The Ultimate Conflict (Of Darkness and Demons) IC

[Realms of Chaos]

Core OOC Thread (www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=253202)
Group OOC Thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=253602)

Tyrian:Five souls for a hundred each, three more for a thousand altogether, and another small handful of coin for a ring some hopeless romantic thought could bring happiness. Oh, to be so young and naïve. Not that romanticism was a crime, mind you, but how could a man that destitute hope to keep his family happy and well? Speaking of destitution, it appeared that profits had slipped once again. If this wasn’t the third time this month, you’d roll up some of your own tobacco to help calm the nerves. The slaves, it seemed, hadn’t been selling recently. Apart from a shipment you’d made to one of your more loyal customers, a dubh cloch enchanter, they hadn’t been selling at all. Perhaps you were wrong to invest in some of the younger ones. Either that or your more… ambitious drainings were leaving visible signs. On the upside, it would seem that agony sales had… where you put that paper? Lifting up a small pile of invoices, a small loaf of travelbread filled with walnuts and cashews falls back down to the table. A gift from your darling Isabella, no doubt. Oh, to be young and in love…

Lord Nesbythe/Gunthar:Ah, sweet solitude. It has been a very long while since you were truly free in this castle to research as you see fit. Since your most recent commission for poison, split between an assassin and a dubh cloch enchanter, you had been completely on your own. No assignments to work on, armies to outfit, or progress reports to attend to. This was the work you had long been seeking, a simple search for knowledge unsullied with duties or interruptions. Even Gunther had largely grown quiet over the past few hours. You could hear each drop of the catalyst drop into your solution, a green liquid that quickly whipped itself up into a light purple foam. Clearly this would have to be recorded. If nothing else, the implications of applying other alchemic solutions in past forms were intriguing. Tanglefoot bags you could spread on the ground by your dresser. Thunderstones smeared onto a pugilist’s fist. Explosives spread on the flagstones of an enemy stronghold… Clearly, this would require more research.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
How incredibly boring. How long was he just going to sit there and play with his toys? There were things out there to destroy, to eat, to flatten, to rend. With your time so limited and constrained by the fool’s demands, you had started keeping a list of sorts in your head, a crude list of things and people you’d meant to kill or destroy but hadn’t… yet. After your most recent appearance, you’d begun to lost track of this list. Perhaps you were a bit to… what just happened? Oh, it turned purple. And fluffy. Even as you return to mulling over your boredom and your rough plans for freedom, however, you maintain your silence. He knows what you want. He knows all too well.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
A gentle knock comes from your front door, interrupting your note-taking. Following the knock comes a wavering female voice, “Do you have a spare moment, my lord?”

Xael: Devils… so they’d chosen to rest their hopes and dreams on devils. All of those scheming nobles who thought that sanctions and lawkeepers could stop you. They would die. Those peasants who toiled to help them keep them fed and empower their nation. They found pride in their nation and its decisions. They too would die. These buildings they formed, the physical manifestation of their so-called civilization? Not a single structure would be spared. The churches would always be last, though. You always loved how they fled to their churches, how they thought those flimsy walls of stone could save them. They would still fall but they would be last. What was all this for, then? What did Cheliax think it had gained? Order? Organization? Ha. Even though these soldiers had successfully ambushed you, they had been torn apart in seconds. Even your demons, fueled by madness and chaos, could have destroyed the “tactics” of these hell knights. This entire town was gone in a pile of flesh and rubble. It was not the first and it would not be your last. Even when Cheliax was destroyed and gone, nothing but an empty, salted crater in Golarion, you would never be done. With all that you’d sacrificed of mind and soul, these were the moments that made it all truly worthwhile. These were the moments that you were allowed to truly and wholly enjoy.

Saix/Kitty: You are exceptionally annoyed. The both of you are. It has been two days in this subterranean kingdom and your diminutive benefactor can’t seem to tear himself away from his research (or whatever he’s doing). Xael has been sent to the surface long ago, mainly for concern of what he may start doing otherwise. You, however, opted to show a bit of patience, a decision you may well be regretting. You absentmindedly kick out at one of the scurrying Dubb Clochs but it manages to dodge out of the way. Not that it makes too much of a difference; kicking those things lost its novelty weeks ago. Perhaps you’d be better served wondering “outside” through the city than lingering in this rocky castle. At least out there things tended to happen every once and again.

Legion:The time was finally at hand. Long had your hivemind searched the planes for the ingredients that you sought. They had endured the pain of the sun and you had known the pain of each and every one as if that pain was your own. All of the pain and sacrifice you and your people had made, however, was about to pay off. Every loose object from your study had been carefully and systematically removed, leaving not even the possibility for some small object to land on the magic sigils you had carved. Dozens of your most powerful number waited just outside of your door, though you doubted that anyone so much as suspected what you were up to, let along was planning on stopping you. The blood of the enslaved in life and death, obtained from an ally in Union, formed an inversed seal of tenebrous (as copied from one of your more treasured tomes). Black Lotus venom, harvested by an alchemist you had come to know, formed surrounding runes for a dimensional anchor of the variety summoners use for their callings. Now, the only thing left to add was the most important ingredient. Your forces had scoured the depths of the abyssal black pools for months until they found it, a drop of blood from the final wound that fell a god. All that was left was to let the blood fall and to summon forth your lord for one final time.

[THEChanger]

Legion knelt at the massive seal of Tenebrous he had carved into the very living rock, filled with the blood his people had collected. He checked, and double checked, every last piece of the ritual, one more time, just to be certain. If he didn't make this work, then everything would be ruined, and he would have to start over again, with a new ritual. The laws of the universe were fickle and strange. This would only work once.

Satisfied that all was prepared, Legion took the vial forged of stardust, wherein the last blood of a dead god boiled and raged at the injustice of being contained in so holy a container. Indeed, the undead body of Legion himself sizzled in disgust of the metal. He needed to hurry. Legion uncorked the vial, and let forth the precious ichor.

The last ingredient introduced to the mixture, Legion stood outside the seal, in a smaller circle of runes designed specifically to protect him from the wayward energies of the opening of the gate. He then began to speak the ritual of Binding in reverse. The words felt vile and caustic on his tongue, but speak them he did.

"Terra letalis ut vos voco ego, Eram Ut Umbra.
Limito vos servo ego, mos per.
Forma vestry velieris ego, obscurum per.
Sigillum vestry effrego ego, scelero per."

[Realms of Chaos]

Legion:As Legion finished his incantation, the ground rumbled beneath your feet, no doubt a sign of the coming ascension. With the entire room emptied, however, there was no chance of something falling over and disrupting the ritual. Slowly, the ghostlike manifestation of tenebrous rose up from the seal. It had been so long since you had been forced to call upon him like this, so long since you had seen that shadowy face.

"Who dares call a god forth from oblivion?" he bellows, acting much as he'd done every time he was called. This time, however, a red gleam had entered the dead god's eyes and its shadowy mouth was spread in a knowing, prideful smile. This was not a normal summon. He knew exactly who you were.

[meemaas]

Lord Nesbythe

Nesbythe growls a little, putting down his quill and waving at the door. Turning to look at it he groans. He forgot to get that spell imbedded in his lab. Getting up he walks to the door and unlatches it, opening it to see the visitor, speaking quickly. "What do you want? This had better be important."

[Matamane]

What size area are we in? I must have missed the intro, because I don't understand the hook. Could I please get a PM? Also Speech for Kitty, Speech for Saix

Kitty yawns as she paces the surrounding area. "...This got old...a while ago..." she thinks as she begins scouting out somewhere she could stretch her legs. "...I guess I'll just wander around the city...I wonder what a cyclone would do underground..." Kitty muses as her eyes glow with that prospect.

...

Kitty's unease is caused more by the fact that she's been separated from her storm. As most of her abilities are meant to be used above ground, she has rarely, if ever, left her comfort zone.

[doko239]

Surveying the carnage, letting the adrenaline and bloodlust subside, Xael's rational mind begins to process the situation.

This village was far too small for a Hellknight garrison, even ones as inept as these. Besides, they did not seem to be surprised to see me. This ambush was preplanned, and that much at least was executed perfectly. All of this suggests they knew I was coming. Yet they did not send even a fraction of the force required to do more than inconvenience me. This suggests they do not yet know my full power.

Whoever was behind this wants to test me, see what I'm capable of. They may even still be nearby...

