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<blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 7598748" data-attributes="member: 143"><p>Chapter 287</p><p></p><p>The appearance of the massive ape shook the adventurers, but they had no time to deal with it as the girallons hurled themselves into melee range.</p><p></p><p>Quellan’s warning had given Glori a moment to react before the pursuing girallon overcame her. She instinctively strummed her lyre, trying to infect it with <em>fear</em>, but either its rage protected it or her casting faltered as it barreled into her. It lashed out powerfully with its claws, trying to drag her into an embrace that could have only ended one way. But she was able to twist free of its grasp, narrowly escaping its snapping jaws but absorbing a solid buffet that knocked her sprawling. The ape lifted its arms high above its head and sought to pound her into paste, but before it could strike Quellan slammed hard into it from the side. For once the big half-orc found himself yielding the advantage of height and weight to a foe, but despite that he still managed to knock it back a step, his mace delivering a punishing blow to its ribs.</p><p></p><p>“Get your stinking paws off her, you damned dirty ape!” he yelled.</p><p></p><p>Bredan had gained the measure of these foes, and knew how powerful they were. But with Kavek still clutching his battered knee behind him he could not give ground. He waited until the last instant, ducking the creature’s first swing before sweeping his sword around in an echo of the stroke that had killed the first one back at the blocked street. But this time the ape surprised him, batting his stroke aside with one of its inner arms before seizing him in a grapple with the other. It wrapped one of its big arms around his body, pinning his arms so that he could not effectively use his sword. It roared in triumph as it bent its head forward to snap off his face with its massive jaws.</p><p></p><p>Sandros stood his ground as the ape rushed him, planting his spear like a pikeman receiving a cavalry charge. The head of the weapon pierced its chest, its momentum driving the flanged blade deep, but the shaft of the spear snapped as it unleashed a full series of attacks upon him. It seized hold of him, the inner arms holding him while the outer ones delivered crushing blows that snapped bones like sticks. The sailor let out a shriek of pain that abruptly ended as it tore his throat open with a ferocious bite.</p><p></p><p>Malik had taken a step toward his comrade when the girallons had first appeared, but the sight of the giant ape had overwhelmed him. He stood there, frozen, as the monstrous thing leapt over the remains of what had once been a two-story house and landed on the edge of the plaza with enough force to shake the ground. It reached back and grabbed hold of a massive slab of rock and launched it toward the hard-pressed companions. It hit the ground once, bounced, and then slammed into Malik with such force that he was catapulted clear across the square, finally landing in a broken heap right in front of the building that had been their original destination.</p><p></p><p>“Gods above!” Rodan breathed. “How do we fight such a thing?”</p><p></p><p>“With everything we’ve got!” Xeeta shouted back. She held her rod out, and as flames kindled in her eyes she drew upon the power of the Demon, focusing her magic into the concentrated destructive potential of a <em>fireball</em>.</p><p></p><p>The others fought their own desperate battles, all too aware of the greater threat that was coming up behind them. Quellan managed to hold his ground against the fury of the girallon, even though it hit him with blows that would have felled an average man. But its sheer ferocity would have overpowered him eventually, had he been alone. But he managed to distract it enough that it did not notice Glori coming up behind it until she delivered a <em>thunderwave</em> that knocked it off balance. It staggered right into a <em>guiding bolt</em> that blasted up from Quellan’s shield, dazzling it as the divine sparks flashed around its face.</p><p></p><p>Bredan flinched back as the girallon’s teeth scraped on his helmet. But with the creature’s powerful arms locked around him, there was no place he could go. But then the ape let out a sharp screech of pain, and its grip loosened. Bredan saw Kalasien dart behind it, narrowly avoiding a sweep from its free hand. The warrior took full advantage of the distraction to slide his own arm free, lifting his sword and driving it deep into the monster’s body. The girallon reared back and let out a pained roar, but Bredan held on, using his weight to rip the terrible wound wider.</p><p></p><p>With Sandros’s death Kosk faced the last creature alone, but the dwarf did not quail against this foe that rose to more than twice his height. Even with his staff he could barely reach higher than its chest, but he delivered a series of punishing blows to its legs and body that soon drove to a wild frenzy. But even with four arms and that huge advantage in size it somehow found itself grasping only air each time it lunged at him. The staff in turn seemed to be everywhere, smacking into its leathery hide with enough force to numb muscles and shiver bone. Arrows jutted from its upper body; Rodan had done his best to even the odds. Blood trickled from one side of the dwarf’s jaw where a claw had scored a glancing hit, but thus far his <em>patient defense</em> had frustrated the creature.</p><p></p><p>Finally, the ape let out a violent roar and threw itself at the dwarf with wild abandon. But to its surprise, instead of running or evading its foe in turn leapt to meet it, his fists and feet moving in a blur as they unleashed their own deadly flurry.</p><p></p><p>The giant ape roared as the wisps of smoke from Xeeta’s <em>fireball</em> cleared; she’d certainly gotten its attention. Her companions seemed to be holding their own against the girallons, but it looked like they would not be able to help her for at least the next few moments. There was a pillar nearby, a reassuring solidity that offered a place to hide, but instead she strode further out into the open center of the square.