Café de Nuit

Lia ghosts after Tomas into the Akiri room - and hatred seems to just explode in her brain.

'We went out and nearly lost our lives for these,' an angry rather younger version of her voice shouts in her thoughts, 'and here they're shipping it off like pirate loot! Ulsaon and Sascha ... Bastards! Bastards!'

A slightly more reasonable voice grumbles: 'The Brotherhood hasn't abused these for any dark theurgy that I know, but what are the blood-soaked Mulani going to do with them? Curse it all! Curse that stinking Fassahd for ever bringing news of Menetnashte's cenotaph to the Core!'

Unaware that she is literally shaking with rage, Lia casts a look full of hatred and bile up at the statue of Anubis. She remembers an ashen waste, where the shapes of the Akiri gods were ready to pronounce judgment on a man already burdened by his past.

'He was yours!' she thinks at the stone idol, her eyes burning red clear through the veil for a second or two. 'Yours! Weigher of hearts, have you weighed the heart of Fassahd? Have you weighed the heart of Menetnashte? Have you? Have you? Are you going to weigh the heart of the bastards responsible for this tide of misery washing over Dementlieu? Are you going to weigh the hearts of the Brotherhood? No? Then what good are you to me, you dog-faced lump of stone?!'

Hands clenched at her side, Lia has to struggle to bring her emotions under control, and consequently has trouble to focus on the rest of the room.

(OOC: All of which adds up to a Perception roll of 10. ^^; )

Nicholas idly twirled his cane as he sauntered along the corridor, giving Agale a clap on the shoulder in sympathy. The poet himself had spent the boat ride in silence and lookign distinctly queasy, although whetehr that was from seasickness or the flask he'd been sipping on throughout the trek to the docks was up for debate.

As it is he heads past the accountant and plumps for the last room on the right, looking with melancholic interest at the dragon statue and the other exhibits. "This might even make a good poem" he mutters taking a closer look at the hissing beast.

OOC: Perception 19 on the Darkon Room

Nicolas's contact snapped the Borcan out of his reverie. With a stifled groan and a look of dread determination in his eyes, he lurched after the artist into the Darkonian hold. Perhaps it was his off kilter frame of mind, but the orbs of Agale's eyes positively drank in their surroundings.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Perception 26

Cyrus followed his brother into the room and frowned. Though the Isfahani family lands bordered Kartakass, the dommer never took much interest in it. It was a lawless land and Cyrus had more important things to study in the monastery. The piano and instruments also held little interest for him. Cyrus was not a musical man. He knew several Mulan who were, but the elder twin's hobbies lay more in physical pursuits. The bird sculpture did, however, catch his shaded eyes.

"This is bizarre," he muttered in Vaasi, "I wonder if the University is trying to steal these or hide them. It is curious why Hazlan would have interest in this nonsense. We would not seek to steal it, would we?"

He was mostly musing aloud as he paced through the room. The dommer tapped his finger on a nearby crate.

"The University has caused a lot of trouble to hide this. A power bid, perhaps?"

Oh, right, Perception 22. I am still having the curse of the single digit rolls -_-

The Archeron, Parnault Bay, Port-a-Lucine; Night of March 24th, 770
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The statue of Anubis stared impassively ahead, unaffected by your thoughts or actions.

Tomas, while rifling through one of the large crates, happened to find a piece of parchment sitting atop a pair of dusty stone tablets. This wasn't unusual - it seemed someone had taken the effort to partially correct Madame Chastel's record-keeping incompetence, probably to ensure the Hazlani academy gave everything back. There were artifacts from nearly every Akiri era in here, even beyond the scope of the vast treasure the Menetnashte expedition had brought back nine years ago; the entire contents of the cargo hold were beyond priceless. What was unusual was the contents of the paper, and the half-empty crate that it was residing in. The entire log seemed to add up to an official "IOU" note, expressly noting that several artifacts were not there.