With a low roar, Xael's monstrous form begins to shrivel and fade, leaving his Half-Elf self behind. After taking a moment to compose himself, Xael points one finger into the distance, where a ragged-edged, smoking hole appears in the air. Moments later, the sky seems to darken as a half-dozen shadowy figures race out of the Gate.

Fan out and scout the area. Report anything suspicious immediately. Do not fail me.

[Realms of Chaos]

Lord Nesbythe:Behind the door stands a short and mousey young woman who looks up as Nesbythe through a pair of thick spectacles. Apparently intimidated by Nesbythe's presence, she ends up speaking her request so softly and quickly that it sounds like a single word, "I'msorryfortakingyourtimebutthekingwaswonderingify ou'dwantanassistanttohelpyououthereandwatchoverthe labwheneveryougooutontothefieldsforoneofyourexperi ments."

Kitty:As you consider entering the city, a large earthquake shakes the entire cavern, lasting for around six seconds before halting. Quite a few structures fall in the process but things otherwise seem quite okay. This is the first one you've ever experienced down here.

Xael:Minutes after you dispatch your demons, something suspicious comes to you... or at least occurs around you. The earth below you shakes in a tremendous earthquake as the sky above you begins to crack as though some sheet of glass were placed over this.

[THEChanger]

Legion bowed before his dark once-god, and though his voice held the respect and obescience it always held when summoning his patron, Legion's small, toothy mouth was shaped into a small grin of satisfaction. "Lord Tenebrous, the Shadow That Was, I am but your humble servant Legion. I call you, for the last time, into the mortal coil. With this, my final act of service, I release you from your dark imprisonment, so that our Pact of Everdark may be fulfilled." Taking a dagger forged from cold iron, Legion slit a small incision into his left palm. Black blood oozed from the wound, hissing and writhing against the cold iron blade. Though the pain was great, Legion continued with his work, and slashed the binding circle around the shape of Tenebrous with the dagger drenched in his own blood. With the runes thus broken, Tenebrous would be free.

[Matamane]

"...i'd keep on your toes..."

"...Probably a good idea..."

Kitty begins to phase out, and tries to assess the situation.

I shift into the Vibrate Molecules and Step of the Four Winds stances.

Perception [roll0], I have Blindsense, Blindsight, and Tremorsense

[meemaas]

Nesbythe

He looked down on the girl in front of him and barked at her. "By the gods, if you try speaking like that towards me again not even the kids greatest wizards will be able to find your body. Understood?" He waves her in after him and starts talking in a less threatening voice. "What do you know about the trade. What can you do for me? What reason is there that i should take you on as an assistant?"

[AShadowofLife]

Tyrian glances over the papers, raising an eyebrow at the slave trade issues, taking a long pull on his cigar he rises and shakes his head. Rare was it that he directly looked over paper work himself, he had assistants for such work. Liars in his work were quickly dragged to his plane of imprisonment for their execution. He grabs his hat off the rack as he begins making his way out of the office, working his way to the portal to home, the metropolis manor he kept.

"A fine day for trouble to brew." The halfling grins, producing his experimental invention, his lighter. He flips up the cap and then flicks his thumb over the wheel to ignite the device. The device immediately lighting up his cigar as he walks through the portal.

[doko239]

As the tremors subside, Xael examines the "crack" curiously.

Some sort of dimensional tear, I'd wager... Hmmm...

Knowledge rolls to identify the crack:

Arcana: [roll0]
Planes: [roll1]

Edit:

I also begin the Summoning Ritual for my Eidolon. 10 rounds till complete. If something unpleasant pops out of the rift, I'll abandon the ritual and do something else.

[Realms of Chaos]

Legion: The shadowy image lets out a deep laugh, mocking its former days of captivity, soon to be behind it forever. "The seal is good and the blood is my own. You have performed well, summoner, for now I am finally..." the image suddenly vanishes from the seal, leaving not a trace of itself behind. At the moment, you have no idea whether this was supposed to happen, whether your master has claimed his freedom or not.

Kitty: Using your tremorsense, you can feel something just below the surface, dozens of large and larger monstrosities burrowing through the rock below you.

Lord Nesbythe: Straightening herself out and apparently growing bold now that she hasn't been dismissed (or slain) on the spot, the woman continues to talk in a respectful, if less painful, tone and speed. "I have a wealth of experience creating extracts and formulae," she begins, looking down to a leatherbound book hanging from a strap around one shoulder, "and have additional years of experience with botany working for the royal academy. I admit that I am less than gifted with explosives but I've been focusing more on matters of the mind and flesh. I have experience both making clones and simulacra from living flesh as well as creating... servants... from necrotized flesh, though I won't if it displeases you. I have also devised an elixir to improve the strength of the mind at the cost of the body. I am currently on the verge of mastering elixirs of life, something I'm told you have already mastered long before."


After a brief intake of breath, she continues, "As for why you should take an assistant, I know better than most how slow progress moves with only one pair of hands, especially when it comes to more menial tasks such as herbal collection or set-ups that you can't trust to unlearned servants. I have also heard that your own journeys take you from the castle at times and the king wonders if things might be more efficient to have someone continue taking notes and running tests in your absence."

OOC Not trying to unload an unwanted NPC onto you if you don't want it. Just trying to give you a way to "delegate" more intellectual science when you're out on the field and give you a crafter drone as large periods of down-time aren't assured during the game. If you don't want such a thing, feel free to dismiss and/or kill her as appropriate for Nesbythe.

Tyrian: Walking through the portal into your luxurious manor, the first thing to greet you is the shaking of the ground below your feet, an earthquake that shakes the house for a few seconds. The sound of smashing glass in a couple of rooms is almost wince-worthy. In a house as nice as this, such as sound is rarely cheap.

Xael: Yeah, planar rift sounds about as good as the next explanation, especially as you've never heard of anything like it. As you summon the demon within you, you watch the cracks grow and scatter across the sky. By the time you have gained full power, they are at least a couple of miles long.

[AShadowofLife]

With an annoyed look on his face, Tyrian reaches into the nearby shadows, drawing out his Magitech blade, backup, and cannon. He sighs slowly as he slides them into their proper position, keeping the backup blaster in hand in case he needed to shoot something. "Fantastic time for all hell to break loose when I have planned to spend the evening in the arms of my beloved." He grumbles once more, taking one last pull on his cigar before lightly tapping it out in an ivory ash tray. He slowly blows the smoke out. Slowly he heads upstairs, out onto the balcony. From there, he vanished from sight as he activates his Magitech armor, his draconic wings sliding out of his Trenchcoat through the slits, lifting the moving down silently as he rises and begins to glide through the air, looking around the city as he flies, attempting to see if anything out of the ordinary is apparent.

OOC;
[roll0] Stealth check (+4 from size, I forgot to add it in!)

[Realms of Chaos]

Tyrian:From the moment that you slip out onto the balcony, you can see that something is wrong. The entire sky above you seems to be slowly fracturing, filled with cracks that spread and spider further even as you watch.

[meemaas]

Lord Nesbythe

Nesbythe walks around his lab tables while listening to the aspiring alchemist rant. "You sound like you feel accomplished. I guess i could leave you to help me. But my research is my own. You are to work on my menial duties. The many requests i get from the commonfolk, stocking my lab and my travel stash. Understand? I'll have a list of your duties for you tonight, my cabinet up there is off limits though." He points to a cabinet where he kept all his personal research. He then moved towards where he was before, and waved at her. "You are dismissed until i call for you. Move your living space to the room down the hallway."

I'm fine with that.

[Realms of Chaos]

Lord Nesbythe: Your new hire bows in gratitude before leaving for her chambers, leaving you in silence and solitude once mo-... the earth rumbles below your feet, a sudden earthquake that seems even louder accompanied by the sound of shattering glassware. When the earthquake ceases around ten seconds later, thousands of gold pieces in damage have already been done, though your most recent experiment is thankfully among the few intact.

[doko239]

Whatever this is, I don't like it. Maybe the others will have a better idea...

Xael casts Discern Location to find Legion's exact location, followed by Greater Teleport to that spot.

[meemaas]

Nesbythe

Nesbythe begins swearing under his breath, moving towards one of the bookcases and grabbing his bag, he makes for the door and rushes outside to find out what it is. While he does he listens to Gunthar, in an almost sing song voice. "And when we find them~ We will rip out their bowels... And when we kill them~ We will decimate their jowls..."Cursing the kill hungry monster he had to listen to, he turns the corner to exit onto a balcony, and look out across the forests that made up the surrounding area for the kingdom to figure out who or what caused this.

