Innocent Bystander
First Post
I guess only counting current party members only that's 4 down and 3 to go. Anyone want to start a pool? 
Sagiro's Story Hour: The FINAL Adventures of Abernathy's Company (FINISHED 7/3/14)
Wrong, but close!
Thanks for setting me straight!
Piratecat
Sesquipedalian
I think (but am not sure) that Sagiro is forgetting someone, but I may be misremembering or have my timing screwed up. It's also possible it hasn't happened yet, and I should avoid spoilers. It's also worth mentioning that we lost several people in that last climactic fight against the Black Circle, but we got to them in time with revivify.
At this point in the game the closest Dranko has come to death was in Het Brannoi when he was being squeezed to death in the claw of a giant demon. Grappling is NOT his friend. That said, improved evasion and a high reflex save has literally saved him from thousands of hit points worth of damage.
Duncan Haldane
Explorer
But Arrogance has cost him a few points of damage too! Remember failing to save against the iron/ligtening combo (forget the exact name of the spells) from friendly fire?
blargney the second
blargney the minute's son
Dice have a way of kicking you in the nads for being confident in your character's abilities.But Arrogance has cost him a few points of damage too! Remember failing to save against the iron/ligtening combo (forget the exact name of the spells) from friendly fire?
Dice have a way of kicking you in the nads for being confident in your character's abilities.
Played a game of Boothill once where my character was hell on wheels. got into the last fight and took down 4 of 5 bandits without a scratch, the entire gunfight was within close range too. The remaining bandit got on his horse and took off. At about 100 yards he fired blindly back at me with his pistol. Roll 100 to hit, then rolled 100 for hit location. I'm down with a terminal hole in the head ...
Sagiro
Rodent of Uncertain Parentage
Sagiro’s Story Hour, Part 327
The Door Close at Hand
The voice of Ten Old Bones sounds in their heads, a dry chuckle mixed with a sigh. I did warn you. And I liked that dragon. I suppose I’ll have to make another one when all this is finished.
“There will be nothing left of you,” Aravis retorts coldly, before shapechanging into a fly to make himself less visible. While Ernie heals Morningstar, Kibi casts xorn movement and sinks beneath the rocky ground. It tingles slightly with Earth Magic, and even with his highly attuned senses he cannot determine whether the rock is natural or worked.
Dranko uses another charge of his wand of indomitability on his wife, then flies upward toward the misty ceiling of the ravine. He remembers what Kibi learned from his commune with nature, and guesses that Ten Old Bones must be lurking in the fog. He sees nothing, but hears the necromancer’s voice in his head.
You can’t see me, and you won’t be able to. I have become one with the Sheltering Mist, and the mist is impenetrable.. Dranko focuses his detect magic upward, and sees that the edge of the mist is like a smeared glass pane to his magical senses.
“Out of curiosity,” thinks Drano, “How do you intend to pry open the gate and let your stupid Emperor through? Without, you know, being misty?”
While Morningstar casts true seeing and flies around to other side of the tower, Ten Old Bones repsonds.
Ah. Here we go. Like this.
The Skysteel Ring starts to glow.
“Um,” says Dranko, sweating. “That’s a reasonable answer. And how are you doing that… up there… made of mist? And why are you doing this? If the Emperor shows up, you’re not going to get to play with your fun undead anymore. He’s not going to respect you or treat you well, you know.”
Your ignorance is astounding.
/*/
Around the distant corner of the ravine, a new mass of Black Circle skeletons is surging forward, and while they will certainly be greatly slowed by the rubble from Kibi’s earthquake, Morningstar spies another flight of about a half-dozen flying skulls heading their way.
Dranko and Kibi fly down to the top of the tower, to examine the rune-covered obelisk. Dranko, inevitably, licks it. Kibi casts comprehend languages and finds that that the runes have no clear direct translations. They are symbolic of different magical types – his best guess is that they stand for divination, enchantment, etc. Some of the runes aren’t part of any language, symbolic or otherwise, but the shapes themselves lend the obelisk power.
