The Eye of Anubis: Book Eight

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"Noviens aliquis acceleram, me et socii mei. Incipe," Lia chants, sweeping her hands around. Chill tendrils of power curl around the members of the Expedition, and a brief waft of licquorice blows past on the breeze.

Next, Lia slashes her hands down around herself, chanting: "E visu abscindo." The Wizard vanishes from mortal sight, but her voice drifts on the air for a moment: "I will raise a spell of light once the Dreamspawn appear. One of you hold out your weapon, that I might light it up - Tomas, perhaps you?"

(OOC: Casting Haste, followed by Greater Invisibility. I'll cast Daylight in the next round, unless something happens to make me choose a different course of action. Anyone who's willing to have their weapon or another item of their equipment become the source of the light, sing out, please.)

[NeoTiamat]

??? ???????? ?? ??????, ????????? ?????, ?????
???? ??th, ???, ?:?? PM; Day 122 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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Victory Condition: In order to win, you need but stab Ronoph in the heart with the Keris. This is a two-step process. First, you must penetrate Ronoph's carapace. The carapace has 60 hitpoints, a Hardness of 8, and immunity to Acid. Otherwise, it functions as an object (takes half-damage from fire, electricity, and most ranged attacks, quarter damage from cold, etc. Check the SRD for details). For purposes of targeting, the location of the relevant carapace is Z-17

Once the carapace is penetrated, one need but stand at location AA-17 and take a standard action to stab Ronoph with the Keris.

Retreat: At any time, as a Move Action, you may attempt to wake up. This is a DC 12 Wisdom Check, and results in you waking up from this Dreamworld. One caveat. Once gone, you can't come back (not in time to affect the battle, at any rate). You must be conscious to do this, though you may be Helpless (you can't do it if knocked below 0 HP, but you can do this if grappled, for instance).

Death: If you die in the Dream Realm, your PC does not die. Instead, he suffers from a Major Madness Effect (Multiple Personalities, Amnesia, Schizophrenia, or Suicidal Thoughts), and one that is highly resistant to magical healing. Most likely, you become an NPC and roll up a new character in this case, same as you die, just the ex-PC lives out his or her days in the Monastery.



Environmental Conditions:

Debris (Shown by the speckled black) or Stairs: This is difficult terrain and costs two squares of movement to cross.

Fallen Columns: This blocks movement (unless manages to jump a 5-foot tall height, as per the Jump rules in the SRD), but does not block line of sight or line of effect. It can provide Cover if you're adjacent to it.

Rivers of Acid: Crossing a single river deals 3d6 Acid damage unless you succeed on a DC 5 (with a 20-foot running start) or DC 10 (without) Jump check. If this is a place where two rivers merge or are very close together, then crossing it is 6d6 damage, or a DC 10 or 20 Jump check, respectively. Starting your round in an Acid River deals 10d6 Acid damage, regardless of the river's size.

Braziers: These are harmless unless you get onto them (1d6 Fire damage then), but are tall and block Line-of-Sight and Line-of-Effect.

Creepers: These are thick, thorny, grasping vines that extend one square out from certain columns. If you get stuck in them, you are Entangled and take 3d6 slashing damage per round until you succeed on a DC 20 Escape Artist, a DC 20 Strength, or a DC 20 Wisdom check (the Wisdom check convinces them to be quiescent long enough to escape).

Poison Gas: These are functionally similar to roving Cloudkill spells. In your case, if you start your turn inside a Poison Cloud, you must make a DC 18 Fortitude Save or lose 1d4 Con points. Left to their own devices, the clouds move 20 feet in a random direction (determined by a d8, with 1 being north and proceeding clockwise), ever round.

You can manipulate the cloud's direction with a DC 12 Wisdom check as a Standard Action. If multiple entities try to direct a cloud, the highest determines the course, provided he beats the DC.

Important! The Dreamspawn are no more natives to this place than you are, and so this means that they can be hurt or impeded by the local terrain as much as you can. This also means they can manipulate the terrain as much as you can, also...

[Nathan of the FoS]

Lia's words are--well, the magic words. Feeling the grip of the haste spell tighten on his muscles, Charles dashes forward with unnatural speed, vaulting to the platform and all but flying over the nauseating green river, almost into the embrace of the scorpion-fiend.

Obviously, no-one with any sense of self-preservation would do this sort of thing, which means it had to be Charles (or perhaps Tomas, but he's not a knife-fighter). The fact that the kris is pulsing slightly and warming to the touch is, well, just one of those things.