• Phirazian Longsword, Dezbar Keep - Missing
  Hadiqat-ul-Haqiqah, Dezbar Keep - Missing
  Makhzan-ul-Asrār, Dezbar Keep - Missing
  Low Bas-Relief Tablet, Tomb of Menetnashte - Missing
  Statue of Isis, Tomb of Menetnashe - Missing

Cerise, in the meantime, seemed less interested in clues than in the massive treasure trove of history before her. It wasn't every day that you got to see the remnants of an ancient empire, and it was even less often that you could do so without annoying museum guards and "Don't Touch" signs. She was currently hefting a small golden cat statue, perhaps because it reminded her of Grimmalken. "This is so awesome," she grinned, looking rather catlike herself. "Just look at this stuff, Richard! I'm surprised it isn't guarded heavier than this. This would be worth almost anything."

"I..." Richard tried to reply. Cerise turned to look at him, putting the cat down; the young man was clenching his fists so hard he was trembling. He made a noise that sounded like his throat catching itself, then turned on his heel and walked out of the room.

"Hey, Richard, wait!" Cerise said, dashing after him.

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An examination of the dark and mordant artwork in the Darkonian room revealed little of interest at first, aside from their creator's penchant for black stone and metal. You leaned in to examine the discreet little tag on the dragon statue, which read: The Beast of the Mountains, by Anurius Morin. An elven name, it sounded like. The other statues and boxes were similarly unfruitful. All of this was made up for, and in spades, when you reached the worktables at the back of the room.

At the moment, the worktables were occupied with the labors of the book-making trade. In the center of the table was an old Darkonian tome, a manuscript several centuries old easily. It was open, and you could detect something sticky and shiny on the very inside of one of the pages, like glue. The pages appeared to be talking about someone confronting the "Mists of the Grey Realms."

Next to it was another old book, but this one was in much, much worse condition. It was open as well, but someone had taken a very sharp knife and very carefully removed a number of the old vellum pages. The pages were stalked in a small box nearby, and one was on the worktable, as a matter of fact, the ink half removed, probably by an application of chemicals and some of the nearby pumice-stones.

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Once it had been established that the piano didn't have the Sword of Leon hidden inside it, the examination of the hold turned to an endless array of opening crates and peering inside. There were a lot of musty furs, a lot of wood carvings, and a lot of musical instruments of varying levels of quality. If one was an afficianado of music or carving, it might have been an enjoyable way to spend the time. As it was...

Until you reached one crate, discreetly marked with a green tag. It was full of wood-carvings, and as you looked at them, it emerged that these were the same kinds of wood-carvings as had attracted your attention back in the Guignol Museum. Carvings of belladonna and unusual swords, and of a woman surrounded by swirling clouds.

A close and thorough examination revealed something else as well, in addition to the unusual subject matter. They had all been ever so subtly altered, in order to show off this strange subject matter. It was an open question as to whether the Hazlani at the Black Academy would have noticed these changes, but it was doubtful. The forgery was well done.

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Celeste quickly made an exciting discovery.

It was a Levi mirror, no question about it - she could tell from the particular stylizing of the lower left corner of the frame. A quick tug of the covering sheet was all it took to reveal the mirror in it's entirety. It was about half the size of a proper full length mirror, framed in silver and intricately gilded along the sides. It was relatively simple for a Levi mirror, save for the mirror surface itself. In place of metal, the face had been made of a single, highly polished sheet of obsidian, imported from Valachan, and covered in glass. You had no idea where such a flawless piece could have occurred in nature, nor how such a large sheet could have been smoothed down to its mirror shine, but there it was, for you to see.

Captain Cedolin stared back at you from it. His eyes were glowing pale yellow, like those an animal reflecting light in the darkness.

The captain's face was completely impassive as he began to walk closer. Whirling to look behind you, where the captain should have stood to cast such a reflection, revealed nothing there at all. Cedolin kept approaching, step by step, to the point where he seemed to be standing directly in front of you. He reached out and put his hands in front of him, stopping for a moment as they hit some invisible barrier. It was as if he was standing before a window, pushing against the glass pane in front of him to get out.

There was a sudden ripple of light from further back in the room. Another mirror, still covered by the white sheets, burst into colors, the cloth rippling as if exposed to a sudden gust of air. Darius, searching the crates next to a small wall mirror, was nearly blinded by the sudden flash that came from the metal surface. Around Tomas, the golden treasures of Har Akir all seemed to shimmer strangely, before exploding into a sickening glow. The colors and sensations were beautiful and nauseating, incredible and wrong, as if you were looking at a thousand different worlds and yet only one.

