Café de Nuit

Chateau de Tarascons, Outside of Port-a-Lucine; Just Past Midnight of March 24th, 770
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The Route de Tarascons proved to be a road just outside of Port-a-Lucine, a dirt road that crossed across the River Selune and led you deep into the King's Forest. It was a fairly broad path, and in other times might even have been pleasant. But now it was cold, and dark, and the trees seemed to press on either side of you, perilously close.

A wolf howled in the distant forest. There were wolves in Dementlieu now, coming very close to the city. This hadn't been the case a decade ago... but many things had changed since then. You trudged through the snow and avoided the occasional patches of ice, making good progress despite the miserable conditions. It wasn't very long that, with Nicolas's able guidance, you reached #1.

The Chateau de Tarascons was a walled compound in the middle of the King's Forest. It looked old, with masonry walls and hints of a tiled roof underneath the snow. Old and well-built, with sizeable grounds inside the stout walls and remote from all. It was a perfect lair for a cult. The gates were open as you approached, and the Chateau itself seemed deserted. No light came from inside, nor sounds could be heard from the house. As you entered the grounds a bit further, however, you found your target.

There were seven of them, Dr. Nicole Poincare and a half dozen people who looked like her assistant restorers. Students, mostly young, mostly women, dressed warmly against the chill in heavy coats and fur gloves and scarves. They were on a small island in the midst of an ornamental lake before the house. The assistants were in the process of manhandling a large crate into a row-boat, which could at least double as a sledge atop the iced-over lake. Dr. Poincare was supervising the loading.

Dr. Poincare spotted you at the same moment you saw her, or just before, if that was possible. She was easily distinctive, a mature, red-headed woman with just a touch of silver in her hair, with strong features and a cold gaze. She regarded you for a moment, though whether she was surprised or not at your presence was impossible to tell.

In any case, Poincare, unlike Anne-Marie, was not one for wasted words. She reached into her coat, withdrawing a length of corroded black iron which she twisted. A darkling blade of ice and shadows snapped forth, a long and visciously sharp glaive.

"Kill them." Dr. Poincare said crisply, pointing her blade at you. The cultists saw you, and with movements too swift and graceful drew knives of bone. Poincare sighed. "Damn it, where are you, Bidelia?"

Dr. Poincare cuts right to the heart of the matter, doesn't she? Combat Time.

Roll Initiative. If you roll equal to or above a 20, you may act this turn, before Dr. Poincare and the Cultists do. If you roll below a 20, you must wait until after the DMs post and Dr. Poincare and the Cultists take their turn.

Also, Perception DC 20 (free action, can try again as a minor action often as you want to spend actions).



Terrain!

Ice: I'm going to run this slightly like a trap. At the end of each turn, the Ice will make an attack roll against your Reflex Defense if you are on the ice. If it fails, nothing happens. If it hits, we roll a d20 randomly on the following table to decide what happens:

• 1-4: You slip and fall Prone.
  5-7: You slide 1d4 squares in a random direction (determined by a d8)
  8-10: You slide 1d4 squares in a random direction (determined by a d8) and fall Prone
  11-13: You slip into some shallow water. You take 5 Ongoing Cold Damage (save ends).
  14-16: Extremely slippery ice forces you to move very carefully. You are Slowed until your next turn.
  17-18: Your foot catches in a crevasse in the ice. You are Immobilized until your next turn.
  19: You take a very bad fall. You take 10 damage and fall Prone.
  20: You stumble, causing a spray of freezing water to splash you in the eyes. You are Blinded until your next turn.

You may take a Move Action to steady yourself (DC 5+ Acrobatics). For every 5 points you exceed the DC by, gain +2 to your Reflex defense only against the ice. So if you got a 17, you get a +6 to your Reflex defense against the ice.

Water: Anyone who enters or starts his turn in a water square takes 5 Ongoing Cold Damage and is Slowed (save ends both). To move onto an Ice Square requires a DC 12 Acrobatics or DC 12 Athletics check as a Move Action.