[Realms of Chaos]

Legion/Xael:Moments after the image of Tenebrous vanishes, Xael appears with demon in soul right in the same spot.

Lord Nesbythe: Walking outside, you can see that the ground actually got off relatively lucky. The sky above you is filled with cracks and fractures of unknown design. If anything has produced these cracks, it's not visible on the castle grounds.

[meemaas]

Nesbythe

Nesbythe opens up his kit, the one he keeps attached to his belt at all times, and quickly mixes together a few quick chemicals, downing the end result immediately, he'd push off the ground to lift himself up into the air. Allowing himself to fly up higher, he'd set himself 500 feet above the castle, and begin to examine the rift he saw from where he was.

Perception check [roll0]

Also, made an extract of Overland flight and used it. Caster level 27, so 27 hour duration.

[AShadowofLife]

Tyrian grumbles at the sight of the cracking sky, looking closely at it to see if he can tell what it might be from.

"Everyone's a damn master plotter. I'm going to have to nip this problem in the butt or they're going to f*** up the market for days or weeks.."

OOC;
[roll0] Knowledge (Arcana)

[Realms of Chaos]

Tyrian:Well, you can't be certain if this is really the end result to some sort of plot. If it is some sort of plot, it is most definitely of the "messing-with-powers-beyond-comprehension" variety, seeing as you're quite sure that more traditional magic can't be used to do... that. Then again, if it is some manner of plot, it would be using some form of power you have not even heard of before, something of a troubling prospect.

Nesbythe:No matter how high your climb or what angle you look at it from, the crack in the sky seems to be exactly that, a 3-dimensional crack in existence. Well, perhaps it isn't all that boring. There does appear to be something lurking beyond the cracks. It takes you a while to dawn on this fact but a single large eye seems to be looking out from the entirety of the crack, an eye over a hundred feet in diameter. The pupil of the eye, as far as you can tell, seems focused on the one moving object in front of the growing cracks, you.

Kitty:Waiting for invocation links, as written on OOC.

[THEChanger]

Legion stands stock still for a long time. He dared not exit the circle of protection, less he be affected by the introduction of the void of non-existance. With nothing changing, the small creature let loose a small whisper. "Master?"

Then, Xael burst into existance in the middle of the seal which once housed the shadow of his master. Legion cursed under his breath in Dubh Cloch. "Xael, what are you doing here? Did I not tell you that I was not to be disturbed? Get into the protective circle, now!"

[Realms of Chaos]

Kitty:No matter how far you or your duplicate circle, you can all feel the crawling of gigantic worms or similar beings below you. They cycle around and even burrow through one another as they mindlessly burrow their way, gradually reaching for the surface.

Legion:check OOC for question

[meemaas]

Nesbythe

Nesbythe stares at the eye intently, and then steps his foot right where he floats. In that instant he finds himself back in his lab, and quickly looks for paper and quill to start jotting down notes.

[AShadowofLife]

Tyrian
"I have a feeling today is going to be very ****ing expensive. Whatever it is, better have a lot of gold for me to take when I finish shoving my boot up its arse or through its face."
Tyrian sighs, swapping out for his heavy looking Magitech Cannon, so that he would be ready, should anything come out into his visual range. Tyrian grins a little as an idea comes to mind. Maybe he could steal the cracks for an amusing prank later on..

He begins to fly higher and higher, until he figures he can reach out and try to steal one of those cracks in existence..

OOC;
[roll0] Sleight of Hand

[doko239]

Then, Xael burst into existance in the middle of the seal which once housed the shadow of his master. Legion cursed under his breath in Dubh Cloch. "Xael, what are you doing here? Did I not tell you that I was not to be disturbed? Get into the protective circle, now!"

Xael appraises the small circle inscribed on the ground, then looks to his own massive frame, before returning his gaze to Legion.

That seems... unlikely. Ordinarily, I wouldn't have bothered coming here, but my curiosity's been piqued. There is what appears to be a hole in the sky, several kilometers across, up at the surface. I can't be certain, but it seems to be a planar tear. I have no idea what's on the other side, but I'd bet your (un)life that it is less than friendly. I can't have something like that destroying the world... then I wouldn't get to do it myself!

[Matamane]

As Kitty phases through the building, she calls upon her demonic speed to bolster he movement. She begins running in concentric circles trying to identify the source of the earthquake, phasing in and out to avoid obstacles. As she does this, she begins to call upon her other abilities.

Round 1: In the first round, Kitty invokes Unholy Speed, phases through her enclosure, then creates duplicates to help her cover ground. Each duplicate enters an appropriate stance, and then readies an action. Each duplicate invokes Unholy Speed as a free action.

Kitty: Vibrate Molecules/Step of the Four Winds
Duplicate 1: Vibrate Molecules/Golden Phalanx Assault
Duplicate 2: Vibrate Molecules/Golden Phalanx Assault
Duplicate 3: Vibrate Molecules/Eat My Dust!
Duplicate 4: Vibrate Molecules/Eat My Dust!

Round 2: Both Kitty and her duplicates invoke Arcane Aegis as a free action, and then continue running. As a standard action they activate their Deadly Shadow Assassin ability.

Round 3: Both Kitty and her duplicates invoke Balor's Flames as a free action, and then continue running. As a standard action they activate their Rage of the Oncoming Typhoon ability.

Round 4: Both Kitty and her duplicates invoke Shield of the Depths as a free action, and then continue running.

Round 5: Both Kitty and her duplicates continue running

Still waiting to find out whether or not I can ready maneuvers during this time.

Kitty and her duplicates assume the Rising Phoenix and Stance of Alacrity stances, then using telepathy to communicate, Kitty commune's with her duplicates trying to identify the threat. Kitty and her duplicates all use Rapid Meldshaping to shape their Champion Plates. As a swift action, they charge their Soul Blasts, Incarnum Blast Invocation, and Champion Plates with Essentia.

8/4/6

Each duplicate aids in the following checks.

Knowledge (Arcana) [roll0], *Knowledge (Nature) [roll1], *Knowledge (Religion) [roll2], Knowledge (Planes) [roll3]

[Realms of Chaos]

Kitty: OOC: preparing maneuvers is okay.

You and your duplicates eventually realize what you detect below you (or at least propose a very good guess). The creatures seem, by their shape, to be mere purple worms. To replicate what you have been feeling, however, thousands and thousands of them must be in the midst of moving somewhere in quite a hurry. Nothing you know of purple worm behavior suggests that this is a normal act, raising a simple question. Why?

Nesbythe: A cracking sound can be heard even from your lab. Despite the mess that your lab can become at times, paper and quills are never in short supply for this kind of observation.

Tyrian: ...make a strength check?

[Matamane]

Both Kitty and her duplicates have all known maneuvers prepared.

"This should be fun" Kitty announces as she lets loose a barrage of Eldritch Blasts. "Perhaps we should find out what they're running from. Not that I'm against taking out a few thousand purple worms, but but...actually, let's do just that!" As her duplicates nod in agreement, they each bind their Champion Plate to their Shoulders Chakra. Kitty does the same, and then begins to descend into a crevice, her duplicates following behind her.

As soon as she sees the swarming purple worms, Kitty and her companions will begin unleashing Eldritch Blasts upon the hoards. I'm itching for a fight, waiting to jump.

[THEChanger]

Legion/Xael

Legion froze. His body became completely still, and so did each of the Dubh Cloch througout the city. Each turned to the mighty tower in which Legion and Xael stood amongst the ruined ritual. Slowly, Legion spoke. "A rift? A planar rift?"

[doko239]

Legion/Xael

Legion froze. His body became completely still, and so did each of the Dubh Cloch througout the city. Each turned to the mighty tower in which Legion and Xael stood amongst the ruined ritual. Slowly, Legion spoke. "A rift? A planar rift?"

I thought that might get your attention. Time is short; this thing grew by kilometers within a few minutes. If we're going to do something about it, best be now.

Holding out one enormous hand, Xael beckons Legion to come with him.

Quickly! Before it spreads further!

As soon as Legion grasps (or more likely, climbs up onto) Xael's hand, he will cast Greater Teleport, returning to the spot he was at previously and bringing Legion with him.

[Realms of Chaos]

Tyrian (A correction): You manage to snag a small crack out of the sky. Looking at it, it's hard to see what the big deal is. It's almost indistinguishable from the cracks you're sometimes forced to remove from damaged inventory. Even so, that thing did just come from the sky so it's got to be worth something to someone, right?

Kitty: Leaping down the crack, you and your copies see the swarming purple worms just around 10 feet below the surface. They seem to be swarming in an almost tubular pattern as they approach.

