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The Doomed Bastards: Reckoning (story complete)
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<blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 3974315" data-attributes="member: 143"><p>Chapter 329</p><p></p><p>CHILLED TO THE BONE</p><p></p><p></p><p>They came in speed and silence, dashing up the stairs. The bright glow of <em>holy auras</em> surrounded the living contingent of the team, and other wards were layed under that protection; <em>stoneskins, death wards, bear’s endurance.</em> Letellia was surrounded by a bevy of <em>mirror images</em>, and all of them moved with the unnatural speed that was an obvious hallmark of the <em>haste</em> spell. </p><p></p><p>As they reached the top of the stairs, and started to spread out, Varo tossed the stone holding his <em>silence</em> spell away, and the noise of clattering armor and booted feet rushed into the quiet. </p><p></p><p>The enemy was waiting for them. </p><p></p><p>A biting chill exploded in their midst, sucking the heat from their bodies. The sudden icy freeze in the air was accompanied by black flashes from the floor. Long thick tentacles sprouted from the stone where the flashes occurred, twisting into the air, seeking targets to attack. </p><p></p><p>They found no shortage of victims. Allera and Letellia were grasped by tentacles that swirled around their torsos, tightening before either could slip free. A few feet away, Varo was likewise snagged by a tentacle that caught his left leg; the cleric tried to break free, and had nearly tugged his way out of the tentacle’s grasp before two more seized his arms from behind. </p><p></p><p>Off to the left, the vampires were snagged with equal efficiency. Shay, moving faster than the others, nearly leapt free of the danger area, but a tentacle lashed around her right ankle, dragging her down to the floor. The five vampire spawn were all trapped, lifted off their feet by the probing tentacles. </p><p></p><p>Only Talen and Dar avoided capture in the first few moments of the invocation’s effect. Dar tore free of two tentacles and turned back to help Allera. Talen, conversely, glanced back at Shay, but instead of returning he rushed forward, escaping the radius of the invocation without further incident. </p><p></p><p>The vampiric knight saw that the defenders of the Overmind were already approaching. Directly ahead he could see the black pillars that surrounded the bowl. Blue flickers of light were flaring around the bowl, casting long shadows outward from the pillars. As Talen cleared the edge of the <em>chilling tentacles</em>, he saw seven grimlocks detach from those long shadows and rush toward him. The grimlocks were mindless thralls of the illithids, but they were strong, and their mental state did not hinder the smooth, deadly grace with which they moved. He laughed; this would be interesting. </p><p></p><p>Dar hewed at the tentacle holding Allera, but the rubbery substance of the thing withstood even a blow from <em>Valor</em> without apparent damage. “You cannot sever them!” Varo shouted, struggling in the grip of several tentacles. “Go... we will manage!” </p><p></p><p>Dar hesitated for a moment longer, but Allera nodded in agreement with the cleric. “Corath... go!” she yelled, grimacing as the tentacle tightened its grip around her body. </p><p></p><p>Three more tentacles were already probing at Dar; the fighter thrust them away and rushed for the edge of the spell’s effect. He saw Talen engage the grimlocks, which quickly moved to encircle the vampire. Normally Dar would have been worried, but he’d seen the vampire fight, and knew that Talen was now as strong as he was, if not stronger. And indeed the first grimlock fell back, its torso hacked open from shoulder to navel from a powerful blow from Talen’s keen sword. </p><p></p><p>Dar was more worried about the mind flayers. He could see strange lights and shifting within the ring of pillars, and he started in that direction. But out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement to his right, approaching out of the darkness that blanketed the far expanse of the room. He recognized the shambling movements and knew the identity of the new threat even before the figures entered the radius of the light shed by the huge iron brazier. </p><p></p><p>Still, it was a shock to see them. Zahera, matted brown hair surrounding a black opening in the left side of her skull. Alexion, his torso splayed wide open where the abyssal hound had eviscerated him. Marcus. Nelan. Alderis. They still wore the remains of their armor and clothing, and some still carried their weapons, although <em>Beatus Incendia</em> was nowhere in view. The zombies saw, or rather sensed, his presence, and started toward him. </p><p></p><p>Dar realized that his jaw had clenched so tightly that he could feel the grinding pain down to the base of his skull. “Damn you to the hells,” he muttered, turning back toward the pillars. The blue glow had intensified, and weird sounds had begun to issue from within that ring. Talen had said that no living man could withstand the power of the Overmind, but Dar was of a mind to prove them wrong. He lifted <em>Valor</em>, and turning from the slowly-approaching zombies started forward. </p><p></p><p>He managed two steps before the <em>eldritch blast</em> arced out of the darkness and smashed squarely into his chest. He’d been hit by Navev’s bolts on several occasions now, but the sheer power of this one caught him utterly by surprise. Knocked off his feet, the air was blasted from his lungs even before he hit the ground on his back and skidded to a halt more than thirty feet from where he’d been standing. He groaned, and shook his head to clear it of the ringing that sounded inside it like the huge bells in the steeple of the Great Cathedral in Camar. </p><p></p><p>He looked up to see the zombies standing over him, their dark eyes staring down at him almost accusingly. </p><p></p><p>“Fine, you want it, I’ll give it to you,” he said, as he tried to get up. </p><p></p><p>Tried, because two thick black cords had twined around his arms. Navev’s <em>eldtritch blast</em> had knocked him back to the edge of his <em>chilling tentacles</em> invocation. As he struggled to get enough leverage to pull free, his former companions fell upon him, tearing and hacking in a violent frenzy.