Forced Movement & Water's Edge: If you are, by reason of Forced Movement, knocked into the water, you can make an immediate saving throw. On a result of 10-20, you remain on the ice, though you fall prone. On a result of 1-9 you are pulled into the water. Until you make the save, I shall leave your PC in between the two squares, and then you can count your origin square for the turn based on your save result.


PCs:
Cyrus Isfahani (C): 54/58, 8 HS
AC 18, F 18, R 17, W 19
Darius Isfahani (D): 60/60, 9 HS
AC 23, F 17, R 19, W 19
Sister Nerit Doherty (N): 47/47, 4 HS
AC 18, F 14, R 17, W 21
Mr. Agale (A): 43/44, 6 HS
AC 18, F 16, R 19, W 21
Nicolas Etienne de Castaigne (Nc): 56/56, 6 HS
AC 21, F 18, R 20, W 21
Tomas Eisenwald (T): 59/59, 10 HS, Resist All/1,
AC 24, F 18, R 18, W 20
Prof. Lia Mournswaithe (L): 44/50, 7 HS
AC 20, F 16, R 18, W 17
Kerrian Mauganson (K): 53/53, 3 HS
AC 17, F 19, R 16, W 20
Celeste Viardot (Cv): 50/50, 3 HS
AC 16, F 17, R 18, W 20

Enemies:

Dr. Nicole Poincare (P):
AC: 24 Fortitude: 18 Reflex: 22 Will: 23

First Cultist (1):
Second Cultist (2):
Third Cultist (3):
Fourth Cultist (4):
Fifth Cultist (5):
Sixth Cultist (6):
AC: 20 Fortitude: 19 Reflex: 21 Will: 19

Darius wastes no time in responding to this threat in his customary style; sword out in a moment, he moves forward as quickly as he dares across the ice, coming to a stop more or less across from Poincare.

"That's my line," he says, grinning at her. "Care to dance, madame?"

Something roils in the water between them as he speaks.

"Oh, am I cutting in?" he asks, his voice slightly strained, then shouts "Something in the water!"

Initiative 21, Perception 23. Minor to draw, double move to M19. Do squares which are partly ice and partly water count as ice, water, or both, depending on how you get there?

Nerit acquiesced to Cerise's offer, and a primal emotion played on her face as they got closer to their destination through the forest. She seemed unable to contain her anger now that Richard was supposedly taken care of.

And so when the doctor gave the order, Nerit was one of the first to rush forward. The intention on both sides was quite clear.

The cacophony rose with Nerit's hands. Had she thrown caution to the winds? The noise enveloped her until she released it; a gale of screams barreled toward the red-haired doctor. Ever so gradually, Nerit's toes lifted, her cape hanging limply behind her to the rime above which she hovered.

Initiative: 22
Free Action: Perception 13
Move/Standard Action: Double Move to R18
Action Point:
Thundering Gust vs Dr. Poincare
18 vs 18FORT (mwahaha!)
Dmg: 11 thunder dmg, no slide
Gain fly speed +4, can hover

While anger may have been the nun's primary reaction to the scene before her, Celeste's was...frustration? Perhaps disappointment, if one was willing to round down. The socialite stamped her foot mildly on the snowy ground, as if she had been expecting Dr. Poincare to have mocked up the whole elaborate armageddon ritual as cover for some sort of surprise party.

"I never! Why, that a woman devoted to preserving the cultural heritage of our fair nation should be so misguided as to...oh, the pathos is too overwhelming!"

This was said more as a personal aside as anything else...but within the second, Celeste had dashed past Lia and onto the ice, bent on disarming the seven dagger-wielding cultists by politely explaining to them the error of their ways.

"I say...I say, Dr. Poincare? Madame? Pardon our unexpected intrusion onto your property, but I am sure that with only a little discussion..."