All at once, the dozen or so skeletons atop the tower, fighting against the four larger Droshian defenders, explode in a shower of bone fragments. The defenders are blown to bits, and the Bigby’s fists are annihilated. Dranko manages to put the obelisk directly between himself and most of the shrapnel, but Kibi is bloodied by a spray of bone chips. Simultaneous with the explosion, ten wraiths come flying upward out of the tower. They look like semi-substantial black curtains, with glowing eyes and shadowy auras. They scatter once out in the open.
Finally, one more being emerges from the tower. He’s a humanoid, emaciated, and wears fraying black robes. His body is surrounded by about twenty silver globes that shift and slide in slow orbits around him. He floats down to stand alone next to the obelisk.
“You’re such a big liar,” says Dranko. “Up in the mist, huh?”
Yes, fine. I lied. Now be quiet, and leave me alone for a moment.
Ernie flies to a spot ten feet above the head of Ten Old bones, and in close proximity to some of the wraiths. He casts holy word. NAUGHTY! A flash of green and gold light bursts from his hands, a holy emanation smelling of fresh bread. Several of the wraiths buckle, though they aren’t paralyzed as Ernie was hoping. Bones doesn’t even flinch. Ernie quickens a know opponent upon the necromancer, but is hardly surprised when it has no effect.
Aravis shifts into human form, and fires off two ineffective lightning bolts from his lightning ring before casting reverse gravity at the top of the tower. Ten Old Bones starts to rise for a second before regaining control of himself, and standing again upon the tower roof. He appears to be able to fly.
Grey Wolf toys with the idea of casting Mordenkainen’s Disjunction on Ten Old Bones, but worries about striking the obelisk as well, and possibly triggering some unwanted reaction. He might be able to place it so as to get the necromancer without also encompassing the obelisk, but it will be a very tricky bit of casting. He warns the others about what he’s thinking, so Morningstar flies up and away from the tower top. In case Grey Wolf decides against his disjunction, she casts greater dispel magic directly on Ten Old Bones. Three of his seven active enchantments are stripped away, though not, as she was hoping, his fly spell.
Grey Wolf goes for it. He drops his disjunction, and succeeds in avoiding the obelisk while still getting Old Bones. The reverse gravity is removed, and the only obvious effect on the necromancer is that all of the silver globes around his body wink out.
The Company also experiences a moment of mental silence; for just a second, Ten Old Bones is not in their heads. But then he reestablishes his telepathy, and lets out a tremendously aggrieved sigh.
You are so ANNOYING! he laments. Do you have any IDEA how long I’ve been working on this? And now I’m going to have to… oh, this is bothersome!”
Ernie musters little sympathy. “Do YOU have any idea how long WE’VE been working on this?”
You just got here! Old Bones retorts.
Kibi summons a huge earth elemental next to Ten Old Bones on the tower roof. His protection from good has been disjoined, and so the huge stone creature has no difficulty grabbing the old necromancer in an earthen fist. Ten Old Bones struggles for a second but realizes he has no chance of wriggling free.
“It’s my birthday,” says Dranko. He shifts into position and cracks his whip several times at Ten Old Bones’ exposed head and legs. Chips of skull and leg bone are sent flying, and the damage is substantial, though the necromancer looks more annoyed than seriously injured.
The wraiths go after Kibi, Aravis and Grey Wolf. Kibi is the only to have life force drained from him; Grey Wolf resists their attempts to suck his vitality, and Aravis is protected by the wall of force that Kibi cast earlier.
Dranko glares at Ten Old Bones, stuck in the elemental’s grasp. “We love this world,” he says, “and we get annoyed when people try to destroy it.”
Not nearly as annoyed as I am, I promise you! This is GALLING. This is INTOLERABLE!. And he really does sound exasperated.
“Shut up and get more grappled,” says Ernie.