At the moment Charles has a different dagger in hand--the adamantine dagger taken from Marchosias' keep. It's unlikely the carapace, whatever it's made of, can withstand that for too long.

Well, all right, it will take a while. But it's better than trying it with steel.

Charles sets to with a will, shaving long grey ribbons from the statue's breast with the knife and praying this thing has a thin skin.

Double move to AA17, drawing the adamantine dagger as I go. If Ronoph comes alive and eats me, well, it's been fun, kids, wake up quick.

EDIT: Right! If we're doing two rounds of actions then Charles can get to work before the balloon goes up. Damage rolls are 2+1, 2+1, (haste, I love you, haste!) for 6 damage total.

[lostboy]

Khalil pauses for a second to see what actions others take, it takes that heartbeat of time for Charles to speed on past him.

Shaken into action, Khalil draws both scimitars and with a ringing war cry plunges forward after Charles, moving in a blur as the magic courses through him, he vaults the debris, and flys over the river of acid, landing nimbly on the opposite side of the hulking insectoid thing.

"Let us be done swiftly" he shouts across to Charles as he eyes the thing before him lookign for a weak spot.

[OOC: Double move to AA18, jump 23 to cross the acid and drawing weapons - that should give our insectoid buddy at last two targets]

[DocBeard]

Tomas looks up from his meditation on just how screwed up this place really is in order to nod distantly at Lia. And as Charles moves, Tomas follows, pulling Ivorsen out to give Lia a decent target and because it makes him feel better. There's no real need for goodbyes: He said he was going to do this, or die trying, and Tomas Eisenwald has yet to break his word, even if he's screwed up everything else in his life.

Skidding to a stop, Tomas waits for Charles's 'go time' signal, finding himself unpleasantly close to the hulking, statue-like carapace. Are there really any words for a situation like this? "Bugger." There's one.

(OOC: Divine Weapon, and then a double move to get to Z16.)

[yalenusveler]

OOC:Last round, while we were still together, Mass Conviction for a +3 morale bonus to all saves. Due to crap weather, was stuck away from computer for FAR longer than I intended. Mea culpa.

Andre stood back, almost as if afraid to advance. "I must admit, you did apologize. But really..what we're doing here is for you good too. We've no quarrel with you personally. And my mistress sends her well wishes." Despite that comment, Andre finished the words to a spell to protect himself from evil, ancient tongue of the Oracle's people leaving his lips.

OOC:Protection from Evil on M'self, advancing to AQ18

[The Whistler]

Perhaps it's due to the influence of the Dream Realm--transmutation is easier when the laws of reality are mutable to begin with--but the transformation is largely second nature at this point. Despite the adrenaline rush brought on by incipient battle, Otto is still self-aware enough to be *concerned* about this.

Hey--not like I'm any happier about it, bucko. How'd you feel if you were inches away from being half-whiny-overweight-pink-thing at the drop of a hat?

You're not very good at this "reassuring" thing, are you?

Bite me.

Dashing into the courtyard to back up Andre, the gunsmith mentally notches off the location of the Heart--as well as the creeper-studded columns scattered across the tiles.

Plants--about time, in this desert. If your role's to run interference on the three breaching the Heart, then best to keep track of all the distractions you can spring...

Gun in hand, lightning-quick.

...As well as the one you've got in your shoulder holster. This should be interesting...

Drawing the wheel-lock, moving to AQ20, and Bite of the Werewolfing it.

[NeoTiamat]

??? ???????? ?? ??????, ????????? ?????, ?????
???? ??th, ???, ?:?? PM; Day 122 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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PC Actions:
Kuzan Casts Spell Resistance, Casts Recitation, moves up.
Andre Casts Mass Conviction, Casts Protection from Evil
Otto Bites the Werewolf, moves up.
Charles moves up, stabs Ronoph twice for 6 damage.
Khalil moves up
Tomas Divine Weapon and moves up
Lia casts Haste, Greater Invisibility

Ronoph 54/60 HP

Andre stood back, almost as if afraid to advance. "I must admit, you did apologize. But really..what we're doing here is for you good too. We've no quarrel with you personally. And my mistress sends her well wishes."