"Look out!" Cerise cried out. The roiling colors seemed to pulse out from the mirrors, twirling around the mage-lights in the rooms. With a sudden burst, the lights were wreathed in purple flames, the energy writhing and threatening to leap out at you. Darius could suddenly see Tomas, through a faceted tunnel of crystalline visions, as well as two steady, glowing eyes.

Cedolin pushed against the obsidian surface, and it parted around his hand, like a pool of dark water. He gripped the side of the mirror frame, painful and beautiful light pouring through the opening around his arm. With a sudden, fluid movement, he pulled himself completely through, stepping out to stand in front of Celeste. He raised his head to look the pair dead in the eyes, any trace of humanity gone from his face.



Look who's back? Also, Combat Time!

Roll Initiative. If you roll equal to or above a 17, you may act this turn, before Cedolin & Company do. If you roll below a 17, you must wait until after the DMs post and Cedolin & Co. take their turn.

Good luck everyone! Try not to die in the first fight, alright?



Terrain: Any creature within the blue/purple squares on the map can target any other creature standing within that terrain as if they were adjacent to that creature. Any attack targeted in this manner takes a -2 to hit from concealment. (More detailed description can be found in the OOC).

PCs & NPCs:

Cyrus Isfahani (C): 58/58
Darius Isfahani (D): 54/54
Sister Nerit Doherty (N) (In Absentia): 47/47
Mr. Agale (A): 44/44
Nicolas Etienne de Castaigne (Nc): 56/56
Tomas Eisenwald (T): 59/59
Prof. Lia Mournswaithe (L): 50/50
Kerrian Mauganson (K): 53/53
Celeste Viardot (Cv): 50/50

Richard Blackwood (Green R):
Cerise Rondelet (Green C):


Enemies:

Captain Cedolin:
AC: 22 Fortitude: 20 Reflex: 20 Will: 21

Mage-Light Turret(Akiri, Upper):
Mage-Light Turret (Akiri, Lower):
Mage-Light Turret (Darkonian, Upper):
Mage-Light Turret (Darkonian, Lower):
Mage-Light Turret (Dementlieuse, Upper):
Mage-Light Turret (Dementlieuse, Lower):
Mage-Light Turret (Kartakan, Upper):
Mage-Light Turret (Kartakan, Lower):
Mage-Light Turret (Corridor, Upper Left):
Mage-Light Turret (Corridor, Upper Right):
Mage-Light Turret (Corridor, Center Left):
Mage-Light Turret (Corridor, Center Right):
Mage-Light Turret (Corridor, Lower Left):
Mage-Light Turret (Corridor, Lower Right):
AC 18; Fortitude 17, Reflex 18, Will 19

"It seems we might have found Lecanu's new workshop Mr. de Castigne" Agale remarked gesturing at the open books. He had somewhat regained his composure at this point, but was still a little stooped and haggard as though he had missed a night or two of sleep. "In fact, if we can corre- my word..." The Tollere stood dumbfounded, his gaze transfixed on the coruscating energy now entwining the mage lights.

OOC: Readying to use Intellect Fortress against the first attack where it would turn a hit into a miss. Also, initiative of 7.

Kerrian saw what had once been Captian Cedolin emerge from the mirror, dread now warring with sorrow and anger. From what he knew of him, the Captain was a good man, and deserved better than this fate. Silvery grey spiritstuff began to leak from Kerrian's eyes and mouth, coalescing into the now familiar hound.

But where before even in anger, Kerrian's companion had appeared to carry something of a protector's aspect, now its countenance was that of a beast enraged. Kerrian stepped back, moving as to minimize any retaliatory strike from their associate turned foe. His spirit companion, conjured behind him moved to position itself near the third target in the room.

And then things started to get really weird. The silvery spiritstuff continued to leak from Kerrian's eyes and mouth, but instead of coalescing into another spirit, it instead manifested faces, swirling around Kerrian in a furious tempest, lashing the spectral lights and Cedolin, yet ignoring Celeste. From the spirit wolf, a similar phenomena manifested, striking the nearby light.

