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The Stepchildren of Fate (Updated 6/3)
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<blockquote data-quote="htetickrt" data-source="post: 1549192" data-attributes="member: 16534"><p style="text-align: center">The Chasm, Part II</p><p></p><p>Emboldened by his numerous protections, Kyree flies invisibly into the chasm. His sharp eyes pick out the clear form of an evoker, ringed in mystic flames, and he does not hesitate in firing off a barrage of arrows.</p><p></p><p>Trella observes the minimal impact of her companion’s opening volley as she crawls by along the walls, charging straight at the fiendish arachnid. Aided by the magic of her armor, her first blow is a powerful one, shattering a portion of the spider’s exoskeleton. Roused from its torpor, its multifaceted eyes focus on the druid with ire.</p><p></p><p>Kai is the next arrival, flying in slowly since she lacks the ability of the two elves to see in the dim light Quid’s stone provides. The sorceress targets the nearest blurry blobs in a dispelling field, and hopes for the best.</p><p></p><p>Calla smirks as she watches the visible effects of Kai’s magic. Remaining within the entry post, she flicks her dagger at the nearest sentry. Though the wound it causes is minimal, the enjoyment she receives from causing a drow pain is not. Rhien spares a moment to ponder on her past as he streaks by to engage the spider alongside Trella. Dobi’s thoughts on the matter are different, and a little disturbing, which is perhaps why he fails to activate the wand of lightning that he clutches tightly in his hand.</p><p></p><p>Danek, hanging back, tries to maintain detached as she watches her comrade’s actions, focusing instead on the smooth feel of her longbow as she readies an arrow and prepares to fire. Her efforts are rewarded as she scores a hit on the injured mage, but her concentration is subsequently shattered by the overwhelming desire to gloat to the nearby Dobi. She gives in to the largely wasted gesture, and her thoughts return to their usual turmoil.</p><p></p><p>Not entirely surprised by the group’s arrival, the drow guards are quick to respond with a hail of projectiles both magical and mundane. Kai is their primary target, and she cannot suppress a grimace as her vision is temporarily obscured by the swarm of poison-tipped arrows flying at her. Thankfully her defensive measures hold, and only two draw blood. Her impressive constitution deals with the somnolescence these threaten.</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, the spider backs away from its tormentors, attempting to ensnare Rhien in its webs. The nimble monk avoids these, but neither he nor his friends can do the same when the evokers mimic Kai’s trick. At their command, Trella, Rhien, and Kyree fall from their perches to end up stuck in the webbing many feet below. Kai, saved from that fate by luck, nevertheless curses the loss of her protective shield.</p><p></p><p>Quid, Khail, and a summoned air elemental arrive as the cavalry du jour. The latter’s whirlwind obscures a drow mage’s vision; Quid’s bladed version of the same rips through the webbing surrounding the structure’s spine like dry parchment, sending seven sentries—one in pieces—to join the fallen Stepchildren in the land of the entangled. Khail adds a mage’s body to the carnage with some well-placed arrows from his rarely-used bow.</p><p></p><p>Kyree harrumphs, frees his hands, and buries three arrows into second spellguard. The impressive feat goes largely unnoticed, thanks to his invisibility. He harrumphs again when Trella covers the region with frigid hail, obliterating any evidence of his arrows, along with a good bit of drow flesh.</p><p></p><p>Kai renews her magic, opting not to become an attractive pincushion. Calla continues to leave acid-filled wounds in various sentries while cackling near-insanely. Dobi, distressingly aroused by the display, gets the wand of lightning to work, and shoots Danek a look of his own as three of the drow sizzle and die. Flustered, the barbarian misses with a pair of arrows.</p><p></p><p>Angry drow target Kai with webs and arrows, but the sorceress proves elusive. She is less so to the unimaginative castings of the spellguards, who blister the Stepchildren with ice and lightning, much as their deceased comrades in the entry post did before them. The party’s collective scream makes the drow a bit giddy.</p><p></p><p>Kyree attempts to share a meaningful, “surface elves against the drow” sort of look with Trella, but is foiled by his continued invisibility. Trella is too far gone to have seen it anyway, nearly frothing in rage as she summons a column of flames down upon the spellguards. This, coupled with Kyree’s arrows, is sufficient to slay three outright.