Celeste moves to S19. For no apparent reason (that resembles a roll of 3 on "Chaotic Defense"), all enemies that attack her for the rest of the encounter will have 2d6 damage dealt to them by unexpected causes. I fully encourage the DMs to have fun with this.

Chateau de Tarascons, Outside of Port-a-Lucine; Just Past Midnight of March 24th, 770
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Player Actions
Tomas: Does not win Initiative
Nicolas: Does not win Initiative
Mr. Agale: Does not win Initiative
Celeste: Double-moves and activates Chaotic Defense
Kerrian: Does not win Initiative
Nerit: Double-moves and uses an Action Point to Thundering Gust Poincare for 11 damage. Is also flying.
Darius: Double-moves and taunts Poincare.
Cyrus: Does not win Initiative
Lia: Does not win Initiative

Darius wrote:"Care to dance, madame?"

"No," Professor Poincare replied.

A tendril rose up out of the ice-water in front of Darius, twirling to gather more mass from the pool that spawned it. Within seconds it was larger than Darius himself, within a few more it was large enough to wrap itself around a carriage. A head-like shape generated at one of the ends of the elemental, the long whip of water peering down in front of it. Darius barely managed to dodge out of the way as the mouth struck at him with the speed of a serpent. The elemental whipped around, its tail slamming into the Hazlani. The watery body broke around him and reformed, now curling around its prey and pinning him in place.

"Hold him," Poincare commanded, and the elemental turned to ice around Darius' arms. The doctor skated forward across the ice, turning near ethereal as she walked across the water. With a cruel twist of her glaive, she jammed the summoned blade into Darius' side.

Arcana Check to Identify Elemental (Free Action)

Celeste wrote:"I say...I say, Dr. Poincare? Madame? Pardon our unexpected intrusion onto your property, but I am sure that with only a little discussion..."

The cultists did precisely what one would expect them to do, which was to point their bone daggers at the nearest target try to kill them. Two of the cultists reached out, conjuring up tendrils of water much like the elemental Doctor Poincare had summoned. Theirs did not last long, however, instead plunging onto Nerit and Celeste and freezing in place. The other cultists, retreating to land, raised their bone daggers and fired bolts of rime at the two women. One of them struck Celeste dead on, sending a large crack through her glacial prison.

"Hurry up and finish them off," Poincare commanded the other cultists, keeping a cautious eye on those of you who were not on the ice.

The huge chunk of ice surrounding Celeste suddenly broke in half, part of it sliding down the dilettante's shoulder to smash straight through the ice next to her. Poincare looked down with confusion as the ice flow she was standing on tilted with the sudden force. With impossible slowness, the chunk of frozen water tilted upward, sending Poincare skidding backwards, tumbling down the slope and smashing straight into Celeste. The ice kept turning, flipping straight over and landing heavily with a shower of icicles. Several of the cultists reeled in pain as freezing water and shards of ice hit them in the face.

Celeste, unfortunately, found her evening dress soaked to the bone.

Water Weird!: Move Action to reach Darius.
Standard Action to Bite Darius: Miss
Minor Action to Tail-Slap Darius: Hits with a 28 vs. Reflex, Darius takes 12 damage and is Grabbed (PHB 290). Darius is immobilized, and must make an Acrobatics vs. the Weird's Reflex or an Athletics vs. the Weird's Fortitude to escape.

Cultist #1 moves and uses Tentacle of Water and Ice on Celeste. Hits, deals 18 damage and slides Celeste 5 squares. Celeste is Restrained (Save Ends) (PHB 277). The Cultists takes 9 damage from Chaos Shield. Cultist uses a Minor Action to activate Insubstantial Transformation, gaining Insubstantial and Fly 4 (Hover) till it attacks or is dazed/stunned.
Cultist #2 moves and uses Tentacle of Water and Ice on Nerit. Hits, deals 19 damage and slides Nerit 5 squares. Nerit is Restrained (Save Ends) (PHB 277). Cultist uses a Minor Action to activate Insubstantial Transformation, gaining Insubstantial and Fly 4 (Hover) till it attacks or is dazed/stunned.