Feel free to roll initiative, roll attacks, roll damage, and rock and roll. :smallcool:

Legion:If you want someone else along with you two, you happen to know that Kitty should be rather nearby. Last time you saw her, she was just standing in the entry hall to your castle.

[meemaas]

Nesbythe

Nesbythe notes down what he observed originally, then a couple of orders, leaving them on the table. He then brought himself back up where he was. He had his notes and something to write on where he floated in the air, and began to scribble down notes on what it was. He brought himself closer, trying to reach into the rift as much as he could.

[Realms of Chaos]

Lord Nesbythe:Make a will save

[meemaas]

Will Save
[roll0]

Character sheet said 33, because it didn't take Steadfast Determination in account.

[THEChanger]

Legion clambered up onto Xael's hand. "Kitty should be nearby. Just inside the entry hall. We should grab her first. If this is what I think it is, we're going to need all the help we can get."

[doko239]

Legion clambered up onto Xael's hand. "Kitty should be nearby. Just inside the entry hall. We should grab her first. If this is what I think it is, we're going to need all the help we can get."

Chaos, how large is the door out of this room?

Edit: Nevermind, gonna do it the fast way. Discern Location to find Kitty, followed by Greater Teleport.

[Matamane]

Initiative [roll0]

Can my duplicates go on my initiative for simplicity?

With a look of utter satisfaction, Kitty lets loose all of her pent up aggression.

I don't know how many rounds I have to massacre this, so I'll write down my tactics by the round.

Round 1: Kitty and her duplicates all use their Quickened Breath Weapons [roll1], followed by using Lightning Jump to Teleport Without Error to an open space. Using Sun School, they'll each make a Flurry of Blows, focusing on single targets, moving on as appropriate. As a Free Action, they'll use Ride the Lightning, followed by a Flurry of Blows from Sun School. Everyone will use Discipline Synchronization, with both Kitty and her duplicates choosing Lighting Fox. My duplicates will use the Living Lightning maneuver. Kitty will make a Full Attack Flurry of Blows combined with Dust To Dust.

Whenever I get an Attack of Opportunity, I will Flurry of Blows and shoot two Eldritch Blasts, with the Storm Blast, Targeting Blast, and Eldritch Bloat Essences and Shape Invocations.


I have Mind Blank...so I don't think Discern Location will work.

[doko239]

I have Mind Blank...so I don't think Discern Location will work.

I can't locate Kitty. We'll have to find her on foot, and fast.

I'll ask again for the dimensions of the door; can I squeeze through, or am I gonna have to shrink?

[Matamane]

I think you'll know where to look...this just happened.

Dust to Dust
Area: 320ft. radius
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Fortitude half
Spell Resistance: Yes

This spell deals 20d6 points of damage to everything in the Area. Anything killed or destroyed by this spell is utterly destroyed as if disintegrated, leaving behind only a trace of fine dust. This spell affects even magical matter, energy fields, and force effects. Such effects are automatically destroyed. Epic spells using the ward seed may also be destroyed, though the caster must succeed at an opposed caster level check against the other spellcaster to bring down a ward spell.

[Realms of Chaos]

Lord Nesbythe: Even though the eye looks as though it's pressed up against the cracks, you find that you're more than capable of inserting your arm up to your shoulder through it without any difficulty or harm. The other end feels thick and syrupy. If you wished to slip through the cracks altogether, you might be able to wind your way in.

Xael/Kitty/Legion: Below the surface, Kitty releases a tremendous explosion of energy, tearing up purple worms and ripping a gigantic hole in the ground that anyone outside can see. Somewhat troublingly, the purple worms don't seem to have been alone. In fact, it would seem that they were already dead, skewered on the small spikes of a much larger worm, a worm with mouths placed periodically along its mucous-coated black membrane. The purple worms had simply served as camouflage (if anything at all) and you've got the larger creature's attention as it roars from deep down in the depths.

As far as the size of doors, Xael can manage his way through them if necessary (most of the doors are grand by the standards of dubh cloch and average for medium creatures) but ripping through walls or enlarging doorways is also a possibility.

[doko239]

Sounds like Kitty's started her own little party down here. Let's hope she saved us some party favors!

Xael starts running full-tilt towards the sound of the explosions. He's in a hurry, so he'll just shoulder through any doors that get in the way.

If/when we get there before the fight's over, Xael will do the following:

Drop Legion (free action)
Rage (free action)
Activate Come and Get Me (free action)
Quickened Haste (swift action)
Charge to within 10' and full attack.

For that round, Xael's stats will be as follows:

AC 71 (81 base, -2 from charge, -4 from Reckless Abandon, -4 from Come and Get Me)
20% miss chance
CMD 87
HP 1540 (28d12 + 2d10 + 540 base, 23d10 + 414 temp)
Come and Get Me: Any melee attack on Xael provokes an Attack of Opportunity.

Will save DC for Terrifying Rage will be [roll0]

[Matamane]

We're still fighting in a recognizable tunnel, correct? How far from this thing am I currently, and where are my duplicates? They're roughly 430ft.-860ft. ahead of me. Also, I plan to one shot this.

[Realms of Chaos]

Matamane:You are currently in the underdark, where the caverns can reach miles in width and approach a mile high. Despite the small size of the Dubh Cloch, you are in one of the larger sections. In other words, you're basically outside without the sunlight. Your estimates for your duplicates sound about right. Give this thing your best shot. :smallwink:

Busting through stone and masonry alike, Xael arrives outside of the castle in time to watch a horrid worm-like beast with altogether too many mouths and spikes rise out of the ground. Rather than ending with a traditional point like most other worms, it simply ends with another toothless mouth.

If it lives through Kitty's next action, prepare to roll initiative.

[Matamane]

*25 Point Oncoming Storm Expertise
**If my opponent is Flat Footed, I use Iaijutsu Focus. Otherwise, I will use Acrobatic Backstab before using my Five Shadow Creeping Ice Enervation Strike/Infinite Mass Strike attack. Please tell me so I can make an addendum.

Kitty switches stances to Stance of Alacrity and Momentum. She spends a move action to run around in a circle, building up speed so she can use her most powerful technique. After gaining enough speed, Kitty uses the Iron Legion Boost then uses her Ride the Lightning to strike the beast and move into range. Using Sun School, Kitty makes a Flurry of Blows, substituting one strike for Five Shadow Creeping Ice Enervation Strike*. Attack (+25 Base, +20 Dexterity, +18 Wisdom, +3 Ki, -2 Snap Kick) [roll0] [roll1], Attack (+25 Base, +20 Dexterity, +18 Wisdom, +3 Ki, -2 Snap Kick) [roll2] [roll3], Attack (+25 Base, +20 Dexterity, +18 Wisdom, +3 Ki, -2 Snap Kick) [roll4] [roll5], Touch Attack (+25 Base, +20 Dexterity, +18 Wisdom, +3 Ki, -2 Snap Kick) [roll6] [roll7]. Staring down this behemoth, she performs another Five Shadow Creeping Ice Enervation Strike* along with an Infinite Mass Strike. Touch Attack (+25 Base, +20 Dexterity, +18 Wisdom, +3 Ki, -2 Snap Kick) [roll8] [roll9], Attack (+25 Base, +20 Dexterity, +18 Wisdom, +3 Ki, -2 Snap Kick) [roll10] [roll11]

*I aim for the Heart and Legs with both uses of Five Shadow Creeping Ice Enervation Strike

[Realms of Chaos]

Matamane:Your first and third attacks hit and score critical hits. Not flat-footed. Feel free to roll damage. Also, I hope you can find some humor in attempting to disable the worm's legs. :smalltongue:

[Matamane]

I actually forgot my competence and luck bonuses, so they might have otherwise hit. Oh well...the more important attack hit.

I now attempt to Bull Rush. [roll0]

I'll wait to find out if this works. If my Bull Rush is successful, this guy's going to be taking damage equal to the amount I've moved this round. That's upwards of 2000 damage.

[meemaas]

Nesbythe

Nesbythe begins to worm his way into the rift carefully, focusing on it as he tried to see what was inside. All the while he explained to Gunthar what was going to be needed in case something wrong.

[Realms of Chaos]

Underground (Xael/Kitty/Legion):Charging into the colossal worm, Kitty pierces through it entirely, cutting open a large hole from which blackened ichor drips. The worm mindlessly spasms for a moment or two before falling to the ground, slain.