Although the spiritual tempest lashed at Cedolin and the lights, the shade which was once their ally weathered it better than the magically altered lights did, perhaps something in his unearthly nature providing a buffer against the world of spirits in which Kerrian half resided.

A moment's thought, and the spirit wolf dispersed from its location, reforming behind Celeste, even in an aspect of wrath its presence providing a buffer against the world.

OOC:Free Action to summon spirit companion in the square immediately behind me. Move action to shift to W10, Spirit companion moves to Y11.

Standard action to use Wrath of the Spirit world. Enemies in Close Burst 2, and Adjacent to my spirit companion. Wis vs Will. 19 vs Cedolin, 28 vs upper light, 24 vs lower light. 7 damage to Cedolin, 14 to the two lights and if it's possible, the two lights are knocked prone.

Minor action to dismiss spirit companion, then Free action to re-summon it to W9, giving Celeste a +1 to Fort, Reflex, and Will from my Protector Spirit Adept feat as long as she remains adjacent to my Spirit Companion.

Cyrus's brow furrowed sharply when he heard the sounds of alarm. His lip curled up in disgust and he pulled his sword from its sheath. He expected a fight, but not this soon.

Still, he recovered quickly from the surprise. He made an effective enforcer because he could maneuver and think quickly. And with Darius in the room, this would become much easier. He just needed his brother to react as effectively as he could.

Darius could be such a slow dullard sometimes.

The dommer assumed a defensive stance and stepped purposefully across the deck toward the turret.

"Broder!" he snapped, "Come! We have work to do."

Minor Action: Drawing my greatsword.
Move Action: Moving to Y19
Standard Action: Total Defense (+2 to all defenses)

Need my brother to stop being a lazy bum and mark this sucker

"Hoplon!" Lia declaims, swinging her staff down and grasping it with both hands, putting it between herself and the eerie lights. Power surges out of her into the wood, where it pulses, strengthens and returns to her.

"Tomas, get out of there!" the Mage calls to the Lamordian Knight. "Get back to me! Nimbus atrox!" Blades of force whirl out of thin air and fill the air around the mage-light in the Akiri room, whirring and hissing as they slash and tear at the source of the eerie glow.

(OOC: Initiative: 23.
Readying Shield for when the attack comes as an Immediate Interrupt. (That is how it works, right? I get hit, then it activates ...?
Casting Cloud of Daggers at the mage-light in square K12/L12. Attack roll of 29, which is a critical hit: the Cloud deals 22 Force damage.
Moving to N13, next to Cerise.)

Celeste…

Well, Celeste did almost exactly what you would think she would do, which was scream like a frightened nineteen-year-old girl who had just seen a dead person come out of a mirror, then jump back against the crates directly behind her. Again, it was worth remembering that Celeste had no marketable combat experience, adventuring experience, or really much relevant experience at all. You really weren’t sure what you should have been expecting, here.

…Okay, on second glance, perhaps her reaction just after the scream was slightly out of the ordinary. Once the immediate shock had dissipated, her stunned expression took on an undercurrent of interest; almost of curiosity. There was still quite a lot of trepidation, of course—but whatever personal quirk (disorder?) allowed Celeste to view a bone cathedral as splendidly novel, and to speak to a group of arson-panicked nobles as if she were proposing a toast, was also at work here. For all you knew, the part of her that should have been comatose with terror was, instead, wondering how the symbolic context of the Levi Mirrors was altered once you knew a ghost could walk through it.

She also seemed to have no particular qualm with Kerrian’s summoning (though she wasn’t paying very close attention to it, by comparison), having apparently chosen to classify the Verbrekan as “that one friend I have that can commune with the spirits”. Rose-colored glasses are useful, sometimes.

Shifting to W8, and making an unsuccessful attack roll. +1 to my AC for a turn as a side effect of it, though.