Cultist #3 moves back and uses Frostbite Bolt on Celeste. Hits, deals 9 damage, and Celeste is Slowed (Save Ends). Cultists takes 8 damage from Chaos Shield.
Cultist #4 moves back and uses Frostbite Bolt on Celeste. Hits, deals 13 damage, and Celeste is Slowed (Save Ends). Cultists takes 10 damage from Chaos Shield.

Cultist #5 moves and uses Frostbite Bolt on Nerit. Natural 1, Miss
Cultist #6 moves back and uses Frostbite Bolt on Nerit. Hits, deals 16 damage, and Nerit is Slowed (Save Ends).

Poincare uses a minor action for Insubstantial Transformation, gaining fly 8 (Hover) and Insubstantial till she attacks or is dazed/stunned. Move Action to get behind Darius. Standard Action for a Corroded Glaive attack, hits, deals 13 damage.

Ice! Reflex Attacks versus Poincare, Darius, and Celeste (due to Nerit being flying). Hit, miss, hit. 9 and 12 for random rolls, so Poincare slides 3 squares due east and rams into Celeste, falling prone, while Celeste takes Ongoing 5 Cold Damage (save ends).

We blame Celeste.



Terrain!

Ice: I'm going to run this slightly like a trap. At the end of each turn, the Ice will make an attack roll against your Reflex Defense if you are on the ice. If it fails, nothing happens. If it hits, we roll a d20 randomly on the following table to decide what happens:

• 1-4: You slip and fall Prone.
  5-7: You slide 1d4 squares in a random direction (determined by a d8 )
  8-10: You slide 1d4 squares in a random direction (determined by a d8 ) and fall Prone
  11-13: You slip into some shallow water. You take 5 Ongoing Cold Damage (save ends).
  14-16: Extremely slippery ice forces you to move very carefully. You are Slowed until your next turn.
  17-18: Your foot catches in a crevasse in the ice. You are Immobilized until your next turn.
  19: You take a very bad fall. You take 10 damage and fall Prone.
  20: You stumble, causing a spray of freezing water to splash you in the eyes. You are Blinded until your next turn.

You may take a Move Action to steady yourself (DC 5+ Acrobatics). For every 5 points you exceed the DC by, gain +2 to your Reflex defense only against the ice. So if you got a 17, you get a +6 to your Reflex defense against the ice.

Water: Anyone who enters or starts his turn in a water square takes 5 Ongoing Cold Damage and is Slowed (save ends both). To move onto an Ice Square requires a DC 12 Acrobatics or DC 12 Athletics check as a Move Action.

Forced Movement & Water's Edge: If you are, by reason of Forced Movement, knocked into the water, you can make an immediate saving throw. On a result of 10-20, you remain on the ice, though you fall prone. On a result of 1-9 you are pulled into the water. Until you make the save, I shall leave your PC in between the two squares, and then you can count your origin square for the turn based on your save result.


PCs:
Cyrus Isfahani (C): 54/58, 8 HS
AC 18, F 18, R 17, W 19
Darius Isfahani (D): 35/60, 9 HS, Grabbed by the Water Weird
AC 23, F 17, R 19, W 19
Sister Nerit Doherty (N): 12/47, 4 HS, Restrained (Save Ends), Slowed (Save Ends), Bloodied
AC 18, F 14, R 17, W 21
Mr. Agale (A): 43/44, 6 HS
AC 18, F 16, R 19, W 21
Nicolas Etienne de Castaigne (Nc): 56/56, 6 HS
AC 21, F 18, R 20, W 21
Tomas Eisenwald (T): 59/59, 10 HS, Resist All/1,
AC 24, F 18, R 18, W 20
Prof. Lia Mournswaithe (L): 44/50, 7 HS
AC 20, F 16, R 18, W 17
Kerrian Mauganson (K): 53/53, 3 HS
AC 17, F 19, R 16, W 20
Celeste Viardot (Cv): 10/50, 3 HS, Restrained (Save Ends), Slowed (Save Ends), Ongoing 5 Cold Damage (save ends), Bloodied
AC 16, F 17, R 18, W 20

