back toward him, but before it could Kosk let out a sharp sound and drove his palm down into its forehead. As his hand struck the <em>shield</em> there was a flash of light followed by an impact that drove the skull down and back. It dropped halfway down to the floor, and for a moment the flames that still glowed within it flickered. The <em>flaming sphere</em> disappeared.</p><p></p><p>As he fell, Kosk yelled, “It’s all yours, boy!”</p><p></p><p>Almost if he’d been waiting for those words, Bredan’s head came up. The others started in surprise as they saw a soft glow shining within his eyes. He leapt, and once more he seemed to rise almost effortlessly into the air. As he started to come back down he brought his sword down in a glittering arc that smashed into the skull, shattering it into a thousand pieces. They skittered into every corner of the room as Bredan landed, falling into a crouch with the sword held parallel to the ground.</p><p></p><p>“Now <em>that</em>, that was cool,” Glori said.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lazybones, post: 7355290, member: 143"] Chapter 128 All Bredan could do was close his eyes and protect his face with one arm before the [i]fireball[/i] hit. Flames filled the air around him, and he bit off a scream as they scorched his exposed flesh. He staggered a step back, resisting the instinct to take a breath that he knew would sear his lungs. The blast was instantaneous, but it felt like an eternity before he could open his eyes and breathe again. The first breath still burned in his chest and set off a spell of coughing as he looked around. The skeletal remains in the stone throne had caught fire and had added a lurid glow to the radiance cast by Quellan’s mace. The half-orc had caught the full force of the blast and looked like only sheer will was keeping him upright; the skin of his face was charred and blackened. He’d moved to shelter Glori, who looked to be singed but intact. Kosk had also avoided the worst of it by darting into the meager cover offered by the other passage. Looking up, Bredan saw the skull, still floating above them, thus far barely touched by anything they had managed to unleash at it. And its first attack had almost destroyed them. The part of his mind that was still capable of coherent thought was yelling at him to flee, but the way behind was blocked and the far passage offered only the promise of worse dangers ahead. Instead Bredan let out a feral roar and drew his sword, tossing the scorched leather scabbard aside. He felt the stirring of magic he’d felt earlier and embraced it. He felt a surge of energy fill his body, gathering in the muscles of his legs. He lifted his sword and charged forward several steps before leaping straight up into the air. That coherent bit acknowledged that he had easily cleared his own height as he rose toward the dome above, but the rest of him was already sighting in on his target. The skull started to evade, but Bredan’s sword gave him the advantage of reach, and he took full advantage of it. The undead caster had refreshed its [i]shield[/i], but Bredan expected the resistance and drove through it. The tip of the blade drove into the burning aura and clipped something hard, and then the two were flying apart, the skull bouncing off the stone edge of the dome while the warrior dropped back to the floor of the vault. Glori was looking at him with her jaw dropped, but she quickly recovered. “Keep pressing it!” she yelled, firing another arrow that made it past the [i]shield[/i] only to get lost within the [i]blurring[/i] effect of its fiery halo. Quellan was wavering, but he raised his holy symbol again and fired off a [i]guiding bolt[/i] that slammed into its [i]shield[/i] but failed to penetrate, briefly surrounding the thing with a flashy display of conflicting magics. The skull, emerging from that bright but harmless clash with a crack just visible over one eye socket, fixed its attention on Bredan as it gathered its magic for another assault. But before it could strike, Kosk emerged from the passage where he’d taken shelter from the [i]fireball[/i]. The dwarf ran at a full charge, not directly at the skull, but at the far wall of the chamber. He kept on running as he reached it, using his momentum to carry him two strides up the sheer stone surface before he kicked off into another leap. The skull tried to evade, but Kosk thrust his staff forward like a spear, trying to penetrate its defenses. The [i]shield[/i] flared as he struck, deflecting the blow, but he used the force of the impact to spin himself around, lashing out with one foot that managed to tear through the barrier weakened by his strike. It looked to Bredan like it would hit, but the blow only caught empty flames, and Kosk dropped to the ground without having hurt it at all for all his efforts. Even as he touched down, the skull unleashed another counter attack. It spun in mid-air, and Bredan barely had time to register that its fiery eyes were fixed on him before a stream of flames blasted down toward him. He reacted