The Archeron, Parnault Bay, Port-a-Lucine; Night of March 24th, 770
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Player Actions
Tomas: Fails his Initiative Roll
Cyrus: Total Defense (+2 to defenses)
Darius: Fails his Initiative Roll
Lia: Deals 22 damage to upper Akiri Mage Light.
Nicolas: Fails his Initiative Roll
Mr. Agale: Fails his Initiative Roll
Celeste: Misses, gets +1 to all defenses from power and spirit.
Kerrian: Uses of Wrath of the Spirit World, damages Mage Lights for 14 and Cedolin for 7.
Nerit: In Absentia

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"No!" Cerise cried out. "No, professor, get out of the hall! You're not safe in the doorway, those things can explode! They're all going to fire on you!"

The last word had barely left her mouth when Richard was off, skidding down the hallway and drawing his sword. He ducked low as he ran towards two of the mage-lights, dodging back and forth to avoid any hostile fire. With a mighty overhand swing, he brought his sword crashing down on the light to the left. There was an unnatural screaming and a shower of sparks, as if Richard had struck metal, and for a few seconds the purple flames with wreathed in silver. Richard took a step behind and spun off the momentum, his sword aiming for the turret on the light, but its arc was just a little too high-

-and perhaps it was your imagination, but it seemed there was something around him, as if the mist from his grey, Mordentish eyes had poured forth and curled around him, whispering in his ear.

Richard's sword struck the other light dead on, turning its purple flames silver, than dodging back behind the pair of them. The turrets flared at him with unnatural power, and the young man staggered as his body began to twist in terrible angles.

The rest of the turrets opened fire, sending waves of searing energy across the hold and over your heads. Cerise, contrary to all common sense, stood her ground, a look of tragic resignation on her face. Suddenly and unexpectedly, she reached out and grabbed Lia, pulling the professor into a tight hug. "It will be alright," she murmured, as the mage-lights in the hall burst into mind-bending colors. A beam shot from behind Lia, careening past the mage's ear, while the doorway above them exploded into maddening shimmers. The final blast hit them dead on, and Cerise's grip tightened as the painful trails of light writhed against her skin.

Cerise does nothing that you can tell, stays where she is. Well, she rolls really, really well on her Dungeoneering.

Richard takes a rather circuitous route, uses Path of the Righteous, and whacks with both turrets Zealous Fervor both turrets hits one, barely misses the other, uses Whispers of the Divine to add 5 to his attack roll, so he hits both for 13 damage apiece. Each of those two turrets now grants 5 HP to the next of Richard's allies to attack it.

Mage-Light Turrets (Corridor Upper Left) and (Corridor Upper Right) both use Psychic Shock Richard, both hit, deal 23 damage.

Mage-Light Turret (Akiri Upper) uses Ray of Destruction on Lia, misses. It takes 1 damage from Cloud of Daggers.
Mage-Light Turret (Akiri Lower) uses Ruinous Burst on Darius through the terrain, misses.

Mage-Light Turret (Corridor Center Left) uses Ruinous Burst on Lia and Cerise misses both.
Mage-Light Turret (Corridor Center Right) uses Ruinous Burst on Lia and Cerise, hits both for 18 damage. Shield wouldn't help here, sorry

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Mage-Light Turret (Darkonian Upper) uses Ruinous Burst on Agale, misses.

Mage-Light Turret (Darkonian Lower) uses Ruinous Burst on Nicolas, hits for 25 damage.

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Mage-Light Turret (Kartakan Upper) does nothing.

Mage-Light Turret (Kartakan Lower) uses Ruinous Burst on Cyrus, hits for 21 damage. This provokes an AoO

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The entity that had at one time been Captain Cedolin of the Dementlieuse gendarme regarded Celeste expressionlessly. His eyes were odd and pupil-less, reflecting the light like a cat, and they glowed an eerie yellow as he stood in front of the young socialite.

The entity glanced down at the immeasurable reflections within the floor seeing Tomas and Darius through some trick of unholy geometry. There was some unnatural twitch, and the glow from his eyes grew brighter.

Searingly bright. The entity's eyes were like twin suns, burning with an unnatural radiance. It was bright, but cold, a fire that burned without warmth. The weight of the light fell upon you and it burned the soul, curdling possibilities wherever it touched. It laid a destiny upon you, one which you would fulfill this day. You would perish.

