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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Kid Charlemagne" data-source="post: 32606" data-attributes="member: 93">Song-Ling Monastery, near Hanalin, Ralt Gaither, February 9th, AE 420Jalea dashes off towards the secret chamber where the Egg is hidden away.  Brennen, Jovah, Reana, and Gavin retreat to the open courtyard so that they can react to any other threats as well as to anything at the gate.  Aris prepares to cast a magic missile at the non-heat-radiating samurai, but Batista moves to the opposite window, and launches his fireball arrow into the midst of the gathered samurai, frying several of them, including the supposedly undead one.“Hey!” Aris yelps.  “I said only one of them was undead!”“Right,” Batista replies coldly.  “Whatever.”The “samurai” leaps from the stair leading to the gate, and adheres to the wall, apparently spider climbing.  Aris unleashes his magic missile and Batista draws another arrow.  Aris runs to the room where the spider climbing enemy is heading – the windows in the Monastery are large enough to crawl through – and arrives just as the “samurai” steps in and changes form to the stronger, warrior Loraxite.  He engages him, hoping to get him before he starts going invisible and hasted.Outside in the courtyard, Reana spies something on the roof of the building as a score or more spidery creatures start crawling over the roof!  The party had heard that there were numerous spider-creatures that used to work for the Drow in this section of the mountains, and those stories seem now to be true.  She, Gavin, and some of the monks fend them off with bowfire for the time being.Jalea reaches the area where the secret chamber is hidden.  He took special care to memorize the series of steps the Monastery leader had used to open the door, and he repeats them now.  The entryway opens, and he finds himself in the storage chamber.  He closes the door behind him, and moves quickly to the pedestal where the Egg is hidden, and checks it for traps, disarming the one that he finds.  He then opens it up, and does a quick switch of the Egg with the oval stone he had found for this purpose.  Just as he closes the compartment, he hears a noise from behind him.  The secret door is opening again!  The scout hides in a corner behind a suit of samurai armor, and sees the door open; but nothing comes in.  He looks more closely, and sees a slight blurring – the telltale sign of a Loraxite’s invisible presence.  The compartment opens, and the trap triggers, but with no apparent effect.  Jalea sees the oval stone in its cloth wrapping rise up from the compartment, and the cloth is stripped away.  Then, with a curse from the invisible Loraxite thief, the stone is thrown forcibly away!  Jalea hears footsteps rapidly leaving the area, and he follows out to the courtyard.Brennen and Batista move to intercept the warrior Loraxite, only to find that Illyana, the Drow-girl Loraxite is there as well, invisible!  She lays into Aris pretty well, and the fight is going poorly for him.  The warrior has by now gone invisible as well, and they’re both hasted, with blades whirling and slicing through the three fighters.  Jovah tries to help, but big battles are not his strong suit.Reana and Gavin have been joined by Jalea now, and are doing the best they can to not be overrun by goblin-sized spider creatures.  Both fights have moved into the large courtyard by now, and the mage-Loraxite is throwing spells from a nearby location, but keeps moving so he can’t be found.Brennen steps back from the fight for a moment, and things look badly if the Sword of Kelanen leaves a battle; but then he begins casting a spell.  A moment later, both Ilyana and the warrior Loraxite return to visibilty, and normal speed!  Brennen dispelled both effects!Aris lets Illyana have it with a lightning bolt, and Batista plugs her with a couple of arrows, and she stumbles, badly hurt.  The still unseen mage is now screaming out for something.“Sharat!  We need your aid!” Aris can tell he is yelling.Moments later, Aris worst fears are confirmed.  A huge, shadowy form crawls over the top of the Monastery, and the monks begin running in fear.  Its massive claws plant themselves a good thirty feet apart, and its sinewy, reptile neck snakes out towards the party.  It is difficult for them to see it clearly, as its scales seem to deflect the little light that the moon offers.“Shadow Dragon!” Aris yells.  The Shadow Dragon inhales sharply, and breathes out a cloud of Shadowy gas in front of it – it looks like the shadowy mists that have allowed the Loraxites to escape twice before.  Batista downs Illyana with one more arrow, and the warrior Loraxite turns sharply towards her with a cry of anger.  He pauses, and is suddenly hasted again.The Shadow Dragon’s main breath weapon drains levels, but he couldn’t use it with the groups so interspersed.He runs over, and slings her over his back, and turns towards the Dragon.“NO!” Brennen yells.  “NOT AGAIN!”Batista moves closer to the Dragon to get a shot off – too close.  The Dragon smacks the half-elf with a heavy claw, sending him reeling.  Then the Dragon grabs him in his claws.  Reana runs over and tries to distract the Dragon with her attacks.“Oh no!” Aris thinks.  “I’ve already lost Batista once, if I lose him again, Tolaro will have my head on a platter!”The Bladesinger reaches into his pouch, pulling out his yellow ring that allows access to the interdimensional castle.  He palms it, and runs to Batista, dodging the Dragon’s other claw.  He grabs his half-elven protégé, and slips the ring on his finger.Nothing happens.Aris had only a general idea of how many charges the rings had left; he knew they had ‘around five’ at one point.  The ring was out of charges.The Shadow Dragon’s other claw closes around the Bladesinger, pinning his arms to his side.Brennen runs up to the warrior Loraxite, as he hoists Illyana over his shoulder, and grabs her legs himself.  He exerts every muscle in his body, and tries to wrench her away from the vampire, who is exceptionally strong.  Brennen is pretty strong himself however, and he pulls the small female Loraxite away from her protector.  She falls to the ground nearby.  The warrior moves to pick her up again, but Brennen interposes himself, and draws his third sword (having had to drop his other two to grab Illyana).This is enough time to allow Jovah to do what he wants.  He runs up, stake in hand, and jumps on Illyana’s prone form, driving the stake through her heart.  The warrior screams in anger, takes a swing at Brennen to voice his frustration, and then double-times it into the mist.Reana is trying to free Aris, but once the warrior Loraxite is in the mist, the Shadow Dragon starts retreating into the mist himself.  Batista is unconscious, but Aris is still struggling, trying to free himself before being drug off to who knows where.  Brennen, Jovah, and Gavin rush up to help, but the Shadow Dragon moves off and is enveloped completely in mist, and is gone.“Aris!” Jovah yells.“Batista!”There is no answer.</blockquote>

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