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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Broccli_Head" data-source="post: 1200244" data-attributes="member: 105">Happy Halloween!Yet Still Inside the Colossus, near Deadsnows, Early Fall, 1378, Year of the Cauldron*Pain*...*confusion*...Who am I? What am I?...*more pain*...*a flash of light*...must kill...must KILL...*he heard a scream*...was that me?Ariod, maddened by the transformation, writhed towards the chaos beast. Benito fired a powerful beam of negative energy towards the twisted, tentacled creature. Ichor sprayed everywhere on the walls and on the mutating form of Ariod. It did not die. He saw that the creature that Ariod had become began to punch the beast. It was a horrifying site to see two amorphous piles of flesh, one black, the other green intertwined and lash pseudopods at each other. The gnome engineer maddened by the sight began rolling around on the floor. Aris drew his bow and fired arrows at the other raving madman that fought with Kyros. Two hit and caught fire. Ivan and Ellysidell closed on the human who came at them with bared teeth. As they slashed at the man, heat coursed up their weapons. It was bizarre to see a crazy naked man taking that kind of punishment and still be alive. "Things are not as they seem," thought Kyros out loud, striking with his greatsword--the edge this time--and cutting the man badly. "Benito, lay down the boom! I think that Ellysidell and Ivan can take it," called Aris tossing a handaxe at the man closing cautiously with Blue Destiny drawn.His 'axe went wide. Benito turned to the other fight and beagn his orison, then he looked to the chaos beast. Ariod had regained solidity, but not sanity as he continued to smash the beast with his angelic fists. Benito judged the distance and very soon a ripple of holy and sonic energy blew across the room, centered in between both melees. Ichor from the now dead chaos beast covered the walls and Ariod, who looked first with anger and then pleadingly towards the cleric of Ilmater. Benito ran towards him and asked Ilmater to grant him the power to heal Ariod's condition. A powerful white nimbus surrounded the pair and the shapeshifting druid regained control. Suprisingly, the lunatic continued to fight. However, even as Kyros backed away, fearing the intense heat that poured from the naked man, Ivan and Ellysidell slashed and cut with fury finally bringing him down. The man spasmed, and Ivan, Kyros, and Ellysidell were thrown back as him, now dead changed to its real form, a glowing and smoking remorhaz."Bloody Ice worm! I knew it," cried Ivan rising from the ground. Ellysidell looked at him strangely. "I smelled the brimstone, lad," he said pointing to his nose.Ivan took a deep breath, "Ahh, reminds me of the mountains and them ice worms back home...."**Somehow the gnome engineer had survived the explosions, but was still a gibbering fool. Benito picked him up by the collar of his tunic. "Get it together, man!" he said shaking him not too hard. The gnome was crying, not used to the harrowing experience of combat and explosions and extraplanar aberrations."Can you get us out of here?" He nodded, and pointed to a section of wall. Benito let him go to walk over to a hidden panel. While the gnome manipulated certain controls, Ariod gingerly changed to a ghost and floated up to search the rooms above. Grim introduced the elven maiden as Aletha, a "star" elf from the Yuirwood in Aglarond, far to the east. She had been captured and sold into slavery eventually landing in Xentarich's household. He had brought her along to excavations in some vast desert, but she had been unruly. Eventually, he had put her in this strange glass prison. Grim decided to stay with her while the rest of the crew went up to the next level on the platform. By the time the rest of the heroes arrived, Ariod had explored three of four rooms. One had been an empty prison. One he had been unable to pass through its walls. A spiral staircase led to the floor above. "Up, keep moving up," ordered Aris.Benito led the way. The next floor was dominated by metal staff with a glowing orb attached to it. The floor was empty and another staircase, this one made of crystal led upstairs. The gnome informed them that there was only one more floor. This level was the bottom half of the head of the Colossus. Ariod moved past Benito to explore ahead. Peeking around the corner, he saw the feet and legs of a stone statue standing at the top of the stairs. The heroes marched upward and stood in front of a stone golem. It stared down at them unmoving, fist clenched and ready to smash. Between it and the party stood a transluscent wall of force. Behind it four armored humans stood in front of a barricade. "Well?" asked the cleric."There is no other choice. Let us finish this and see what this Red Wizard can bring to bear," replied their fearless leader, Aris Cloud-dancer. Aris drew his bow and stood ready. Benito prayed to Ilmater to give him the divine strength to dispel this evil wizard's powerful magic. The wall of force shimmered and winked out of existence. The stone golem creaked, raising its massive arms. It brought them down with amazing speed.The final battle for the Colossus was joined.</blockquote>

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