reflexively, bringing his sword up to parry, and while the steel was of no use against the assault the translucent [i]shield[/i] that formed over it repelled the burning streak. “Yes, Bredan!” Glori yelled. But the bard’s cheer hadn’t finished echoing off the walls of the vault when the flameskull showed it wasn’t finished. Even as Kosk rolled back to his feet again it spun to track him. Quellan saw it and warned, “Kosk, look out!” The dwarf reacted immediately, launching into another roll. He nearly got clear, but the trailing edge of the flame burst clipped him in the shoulder, igniting his robe. Kosk barely slowed, tearing the burning garment off and leaving him clad only in a breechclout and sandals. “It’s too strong,” Glori said, as another arrow missed its target. “What can we do?” “No mortal caster could maintain this level of energy output for long,” Xeeta said. She had her rod at the ready but held onto her magic, which had thus far proven ineffective against the undead entity. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but this isn’t a mortal caster,” Glori said. “All we can do is hope to wear it down,” the tiefling said in response. “Bredan managed to hit it,” Glori said. “Bredan, can you do that jumping thing again?” Bredan could still feel the magic pouring through his body, but he’d held off on another leap. Having seen and felt the effects of its protective [i]shield[/i] and obscuring [i]blur[/i], he knew that his first hit had been blind luck. Even as Glori called to him he was trying something else, concentrating on the skull, trying to find a way to pierce its confounding sorcery. He could feel the hilt of his sword growing warm in his hand. He still had no idea what exactly he was doing, but he let himself follow his instinct, to let the magic flow freely through him. “Bredan?” Glori repeated. Her friend didn’t respond, and for a moment she worried that he’d been ensnared by some kind of mental magic. But before she could do anything else to intervene Xeeta shouted a warning. “It’s attacking again!” Glori looked up as the skull reached the far side of the dome and spun to face them again. The nimbus of fire around it coalesced around it until it formed a ball the size of an apple within its jaws. Once again it spat out its prize, and Glori tensed reflexively in anticipation of another blast. But this time the ball didn’t explode. Instead, it swelled in size as it dropped, until it hit the ground the size of a wagon wheel. The [i]flaming sphere[/i] bounced lightly and started rolling across the room toward them. Glori quickly gauged its target. “Bredan look out!” she warned. But caught in whatever reverie held him, he didn’t react. She and Quellan both started forward, but Xeeta beat them to it. She leapt in front of Bredan and jammed her rod into the stone floor in front of her. The rolling sphere struck it and rebounded. The sorceress gritted her teeth as the flames splashed around her, searing her even through her natural resistance. But the contact only lasted a moment before the sphere was diverted. It quickly started to roll back around for another run, but she’d diverted it for a few precious moments. Kosk was already running back toward them. Seeing Bredan’s distraction, he yelled, “Quellan!” The cleric had fortified himself with a [i]cure wounds[/i] spell, and as he turned around he immediately saw what the dwarf had in mind. He dropped to one knee, raising his shield. Repeating the trick he’d done with Bredan earlier, Kosk used the cleric as a springboard for another leap. Quellan gave him even more of a boost than the smith had, and he flew up to where the skull waited. Summoning the sphere had cost it the wreath of flames that had protected it earlier, but as the monk swung his staff he once again hit the translucent barrier of its [i]shield[/i]. But this time the dwarf was ready for it. As the skull moved to set up another attack he bounced off the far side of the dome and rebounded. The skull realized it had been tricked and started to turn back toward him, but before it could Kosk let out a sharp sound and drove his palm down into its forehead. As his hand struck the [i]shield[/i] there was a flash of light followed by an impact that drove the skull down and back. It dropped halfway down to the floor, and for a moment the flames that still glowed within it flickered. The [i]flaming sphere[/i] disappeared. As he fell, Kosk yelled, “It’s all yours, boy!” Almost if he’d been waiting for those words, Bredan’s head came up. The others started in surprise as they saw a soft glow shining within his eyes. He leapt, and once more he seemed to rise almost effortlessly into the air. As he started to come back down he brought his sword down in a glittering arc that smashed into the skull, shattering it into a thousand pieces. They skittered into every corner of the room as Bredan landed, falling into a crouch with the sword held parallel to the ground. “Now [i]that[/i], that was cool,” Glori said. [/QUOTE]
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