But the thing that was once Cedolin was not done yet. The searing brilliance faded, becoming once more an unsettling glow emamating from the creature's face. Cedolin raised on hand and made a gesture, and you were reminded that he had been a mage once.

If his previous attack had been metaphysical, this was all too painfully real. Patches of glass began to grow on your body, like the pustules of some otherworldly disease. Skin and muscle turned to glass, and then all of a sudden they shattered under the unnatural stress, plunging shards of sharpened glass into open wounds. It hurt.

The two mage-light lamps flared, explosions of color and light that burned Celeste with their cold flames, but they were as nothing to the thing that had come from the obsidian mirror.

Cedolin uses Dread Star's Destiny on Celeste, Kerrian, the spirit, Darius, and Tomas. Hits Kerrian for 11 damage, Crits Tomas for 29. Everyone hit gains Vulnerability 5 to Psychic (Save Ends).

Cedolin spends an action point. Cedolin uses Shatter on Celeste, Kerrian, the spirit, Darius, and Tomas. Hits Celeste and Kerrian for 14 damage. Everyone hits takes 5 ongoing damage (save ends).

Mage-Light Turret (Dementlieuse Upper) uses Ruinous Burst on Celeste and Kerrian, misses Kerrian, deals 15 damage to Celeste.

Mage-Light Turret (Dementlieuse Lower) uses Ruinous Burst on Celeste and Kerrian, misses both.



Terrain: Any creature within the blue/purple squares on the map can target any other creature standing within that terrain as if they were adjacent to that creature. Any attack targeted in this manner takes a -2 to hit from concealment. (More detailed description can be found in the OOC).

PCs & NPCs:

Cyrus Isfahani (C): 37/58, Full Defense
AC 18, F 18, R 17, W 19
Darius Isfahani (D): 60/60
AC 23, F 17, R 19, W 19
Sister Nerit Doherty (N) (In Absentia): 47/47
AC 18, F 14, R 17, W 21
Mr. Agale (A): 44/44
AC 18, F 16, R 19, W 21
Nicolas Etienne de Castaigne (Nc): 31/56
AC 21, F 18, R 20, W 21
Tomas Eisenwald (T): 30/59, Vulnerability 5 to Psychic (Save Ends)
AC 24, F 18, R 18, W 20
Prof. Lia Mournswaithe (L): 32/50
AC 20, F 16, R 18, W 17
Kerrian Mauganson (K): 28/53, Vulnerability 5 to Psychic (Save Ends), 5 ongoing damage (save ends)
AC 17, F 19, R 16, W 20
Celeste Viardot (Cv): 21/50, 5 ongoing damage (save ends), Bloodied
AC 16, F 17, R 18, W 20

Richard Blackwood (Green R): -23 HP
Cerise Rondelet (Green C): -18 HP


Enemies:

Captain Cedolin: -7 HP
AC: 22 Fortitude: 20 Reflex: 20 Will: 21

Mage-Light Turret(Akiri, Upper): -23 HP, Cloud of Daggers
Mage-Light Turret (Akiri, Lower): (Burst Expended)
Mage-Light Turret (Darkonian, Upper): (Burst Expended)
Mage-Light Turret (Darkonian, Lower): (Burst Expended)
Mage-Light Turret (Dementlieuse, Upper): -14 HP (Burst Expended)
Mage-Light Turret (Dementlieuse, Lower): -14 HP (Burst Expended)
Mage-Light Turret (Kartakan, Upper):
Mage-Light Turret (Kartakan, Lower): (Burst Expended)
Mage-Light Turret (Corridor, Upper Left): -13 HP, Zealous Fervor (first attack gains 5 HP)
Mage-Light Turret (Corridor, Upper Right): -13 HP, Zealous Fervor (first attack gains 5 HP)
Mage-Light Turret (Corridor, Center Left): Charm Bolt (2nd stage, save ends) (Burst Expended)
Mage-Light Turret (Corridor, Center Right): (Burst Expended)
Mage-Light Turret (Corridor, Lower Left):
Mage-Light Turret (Corridor, Lower Right):
AC 18; Fortitude 17, Reflex 18, Will 19

"Remind me to thank you properly when this is over," Lia says once her voice is under control. She pulls one hand free of Cerise's embrace - the hand holding her staff.