</p><p></p><p>“What are you doing?” Rodan yelled. His quiver was empty; he’d just fired the last of his arrows at the monster battling Kosk.</p><p></p><p>“Buying us some time,” Xeeta said.</p><p></p><p>The giant ape, its upper body scorched black where the <em>fireball</em> had struck, reached back and yanked another hunk of rubble from the mound that edged the plaza. With an angry roar it hurled the missile at Xeeta. The tiefling barely had time to flinch before the stone skipped by her, so close that she could have reached out and touched it as it passed.</p><p></p><p>“You have too much luck for your own good,” Rodan said.</p><p></p><p>At that moment Xeeta could hardly disagree with him. The giant ape, seeing that its shot had missed, had already started forward. It was still more than sixty feet away, but with its size it would not take long for it to close the distance. She knew that she only had time for one more spell before it reached her. She glanced over and saw that Bredan had finished off his foe and was helping Kavek to his feet, but he was too far away to reach her in time.</p><p></p><p>“Get behind one of those pillars,” she said to Rodan.</p><p></p><p>“I’m not going anywhere,” he said. He’d drawn his sword, the slender weapon almost laughable in the face of what was coming.</p><p></p><p>The ape surged forward, moving every bit as fast as she had expected. But it had only covered a few huge strides when it staggered. It drifted to the side, clearly thrown off balance by something. Xeeta scanned the plaza and quickly spotted Glori, strumming her lyre from the shadow of one of the pillars. Both she and Quellan bore obvious wounds, but the girallon they’d been battling was on the ground, still moving but clearly out of the fight.</p><p></p><p>“Come on,” Xeeta breathed. She willed for whatever spell the bard was working to take hold. The ape was moving now as if drunk, shaking its head back and forth as if trying to shake off the magic.</p><p></p><p>The giant ape was still carrying a lot of momentum as it slammed into one of the pillars. It stumbled back a step, dazed by the impact. The pillar was more than eight feet thick, but it slowly leaned over before it toppled down onto the plaza.</p><p></p><p>Xeeta’s heart froze in her chest as she realized it was headed right toward where Bredan was running toward the battle, with Kalasien and Kavek just a few steps behind.</p><p></p><p>“Look out!” she yelled, but the words seemed to hang in the air, overpowered by the beat of her pulse in her ears. There was nothing she could do except watch as the pillar came apart and dropped tons of rock onto the ground. For a moment she caught a glimpse of Bredan, and started to feel a glimmer of relief that it had missed him, that he was alive. But then the ground beneath his feet gave way, and with a sound that felt like the end of the world part of the plaza collapsed, dropping the warrior and the two men with him into oblivion.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lazybones, post: 7598748, member: 143"] Chapter 287 The appearance of the massive ape shook the adventurers, but they had no time to deal with it as the girallons hurled themselves into melee range. Quellan’s warning had given Glori a moment to react before the pursuing girallon overcame her. She instinctively strummed her lyre, trying to infect it with [i]fear[/i], but either its rage protected it or her casting faltered as it barreled into her. It lashed out powerfully with its claws, trying to drag her into an embrace that could have only ended one way. But she was able to twist free of its grasp, narrowly escaping its snapping jaws but absorbing a solid buffet that knocked her sprawling. The ape lifted its arms high above its head and sought to pound her into paste, but before it could strike Quellan slammed hard into it from the side. For once the big half-orc found himself yielding the advantage of height and weight to a foe, but despite that he still managed to knock it back a step, his mace delivering a punishing blow to its ribs. “Get your stinking paws off her, you damned dirty ape!” he yelled. Bredan had gained the measure of these foes, and knew how powerful they were. But with Kavek still clutching his battered knee behind him he could not give ground. He waited until the last instant, ducking the creature’s first swing before sweeping his sword around in an echo of the stroke that had killed the first one back at the blocked street. But this time the ape surprised him, batting his stroke aside with one of its inner arms before seizing him in a grapple with the other. It wrapped one of its big arms around his body, pinning his arms so that he could not effectively use his sword. It roared in triumph as it bent its head forward to snap off his face with its massive jaws. Sandros stood his ground as the ape rushed him, planting his spear like a pikeman receiving a cavalry charge. The head of the weapon pierced its chest, its momentum driving the flanged blade deep, but the shaft of the spear snapped as it unleashed a full series of attacks upon him. It seized hold of him, the inner arms holding him while the outer ones delivered crushing blows that snapped bones like sticks. The sailor let out a shriek of pain that abruptly ended as it tore his throat open with a ferocious bite. Malik had taken a step toward his comrade when the girallons had first appeared, but the sight of the giant ape had overwhelmed him. He stood there, frozen, as the monstrous thing leapt over the remains of what had once been a two-story house and landed on the edge of the plaza with enough force to shake the ground. It reached back and grabbed hold of a massive slab of rock and launched it toward the hard-pressed companions. It hit the ground once, bounced, and then