Ten Old Bones utters a strange and potent syllable, and one of the runes on the obelisk glows brightly. Then he vanishes from the grip of the elemental and reappears higher up. He tries to take control of Dranko’s mind, but the half-orc proves indomitable. And then the little silvery globes reappear all around his body.
I should have been finished by now, he grumbles.
The syllable that he uttered hangs in the air, filling the canyon with unnatural echoes. The glowing gartine ring, the Skysteel Hole, glows very brightly. Light starts to flicker inside its circumference, as if someone is starting up a movie projector aimed at the wall within its circle. The Company can see hazy mountainous terrain beyond, as if the gartine ring is becoming a gateway to another world.
If you’re not here in a few minutes, you’ll be much happier in the long run. Now, please, I’m still VERY busy. Yes, you’re all very powerful, and I’m very impressed, but it’s not going to make any difference.
Ernie uses his sword Tava’s Righteous Fury to begin summoning the Astral Deva Tava’s Echo. Then he quickens a silence, centered next to the obelisk, in case Ten Old Bones is manipulating it verbally. Aravis fires off two more bolts from his lightning ring, this time at the wraiths. Then he flies up and over the wall of force and casts maze on Ten Old Bones
One of the little silver globes around the necromancer vanishes, but Old Bones himself does not.
“I officially hate him,” says Ernie.
The flight of skulls, each with one red and one black gem in its eye sockets, has nearly arrived. Morningstar casts darkburst, which clears out skeletons in a huge radius, cold flames flashing them to powder. She also gets the five skulls in its effect, but none are destroyed.
Kibi quickens mirror image on himself, and eight more dwarven wizards appear. Then he moves away from the wraiths around him, and their parting swipes only serve to pop two of the images. He follows up with a greater dispelling, again on Ten Old Bones, but there is no observable effect.
Grey Wolf hacks futilely at the nearest wraith with Bostock. The sword is just as frustrated as he is as the wraith’s insubstantiality foils every attack. Ah ha! No, wait. Yes! No! Dammit!
Dranko launches another flurry of whip strikes at Ten Old Bones. The silver globes may block targeted magic, but they have no effect on a whip. More pieces of the necromancer – whom Dranko and the others are increasingly (and correctly) suspecting is a lich – are liberated. The final whip snap knocks off a finger, which goes spiraling down to the ground.
“You know what that is now?” Dranko taunts. “A spell component.”
This is SO ANNOYING! Ten Old Bones sounds nearly overcome by the sheer rudeness of the Company’s attacks.
On the wall where sits the Skysteel Hole, the flickering projector image becomes fixed and clear, like a huge picture window looking out upon an alien landscape. It is now easy to see that a vast army is camped just on the other side of it. And up to this window strides an enormous figure, twenty-five feet tall and clad in blood-red plate mail. An enormous black sword is slung onto his back. This being takes off his helmet, revealing a twisted and pitted face the color of a deep bruise, a dirty purple, with eyes like glowing orange coals.
Emperor Naradawk.
The Emperor unslings his sword and moves it slowly forward until it taps against the space within the Skysteel ring. He looks up at the Company swarming around Ten Old Bones atop the tower. Then he jams the sword into the ground next to him, crosses his arms, and waits.
Ten Old Bones looks down and sees Naradawk waiting to take a final step into Abernia. He barks another weird syllable, but when nothing happens, he frowns. Then he vanishes, reappears some fifty feet higher up and casts exhaustion upon Aravis, Ernie and Dranko. They are sapped of strength and mobility; Aravis’s limbs go dead.
We don’t want to keep the Emperor waiting. He’s just going to be annoyed. With me!
“Not at the top of my list of concerns,” says Aravis.
Ten Old Bones repeats the syllable, again with no effect. He considers for one more second, then throws up his hands.
You silenced the obelisk! AAAARRRRGGH!
“You’re welcome,” says Aravis. Ernie smirks.
Weeks of preparation, and you put a stupid silence spell on the obelisk! When this is done, I’m going to KILL you!