Lord Nesbythe: Passing through the crack, everything seems to break all at once. Space breaks down. Time breaks down. Even reason and logic seem to break down around you. Well, perhaps that isn't quite true. Nothing has actually "broken". Rather, you seem to have simply passed out of the realms where such concepts exist. The transition is jarring and alien, akin to finding oneself living inside-out while trapped inside a two-dimensional object. As time goes on, the sensation grows worse and worse.

Behind you rests the closest to sane perceptions that this realm provides, a colorless wall of some sorts that extends to the end of your senses, filled with cracks as far as you can see. Other than the wall, nothing makes any sort of conventional sense. Living, dead, undead, and other forms of creatures roil through the amoebic sea, traveling in ways that bend the mortal mind. The tiniest and least significant specks of existence coexist with the largest of creatures (some of which are most definitely larger than the wall). You even seem to be inside a couple of them at the moment (though, considering their shape and position, you are generally outside of them as well). In the closest that this realm grants to perspective, you gain some small idea of just how far away the eye is. Even if you travelled without sleep or breaks, it could easily take you years to actually reach the creature.

Welcome to the Far Realms.

[meemaas]

Nesbythe

Nesbythe holds his head, his head pounding as he tries to focus on the lack of reason. Unable to focus himself on the realm in which he finds himself trapped, he starts to fumble his way towards one of the cracks. Unable to focus himself, he moves towards a random crack, hoping that that crack was the one he entered through. Whatever this was, he knew it was bad, and he had come in unprepared.

[Realms of Chaos]

Nesbythe: Wandering into the crack, you find yourself wondering if had simply refused to throw you out anywhere else. As you adjust to the lack of light, however, you can see well enough to tell what you're looking at. You seem to be at the bottom of a crevice, looking up at the dead remains of some sort of horrid worm-like beast with far too many mouths. Looking past the worm, the top of the crevice seems to be only 30 feet away, though there is no sign of the sky beyond it, only another ceiling hundreds or even thousands of feet up. A bit of activity can be heard just outside of the crevice.

[THEChanger]

Underground
"Glad to see you're having fun Kitty." Legion squatted upon Xael's shoulder, gazing at the mess which Kitty had made of the gigantic worm. "Thank you for taking care of the pest, but something else is happening. Something big, on the surface. Xael will take us there."

[meemaas]

Nesbythe

He moves towards the noise he can hear, trying to escape the crevice before the insanity breaks his very mind.

[Realms of Chaos]

Out of the hole from which the worm emerged crawls out a human in respectable (if scholarly) attire. Looking around, Nesbythe can see "Legion", a Dubh Cloch he had recently performed a commission for, standing in the hand of a rather large and demonic figure. Several copies of a single young woman also stand around in the area.

[meemaas]

Nesbythe

"Freedom!!!" He holds his head for a second, to let the headache pass, and then stands up straight, dusting himself off. "Legion was it? Forgive me if i messed that up. And Xael, good to see a familiar face, even if its a friend of my other half." He checks himself over before continuing. "So where am i right now? Would any of you be willing to bring me up to speed? It certainly doesn't seem like i'm where i came from anymore."

[Matamane]

Speaking in tandem, Kitty and her duplicates respond in between their laughter. "I'm as clueless as you are. There was that earthquake, then my senses went nuts. I found these things down here...and you can probably figure out the rest."

[THEChanger]

Legion

"Well, Nesbythe, isn't this a surprise. It is fortuitous that we've all arrived. According to Xael, something is happening on the surface. Something big. A planar rift has opened. I haven't the slightest clue as to what caused it, but we should go and take a look. Now. If you could all just grab hold of Xael, he will take us to the surface, yes?"

[doko239]

No time for further explanations, we've wasted enough already just waiting on these two. It's time to go.

With that, Xael leaps forward, grabs Kitty in one hand and Nesbythe in the other, and Greater Teleports back to the ruined village.

[meemaas]

Nesbythe

As soon as he has the chance to speak again, he does so. "I've seen those rifts myself. It was through the rift that i found myself among you and all. Whats inside it is beyond comprehension. Its not that i do not have the mental prowess to recognize it, it simply does not follow any logic of any plane of existence any of us may have ever seen before. Whatever it is, its impossible to explain."

[Realms of Chaos]

By the time Lord Nesbythe finishes his statement, he opens his eyes to discover that he stands in the middle of a ruined town, something that he might expect from Gunther (albeit within a smaller radius). Up above rests another series of planar rifts, though this set seems quite different in one particular aspect. These rifts seem to possess literal teeth.

Xael can say for certain that those weren't in place the last time he was up here a few minutes ago.

[THEChanger]

Legion gazed up at the breeches, his jet black eyes sparkling in the unnatural light. He seemed entranced. "Teeth."

Let's roll some knowledge checks. Pertinent questions:

1. What?
2. How?
3. When?
4. Does it need fixing?
4a. If so, how?
4b. If not, can I touch it?

Knowledge: Arcana-[roll0]
Knowledge: Planes-[roll1]
Knowledge: Religion-[roll2]

[Realms of Chaos]

1. A planar breech. Also, apparently, some sort of creature.
2. You have no idea, though you're tempted to blame the Far Realms
3. No real way to tell, though you could ask the one who first saw them.
4. Unless you personally enjoy the idea of a sky that eats things, most likely.
4a. Kill it? Maybe?
4b. It has teeth. The question isn't of could but of should.

[doko239]

Xael shrugs Legion off his shoulder, then straightens, turning a baleful eye to the tear across the sky.

At this rate, whatever that thing is will eat this whole planet before long. I can't have that. My revenge will not be stolen from me! I WILL NOT ALLOW IT!

After a moment, Xael regains his composure.

I can attempt to disrupt the magic at work here, but I may not be strong enough to do so. Does anyone have a better plan?

[THEChanger]

Legion shook his head. "It isn't magic. At least, not in the traditional sense. These things...these rifts...they're alive. Part breech, part creature. You could try dispelling it, but I think our best bet might be to just try and kill the damn things." Legion began to think, formulating ideas. "Nesbythe, how close could you get to the rifts before without being affected by them?"

[Realms of Chaos]

As the like of you stand and plan your course of attack, a pack of demons enters into the clearing of the town. "What is that thing, Kol'cha?" the demons call to Xael. The term "Kol'cha", though lacking a direct translation in common, comes somewhat close to "viscera chief".

[doko239]

I have no idea, but it's beginning to irritate me. Report! What have you found?

[Realms of Chaos]

"Mostly beasts in the area." the demon begins, "though we did find a child who survived" With that, a second demon kicks at a sack slung over the shoulders of the first, making it wriggle in place. "We have spent that past minute or two watching that thing eat random birds and curious mages"

[meemaas]

Nesbythe

"There's only one way to find out Legion, if you see Gunthar, you'll know i'm in danger." He pushes off the ground, allowing the power of his previous extract to put him afloat, and starts to approach the nearest pair of teeth, drawing a Mutagen from his clothing and uncorking it for preparation.

[Matamane]

Watching this exchange has bored Kitty. She's become callous to all the unusual things which happen to her, and chooses instead to act on impulse. She sees that things are about to get more interesting and recalls her duplicates.

"Are we going to fight the teeth?"

[doko239]

Xael glances at kitty with one raised eyebrow, before returning his gaze to the sky.

Do you have a plan for doing that? Xael asks irritably. Preferably one that doesn't involve being literally eaten alive by what appears to be a living plane with enough power to manifest itself here?

[Realms of Chaos]

The teeth gnash together lazily as Lord Nesbythe approaches, taking no particular action against it. The mouth itself has hardly moved since you have first arrived, raising the question of how it has managed to eat anything at all thus-far.

[meemaas]

Nesbythe

Calculating his effective safe distance, he pulls himself back to the optimal range, and then, whipping out the proper chemicals from where he has stored them, he primes a bomb, and hurls it in towards the teeth. As the bomb reaches the teeth, just shy of actually hitting it, yet still close enough for the explosion to effect it, the bomb explodes.

Fluff aiming. My aim is to hit the teeth nonetheless.

Attack roll [roll0] vs. Touch AC
Damage [roll1]

[Realms of Chaos]

Throwing the bomb, Lord Nesbythe manages to damage the creature, though perhaps not in the way he had envisioned. The teeth, as things would appear, have not been damaged in the slightest. The blackness of the maw between the teeth, however, is cracked. For the first time, you watch as the mouth springs into motion. The crack snaps and bends though the sky to put itself inches away from Lord Nesbythe's face. With its teeth angled outwards, it bites down.