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lazybones, post: 3974315, member: 143"] Chapter 329 CHILLED TO THE BONE They came in speed and silence, dashing up the stairs. The bright glow of [i]holy auras[/i] surrounded the living contingent of the team, and other wards were layed under that protection; [i]stoneskins, death wards, bear’s endurance.[/i] Letellia was surrounded by a bevy of [i]mirror images[/i], and all of them moved with the unnatural speed that was an obvious hallmark of the [i]haste[/i] spell. As they reached the top of the stairs, and started to spread out, Varo tossed the stone holding his [i]silence[/i] spell away, and the noise of clattering armor and booted feet rushed into the quiet. The enemy was waiting for them. A biting chill exploded in their midst, sucking the heat from their bodies. The sudden icy freeze in the air was accompanied by black flashes from the floor. Long thick tentacles sprouted from the stone where the flashes occurred, twisting into the air, seeking targets to attack. They found no shortage of victims. Allera and Letellia were grasped by tentacles that swirled around their torsos, tightening before either could slip free. A few feet away, Varo was likewise snagged by a tentacle that caught his left leg; the cleric tried to break free, and had nearly tugged his way out of the tentacle’s grasp before two more seized his arms from behind. Off to the left, the vampires were snagged with equal efficiency. Shay, moving faster than the others, nearly leapt free of the danger area, but a tentacle lashed around her right ankle, dragging her down to the floor. The five vampire spawn were all trapped, lifted off their feet by the probing tentacles. Only Talen and Dar avoided capture in the first few moments of the invocation’s effect. Dar tore free of two tentacles and turned back to help Allera. Talen, conversely, glanced back at Shay, but instead of returning he rushed forward, escaping the radius of the invocation without further incident. The vampiric knight saw that the defenders of the Overmind were already approaching. Directly ahead he could see the black pillars that surrounded the bowl. Blue flickers of light were flaring around the bowl, casting long shadows outward from the pillars. As Talen cleared the edge of the [i]chilling tentacles[/i], he saw seven grimlocks detach from those long shadows and rush toward him. The grimlocks were mindless thralls of the illithids, but they were strong, and their mental state did not hinder the smooth, deadly grace with which they moved. He laughed; this would be interesting. Dar hewed at the tentacle holding Allera, but the rubbery substance of the thing withstood even a blow from [i]Valor[/i] without apparent damage. “You cannot sever them!” Varo shouted, struggling in the grip of several tentacles. “Go... we will manage!” Dar hesitated for a moment longer, but Allera nodded in agreement with the cleric. “Corath... go!” she yelled, grimacing as the tentacle tightened its grip around her body. Three more tentacles were already probing at Dar; the fighter thrust them away and rushed for the edge of the spell’s effect. He saw Talen engage the grimlocks, which quickly moved to encircle the vampire. Normally Dar would have been worried, but he’d seen the vampire fight, and knew that Talen was now as strong as he was, if not stronger. And indeed the first grimlock fell back, its torso hacked open from shoulder to navel from a powerful blow from Talen’s keen sword. Dar was more worried about the mind flayers. He could see strange lights and shifting within the ring of pillars, and he started in that direction. But out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement to his right, approaching out of the darkness that blanketed the far expanse of the room. He recognized the shambling movements and knew the identity of the new threat even before the figures entered the radius of the light shed by the huge iron brazier. Still, it was a shock to see them. Zahera, matted brown hair surrounding a black opening in the left side of her skull. Alexion, his torso splayed wide open where the abyssal hound had eviscerated him. Marcus. Nelan. Alderis. They still wore the remains of their armor and clothing, and some still carried their weapons, although [i]Beatus Incendia[/i] was nowhere in view. The zombies saw, or rather sensed, his presence, and started toward him. Dar realized that his jaw had clenched so tightly that he could feel the grinding pain down to the base of his skull. “Damn you to the hells,” he muttered, turning back toward the pillars. The blue glow had intensified, and weird sounds had begun to issue from within that ring. Talen had said that no living man could withstand the power of the Overmind, but Dar was of a mind to prove them wrong. He lifted [i]Valor[/i], and turning from the slowly-approaching zombies started forward. He managed two steps before the [i]eldritch blast[/i] arced out of the darkness and smashed squarely into his chest. He’d been hit by Navev’s bolts on several occasions now, but the sheer power of this one caught him utterly by surprise. Knocked off his feet, the air was blasted from his lungs even before he hit the ground on his back and skidded to a halt more than thirty feet from where he’d been standing. He groaned, and shook his head to clear it of the ringing that sounded inside it like the huge bells in the steeple of the Great Cathedral in Camar. He looked up to see the zombies standing over him, their dark eyes staring down at him almost accusingly. “Fine, you want it, I’ll give it to you,” he said, as he tried to get up. Tried, because two thick black cords had twined around his arms. Navev’s [i]eldtritch blast[/i] had knocked him back to the edge of his [i]chilling tentacles[/i] invocation. As he struggled to get enough leverage to pull free, his former companions fell upon him, tearing and hacking in a violent frenzy. [/QUOTE]
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