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Message: <blockquote data-quote="gideonpepys" data-source="post: 7251105" data-attributes="member: 79141">Session 26 (149), Part Two - The Gate of Rumah TerakirCrafted of dreamstuff, the great guardian of Sentosa took the form of a ten-headed lion. Nine heads swirled and danced about it, while the tenth was attached to its huge body.  The heads fanned out and began attacking different foes with strange magical powers: beams of radiant energy (which Uriel was able to resist); strange spells; poisoned bites; one turned out to be able to lick and heal the other heads.  The great lion itself prowled out of the gateway and caused flames to roll out and scorch a huge area, growing in intensity.  The unit sought higher ground.Having located the second mortar and kicked it out of place, Matunaaga did not waste time with the porteurs but raced back down the hill towards the gateway.  Meanwhile, Leon sought to manoeuvre the others out of danger, opening a wormhole onto the high steps of the gateway.  Korrigan pointed his six-shooter at Ormand and manhandled him back through the portal before the rolling flames hit them. Then he took out a pair of mage-cuffs and demanded that Ormond put them on.  Ormond responded that they should first work together to escape certain death and unleashed three magic missiles at the lion’s heads, four of which were zeroing in on them now that Leon had joined them on the steps.Uriel saw the flames coming towards him. “Oh dear,” he said and turned and walked away.  As the flames licked around him he began to clamber up the side of a fallen tree. One head chose to target him and he was cursed with blindness for fear of being petrified by the lion’s gaze.Leon summoned a nightmare from the Dreaming to counter the dreamstuff lion.  It took the form of the lion’s deepest fear, which turned out to be ten-headed mice!The rolling flames intensified.Uru was clinging to the far side of a stone wall, when he was found by a lion head.  It was the first time he had been seen when he didn’t want to be: a dreamstuff guardian with many eyes was not so easily fooled.  The head threw him up and over the wall, where he landed in the flames. Irate, Uru ignored the pain, raised his crossbow and sprayed the cluster of heads near Korrigan with shuriken, taking out the healer head before falling to his knees.  Ormond saw to two more injured heads with magic missiles and Korrigan at once shouted at Uru to get himself up and out of the fire.  Uru dragged himself to his feet and followed his commands, whereupon Korrigan bolted away from everyone else and issued a challenge to the lion to draw it and all its heads towards him, boldly withstanding the claws and fangs and spells before ordering the unit to strike back in unison, in response to which, the lion teleported away, leaving its original head behind!It arrived attached to a head closest to Charles Ormond, who it proceeded to tear into, making short work of his crushed velvet jump suit.Gupta cursed as her rifle jammed.  The petrifying head hovered into view and she struggled to shrug off its effect to no avail.  Instantly, there was a statue of Gupta, looking very pissed off.  Her magical charm on Ormond wore off just as he died, in time to realise that he had released the lion himself!Matunaaga arrived and took out three heads.  Uru realised he could take no more punishment and ghost-stepped out of harm’s way. Matunaaga took out some more heads. Korrigan challenged the lion again, and again fended it off.  One of its heads attacked Matunaaga, who staggered back, exhausted. Then the lion teleported to that head and took Matunaaga down, even as he took out its last remaining head. In haste, Korrigan bolted to his side and held the lion at bay.  Leon’s nightmare finally took hold of the creature and it thrashed about at illusory enemies, giving the exhausted unit a brief respite.Matunaaga and Uru were out of the fight, Gupta was petrified and Uriel - even though he was blind - was facing the other way, just in case (having exhorted Uru to look in his direction and used the skull mounted on Uru's head to find his way on top of the fallen tree).  Korrigan and Leon needed to deal with the lion quickly.  Though headless, it remained dangerous, as the rolling flames grew to such intensity that even they could not resist them.Out of the corner of his eye, Leon – who was standing in the gateway – could see faint figures behind him, as if through a veil.It looked like a military formation with two people at its head, arguing and remonstrating.  Eventually, one raised a small object towards the gateway, which shimmered, and now Leon could see a troop of twenty eladrin rajput and their female leader who had used a decorated ring of copper and wood as a key to open the portal.  She had been persuaded to do so by Asrabey Varal, who now stepped forth and reprimanded the beast.When it would not yield, he threw his famous lion-headed shield to hold it fast, and slew it with his vekeshi blade.  Then he turned to Korrigan and said, “Kasvarina wants to talk with you.”</blockquote>

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