The Shattered City: Chapter Three

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Staggering, wounded and weary, Lia surveys the carnage still going on. 'Need to close that,' she thinks, with an eye on the circle. Then she spots Agale and makes a quick inventory of her own condition. 'Can't move yet,' she has to admit to herself. 'Ice growing on me. So...'

The Mage lifts her staff and sights it on the Moonwraith. "Sagitta, omne errore vacua," she chants, "vole." A single dart of force shoots forth and barely - oh so barely - strikes its target. "Leave him alone, miserable wretch," Lia mutters, twitching at various pains wracking her body. "Ugh..."

(OOC: Lia casts Magic Missile at Moonwraith 2. Attack roll of 19 vs. Reflex, which becomes a 20 thanks to Kerrian's +1 field. Exact hit. Damage roll of 9 Force.
Save vs. cold: 4. Crap.
Save vs. daze: 9.
Yeah. o_o I'm gonna need some help here. Can anyone spot me some healing or anything?)

[Cronax]

Regenerating 2
Standard Action: Full Defense (+2 to all defenses)
Successfully save vs Dazed
I'll try to be more useful next round =P

[The Whistler]

Nothin' fancy. Moving to I12 and saving against dazedness with a 15; in position to make an Arcana check next round.

[DocBeard]

Tomas's luck finally runs out, as a blast of ash hurls him across the room and three ghosts start kicking his face in. Electricity crackles through Tomas's abused body as he endures as best he can...

Minor: Warforged Resolve; 11 temp hp and heal six hp. Roll a 1 on the saving throw.
Edit: Remembered that I didn't get a standard. My bad..

[Kaitou Kage]

Standard: Second Wind to recover 16 hp and increase defenses by 2.

Save vs. Dazed: Failed

[lostboy]

Nicolas takes a deep breath, trying to make the room and his stomach stop spinning and makes a quick judgement, deciding the wraith bothering the lawyer was the greatest threat at that second.

Pursing his lips he whistles loudly "You, yes you, the mouldering dead thing attmpting to flay the lawyer. Normally I would congratulate you on disposing of one of the legal profession, but in this instance I would far prefer the company of a legal bloodsucker to your frigid face. Now be a good boy and get back in your misty box."

Fortunatly at that point the dizzyness passes, although not before Nicolas vacates his evening meal onto the floor of the crypt. "Pardon Mademouselle" he shrugs helplessly at Celeste, wiping his mouth.

Vicious Mockery on Moon Wraith 2 (yes you the one recharging the daze effect): 28 vs will (1 re-roll)
6 Psychic damage and Moon wriath takes -2 to all attacks until end of Nic next turn.
Save vs Dazed: 14
Save vs Ongoing Cold: 1 yay!

[NeoTiamat]

Catacombs of Port-a-Lucine, Night of April 21st, 770
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PC Actions
Tomas heals self, gaining 23+11 HP,
Kerrian succeeds at a ritual check.
Lia hits M2 for 9/2=4 damage, fails all saves.
Nicolas hits M2 for 6/2=3 psychic damage and -2 to attacks.
Cyrus Second Winds
Agale Full Defends.
Celeste Moves.
Darius attempts the check, fails, marks M1

• Ongoing Damage: Lia, Nicolas take 5 Cold.
  
  Regeneration: Lia, Agale regens 2

Katja hits Wraith 3 for 15/2=7 damage. Thierri makes his check.
Ash Elemental fires an Ash Orb at Tomas, misses.

"Ma...de...moiselle..." Thierri managed in protest, as Celeste ran toward the circle. The flames he channeled did not sear, but you could feel their heat, as they burned through all of the mage's power and began to burn through the mage himself. The young man gritted his teeth, rather than admit any point of weakness. "Broken..."

The circle shattered.

That was the best way to describe it. It did not fade away, it did not slowly ebb into nothingness. It did not flare up, only to be consumed in a final moment of arcane energy. It shattered. All of the pressure of the ritual inside, the darkness, the mists, the spirits and specters and other grim things the Cult had been collecting, all of that pressure built up to the point where the circle just shattered.

It was a soundless destruction, compared to the grim events leading up to it. The ritual circle vanished in a brief rainbow of color, and then there arose a great wind out of the pool. A howling sort of wind, with a low keening as it raced past you, out into the tunnels and catacombs beneath Port-a-Lucine.

It picked up the wraiths as well. Not the old, forgotten souls who still fought with Katja. But the new ones, the creatures of ice and moonlight which had poured from the mist, they fled. No longer bound by the circle, they escaped out into the darkness, leaving behind their erstwhile cellmates.