Enemies:

Dr. Nicole Poincare (P): -11 HP, Prone
AC: 24 Fortitude: 18 Reflex: 22 Will: 23

Water Weird (W):
AC: 24 Fortitude: 22 Reflex: 19 Will: 20

First Cultist (1): -9 HP, Insubstantial, Recharging (Insubstantial Transformation, Tentacle of Ice and Water)
Second Cultist (2): Insubstantial, Recharging (Insubstantial Transformation, Tentacle of Ice and Water)
Third Cultist (3): -8 HP
Fourth Cultist (4): -10 HP
Fifth Cultist (5):
Sixth Cultist (6):
AC: 20 Fortitude: 19 Reflex: 21 Will: 19

Hesistating but a moment, Mr. Agale rushes onto the pier and makes a distasteful look at the thin ice and freezing water beyond.

"Doctor, this is unseemly behaviour, " he shouts out across the ice "please get that thing under control immediately or there may be 'accidents'." Despite the fact that his comments seem intended for Poincare, the Borcan affixes his attention squarely on the elemental. He then nonchalantly brushes some snow off of his jacket and grins maliciously.

Move Action: Hoofing it to V14
Minor Action: Distract against Water Weird
Standard Action: Augment 2 Betrayal against the Water Weird. 25 vs Will hits

• It slides 2 squares south, then makes a melee basic attack against Dr. Poincare with a +4 bonus to hit and damage (and combat advantage as she's prone). It is then dazed until the end of Agale's next turn.

17 Arcana for the water weird.

Darius has only a moment in which to invoke a shield of force which at least reduces the impact of the glaive.

"I...must...insist," he grinds out as the water weird tightens its grip, and then he is standing above the professor, longsword drawn and blade coated in ice. "You and me, woman, and we'll see who tires first."

With that, he cuts at her prone form.

Channeling Shield as an immediate interrupt against the glaive attack reduces the damage by 7 and gives a +2 to damage on Darius' next attack.
Armathor's Step as a move action to teleport out of the water weird's grasp and end in O19, giving a +2 to his next attack vs. Poincare.
Minor action to mark Poincare.
Standard action to use Frigid Blade. Roll 19. This is unacceptable. Re-roll, which I believe is the last re-roll I get until I do some beautiful thing, gets a 30. Much better. 10 damage and the professor takes a -2 penalty to speed until the end of her next turn.

Lia stands her ground and chants under her breath while looking at the prone Dr. Poincare. "Sagitta magica, omne errore vacua, vole." But the magical projectile she looses on the enemy fails to hit its mark.

"Damn," Lia grumbles. "Hoplon."

(OOC: Staying right where I am, thanks. Cast Magic Missile, but even if Poincare weren't getting a +2 bonus vs. ranged attacks, 18 wouldn't cut the mustard; better luck next round. Casting Shield as immediate interrupt. 28 on Arcana vs. the Water Weird.)

Cyrus leveled a firm glare on the doctor and her summoned beast. He opened his mouth to protest when the weird grabbed his brother, but closed it when Darius teleported out of his assailant's hold. The dommer scowled and made a note to dress his brother down for charging recklessly ahead.

"You will be punished," Cyrus growled. He darted out onto the ice and called on his deity's righteous fury. "Sedition, assault, engaging in illegal magic...The Lawgiver has seen your crimes and you will suffer his wrath."

