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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 2321411" data-attributes="member: 143">Post 1 of 2: * * * * * Chapter 411“What have you done with him!” Dana exclaimed, shouting at the still-inscrutable creature standing over the empty bier.  The creature’s response was to start waving all six of its arms, two still holding the odd metal sphere, in a complex weave of gestures.  That was enough for the rest of the companions, who unleashed an all-out attack upon it.  Dannel’s first shot caught it solidly on the shoulder, but it showed no pain, or in fact any reaction at all, continuing its arcane perambulations.  The warriors charged at it, but even as they rushed across the chamber floor, further smearing the ruined summoning circle with the heavy tread of their boots, the spellweaver took a step back and conjured another wall of force that partitioned itself and the back fraction of the chamber apart from the rest, where the companions stood. The two dwarves and the genasi came to an abrupt halt before the translucent barrier.  On the far side, they could see the creature already moving its many hands in more spellcasting gestures.  Beorna smashed her adamantine sword against the barrier, but no one was surprised when the blade merely rebounded without effect. “We’ve got to get through!” Arun exclaimed.  The warriors turned to Cal, but they already knew that the gnome generally only carried a single disintegrate spell. Cal’s brows furrowed in a mix of consternation and intense concentration.  The creature’s ability to rapid-cast spells was impressive, and without even knowing the full span of its arsenal he sensed that they were in for a tough fight.  But he also noticed something else, which he quickly pointed out to his companions. “Above!” he shouted, pointing toward the ceiling.  And indeed they could all see what the gnome had detected, that this time the wall of force did not extend all the way to the ceiling above, twenty feet above the thick stone blocks of the floor.  Whether by intent or accident, the enemy caster had left a gap of about four feet at the top of its wall.  Dana quickly cast a fly spell, leaping into the air even as the spellweaver protected itself with a barrage of mirror images and the surging nimbus of blue flame of a fire shield spell.  Both spells were cast nearly simultaneously, and the odd creature immediately launched into a new wave of spells, its many hands conducting the somatic components of multiple spells at once.  Still it had not spoken, and it had to be triggering the vocal component of its magic through some alternative, elder lore that was unique to its race.  Mole’s thoughts were along those lines as she watched the creature from behind one of the pillars in the back of the room.  Forgotten by everyone, including (hopefully) the spellweaver, she’d slipped around the side of the room to the rear moments before it had brought up its second wall of force.  Now, essentially alone with it, she steeled herself to do what had to be done. With a normal wizard, she would have tried to time her attack to spoil its latest spell.  But this… thing seemed to be drawing magic in a constant surge, without interruption.  She was invisible, of course, and she trusted to that and her exceptional talents for stealth to keep her from being detected as she came up behind it.  It was facing half-away from her, so it shouldn’t be too difficultExcept that as soon as she stepped from cover, the creature immediately turned, fixing her with those dark, emotionless eyes.The hard way, then, she thought, running straight at it.  The creature seemed to be ignoring her, continuing its spellcasting.  She’d intended to spring up into a surprise leap at the end of her charge, catching it off guard, but on her last stride her foot landed on a broken piece of crockery, throwing off her charge.  She still managed to recover and came out of her flip with her knife stabbing at its throat, but instead of puncturing its larynx as she’d intended, the blade merely scratched its chest just below the left shoulder.  She kicked off it, landing back on her feet five feet away.  Her entire arm felt numb, and her dagger was covered with frost, the backblast from striking its fire shield.  Should have used your crossbow! she said to herself, knowing that she’d probably just earned something very unpleasant from the alien caster.   But the spellweaver merely continued infusing itself with magic. “Mole, get back!” Dana urged, as she cleared the top of the wall of force.  The gnome backflipped out of the path of the priestess’s flame strike, which spiraled down out from above into the spellweaver.  The creature merely absorbed the force of the divine blast, its shield protecting it from some of the damage.  