Tava’s Echo appears, and immediately heals Ernie.
“Now that I have healed you, Ernest, what is on our agenda?”
“Preventing the Emperor from coming through.”
“Oh dear. You seem to have landed yourself in a pickle.”
Aravis is only able to move because he’s flying, though he is only barely able to move his arms. Somehow he manages to fire off an anti-magic ray at Ten Old Bones, but it has no effect. Then he quickens stunning breath, changes into dragon form, and breaths a cone of electricity. Again, the lich is entirely unharmed. Ernie flies up to the lich and lands a solid blow upon it, but Bones’ bones feel like iron, and the blade makes only the slightest scratch.
Five buzzing skulls arrive, and blast Morningstar with their full magical armament. (It would have been six, but a flying Droshian defender catches up with the trailing skull and knocks it off course with a falchion before pursuing it downward.) Still, five is plenty. Morningstar is engulfed in five concurrent fireballs, which are followed by 25 magic missiles that zip into the dissipating smoke. She is terribly burned and scored, but retains consciousness.
Kibi flies upward and catches all five skulls in a prismatic spray. Three are blasted to pieces by elemental energies, and a fourth is turned to stone, after which is plummets to the ground. Grey Wolf exchanges more blows with a wraith.
Dranko then experiences a moment of great and sudden clarity. His whip is capable of dealing sneak attack damage to undead, but he needs a flanking buddy, and Flicker is no longer available. But that can be solved…
He reaches deep into his mad soul, drawing upon the powers of the Far Realms. He casts time stop. Everything around him freezes. He thinks about his plan, and giggles out some sanity. He moves up to Ten Old Bones, reaches into his bag of tricks, and gingerly removes a fuzzy ball. He has no idea what it will become, but with another little giggle, he balances it carefully on Ten Old Bones’ time-frozen head.
He prepares his whip.
Time restarts.
A warhorse appears directly on the skull of Ten Old Bones.
“Surprise!” Dranko yells.
Ten Old Bones doesn’t understand what’s happening, but while he manages to sidestep a bit as the horse slides off and down to the waiting rocks far below, the hapless equine provides exactly the distraction Dranko needs.
His whip cracks, perfectly placed, several times. The lich's shoulder bone is sheared away. Its teeth are forcibly extracted. Its lower jaw is crushed.
A horse? For the love of…
“Everybody loves horses,” says Dranko, before a final snap of his whip removes the skull from Ten Old Bones.
The Emperor has been watching all of this with great intensity. He is now staring directly at Aravis, and his eyes are wide with anger. Aravis smiles at him. Dranko flips him off.
And even as the Company sees Naradawk silently mouthing the word “No!” over and over, and pounding the planar boundary with his sword, and gesticulating violently, the image vanishes, and the wall within the Skysteel ring becomes just a wall, as solid as stone cold truth.
…to be continued…
The Door Close at Hand
The voice of Ten Old Bones sounds in their heads, a dry chuckle mixed with a sigh. I did warn you. And I liked that dragon. I suppose I’ll have to make another one when all this is finished.
“There will be nothing left of you,” Aravis retorts coldly, before shapechanging into a fly to make himself less visible. While Ernie heals Morningstar, Kibi casts xorn movement and sinks beneath the rocky ground. It tingles slightly with Earth Magic, and even with his highly attuned senses he cannot determine whether the rock is natural or worked.
Dranko uses another charge of his wand of indomitability on his wife, then flies upward toward the misty ceiling of the ravine. He remembers what Kibi learned from his commune with nature, and guesses that Ten Old Bones must be lurking in the fog. He sees nothing, but hears the necromancer’s voice in his head.
You can’t see me, and you won’t be able to. I have become one with the Sheltering Mist, and the mist is impenetrable.. Dranko focuses his detect magic upward, and sees that the edge of the mist is like a smeared glass pane to his magical senses.
“Out of curiosity,” thinks Drano, “How do you intend to pry open the gate and let your stupid Emperor through? Without, you know, being misty?”