[roll0][roll1]

42 piercing damage (epic), before damage reduction (if any).

[meemaas]

Nesbythe

Nesbythe shakes from the light pain, and quickly and carefully retreats, once out of range of the creature, he pulls his cloak around him, vanishing from its sight, he'd take his time to study it.

Now that i've seen it move, i'll attempt to identify if it has any similarities to anything i've dealt with before

Knowledge (The Planes) [roll0]
Knowledge (Arcana) [roll1]
Knowledge (Religion) [roll2]
Knowledge (Nature) [roll3]

[Realms of Chaos]

Lord Nesbythe:Reviewing what monstrous lore you have collected, you have some faint idea of what this may be. You have heard tales of non-euclidean entities from beyond all planes known as elder evils that occasionally brush against the multiverse with catastrophic effects. The birth of the aboleth race as a whole, for example, is attributed to one such elder evil. With that said, nobody has ever survived encounters with elder evils to form any coherent idea of what their strengths or weaknesses are, if they even have something so categorical amongst themselves.

[meemaas]

Nesbythe

Under the cover of his invisibility, he takes a deep swig of his Mutagen, his form shifting to that of his alter ego, the oversized monstrous behemoth named Gunthar.

Gunthar

Gunthar roars, and leaps towards the living rip in space, a flurry of movement appearing in the air where he lands, his limbs crashing into the creature one after another with great force.


Unarmed strike [roll0]
Damage [roll1]

Unarmed strike [roll2]
Damage [roll3]

Unarmed strike [roll4]
Damage [roll5]

Unarmed strike [roll6]
Damage [roll7]

Unarmed strike [roll8]
Damage [roll9]

Unarmed strike [roll10]
Damage [roll11]

Claw 1 [roll12]
Damage [roll13]

Claw 2 [roll14]
Damage [roll15]

Bite [roll16]
Damage [roll17]

[doko239]

Well, I guess that's that then. Time for some fun.

With a bellowing roar, Xael flings himself into the air and charges the rift.

Initiative roll: [roll0]

[Realms of Chaos]

Action Step 1

OOC: Now we finally get to use the combat system in this thread, as described in the core OOC. Everyone who hasn't, feel free to roll initiative and post your actions for this round.

[roll0]

[THEChanger]

Legion

"Well, that could have gone better." Legion sighed, and a issued three telepathic calls into the aether. "Right Hand, who is my deliverer of justice, come to my side. Left Hand, who is my blade in the night, I have need of you. Tiberius, my loyal servant, your master has need of you." It would take time for Legion's Hands to arrive, as they were elsewhere beneath the earth, but they would come. Legion's familiar, the Imp Consular Tiberius, was not so far from his master. The tiny devil appeared at his side, bowing. "Take the form of the raven, Tiberius. We fly to battle." The imp nodded, and after a brief flash of black smoke, a massive black bird stood where the imp had been before.

Legion climbed atop his servant, and they took to the sky. Soaring closer to the twisting vortex of teeth, Legion's hands twisted in ancient motions, and opened a portal beneath him. Out stepped a Bone Devil, gnashing teeth and screeching in rage. "By the infernal contract I made, go my Osyluth, and strike in the name of Legion!" The creature charged forward, towards the otherworldly creature who had invaded this reality.

I don't really know how long it would take for the Hands to arrive. They're still in the city of New Hive, so if they arrive for this battle at all, then they'd have to Teleport to this location, using the telepathic link with Legion to pinpoint his location, or something like that. But Tiberius, as Legion's familiar, is on his person pretty much at all times, if usually invisible, which is why he hasn't been mentioned yet.

But, Tiberius uses Beast Shape 2(he gets it as a Consular) to transform into an Eagle(refluffed as a rather large raven), and will serve as Legion's mount for this battle. I can now fly!

Legion/Tiberius moves towards the Twisting Vortex of Teeth(Patent Pending), not drawing closer than 30 feet, but having a total of 60 feet of movement to do so, and casts Summon Monster VIII, to bring forth [roll0] Bone Devils at the end of his movement. If close enough, the Bone Devils will assist Xael and Gunther in smashing things. Legion himself does not want to get too close.

Also, Initiative. [roll1]

[Realms of Chaos]

Rolls[roll0]
[roll1][roll2]
[roll3][roll4]
[roll5][roll6]

The Action So Far:
-Gunthar releases a flurry of smashes upon the mouth, cracking its interior but also causing the cracks in the sky to fissure further, revealing even more (equally damaged) mouth to fight against.
-Riding up on his familiar, Legion summons 3 bone devils that fly to the mouth but fail to accomplish any visible damage.
-The mouth lunges out at Gunthar once more, this time finding him to be a foe less susceptable to direct physical assaults (miss).
-Xael and Kitty may declare their actions by next Monday (during the first round's reaction step).

[doko239]

With an incoherent bellow of rage, Xael throws himself at the rift.


Free action: Rage (DC for Terrifying Rage: [roll0])
Free action: Activate Come and Get Me
Free action: Incite Demonic Frenzy (Self) +20
Swift action: Smite Anything (Smite Good + Blackened Heart, Targeting Rift)

Full-Round Action: Charge + Pounce

Natural Attacks:

Claw 1: [roll1] for [roll2] Slashing damage. Xael takes [roll3] damage.
Claw 2: [roll4] for [roll5] Slashing damage. Xael takes [roll6] damage.

Wing Buffet 1: [roll7] for [roll8] Bludgeoning damage. Xael takes [roll9] damage.
Wing Buffet 2: [roll10] for [roll11] Bludgeoning damage. Xael takes [roll12] damage.

Bite: [roll13] for [roll14] Bludgeoning/Piercing/Slashing damage. Xael takes [roll15] damage.

Weapon Attacks:

Attack 1: [roll16] for [roll17] damage. Xael takes [roll18] damage.
Attack 2: [roll19] for [roll20] damage. Xael takes [roll21] damage.
Attack 3: [roll22] for [roll23] damage. Xael takes [roll24] damage.
Attack 4: [roll25] for [roll26] damage. Xael takes [roll27] damage.
Attack 5: [roll28] for [roll29] damage. Xael takes [roll30] damage.

Note: the above does not yet take into account bonuses from Sadistic Onslaught; any hit grants a stacking +2 to hit and damage on each subsequent hit; the damage bonus will be doubled on weapon hits.

Edit: after all the above, Xael's current AC is 79 and current HP is 1315 (896 + 419 Temp)

[doko239]

Rolling to confirm crits:


Claw 1: [roll0]
Attack 4: [roll1]

[Realms of Chaos]

Still floating in mid-air, Lord Nesbythe swigs his mutagen and transforms, hidden from the eyes of those below, into the gigantic beast known only as Gunthar. Slamming into the cracks, Gunthar tears it asunder. Below all of the muscle and rage, Lord Nesbythe may yet observe that the "mouth" seems to lurk behind some manner of "window" which Gunthar seems to be cracking. As the mouth reaches out to bite you once more, however, it seems to have no problem sliding you through that supposedly solid surface to bite down (more of the far realm's madness, most likely). Thankfully, the attack against Gunthar sorely underestimated his defenses.

Perhaps less fortunately, Gunthar's strikes seem to be widening the cracks in the sky, causing them to spider through the open air just as cracks in pottery or glass may spread, exposing more mouth. At the very least, the new mouth revealed seems to have been damaged by Gunthar's assault as well.

Riding upon his familiar, Legion calls forth three bone devils that rush towards the crack and attempt to attack it, though their efforts sadly fail to leave even a scratch upon the mouth.

Far more successful in his offense, however, is Xael. Barreling upwards into the cracks, Xael unleashes tremendous strikes against the nearest portion of mouth, wielding such strength that even his own flesh and muscle threaten to buckle under his unholy might. With his concentrated assault, Xael all but annihilates a 100-foot stretch of the mouth. Now the mouth is left in two sections, joint together only by a thin line in the sky no wider than a human thumb.

Round two action round go

[meemaas]

Gunthar

Gunthar continues to wail away at the monster, attempting to do as much damage as he possibly can, eager to taste the blood of the creature when he kills it.

Another flurry of attacks.

Attack 1 [roll0]
Damage [roll1]

Attack 2 [roll2]
Damage [roll3]

Attack 3 [roll4]
Damage [roll5]

Attack 4 [roll6]
Damage [roll7]

Attack 5 [roll8]
Damage [roll9]

Attack 6 [roll10]
Damage [roll11]

Claw 1 [roll12]
Damage [roll13]

Claw 2 [roll14]
Damage [roll15]

Bite[roll16]
Damage [roll17]

[Realms of Chaos]

Round So Far:
-Gunthar continues assault against the teeth
-Teeth choose a new target in Xael
-Xael, Legion, and Kitty free to select actions during reaction step.