< No quarrel... no quarrel.. well, Fey-kin Deciever, now we have a quarrel. > The voice was low, deathly soft, and yet filled with a kind of lunatic rage. The Dreamlord was not pleased. < But worry not, Coward and Sneak... when you suffer for a century each night, we will no longer have a quarrel. >

THUMP.

In the strange logic of dreams, Night Terror landed upon the octagonal tiles before the ruined prayer hall, though you had not seen him fly. Perhaps he had been merely hidden, or perhaps he had not been here at all. It was an unknowable question, nor was it important compared to the sudden presence of the nightmarish gargoyle.

In his domain, the Dreamlord was somehow greater than you had remember. Standing tall, a dozen feet of grey, scaled hide stretched over reptilian muscle, a serpentine head with two ominous, crimson eyes, the dream-demon was fearsome, and yet somehow magnificent, in the way of a nightmare. His claws were long, curved knives that glittered and gleamed, and beneath his wings was a darkness like a starry sky, pure black but for drops of odd light.

< Come, my flock, awaken... > The Dreamlord spread his wings, and from the shadows out scuttled things. They were humanoid, in a way, faceless, featureless, genderless, emotionless things, the remnants of dreamers, or the products of dreams. Some bore sharp claws, others jagged daggers of night. And others still bore no weapon, but were shrouded in mist and shadow.

< Get the Severer of Threads. But leave the Faerie whelp to me. >

With this, the flock attacked.



Dreamspawn Actions:
Night Terror: The Dreamlord appears at AK-AL/16-17, and summons four Nightmare Spinners (spellcasters) and four Nightmare Legionnaires (warriors) as a Swift Action. He takes no further action that you can tell, but it is possible that he dispensed with the display of psionics.

Nightmare Spinner 1 Casts Haste on Night Terror and the four Nightmare Legionnaires, then scatters.
Nightmare Spinner 2 Casts Heroism on Night Terror, then scatters.
Nightmare Spinner 3 Casts Shadow Phase on Night Terror, then scatters.
Nightmare Spinner 4 Casts Mass Mage Armor on Night Terror and the four Nightmare Legionnaires, then scatters.

Nightmare Legionnaire 1 Spring Attacks past Kuzan, attacks, hits for 20 damage.
Nightmare Legionnaire 2 Spring Attacks past Kuzan, attacks, hits for 19 damage.
Nightmare Legionnaire 3 Spring Attacks past Kuzan, attacks, misses.
Nightmare Legionnaire 4 Spring Attacks past Kuzan, attacks, misses.

Poison Cloud 1: Moves Northeast
Poison Cloud 2: Moves Southwest
Poison Cloud 3: Moves Northwest

PC Status Report. Party: Recitation (+2 AC, AB, Saves), Haste (+1 AB, AC, Attack, Reflex, +30 ft Land speed), Mass Conviction (+3 Saves)
Kuzan: 35/74 HP, SR 22
Andre: 31/31 HP, Protection from Evil
Lia: 32/32 HP, Greater Invisibility
Tomas: 91/91 HP, Divine Weapon
Khalil: 74/74 HP
Charles: 43/43 HP
Otto: 59/59 HP, Bite of the Werewolf

Night Terror: Shadow Phase, Haste, Mage Armor, Heroism, [Power?]
Nightmare Spinner 1:
Nightmare Spinner 2:
Nightmare Spinner 3:
Nightmare Spinner 4:
Nightmare Legionnaire 1: Haste, Mage Armor
Nightmare Legionnaire 2: Haste, Mage Armor
Nightmare Legionnaire 3: Haste, Mage Armor
Nightmare Legionnaire 4: Haste, Mage Armor


Victory Condition: In order to win, you need but stab Ronoph in the heart with the Keris. This is a two-step process. First, you must penetrate Ronoph's carapace. The carapace has 60 hitpoints, a Hardness of 8, and immunity to Acid. Otherwise, it functions as an object (takes half-damage from fire, electricity, and most ranged attacks, quarter damage from cold, etc. Check the SRD for details). For purposes of targeting, the location of the relevant carapace is Z-17

Once the carapace is penetrated, one need but stand at location AA-17 and take a standard action to stab Ronoph with the Keris.

Retreat: At any time, as a Move Action, you may attempt to wake up. This is a DC 12 Wisdom Check, and results in you waking up from this Dreamworld. One caveat. Once gone, you can't come back (not in time to affect the battle, at any rate). You must be conscious to do this, though you may be Helpless (you can't do it if knocked below 0 HP, but you can do this if grappled, for instance).