While Morningstar casts true seeing and flies around to other side of the tower, Ten Old Bones repsonds.
Ah. Here we go. Like this.
The Skysteel Ring starts to glow.
“Um,” says Dranko, sweating. “That’s a reasonable answer. And how are you doing that… up there… made of mist? And why are you doing this? If the Emperor shows up, you’re not going to get to play with your fun undead anymore. He’s not going to respect you or treat you well, you know.”
Your ignorance is astounding.
/*/
Around the distant corner of the ravine, a new mass of Black Circle skeletons is surging forward, and while they will certainly be greatly slowed by the rubble from Kibi’s earthquake, Morningstar spies another flight of about a half-dozen flying skulls heading their way.
Dranko and Kibi fly down to the top of the tower, to examine the rune-covered obelisk. Dranko, inevitably, licks it. Kibi casts comprehend languages and finds that that the runes have no clear direct translations. They are symbolic of different magical types – his best guess is that they stand for divination, enchantment, etc. Some of the runes aren’t part of any language, symbolic or otherwise, but the shapes themselves lend the obelisk power.
All at once, the dozen or so skeletons atop the tower, fighting against the four larger Droshian defenders, explode in a shower of bone fragments. The defenders are blown to bits, and the Bigby’s fists are annihilated. Dranko manages to put the obelisk directly between himself and most of the shrapnel, but Kibi is bloodied by a spray of bone chips. Simultaneous with the explosion, ten wraiths come flying upward out of the tower. They look like semi-substantial black curtains, with glowing eyes and shadowy auras. They scatter once out in the open.
Finally, one more being emerges from the tower. He’s a humanoid, emaciated, and wears fraying black robes. His body is surrounded by about twenty silver globes that shift and slide in slow orbits around him. He floats down to stand alone next to the obelisk.
“You’re such a big liar,” says Dranko. “Up in the mist, huh?”
Yes, fine. I lied. Now be quiet, and leave me alone for a moment.
Ernie flies to a spot ten feet above the head of Ten Old bones, and in close proximity to some of the wraiths. He casts holy word. NAUGHTY! A flash of green and gold light bursts from his hands, a holy emanation smelling of fresh bread. Several of the wraiths buckle, though they aren’t paralyzed as Ernie was hoping. Bones doesn’t even flinch. Ernie quickens a know opponent upon the necromancer, but is hardly surprised when it has no effect.
Aravis shifts into human form, and fires off two ineffective lightning bolts from his lightning ring before casting reverse gravity at the top of the tower. Ten Old Bones starts to rise for a second before regaining control of himself, and standing again upon the tower roof. He appears to be able to fly.
Grey Wolf toys with the idea of casting Mordenkainen’s Disjunction on Ten Old Bones, but worries about striking the obelisk as well, and possibly triggering some unwanted reaction. He might be able to place it so as to get the necromancer without also encompassing the obelisk, but it will be a very tricky bit of casting. He warns the others about what he’s thinking, so Morningstar flies up and away from the tower top. In case Grey Wolf decides against his disjunction, she casts greater dispel magic directly on Ten Old Bones. Three of his seven active enchantments are stripped away, though not, as she was hoping, his fly spell.
Grey Wolf goes for it. He drops his disjunction, and succeeds in avoiding the obelisk while still getting Old Bones. The reverse gravity is removed, and the only obvious effect on the necromancer is that all of the silver globes around his body wink out.
The Company also experiences a moment of mental silence; for just a second, Ten Old Bones is not in their heads. But then he reestablishes his telepathy, and lets out a tremendously aggrieved sigh.
You are so ANNOYING! he laments. Do you have any IDEA how long I’ve been working on this? And now I’m going to have to… oh, this is bothersome!”
Ernie musters little sympathy. “Do YOU have any idea how long WE’VE been working on this?”
You just got here! Old Bones retorts.