Reaction step go

[doko239]

Xael continues his onslaught, charging the nearest unaffected portion of mouth. THIS PLANE IS MINE! YOU SHALL NOT TAKE IT FROM ME!



Any attacks made against Xael will provoke AOOs.

Eidolon's Fast Healing heals 5 damage (woohoo).

Natural Attacks:

Claw 1: [roll0] for [roll1] Slashing damage. Xael takes [roll2] damage.
Claw 2: [roll3] for [roll4] Slashing damage. Xael takes [roll5] damage.

Wing Buffet 1: [roll6] for [roll7] Bludgeoning damage. Xael takes [roll8] damage.
Wing Buffet 2: [roll9] for [roll10] Bludgeoning damage. Xael takes [roll11] damage.

Bite: [roll12] for [roll13] Bludgeoning/Piercing/Slashing damage. Xael takes [roll14] damage.

Weapon Attacks:

Attack 1: [roll15] for [roll16] damage. Xael takes [roll17] damage.
Attack 2: [roll18] for [roll19] damage. Xael takes [roll20] damage.
Attack 3: [roll21] for [roll22] damage. Xael takes [roll23] damage.
Attack 4: [roll24] for [roll25] damage. Xael takes [roll26] damage.
Attack 5: [roll27] for [roll28] damage. Xael takes [roll29] damage.

Note: the above does not yet take into account bonuses from Sadistic Onslaught; any hit grants a stacking +2 to hit and damage on each subsequent hit; the damage bonus will be doubled on weapon hits.

[doko239]

Rolling to confirm crits:

Wing Buffet 2: [roll0]
Attack 3: [roll1]

Also, Xael took an additional 215 damage from this round, bringing his HP down to 1105 (896 + 209 Temp).

[Realms of Chaos]

As Gunthar pounds on the cracks again and again, the cracks seem to spread in more way than one. On the one hand, the cracks spider outward through the sky in response to the rapid pounding. On the other hand, however, even though Gunthar pounds on just a small area of the crack, the fractures he makes within it spread throughout the entire being, even to the other end of the section Xael had just destroyed. By the time his assault is done, the mouth seems far more white than black just due to the number of cracks within it.

With his shout of frustration, Xael rams into the cracks once again and pounds them with even greater ferocity until the mouth suddenly shatters. The cracks are reduced to a fine lines through the sky, in which no teeth are visible. The excess matter of the mouths falls as dust to the ground.

As the mouth is destroyed, however, the entirety of the sky shatters, revealing a second, flawless night sky behind it. Slivers of the sunlit sky rain down from the heavens like fireworks, each one fading out of existence long before it hits the ground.

Up in the sky, however, you see more than the moon and stars. A message has been written across the night sky in faint, glowing letters.

The Message:

"If you possess the strength to read this portent, know that the Great Wheel requires your strength"
"The gate to the meeting grounds has opened"
"May we all survive into the next golden age"

[meemaas]

Gunthar

Gunthar looks towards Xael, growling a bit for a moment, before he starts to lurch. As he starts to struggle and fight himself, trying to control himself, he finds his shape reverting to the one previous, despite his protests otherwise.

Nesbythe

As Nesbythe regains his form, he starts to speak calmly. "What do you think Xael, a trap?"

[doko239]

Xael, finding no more foes to fight, releases his rage, the strain and fatigue of his onslaught written plainly on his bestial face. As he fights to catch his breath, he speaks:

I... am unsure... It seems... that whoever did this... likely had the power to cause us more trouble than this.

Xael straightens, and a malevolent glint appears in his eyes. That doesn't mean I intend to meekly follow their instructions, however. I dislike being used. If they do mean us harm, they will return on their own terms, in their own time; this may be our only opportunity to find out who did this and why, before they decide to become more "insistent".

Legion, what do you know of this "Great Wheel"?

[THEChanger]

Legion

Astride the large raven, Legion gazed up into the sky, reading the message which had apparently been left for them. He then sighed, deeply, and hung his head. "Tiberius, bring us to the ground."

Dismissing the devils he had summoned, Legion turned his head towards Xael. "The Great Wheel? My dear fellow, the Great Wheel is everything. It is the term used for the collective planes of existance, from the many Material Planes to Celestia to the Infinite Layers of the Abyss to the Nine Circles of Hell, to the Beastlands, and Ysgard, and a multitude of others. My lord and master, Tenebrous, hails from one of the few places that is not part of the Great Wheel, a situation which we were just in the process of attempting to correct. An attempt which has apparently failed." Legion turned his eyes back to the sky. "There is one other place I know of which exists outside the Great Wheel. A place so secret, so perilous, so alien, that only rumors of it exist. I don't know much. Only a name. The Far Realms. Supposedly, a place of twisting madness and insane geometries so different that even the great Demon Lords would not stay sane for even a moment.

But I digress. Because if the Great Wheel is threatened, it means that we are threatened, by merely existing within it. I do not see much choice. We will be answering the summons. You all are free to do as you will, of course, but we have already risked all to give our people a home. We do not intend to let that home be taken from them so easily." Legion's change from singular to plural pronouns is soon explained, as the Left and Right Hands came running across the landscape, to staand at their master's side.

[meemaas]

Nesbythe

"I see no reason to decline. I've seen the Far Realms, I shudder to think of what life would be like if that was the basis for life in this world. And you, Xael?"

[doko239]

I will go, if for no other reason than to find the one responsible for this deception and... express my displeasure in an easy-to-understand form.

[meemaas]

Nesbythe

Nesbythe thought for a second, and recalled where he had heard of that place before. He relates the information he has to Xael and asks him curiously if he has a way to get there.

[doko239]

Hrmph. Astral plane, huh. Fine, let's get this over with then. You four he says, pointing at the Shadow Demons still standing nearby, come with us, and bring that bag of yours with you.

As he speaks, Xael's form begins to shrink and warp, until his Half-Elven self is all that remains. Pointing a finger at the air ahead of him, he speaks a single word in Abyssal, ripping open a Gate between Golarion and the precise center of the Astral Plane.

After you.

[meemaas]

Nesbythe

Nesbythe steps inside the gate, and allowed it to take him where they were going.

[Realms of Chaos]

The portal produced deposits you in the Astral plane, all right, right in front of a gigantic Astral Color pool. Looking directly into the pool, however, you couldn't hope to say what color it is. It is as if the color is simply beyond your meager comprehensions. You can see others in the distance, all of which seem to be approaching this particular pool.

[meemaas]

Nesybthe

Nesbythe approaches the pool quietly, waiting for Xael to join him.

[THEChanger]

Legion

The three Dubh Cloch stepped through the portal into the Astral Plane, the two Hands remaining close to their Lord and King, weapons drawn. As Legion gazed out across the misty wastes, he shook his head sadly. "To arms, Xael, Nesbythe. We have company." Then, Legion turned his attention to the color pool. He began thinking, trying to remember the method by which these pools operated. This is where the meeting place was supposed to be. Perhaps this pool could take them there?

Legion begins running knowledge checks on Astral Color Pools, taking a twenty if possible. The Left and Right Hands beginning Perception checks, also taking twenties until they have something.

Know Arcana, Religion, and The Planes are all +42 modifiers for Legion, so if he can take a twenty, his check for each is 62. Rolls in case he can't:
Arcana: [roll0]
Religion: [roll1]
The Planes: [roll2]

The Left Hand is the only one with any Ranks invested in Perception, but thanks to Legion's True Thrall ability, Left, Right, and Legion maintain a constant sensory and telepathic link, so what one knows, all of them know!

Left Hand's Perception-[roll3]

[doko239]

Xael steps through the portal, followed closely by his demonic underlings. Once through, he stops briefly to consider his surroundings.

Who are these others? Why are they here? And which is responsible for the idiocy we just dealt with?!

Taking a moment to calm himself, Xael begins the ritual to return to his normal state. (10 rounds)

[Realms of Chaos]

No sooner do you float and ponder the meaning of this unusual color pool than a small kobold among those assembled decides to investigate. Wandering up to the pool, the kobold takes a deep breath and barrels into it. A few seconds later, a clawed hand reaches out and motions for others to follow.