Death: If you die in the Dream Realm, your PC does not die. Instead, he suffers from a Major Madness Effect (Multiple Personalities, Amnesia, Schizophrenia, or Suicidal Thoughts), and one that is highly resistant to magical healing. Most likely, you become an NPC and roll up a new character in this case, same as you die, just the ex-PC lives out his or her days in the Monastery.

Environmental Conditions:

Debris (Shown by the speckled black) or Stairs: This is difficult terrain and costs two squares of movement to cross.

Fallen Columns: This blocks movement (unless manages to jump a 5-foot tall height, as per the Jump rules in the SRD), but does not block line of sight or line of effect. It can provide Cover if you're adjacent to it.

Rivers of Acid: Crossing a single river deals 3d6 Acid damage unless you succeed on a DC 5 (with a 20-foot running start) or DC 10 (without) Jump check. If this is a place where two rivers merge or are very close together, then crossing it is 6d6 damage, or a DC 10 or 20 Jump check, respectively. Starting your round in an Acid River deals 10d6 Acid damage, regardless of the river's size.

Braziers: These are harmless unless you get onto them (1d6 Fire damage then), but are tall and block Line-of-Sight and Line-of-Effect.

Creepers: These are thick, thorny, grasping vines that extend one square out from certain columns. If you get stuck in them, you are Entangled and take 3d6 slashing damage per round until you succeed on a DC 20 Escape Artist, a DC 20 Strength, or a DC 20 Wisdom check (the Wisdom check convinces them to be quiescent long enough to escape).

Poison Gas: These are functionally similar to roving Cloudkill spells. In your case, if you start your turn inside a Poison Cloud, you must make a DC 18 Fortitude Save or lose 1d4 Con points. Left to their own devices, the clouds move 20 feet in a random direction (determined by a d8, with 1 being north and proceeding clockwise), ever round.

You can manipulate the cloud's direction with a DC 12 Wisdom check as a Standard Action. If multiple entities try to direct a cloud, the highest determines the course, provided he beats the DC.

Important! The Dreamspawn are no more natives to this place than you are, and so this means that they can be hurt or impeded by the local terrain as much as you can. This also means they can manipulate the terrain as much as you can, also...

[Nathan of the FoS]

Charles hears the arrival of Night Terror and his myrmidons, but a hasty glance seems to indicate that they are not approaching the statue at the moment. This is not necessarily very comforting, but at least it gives Charles the chance to make a little more progress.

A very little. The adamantine dagger is better than nothing, but something heavier might make more headway, even if it were not so sharp.

Another 6 damage to Ronoph.

[lostboy]

Khalil chances a look behind him as the nightmares move forward, they move swiftly, too swiftly, we wont have time to do this if someone doesnt hold them off.

Still Khalil felt fast, and it was time to put that to use. Slashing in a blur at the carapace before him, he leaps upwards onto some vestigous limb of Ronophs delivering a second blow, before shouting "Keep goign I'll hold them as best I can" and vaulting gracefully backwards to land nimbly with his back to the approaching nightmares.

Gritting his teeth he begins to spin, low and fast, blades whipping out to make contact with nightmare stuff, and hopefully siphon off some attention.

[OOC:

Dervishing to AC 15

to hit Ronoph 33 / 36, damage 5 / 9

to hit the advanceing NL's 23 / 28, damage 4 /22
(using one charge of devastation gauntlets)

tumble check 21

I assume I cant crit Ronoph as he's a big lump of demonic stone? If I can I'll edit and use up some more devastation gauntlet loveliness ]

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"Vos evoco," Lia chants, pulling a small chunk of ... something rubbery and awful from her spell component pouch, and dropping it to the floor as her hands weave complicated gestures. The chunk of whatever-it-is withers and puffs into dark smoke as the Wizard continues to chant.

"Vos evoco, bracchia nigra Evardis. Surgete. Inimicum meum amplectete. Inimicum meum capete. Inimicum meum ... perfringete."

The black smoke drifts down to the ground -- and a black stain travels across the flagstones until it comes between the Night Terror and one of his spellcasting pawns. Briefly, the earth trembles -- and then great, black tentacles heave themselves out of the ground, accompanied by an inquisite, hungry keening that soon fades on the air. But the writhing tentacles remain, and snatch at the Dreamspawn with a vengeance!