The priest glowed as he spoke. His god's power coalesced around him and shot out at Poincare. A burst of searing white light surrounded the doctor and burned her. The Lawgiver's authoritative fury struck true.

Cyrus hovered a few paces away, his face as grim as judge's pronouncing a sentence of execution.

"The Lawgiver is my shield and I am his sword," the dommer said fervently, "He has passed judgment and I will carry out his sentence."

Move Action: Going to S18
Minor Action: Oath of Enduring Wrath: Cyrus gains +2 to all saving throws until the end of the encounter.
Standard Action: Radiant Vengeance: 28 vs. Reflex. That's a crit, folks!

Damage is 14 radiant = 8 (max) + 4 (Wis mod) + 1 (enhancement) + 1 (bonus crit damage)

In addition, Cyrus gains 4 temporary hp.

"...wait, there's something in the water!" Tomas says a second too late, as all hell breaks loose. Making a mental note to talk to the girls about jumping ahead when fighting cultists, Eisenwald kicks his heels together, activating the steadying spikes on his boots, and rambles awkwardly onto the frozen lake.

"Sister Nerit, try and get back to the others!" Tomas bellows, reaching into his coat and crushing a test tube in his shield hand. Thick white steam pours from Eisenwald's mitt, and Nerit will find the same steam rising up around her, gentle enough to sooth her muscles while impossibly being warm enough to melt some of the ice freezing her in place. If Nerit ever enjoyed one of the famous Darkonese baths, the sensation is not dissimilar to that.

Now, lets see. The professor..., "You could at least give us a speech about your master plan, you know!" Tomas shouts at her, but focuses on the bizarre elemental. Yeah, that's going to have to go. Hunching his shoulders, Tomas forces his tired legs forward again, thundering down the ice! Eisenwald doesn't slash so much as slam into the side of the monstrous water thing, pointy bit first; Ivorsen glows with blue-silver light, illuminating the insides of the thing. "Lia, baby doll, sugar cookie, lemon square, tell me this thing has a weak spot."

(Staking out my post since I'm doing healing actions this round. Actual post coming momentarily.

Move: 4 Diagonal and 1 right to T18.
Minor: Divine Mettle at Nerit, she can make a save with a +3 bonus.
Standard: Charge at Water Weird(Ending up at O18) with Virtuous Strike. To Hit: 27 vs AC, Damage: 9 radiant damage. Effect: +2 to saving throws until the start of my next turn. Sorry Celeste, I'll try and get to you ASAP but Nerit far enough away that I want her to get movement back first.)

Kerrian went to shout a warning about the thing in the water just as it made its presence known most spectacularly, rendering that well, rather moot for the moment. So instead, he took off to move, a bit precariously close to the water's edge, but staying off the ice so far. His spirit companion however, had no such compunctions about staying away from the ice, manifesting itself right near Celeste and Darius..and the prone form of Doctor Poincare.

It was a barest of things, with the Spiritual Wolf managing to get in a good solid bite on the Prone doctor's form, its savagery surprisingly uplifting in a "evil doctor getting mauled by a spiritual entity" way. Or at least that's how it felt to Celeste.

OOC: Moving to W20, free action to summon spirit companion to O20, and then using Spring Renewal Strike on Doctor Poincare. Wis vs Fort, a 19 will hit, for 13 untyped damage. Celeste may also spend a healing surge, and regain 6 additional HP on top of her surge value.

I will also throw a Sudden Restoration Celeste's way, which allows her to make a saving throw. If Nerit was within 10 she would as well (using weird corner measuring she is, but I don't think that counts for most direct.) If it does, she will also get to make a Saving Throw.

If Dr.Ponicare tries to move from her current square without shifting, I will have Spirit's Shield readied as an oppertunity action. Wis vs Reflex for Wis modifier damage, and if Celeste is still Adjacent, she'll regain 7 hp. Darius will get them otherwise.

And finally, All allies adjacent to my spirit companion get +1 to all non AC defenses, so currently Darius and Celeste.