slammed into Malik with such force that he was catapulted clear across the square, finally landing in a broken heap right in front of the building that had been their original destination. “Gods above!” Rodan breathed. “How do we fight such a thing?” “With everything we’ve got!” Xeeta shouted back. She held her rod out, and as flames kindled in her eyes she drew upon the power of the Demon, focusing her magic into the concentrated destructive potential of a [i]fireball[/i]. The others fought their own desperate battles, all too aware of the greater threat that was coming up behind them. Quellan managed to hold his ground against the fury of the girallon, even though it hit him with blows that would have felled an average man. But its sheer ferocity would have overpowered him eventually, had he been alone. But he managed to distract it enough that it did not notice Glori coming up behind it until she delivered a [i]thunderwave[/i] that knocked it off balance. It staggered right into a [i]guiding bolt[/i] that blasted up from Quellan’s shield, dazzling it as the divine sparks flashed around its face. Bredan flinched back as the girallon’s teeth scraped on his helmet. But with the creature’s powerful arms locked around him, there was no place he could go. But then the ape let out a sharp screech of pain, and its grip loosened. Bredan saw Kalasien dart behind it, narrowly avoiding a sweep from its free hand. The warrior took full advantage of the distraction to slide his own arm free, lifting his sword and driving it deep into the monster’s body. The girallon reared back and let out a pained roar, but Bredan held on, using his weight to rip the terrible wound wider. With Sandros’s death Kosk faced the last creature alone, but the dwarf did not quail against this foe that rose to more than twice his height. Even with his staff he could barely reach higher than its chest, but he delivered a series of punishing blows to its legs and body that soon drove to a wild frenzy. But even with four arms and that huge advantage in size it somehow found itself grasping only air each time it lunged at him. The staff in turn seemed to be everywhere, smacking into its leathery hide with enough force to numb muscles and shiver bone. Arrows jutted from its upper body; Rodan had done his best to even the odds. Blood trickled from one side of the dwarf’s jaw where a claw had scored a glancing hit, but thus far his [i]patient defense[/i] had frustrated the creature. Finally, the ape let out a violent roar and threw itself at the dwarf with wild abandon. But to its surprise, instead of running or evading its foe in turn leapt to meet it, his fists and feet moving in a blur as they unleashed their own deadly flurry. The giant ape roared as the wisps of smoke from Xeeta’s [i]fireball[/i] cleared; she’d certainly gotten its attention. Her companions seemed to be holding their own against the girallons, but it looked like they would not be able to help her for at least the next few moments. There was a pillar nearby, a reassuring solidity that offered a place to hide, but instead she strode further out into the open center of the square. “What are you doing?” Rodan yelled. His quiver was empty; he’d just fired the last of his arrows at the monster battling Kosk. “Buying us some time,” Xeeta said. The giant ape, its upper body scorched black where the [i]fireball[/i] had struck, reached back and yanked another hunk of rubble from the mound that edged the plaza. With an angry roar it hurled the missile at Xeeta. The tiefling barely had time to flinch before the stone skipped by her, so close that she could have reached out and touched it as it passed. “You have too much luck for your own good,” Rodan said. At that moment Xeeta could hardly disagree with him. The giant ape, seeing that its shot had missed, had already started forward. It was still more than sixty feet away, but with its size it would not take long for it to close the distance. She knew that she only had time for one more spell before it reached her. She glanced over and saw that Bredan had finished off his foe and was helping Kavek to his feet, but he was too far away to reach her in time. “Get behind one of those pillars,” she said to Rodan. “I’m not going anywhere,” he said. He’d drawn his sword, the slender weapon almost laughable in the face of what was coming. The ape surged forward, moving every bit as fast as she had expected. But it had only covered a few huge strides when it staggered. It drifted to the side, clearly thrown off balance by something. Xeeta scanned the plaza and quickly spotted Glori, strumming her lyre from the shadow of one of the pillars. Both she and Quellan bore obvious wounds, but the girallon they’d been battling was on the ground, still moving but clearly out of the fight. “Come on,” Xeeta breathed. She willed for whatever spell the bard was working to take hold. The ape was moving now as if drunk, shaking its head back and forth as if trying to shake off the magic. The giant ape was still carrying a lot of momentum as it slammed into one of the pillars. It stumbled back a step, dazed by the impact. The pillar was more than eight feet thick, but it slowly leaned over before it toppled down onto the plaza. Xeeta’s heart froze in her chest as she realized it was headed right toward where Bredan was running toward the battle, with Kalasien and Kavek just a few steps behind. “Look out!” she yelled, but the words seemed to hang in the air, overpowered by the beat of her pulse in her ears. There was nothing she could do except watch as the pillar came apart and dropped tons of rock onto the ground. For a moment she caught a glimpse of Bredan, and started to feel a glimmer of relief that it had missed him, that he was alive. But then the ground beneath his feet gave way, and with a sound that felt like the end of the world part of the plaza collapsed, dropping the warrior and the two men with him into oblivion. [/QUOTE]
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