As the flames cleared, revealing the scorched but still hale body of the creature, it made an intricate gesture with four of its hands, directing a spell at its attacker. “Ooof!” Dana grunted, as a huge transparent hand appeared from thin air and slammed into her, catching her up and driving her across the room.  The hand was far stronger than she was, and she was pushed roughly backward until she was slammed roughly against the wall in the nearest corner, more than twenty feet away, and no longer in the line of sight of the spellweaver.  She struggled against the hand, but it simply held here there, resisting her every effort to break free. Dannel could only watch as his companions engaged the creature.  “If only I still had my magic slippers!” he exclaimed. He’d only been speaking to himself, but Cal, standing adjacent, heard him.  “If mobility is what you need, I can assist,” the gnome said.  “Eat this!” he commanded, presenting a small wrapping from his pouch.  The elf took it, observing that it moved slightly.  He was familiar with the spider climb spell, so he did as was directed, while Cal infused magic into him.  As Dannel ran off toward the nearest wall close to the translucent barrier, Cal walked forward to join the warriors.  They had confronted the barrier with their own tactics.  Arun had spent some moments in concentration, summoning his celestial mount, the giant lizard Clinger.  The creature appeared and instantly divined the needs of its master, waiting for the paladin to strap himself in before it started toward the nearest wall.  Beorna, meanwhile, had called upon the power of Helm to enlarge herself, doubling her size to just over eight feet tall.  She quickly grabbed Lok, lifting him toward the top of the wall. “Gods, man, you are heavy!” she grunted, even her augmented strength barely enough to lift the genasi—or more exactly, the incredible weight of his arms and armor.  Lok tossed his shield aside, but even with Beorna’s boost, the top of the wall was still several feet above his reach. Mole was relieved that she’d been spared an attack, especially after seeing what it had done to Dana, but at the same time she felt a bit insulted that it was simply ignoring her.  But why not?  Without being able to sneak attack, her little weapons just weren’t very effective; and it didn’t look like it was going to fall for any of her feints or special moves.  Of course, it didn’t know about all her surprises, she thought, reaching into her bag of tricks.  She threw the little furry ball through the creature’s feet, and as it grew into a creature—a big wolf, this time—she moved forward to flank it. Cal, meanwhile, reached out to touch Beorna’s leg, intending to teleport both her and Lok with him to the far side of the wall of force.  But the spellweaver lifted off the ground, avoiding Mole’s clever plan as it flew up to the ceiling, close to its conjured barrier.  The maneuver opened it to Dannel’s line of fire, and the elf immediately let fly with an arrow that drew a violet gash across one of its forearms. But the spellweaver survived the hit, and unleashed its own surprise: a horrid wilting. The spell had a devastating effect, sucking moisture from the bodies of the heroes.  The potency of the spellweaver’s magic was incredible, and only Beorna was able to resist it, using the mettle granted her by Helm’s patronage to avoid the power of the spell.  Dannel went down, gasping as his desiccated lungs struggled to absorb air, and Cal likewise crumpled in a shivering heap.  Clinger, halfway up the wall, collapsed, dropping Arun painfully to the ground, the paladin likewise severely affected.  Only Mole, by virtue of being on the far side of the wall of force, escaped the effect of the spell. Lok had avoided the worst of the spell through his considerable fortitude, but his skin looked stretched over his bones as he looked down at Beorna.  Even with Beorna’s boost, the spellweaver was still a good eight feet above him.  “Hurl me up!” he shouted.  Beorna nodded, although she could barely lift the man, let alone utilize him as a projectile.  But she focused her will, drawing upon the strength of Helm to infuse her muscles with potency, and with a roar literally pushed the genasi up toward the enemy. The spellweaver drew back from its magical rampart, but not fast enough as the genasi’s free left hand closed upon the top of the barrier.  Lok’s strength and the impetus from Beorna’s push carried him up and over, hanging there just long enough for him to bring his axe down in a deadly arc that coincided with the exact center of the spellweaver’s skull.  There was a reverberation that echoed through the chamber, as the axe unleashed its thundering power upon impact. Fifteen feet below, Mole had to get out of the way in a hurry, before the bloody carcass of the spellweaver landed with a heavy splat at her feet.</blockquote>

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