Kibi summons a huge earth elemental next to Ten Old Bones on the tower roof. His protection from good has been disjoined, and so the huge stone creature has no difficulty grabbing the old necromancer in an earthen fist. Ten Old Bones struggles for a second but realizes he has no chance of wriggling free.
“It’s my birthday,” says Dranko. He shifts into position and cracks his whip several times at Ten Old Bones’ exposed head and legs. Chips of skull and leg bone are sent flying, and the damage is substantial, though the necromancer looks more annoyed than seriously injured.
The wraiths go after Kibi, Aravis and Grey Wolf. Kibi is the only to have life force drained from him; Grey Wolf resists their attempts to suck his vitality, and Aravis is protected by the wall of force that Kibi cast earlier.
Dranko glares at Ten Old Bones, stuck in the elemental’s grasp. “We love this world,” he says, “and we get annoyed when people try to destroy it.”
Not nearly as annoyed as I am, I promise you! This is GALLING. This is INTOLERABLE!. And he really does sound exasperated.
“Shut up and get more grappled,” says Ernie.
Ten Old Bones utters a strange and potent syllable, and one of the runes on the obelisk glows brightly. Then he vanishes from the grip of the elemental and reappears higher up. He tries to take control of Dranko’s mind, but the half-orc proves indomitable. And then the little silvery globes reappear all around his body.
I should have been finished by now, he grumbles.
The syllable that he uttered hangs in the air, filling the canyon with unnatural echoes. The glowing gartine ring, the Skysteel Hole, glows very brightly. Light starts to flicker inside its circumference, as if someone is starting up a movie projector aimed at the wall within its circle. The Company can see hazy mountainous terrain beyond, as if the gartine ring is becoming a gateway to another world.
If you’re not here in a few minutes, you’ll be much happier in the long run. Now, please, I’m still VERY busy. Yes, you’re all very powerful, and I’m very impressed, but it’s not going to make any difference.
Ernie uses his sword Tava’s Righteous Fury to begin summoning the Astral Deva Tava’s Echo. Then he quickens a silence, centered next to the obelisk, in case Ten Old Bones is manipulating it verbally. Aravis fires off two more bolts from his lightning ring, this time at the wraiths. Then he flies up and over the wall of force and casts maze on Ten Old Bones
One of the little silver globes around the necromancer vanishes, but Old Bones himself does not.
“I officially hate him,” says Ernie.
The flight of skulls, each with one red and one black gem in its eye sockets, has nearly arrived. Morningstar casts darkburst, which clears out skeletons in a huge radius, cold flames flashing them to powder. She also gets the five skulls in its effect, but none are destroyed.
Kibi quickens mirror image on himself, and eight more dwarven wizards appear. Then he moves away from the wraiths around him, and their parting swipes only serve to pop two of the images. He follows up with a greater dispelling, again on Ten Old Bones, but there is no observable effect.
Grey Wolf hacks futilely at the nearest wraith with Bostock. The sword is just as frustrated as he is as the wraith’s insubstantiality foils every attack. Ah ha! No, wait. Yes! No! Dammit!
Dranko launches another flurry of whip strikes at Ten Old Bones. The silver globes may block targeted magic, but they have no effect on a whip. More pieces of the necromancer – whom Dranko and the others are increasingly (and correctly) suspecting is a lich – are liberated. The final whip snap knocks off a finger, which goes spiraling down to the ground.
“You know what that is now?” Dranko taunts. “A spell component.”
This is SO ANNOYING! Ten Old Bones sounds nearly overcome by the sheer rudeness of the Company’s attacks.
On the wall where sits the Skysteel Hole, the flickering projector image becomes fixed and clear, like a huge picture window looking out upon an alien landscape. It is now easy to see that a vast army is camped just on the other side of it. And up to this window strides an enormous figure, twenty-five feet tall and clad in blood-red plate mail. An enormous black sword is slung onto his back. This being takes off his helmet, revealing a twisted and pitted face the color of a deep bruise, a dirty purple, with eyes like glowing orange coals.