The Mist: Any living creature entering or beginning it's turn within the mist takes 10 Necrotic Damage. Living creatures cannot spend Healing Surges while within the Mist. The Mist currently covers the old squares of the pool, I-J-K, 12-13-14

Rubble: The patches of black (as opposed to the greyish walls) are rubble. It is Difficult Terrain.

Green Square: This is Kerrian's Burst-Zone. All allies within it get a +1 to attack rolls.

PCs

Cyrus Isfahani (C): Dazed (Save Ends), Argent Mantle
41/64; +2 to all Saves.
AC 18+2, F 18+2, R 17+2, W 19+2, Resist 5 Cold

Darius Isfahani (D):
31/66 -- Bloodied
AC 23-2, F 17-2, R 19-2, W 19-4, Resist 5 Cold

Mr. Agale (A): Armor (+2 saves, AC while bloodied)
12/48; -- Bloodied, Regen 2 if Bloodied, Resist 5 Cold, Second Wind (+2 to all)
AC 18+4, F 16+2, R 19+2, W 21+2

Nicolas Etienne de Castaigne (Nc): Ongoing 5 Cold Damage (Save Ends)
30/61; --Bloodied, Regen 2 if Bloodied
AC 22, F 18, R 20, W 21-2

Tomas Eisenwald (T): Resist All/3 , Dazed (Save Ends), -2 to Will (Save Ends)
43+11/65
AC 25, F 18, R 18, W 20-2, Resist 5 Cold

Prof. Lia Mournswaithe (L): Ongoing 5 Cold Damage (Save Ends), Dazed (Save Ends)
20/54; -- Bloodied; Regen 2 if Bloodied
AC 20, F 16, R 18, W 17

Kerrian Mauganson (K): Dazed
33/58; Regen 2 if Bloodied, Resist 5 Cold
AC 18, F 19, R 16, W 20

Kerrian's Spirit (Wolfish Outline) Dazed (Save Ends) (??? Is this even possible ???)
Quasi-Minion
AC 18, F 19, R 16, W 20

Celeste Viardot (Cv): Dazed (Save Ends)
39/55; Regen 2 if Bloodied, Chaotic Defense (+2)
AC 17+2, F 17+2, R 18+2, W 20+2, Resist 5 Cold

Allies

Katharina Zweibach (Green K)
-23 HP; Regen 2 if Bloodied
AC 25, F 22, R 21, W 21

Thierri Boucher (Green T) Dazed (Save Ends)
-30 HP, Regen 2 if Bloodied
AC 22, F 20, R 22, W 20

Enemies

Anne-Marie
DEAD

Grave Weird
DEAD

Mirrors
SHATTERED

Ash Elemental - 1 -DEAD
Ash Elemental - 2 Recharging Ashen Cloud, Divine Sanction (Tomas)
-49 HP -- Bloodied
AC 19, F 18, R 17, W 15

Frightful Wraith - 1, Recharging Frightful Moan
-22 -- Bloodied
Frightful Wraith - 2, Marked (Katja)
-28 -- Bloodied
Frightful Wraith - 3, Recharging Frightful Moan,
-29 -- Bloodied
AC 20, F 17, R 21, W 18 - Insubstantial

New Enemies

Seething Wraith - S1
Seething Wraith - S2
FLED

Moon Wraith - M1
Moon Wraith - M2
FLED

Ice Wraith - 1 - FLED
Ice Wraith - 2 - FLED
Ice Wraith - 3 - DEAD
Ice Wraith - 4 - DEAD


Non-Participants

Dr. Nicole Poincare (P):
DEAD

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Lia stands stunned for a moment by the explosive events. "Right then," she croaks. "Never mind." She turns, swaying, to face back at Katja and her attackers and tried to cough out a spell. It fails. Icicles suddenly fall from her sleeves with a dull crash, and the Mage blinks. "Bit of a mercy there," she says in an absentminded sort of way.

(OOC: Lia tries to cast Magic Missile on frightful wraith 3 and misses. She saves vs. cold with 11, but fails to save vs. dazed with 4. The fun continues!)

[lostboy]

Nicolas is taken aback for a moment "well I know I asked him to get back in the box, but its never worked that well before... Splendid."

"Now to mop up any unfinished business" he continues dusting off his hands before moving smartly across the room.

"It would seem some people don't have the good sense to know when to return to their mouldering graves..." He quips coming to a halt and staring venomously at the remaining cultist.

"Do you?" He shouts, the voice echoing around the crypt as his eyes gleam frightfully.