</p><p></p><p>Kai, dazed from the beating she recently took, half-heartedly wills the last into a fish. As he flops around, gasping for air, the sorceress removes herself to the rear of the battle with a single word. There she gets a firsthand glimpse of the brewing dementia that is Calla, watching as the halfling slays a sentry with her returning dagger, cackling the entire time.</p><p></p><p>She also becomes a spectator in the childish game Dobi and Danek are playing. The former extends his imaginary lead by getting the wand to fire again, but loses it to the barbarian when her arrow slays a sentry but the lightning does nothing to the resistant dark elves.</p><p></p><p>With the number of nearby visible enemies having decreased, the remaining drow focus on the pair of Trella and Rhien. The druid and monk suffer a spider bite and a barrage of arrows, but immunity to poison goes a long way to minimizing their impact. Nevertheless, Kyree continues to fight for “elf power,” taking two sentries right between their eyes with a pair of arrows.</p><p></p><p>The drow officer backs away from the mouth of the passage leading into the barracks, allowing Trella, Rhien, Kai, and Calla concentrate on the spider. A round of their combined attacks is enough to send the arachnid scurrying into a corner to lick its wounds.</p><p></p><p>The twang of many bows draws Rhien’s attention in time to flick away one arrow destined for his throat, but the monk cannot stop an additional five from embedding themselves into him and Trella. The druid, now looking a bit like a porcupine, snarls and warps the stone under the sentries’ feet into deadly—though hidden—spikes with a prayer.</p><p></p><p>The battle moves fully to the passage off of the web now, as Quid’s summoned elemental bursts into it flailing airy pseudopods, and Khail begins climbing the web’s spine to meet it. The Waukeenar nods, satisfied, while eliminating all of Kai’s wounds.</p><p></p><p>Kyree remains where he is and drops yet another sentry with more arrows; a healthy Kai flits down near him and triggers a wand twice to send lightning arcing across the passage.</p><p></p><p>Rhien frees Trella from the webbing entangling her so that she can join the mad rush out of the chasm. Noting this, the officer calls for a fighting retreat into a room deeper within Szith Morcane. Though he finds himself unharmed by virtue of his resistant nature, the rank and file is not so lucky. Two collapse to the earth, bleeding from their torn feet, and all but one of the rest are forced to halt before they join their unfortunate comrades. With violence in their eyes, the party goes to meet them.</p><p></p><p><em>To be continued…</em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="htetickrt, post: 1549192, member: 16534"] [CENTER]The Chasm, Part II[/CENTER] Emboldened by his numerous protections, Kyree flies invisibly into the chasm. His sharp eyes pick out the clear form of an evoker, ringed in mystic flames, and he does not hesitate in firing off a barrage of arrows. Trella observes the minimal impact of her companion’s opening volley as she crawls by along the walls, charging straight at the fiendish arachnid. Aided by the magic of her armor, her first blow is a powerful one, shattering a portion of the spider’s exoskeleton. Roused from its torpor, its multifaceted eyes focus on the druid with ire. Kai is the next arrival, flying in slowly since she lacks the ability of the two elves to see in the dim light Quid’s stone provides. The sorceress targets the nearest blurry blobs in a dispelling field, and hopes for the best. Calla smirks as she watches the visible effects of Kai’s magic. Remaining within the entry post, she flicks her dagger at the nearest sentry. Though the wound it causes is minimal, the enjoyment she receives from causing a drow pain is not. Rhien spares a moment to ponder on her past as he streaks by to engage the spider alongside Trella. Dobi’s thoughts on the matter are different, and a little disturbing, which is perhaps why he fails to activate the wand of lightning that he clutches tightly in his hand. Danek, hanging back, tries to maintain detached as she watches her comrade’s actions, focusing instead on the smooth feel of her longbow as she readies an arrow and prepares to fire. Her efforts are rewarded as she scores a hit on the injured mage, but her concentration is subsequently shattered by the overwhelming desire to gloat to the nearby Dobi. She gives in to the largely wasted gesture, and her thoughts return to their usual turmoil. Not entirely surprised by the group’s arrival, the drow guards are quick to respond with a hail of projectiles both magical and mundane. Kai is their primary target, and she cannot suppress a grimace as her vision is temporarily obscured by the swarm of poison-tipped arrows flying at her. Thankfully her defensive measures hold, and only two draw blood. Her impressive