Eyes cold, hand steady, Lia levels the length of dark wood at the turret she already damaged. "Nimbus atrox," she repeats, her voice demanding. The spell forms in her mind, surges down her arm and into the staff. The spell enters the craefully constructed matrix of power waiting there, strengthens, gains focus. Again, a cloud of hissing, screeching motes of force explodes into being around the turret.

"Where do we move?" Lia asks Cerise once she has fired the spell. "Richard!" she bellows right afterward, calling out to the Blackwood in the hall. "Get back here! I'm not explaining to your sister why you got killed on my watch! Tomas! Get over here, help me end this bloody turret before it fires again! Hurry!"

(OOC: Casting Cloud of Daggers at L12.
Attack roll: 28. Damage roll: 10.
I will let Cerise decide whether we move anywhere. I'm not going to gad off by myself.)

"Um, don't worry guys, once they fire those big explosions they can't do it again!" Cerise's voice carried out from the doorway, sounding far more chipper than she had a right to be. "After that, all they have are the beams! Er, but you should probably be careful 'cause if they get really injured they kind of go berserk... and this stuff is going to keep spreading..."

"Do you have any offensive power?" Lia asked.

"Ooh! I have this cool ancient Hazlani bracer that I brought which is good for abjuring evil spirits!" Cerise exclaimed, showing it off to the wizard. "But I'm not sure the stars are aligned in the proper astrological formation. Hey Cyrus? Cyyyyyruuuuuus? What's the horoscope sign for today?"

Darius half-leaps, half-falls backward as the burst of light from the mirror startles him, and manages (more by luck than design) to put himself entirely out of harm's way as any number of horrible energies buzz over his head. Sensing more than seeing the mage-turret behind him pulse, he reaches out with his mind and twists, disrupting the harmonics of the arcane force and pulling them away from where he knows his brother is about to be.

Whirling, he leaps toward the mage turret, sword somehow already in hand and crystals of ice spangling the blade, and strikes.

Actions: Channeling Shield. Immediate interrupt. Prevents 7 damage to Cyrus and gives a +2 damage bonus on my next attack that hits before the end of the round.
Minor action to draw my sword.
Move action to move to Z18.
Standard action: Frigid Blade. Intelligence vs. AC, 1d8 (weapon) +4 (Int) +2 (enhancement) +2 (Channeling Shield) cold damage on a hit. And a -2 penalty to the turret's move if it starts the round adjacent to me. So, y'know, that turret is really not gonna move anywhere. I have taken care of that for us.

Yes, KK, I know, I didn't mark him, I am working on this.

I roll 18 to hit exactly, so phew. 16 damage!

S'okay, bro, you're here doing your job!

"Today is the day of the Lion!" Cyrus belted out. If this were a calmer situation, he might have asked Cerise why she was bothered about what the zodiac day was.

He ignored the idea though and turned to the matter at hand. He and his brother had come under attack. This was nothing new and Cyrus slipped into the combat mentality easily. His glasses flashed and he began a litany all too familiar to him.

"I am the Lawgiver's arm," he invoked the power of his god, "I shall not go astray."

"He guides my blade and judges the accused." The power of the Lawgiver flowed through the dommer and he fixated on the light. It might've been odd seeing him address an inanimate object with such zealousness if the situation weren't so serious. Cyrus raised his sword to strike.

"And he has found you guilty."

The blade gleamed as it streaked through the air and hammered into the light, chipping a sizable chunk off the light. The Lawgiver's power diffused out of Cyrus and flowed into his brother, guiding Darius's strike as surely as the god guided Cyrus's.

The Isfahani twins were back in action.

AoO misses

Minor action: Oath of Enmity on the light adjacent to me.
Standard Action: Leading Strike
Attack rolls of 13 and 29 vs. AC. I'll take the 29.
Damage is 13 -- 6 (1d10+1 weapon damage) + 4 (Wisdom mod) + 2 (Item bonus) + 1 (Censure of Unity)

In addition, Darius gains a +2 bonus to his next damage roll against the same target.