Lia sings out, her voice carrying over the battlefield: "The water weird is a twisted elemental, composed of water, ice and pain! Rather than on flesh, they feed on the pain of their victims! They are cunning predators, but not truly intelligent -- their reliance on pain reflects the sadism of their summoners! Their only purpose is to cause pain! They are quickest in water, but also terribly fast on land! Their strength is terrible, they fear neither cold, sickness nor poison! They bite, they strangle, their plasma can freeze you if you strike them! Strike from a distance if you can!"

(OOC: If you get splashed with this sucker's juices, you'll get Cold Vulnerability, and it deals Cold damage ... I'd kill it as quick as you can, or else do something about Poincare and join me in hoping the summons will vanish when the summoner loses consciousness and/or life.)

Nerit screamed at the icy touch. The tendrils lacerated her side as it solidified around her, staining her white robe. She felt Tomas' words and alchemical admixture, and jammed her eyes shut against the pain. And then, she disappeared.

The nun reappeared an instant later, yards in front of Kerrian. Oddly, it seemed she fell a short distance to collapse on the ground. Still covered in bits of ice, Nerit did not attempt to crawl away.

"Umbrosus," she whispered miserably. A dark shape skittered over her form as she waved her left hand above her head. A shadow passed over her, and would not move from her form. It enveloped her until she seemed a lump in the snow.

Yet out of it shot a purple streak toward the elemental pain creature, and it ricocheted off the doctor.

Underneath the shadow, Nerit smirked.

Save against Restrained: 1d20+3 = 14 (Thanks, Doc!)
Free Action: Arcana = 19
Move Action: Fey Step to R18

Minor Action: Deep Shroud
Effect: You create a shroud of supernatural shadow around you. Until the end of your next turn, the space you occupy and each square adjacent to you are heavily obscured.
Sustain Minor: The effect persists.

Standard: Lighting Strike on "Water Weird"
18 vs DC19 REF ...boo! REROLL: 27. Wee!
Hit: 16 lightning
Special: Ricochet (3 lightning) on Poincare

Save: 1d20 = 9
EDIT: With Kerrian's added Save: 13 !

Nicholas steps forward, closing his eyes in concentration for a second, as he does silence seems to encroach on the lake for a moment, as iff all sounds suddnely dull as if waiting for something... Then slowly the ice begins to creak again, the water lapping beneath, snow flakes falling, yet all are now tapping out a definable rhythm, dancing to Nicholas' composition.

The poet stands tall, a dark figure against the whiteness of his surroundings, a curved blade glittering in hand "careful where you step mes amis, plant your feet and should you fall spread yourself wide to lessen the impact..... Now I believe it is time to throw ourselves with abandon into this dance." With that he lifts his voice in song, a hoarse baritone, not exactly beautiful but haunting and beguiling nonetheless.

"I thought that we had fallen in Love
But somehow I felt the nails in my heart
So deep that I couldn't even scream
It was all the things you said to me
Every lie you made me believe"

Pausing he levels his glance and his blade at Doctor Poincaire "I believe you should join the dance my dear, if you can with thsoe two left feet and such a maladjusted sense of priorities, why I do believe even I would hesitate to take you out for dinner." He finishes flashing a wicked smile as the creaking, watery rhythm reaches an small crescendo.

Move action: head to T17
Minor Action: Inspire Competance ( +2 power bonus on acrobatics burst 5 ) which should get everyone except Lia I believe.
Standard Action: Vicious Mockery on Dr Poincaire at 26 vs will for 3 + 4 Cha + 2 implement = 9 Psychic Damage and she takes -2 to attack rolls till end of Nicholas' next turn.

It was a testament to Celeste’s poise under pressure that being encased in ice up to the neck did not stop her from talking. While considerably bluer and more shivery than usual, the socialite kept a steady stream of reasoned debate aimed squarely at the (again, ridiculously hostile) cultists before her.