Lia sags briefly, her body quivering after the massive surge of energy she just channelled. It feels as if her very bones are humming ... Trembling, she sidesteps, seeking safety behind a pillar.

(OOC: Casting Evard's Black Tentacles at AK 18. No save. Spell resistance does not apply. It's down to grapples and counter-grapples; with a roll of 31%, the Night Terror's miss chance has been bypassed! ... Watch out for Mind Thrusts, guys ...
Black tentacles attack the Night Terror with 27, try to engage grapple.
Black tentacles attack the Dreamspinner at AL 20 with 37, try to engage grapple.
Once grapple is established, the crushing damage starts.
Lia moves to AV 15 and seeks cover behind a pillar.)

[DocBeard]

Chaos all around him, swords swinging, people screaming, wise men chanting, and here Tomas is, the holy warrior without a god, trying to break through magic stone so the devil can wake up. Obviously, Tomas thinks wearily to himself, all that self-preservation stuff his parents tried to imbue in him didn't take.

"So the king of nightmares looks like a manscorpion?" Tomas says, mostly to himself but he won't say no to some witty banter. It's different here, he doesn't feel as...close to the pool of righteous anger that fuels him in battle so often. That's a funny thing to think, Tomas reflects, and then spies a solid part of the stonework to strike. This thing should not exist. It is...unreasonable. Unable to compromise with reality itself. So, reality creates people like him...

Squelching the urge to shout some cheesy line like 'Reason's Bite!', Tomas pulls his sword back and swings with all of his might, the weapon booming with a clang against the carapace, as Tomas uses his own movement to shove his body closer, taking another vicious swing at the groove he's hopefully started to cut into the statue.

(Full attack. First is a smite-I am gonna assume this thing is evil, call me crazy. I do 20 points of damage which, minus 8, is 12. Second is normal, I do 9 points of damage, and third is also normal, for 11 points of damage, giving me a total of 16 for the round, unless my math was off.)

[yalenusveler]

"Well, so much for Civility. Clamo!" Andre's eyes flashed bluewhite for a moment, and a bolt of piercing sound fired from his hand, aiming not for the rather imposing lord of Nightmares, but for the rather unsettling bit of statuary that just, oh, happened to be a manifestation of a slumbering demon.

OOC:25 to pierce SR if Ronoph has it (Yay Assay Spell Resistance!), then 31-8 hardness=23 damage from a sound lance if that pierces.

[Kaitou Kage]

Kuzan growled and gritted his teeth as the Dreamspawn tore into him. Who would've thought a Dream could hurt this badly? And now he found himself stuck between a rock and a hard place. Dreamspawn in front, writhing tentacles in back, and no real place to go. He took a step away and sent up a prayer of healing, closing his dream wounds and making himself whole once more.

Cure serious wounds

11 (dice) + 11 (caster level) + 6 (augment) = 28 hp healed. Almost good as new.

[The Whistler]

Dang! Just out of range of the vines--got to back them up against that pillar someh--

--You want strategy? Axe the support from a distance then move in for the--

--Got to conserve those commands; no way I can tap into that those reserves more than once every so--

--Get MOVING! You're hung up on this "usefulness" bit, then GET THE LEAD OUT OF YOUR--

--Roger; keep those hands steady and--

-KRAK-POW!-

--Oh Blessed MAKERthat was a lucky shot--

--Roger? You making up imaginary pals again? Who the h--

--And let's try that AGAI--

-BA-WHUMPH

Oh. Oh--FATES the space between dimensions looks DIFFERENT because you're enmeshed in the worst parts of the collective UNCONSCIOUS and you still have to FIRE your other PISTOL OH MERCY WHAT IS THAT CLOSE YOUR EYES RIGHT NOW

--KRA-POW!--

Pansy.

Reprobate.

Eh, I'll take it. Now who the hell's Roger?

OOC: Moving to AT23, burning a charge of the Boots, and taking 2 shots with the wheel-lock and Donnenschlag, respectively; first at the southernmost Nightmare Spinner, and then at the one just to the right of the Night Terror if the first one dies. If these guys are immune to skirmish damage, don't count that damage and subtract 2 from both attack rolls:

Shot 1: 34 to attack, 10 pistol damage, 13 skirmish damage, 5 electricity damage, for 28 total damage.

Critical threat! 25 roll to confirm, 12 extra damage.

Shot 2: 17 to attack, 6 pistol damage, 21 skirmish damage, 5 electricity damage, for 32 total damage.