constitution deals with the somnolescence these threaten. Meanwhile, the spider backs away from its tormentors, attempting to ensnare Rhien in its webs. The nimble monk avoids these, but neither he nor his friends can do the same when the evokers mimic Kai’s trick. At their command, Trella, Rhien, and Kyree fall from their perches to end up stuck in the webbing many feet below. Kai, saved from that fate by luck, nevertheless curses the loss of her protective shield. Quid, Khail, and a summoned air elemental arrive as the cavalry du jour. The latter’s whirlwind obscures a drow mage’s vision; Quid’s bladed version of the same rips through the webbing surrounding the structure’s spine like dry parchment, sending seven sentries—one in pieces—to join the fallen Stepchildren in the land of the entangled. Khail adds a mage’s body to the carnage with some well-placed arrows from his rarely-used bow. Kyree harrumphs, frees his hands, and buries three arrows into second spellguard. The impressive feat goes largely unnoticed, thanks to his invisibility. He harrumphs again when Trella covers the region with frigid hail, obliterating any evidence of his arrows, along with a good bit of drow flesh. Kai renews her magic, opting not to become an attractive pincushion. Calla continues to leave acid-filled wounds in various sentries while cackling near-insanely. Dobi, distressingly aroused by the display, gets the wand of lightning to work, and shoots Danek a look of his own as three of the drow sizzle and die. Flustered, the barbarian misses with a pair of arrows. Angry drow target Kai with webs and arrows, but the sorceress proves elusive. She is less so to the unimaginative castings of the spellguards, who blister the Stepchildren with ice and lightning, much as their deceased comrades in the entry post did before them. The party’s collective scream makes the drow a bit giddy. Kyree attempts to share a meaningful, “surface elves against the drow” sort of look with Trella, but is foiled by his continued invisibility. Trella is too far gone to have seen it anyway, nearly frothing in rage as she summons a column of flames down upon the spellguards. This, coupled with Kyree’s arrows, is sufficient to slay three outright. Kai, dazed from the beating she recently took, half-heartedly wills the last into a fish. As he flops around, gasping for air, the sorceress removes herself to the rear of the battle with a single word. There she gets a firsthand glimpse of the brewing dementia that is Calla, watching as the halfling slays a sentry with her returning dagger, cackling the entire time. She also becomes a spectator in the childish game Dobi and Danek are playing. The former extends his imaginary lead by getting the wand to fire again, but loses it to the barbarian when her arrow slays a sentry but the lightning does nothing to the resistant dark elves. With the number of nearby visible enemies having decreased, the remaining drow focus on the pair of Trella and Rhien. The druid and monk suffer a spider bite and a barrage of arrows, but immunity to poison goes a long way to minimizing their impact. Nevertheless, Kyree continues to fight for “elf power,” taking two sentries right between their eyes with a pair of arrows. The drow officer backs away from the mouth of the passage leading into the barracks, allowing Trella, Rhien, Kai, and Calla concentrate on the spider. A round of their combined attacks is enough to send the arachnid scurrying into a corner to lick its wounds. The twang of many bows draws Rhien’s attention in time to flick away one arrow destined for his throat, but the monk cannot stop an additional five from embedding themselves into him and Trella. The druid, now looking a bit like a porcupine, snarls and warps the stone under the sentries’ feet into deadly—though hidden—spikes with a prayer. The battle moves fully to the passage off of the web now, as Quid’s summoned elemental bursts into it flailing airy pseudopods, and Khail begins climbing the web’s spine to meet it. The Waukeenar nods, satisfied, while eliminating all of Kai’s wounds. Kyree remains where he is and drops yet another sentry with more arrows; a healthy Kai flits down near him and triggers a wand twice to send lightning arcing across the passage. Rhien frees Trella from the webbing entangling her so that she can join the mad rush out of the chasm. Noting this, the officer calls for a fighting retreat into a room deeper within Szith Morcane. Though he finds himself unharmed by virtue of his resistant nature, the rank and file is not so lucky. Two collapse to the earth, bleeding from their torn feet, and all but one of the rest are forced to halt before they join their unfortunate comrades. With violence in their eyes, the party goes to meet them. [I]To be continued…[/I] [/QUOTE]
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