“I never! Gentle ladies, I fully understand the need to disarm the opposing party before a proper negotiation can take place, I hardly think such measures need progress to the level of complete immobilization! I daresay one less charitable should consider that untoward. Come, now: leave us behave as the civilized parties we know each other to be, and I am sure that our differences will all but vanish in the face of mutually beneficent—oh! My apologies, Dr. Poincare!”

It was, likewise, a testament to Celeste’s generous nature that she felt it necessary to apologize to a crazed cult leader, because part of her own ice block had sheared off and sent said cult leader careening into a faceplant.

…Well, it was a testament to her something anyway.

“Gracious! I am dreadfully sorry that you have been treated so, Doctor—though, I am sure you agree, you must bear some modicum of the responsibility for your predicament. I trust that you shall instruct your pupils to be more forgiving with their spellcraft in the immediate future, no?”

The crack in Celeste’s icy prison must have been load-bearing; the block around her fractured once, then again, then crumbled into pieces around her. Celeste acknowledged it with a briefly surprised moment as she spoke, but did not comment upon it explicitly, instead taking a few judicious steps around Kerrian’s spirit companion—clearly, if even on a subconscious level, Mlle. Viardot realized that it was a decent idea to get out of the Doctor’s reach.

The slightly admonishing tone, however, continued—sincere as ever. Celeste looked up at the hulking water elemental, mildly put out.

“Now consider, for example, this elemental being before us. He is certainly an imposing sort, yes—but I should question whether he is absolutely necessary to argue your poi—“

--AND NOW, A BRIEF DIGRESSION ON THE SUBJECT OF ORNITHOLOGY--

The common Darkonian Goose (Branta darkonensis), famed around the core for its characteristic V-formation flight pattern, subsists chiefly on grasses and cultivated grains. Males customarily achieve an adult weight of up to fourteen pounds, while the smaller females can reach up to twelve pounds; their average flight speed is estimated at 40 to 55 miles per hour, though it has been reported that they can reach speeds of up to 70 miles per hour with a tailwind.

The spring migratory season of the Darkonian Goose—in which flocks of the much-loved waterfowl traveled from their winter roosting grounds in coastal Mordent to their summer habitat in the Nevuchar Springs region—generally begins in late March.

—END OF DIGRESSION—

There was a brief pause as twelve adult Darkonian geese, flying low across the lake, rammed en masse into the hulking body of the water elemental—collectively representing a total of 1400 meter-kilograms per second of force.

Scratch that. There was a brief pause accompanied by a brain-crawlingly horrifying squelching noise. The water weird was translucent, for all that was holy. The geese were still in there. They appeared to be drowning as you watched.

The majority of you were not experts on the physiology of elementals, but you were reasonably certain that this was an unhealthy situation for the weird.

All together now!

-Celeste fails her first save against being restrained.

-If she had cast Storm Walk on the Water Weird and failed it, nothing would have happened, but she didn't do that; she does, however, shift to O21 and provoke an AoO as would have probably happened in this hypothetical situation.

-In keeping with this ridiculous conceit, however, she would have also used Focused Chaos to treat her Storm Walk attack roll as odd, so that she could make a saving throw against being restrained. I need hardly assure you that none of this has happened, but she makes a save against being restrained somehow, anyway.

-Celeste then moves to P20, and spends an action point for no particular reason.

-Twelve Darkonian Geese make a successful attack roll against the Water Weird, for 26 psychic damage. Because it is very disconcerting to have a bunch of organisms inside you that want desperately to move in any possible direction, the Weird will be slid up to 3 squares on each one of Celeste's turns (save ends). As the Weird will be moving to attack Poincare on its turn anyway, it doesn't really need to be moved anywhere else at the moment. This whole to-do would look an awful lot like Reeling Torment, to the undiscriminating.

-Celeste makes her two other saves at the end of her turn.

Got all that?