Emperor Naradawk.
The Emperor unslings his sword and moves it slowly forward until it taps against the space within the Skysteel ring. He looks up at the Company swarming around Ten Old Bones atop the tower. Then he jams the sword into the ground next to him, crosses his arms, and waits.
Ten Old Bones looks down and sees Naradawk waiting to take a final step into Abernia. He barks another weird syllable, but when nothing happens, he frowns. Then he vanishes, reappears some fifty feet higher up and casts exhaustion upon Aravis, Ernie and Dranko. They are sapped of strength and mobility; Aravis’s limbs go dead.
We don’t want to keep the Emperor waiting. He’s just going to be annoyed. With me!
“Not at the top of my list of concerns,” says Aravis.
Ten Old Bones repeats the syllable, again with no effect. He considers for one more second, then throws up his hands.
You silenced the obelisk! AAAARRRRGGH!
“You’re welcome,” says Aravis. Ernie smirks.
Weeks of preparation, and you put a stupid silence spell on the obelisk! When this is done, I’m going to KILL you!
Tava’s Echo appears, and immediately heals Ernie.
“Now that I have healed you, Ernest, what is on our agenda?”
“Preventing the Emperor from coming through.”
“Oh dear. You seem to have landed yourself in a pickle.”
Aravis is only able to move because he’s flying, though he is only barely able to move his arms. Somehow he manages to fire off an anti-magic ray at Ten Old Bones, but it has no effect. Then he quickens stunning breath, changes into dragon form, and breaths a cone of electricity. Again, the lich is entirely unharmed. Ernie flies up to the lich and lands a solid blow upon it, but Bones’ bones feel like iron, and the blade makes only the slightest scratch.
Five buzzing skulls arrive, and blast Morningstar with their full magical armament. (It would have been six, but a flying Droshian defender catches up with the trailing skull and knocks it off course with a falchion before pursuing it downward.) Still, five is plenty. Morningstar is engulfed in five concurrent fireballs, which are followed by 25 magic missiles that zip into the dissipating smoke. She is terribly burned and scored, but retains consciousness.
Kibi flies upward and catches all five skulls in a prismatic spray. Three are blasted to pieces by elemental energies, and a fourth is turned to stone, after which is plummets to the ground. Grey Wolf exchanges more blows with a wraith.
Dranko then experiences a moment of great and sudden clarity. His whip is capable of dealing sneak attack damage to undead, but he needs a flanking buddy, and Flicker is no longer available. But that can be solved…
He reaches deep into his mad soul, drawing upon the powers of the Far Realms. He casts time stop. Everything around him freezes. He thinks about his plan, and giggles out some sanity. He moves up to Ten Old Bones, reaches into his bag of tricks, and gingerly removes a fuzzy ball. He has no idea what it will become, but with another little giggle, he balances it carefully on Ten Old Bones’ time-frozen head.
He prepares his whip.
Time restarts.
A warhorse appears directly on the skull of Ten Old Bones.
“Surprise!” Dranko yells.
Ten Old Bones doesn’t understand what’s happening, but while he manages to sidestep a bit as the horse slides off and down to the waiting rocks far below, the hapless equine provides exactly the distraction Dranko needs.
His whip cracks, perfectly placed, several times. The lich's shoulder bone is sheared away. Its teeth are forcibly extracted. Its lower jaw is crushed.
A horse? For the love of…
“Everybody loves horses,” says Dranko, before a final snap of his whip removes the skull from Ten Old Bones.
The Emperor has been watching all of this with great intensity. He is now staring directly at Aravis, and his eyes are wide with anger. Aravis smiles at him. Dranko flips him off.
And even as the Company sees Naradawk silently mouthing the word “No!” over and over, and pounding the planar boundary with his sword, and gesticulating violently, the image vanishes, and the wall within the Skysteel ring becomes just a wall, as solid as stone cold truth.
…to be continued…
RangerWickett
Legend
Huh. I really thought they were going to lose there.