OOC: Move to O13
Standard: Stirring Shout on ash elemntal 2 16 vs will
14 Psychic damage
anyone who hits the ash elemental for the rest of the encounter regains 4 hp every time they do
Minor: convert regeneration into 10 hp healed.

Used Action Point:
Vicious Mockery on Wraith 1 13 vs will misses *crap*

[DocBeard]

Well, that went poorly.

Shaking off the daze from the unholy caresses of the damned, Tomas forces his protesting body to his feet. Okay, so there are three options; kill a bunch of people to recast the spell, run and hide, or bring the cave down on the place.

"Katja, I'm coming!" Tomas bellows, hoping this will inspire his comrades to get to her side soon. Then they'll have a chance...

Stepping through the whipping, screaming spirit storm, Tomas feels his strength return as electricity surges through his body. Finally, he looks up and shouts, "HEY!"

"Are you lot really going to let Poincare win?!" Tomas thunders, shouldering his shield and preparing to try and deflect hell. "Because the last time I checked, she was the reason most of you are dead, isn't she?! Her plan to become 'death' was to use YOU all as SLAVES to empower herself! She made the monsters that killed you, and used your screaming souls to poke a hole between here and the afterlife! And if you lot succumb to your baser instincts, if you rampage against your friends, family, loved ones, if you become the mindless monsters she thought you were, dead or no SHE STILL WINS!"

"The way I see it, you all have two options. Be like those pain spirits and rip apart whatever you can, or prove Doctor Poincare wrong about your character, about the strength of your spirit! She thought you were fuel! Coal to be burnt in her monstrous furnace!" Tomas preaches, holding his sword forward like he were waving his fist at a lectern. "I think you can do it! I think that Poincare's fatal mistake was using good, decent people to power her hateful ambitions-that there's so much more to you all! That the people you were, mothers, fathers, children, workers, lovers...they still mean something, even in the face of death and madness! So I ask you, spirits of Dementielu...which one of us is right?!"

Last Round's Saving Throw: Success! Dazed is gone.
Minor: The lay on hands I thought I could use last round. NOW I have the health and resistance on the round post.
Free: 21 Religion check to reassess the situation.
Standard: Diplomacy: 21
Move: Five squares to H13.
Saving Throw: Pass. See you -2 to will!

[Cronax]

As the specter which had been battering him left, Agale snapped out of his lethargy only to see the situation had considerably deteriorated. A look of disappointment crossed his face as he gazed into the mist filled vortex where the pool had been situated. Another emotion lingered as well, longing perhaps?

Recomposing himself, he spoke "You are correct Mr. Eisenwald, there is nothing for it now, with the circle gone, we have only one responsible option, we're going to have to collapse the catacombs and hope the rubble can plug the rift. I realize the danger, but it must be done." He then began scanning the chamber for likely support pillars.

Regenerate 2
Moving to M12
Dungeoneering 21 to find the load bearing bone

[Nathan of the FoS]

They're going to collapse the chamber?

This sounds surprisingly viable, actually, as a desperation measure. Of course, there are one or two things to be attended to first.

Edging around the vortex and weaving his way through the ritual-workers, Darius forms his lightning lash again and strikes at the remaining enemy, who ducks under the blow. "The eye of the Unnameable is on you," he growls.

Move to L16, going around the vortex. Standard: use Lightning Lure on A2, Int v Fort, miss with a 15. Minor: Mark A2.

[yalenusveler]

Nothing Fancy. Minor action to Dispel spirit companion, re summon it at T12 to give Katja a +1 to all non AC defenses

[NeoTiamat]

Catacombs of Port-a-Lucine, Night of April 21st, 770
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So I ask you, spirits of Dementielu...which one of us is right?!"

It hurts... the voices whispered, the mist writhing as if in pain. There were a thousand whispering voices, a thousand momentary faces. Help us... Kill him... it hurts... why...?

Over the all the tormented whispering, it was amazing you could hear the sound of a single footstep.

Thierri stepped forward, his foot upon the edge of the well, his eyes transfixed by the swirling pool. He hesitated for a single moment, staring into the depths of mist, his face consumed with obsession. For one fleeting instant, so fast you could have imagined it, he managed to met Celeste's gaze.

Then he vanished, stepping forward and plunging into the well. The mist wrapped around him, and he was gone.

Arcana DC 26

[Nathan of the FoS]

"Stop!" Darius shouts, and grabs at the magician's shoulder.

But too late...he is gone, and Darius has no inclination whatsoever to follow him any further.

Arcana 27 reveals that Thierri was compelled to enter the vortex, rather than going willingly.