Legion:Long has it been since you have had cause to travel the astral plane but these color pools are one of its most common features, color-coded portals leading out into other planes. As it is a headache finding the proper pool and teleportation is at your disposal, however, learning anything more than that would have been a waste of your considerable intellect.

[THEChanger]

Legion

Legion pondered the assembled group. None of them seemed quite powerful enough to bring the rift into existance, though that was a mere idle thought, with little to back it up, save one fact. They were all travelling through the Astral Plane, like Legion's group was. The meeting place was obviously not here, but rather through the Color Pool. But if they were not powerful or knowledgable enough to simply arrive at the meeting place, then there was only one possible conclusion.

"They're like us, Xael. Brought here after completely that innane test, presumably to secure the fate of the multiverse. Most likely all extremely powerful, and more numerous than we are. As such, We think it is in our best interests not to make them upset." Legion nodded to his Hands, and each clasped their clawed hands to the one beside them. "It appears this Pool will lead us to our destination. We will see you on the other side." With that said, the three leaped through the Pool, to explore this legendary meeting space.

[meemaas]

Nesbythe

Lord Nesbythe followed suit, leaping into the pool of water, with a bomb concealed in his palm just in case.

[doko239]

With a snort of irritation, Xael brandishes his weapon and follows the others into the pool.

[Realms of Chaos]

The meeting ground looks nothing like the astral plane, a large room perhaps a quarter-mile in diameter. Every surface seems to be carved of ivory, down to the pillars that climb up to unseen heights. A large group has already assembled in the area. Fiendish, celestial, and everything in between, the inhabitants seem strong, canny, and armed to the teeth with such weaponry and dweomers that the room is filled with a soft buzz and clashes of metal on metal just from their attempts to move through the room. Up on a raised platform in the center of the room are several gods. Erythnul, St. Cuthbert, Vecna, and Pelor stand at attention as they survey the contents of the crowd.

Shortly after you enter, an entire air ship pushes its way through the portal.

[doko239]

Xael's eyes widen slightly as he recognizes the forms on the dais.

Something MUST be happening to get THOSE four in one place without them simply destroying each other.

[meemaas]

Nesbythe

"The strongest of the strong, all gathered in one place, eh? Whatever is happening, its bound to be interesting."

[Realms of Chaos]

After a few seconds spent looking around, Pelor finally walks forward to address the masses.

"I hope you will not mind if I skip the pleasantries but there's no point in keeping you all for idle chitchat at the moment. As all of you have undoubtedly seen the cracks in the sky and have likely fought creatures emerging from them, I'm sure that all of you are wondering what is going on.

First, to clear the air, what you have witnessed and fought was not some "test". This is a serious matter deserving even our full attention and we may all see far worse in the future.

As for what you did see... it would seem that the multiverse is changing. More accurately, it is being wrenched, warped and distorted as an earthquake might do to a single region. Unfortunately, we are at a bit of a loss of how this has started or on how to stop it but it seems to be a mostly... natural event. Those cracks you have seen, unfortunately, may well be just the beginning."

[meemaas]

Nesbythe

Clearing his throat, he spoke up. "So what do we have to do with this? What possessed you to invite us here, and what do you expect us to do?"

[Realms of Chaos]

An angry, growling voice calls out from the ship, "Then the abominations that fell from the cracks are also "natural"? In Sigil my group slew a Jester who seemed to have control over the beasts and was recruiting for some sort of doomsday cult. Obviously someone or something is behind all this. I say we find them and kill them before this gets any worse. "

This call to action starts to rile the crowd until your question hushes the crowd, drawing their attention back to the gods as they wait for a response.

"First of all," Pelor responds, "the creatures you speak of are, unfortunately, natural. They exist in a space beyond the edge of existence and their world is inimical to us all but their world has existed far longer than our own. As far as someone causing this event... it seems highly unlikely," At this, the god's brow seems to furrow in thought, "if anyone has done this, it would require a being far greater than any god. If you still suspect that someone has caused this mess, however, you are more than welcome to try finding them and reporting them or killing them yourself if you think you are capable. I suppose that this would bring us to the next question. We have brought you here for a couple of reasons.

Until these events finally end, we will be spending all of our time and energy trying to minimize the effects of this disaster on the world. Even so, we expect that there will be more that we simply can't do alone. This was proven within the past day. Despite our efforts, many planets were left to fend for themselves and the inner planes... have been destroyed. If at all possible, we hope to provide some loose sense of organization so we are best able to defend the world from these disasters. Even if you wish to have nothing to do with us, however, it is the least that we can do to keep you informed. As the strongest among your kinds, you are in the best position to act if you should choose to act on your own."

[THEChanger]

The tiny insectoid motioned for one of his larger companions to hoist him up. Once at a more advantageous position, he cleared his throat, and spoke. "Pardon me, mighty ones, but the Inner Planes have been destroyed? Surely you do not mean that the planes themselves have been removed from existance? The power that would take is unimaginable."

[Realms of Chaos]

"Those planes are gone," Pelor confirms, "and you are right that the power that would take is unimaginable. As I've said, however, this does not appear to be some show of power but a series of changes at the basest level of existence. For now, we will focus our efforts on stabilizing the worst to come, en effort that will leave the world, however temporarily, without it's deities."

Pelor takes a deep breath "I am aware that some of you have... mixed views on our existence... but we ask that we put such matters aside until we are no longer at risk. As for what we need of you, we do not presume ourselves to be in a position where we could do anything more than recommend action. First, we acknowledge that there may be dangers far worse than those cracks in the future and, if any are willing, we are ready to keep you informed so that you may help while we are incapable of action. Secondly, if you wish to seek out some way to reduce or reverse this shift, none of us have had any luck but we are at a loss for a more noble cause. Finally, it would seem that the Fae have taken steps to preserve the multiverse, tethering the lives of those fated for greatness with the fabric of existence themselves. If you should meet such a being, do take care to ensure that they are safe."

[meemaas]

Nesbythe

"One of the cracks led to the Far Realms. It acted as a pathway between cracks. What do you know of this, and do you think it is connected?"

[Realms of Chaos]

Letting out a loud grumble, the loud dragonborn from the ship calls out I hate it when there isn't a clear enemy to smash, if there is anyone behind this they will suffer.

Raising his voice to be heard over the crowd, he responds to the sun god

Aye! I will help crush what ever pops up while the god are impaired.

Pelor nods to quell the sudden surge of statements, vows, and questions. "It is true that the cracks extended out to the far realm. What we were seeing, or at least so I believe, was the cracking of the multiverses outer boundary. This barrier may become problematic again, though it is far from our only concern. For now, all that we can do while we try to keep things stable is coordinate and spread information." With that, small glass spheres seem to materialize from out of thin air, each one roughly the size of a halfling's head (though smaller and larger creatures receive ones of appropriate size). "With these, we'll be able to communicate with you whenever new knowledge is obtained or when organization becomes necessary. Furthermore, if you learn something of importance, they can be activated once each day to send a message right back to us. Finally, it would seem that we have a couple of the fae-chosen in this realm. In a few short moments, you will know who you are. After that, you are free to keep this information to your self or to announce it."

LegionIf you've been chosen, whatever signal you should've received is far too subtle for its own good.
Lord Nesbythe:If you've been chosen, whatever signal you should've received is far too subtle for its own good.
Xael:You seem to be glowing a faint shade of blue.

[Realms of Chaos]

"If there are no further questions," Pelor says, looking over the room as everyone examines the spheres, "I believe that we've said all that needs to be said"

[meemaas]

Nesbythe

"If that is the case, i believe it is time for us to leave. Xael, would you like to do the honors?"

[doko239]

Muttering under his breath about the uselessness of the gods, Xael once again transforms himself into his lesser form and opens a Gate back to Golarion.

[meemaas]

Nesbythe

Nesbythe enters the gate first, exitting out, he'd gauge the time of day by the sun, and then wait for the others to return, so they could speak.

[THEChanger]

Legion

Legion bowed to the assembled deities, and took his leave through the portal. Only once back in Golarion did he speak. "USELESS ARROGANT PIECES OF PLANAR FILTH! IF I HAD MY WAY THEY WOULD BE STRUNG UP BY THEIR BARELY-EXISTANT NECKS! THAT BASTARD PELOR MOST OF ALL! SELF-RIGHTEOUS VILLAIN HE IS!" The tiny insect railed and raged in a manner most inconsistant with his normal calm. He sighed, and turned his attention skyward.

"So. What do we do?"

[doko239]

We have no clear enemy. Xael says, as the portal snaps shut behind him. We must identify who or what is doing... whatever this is, before we can do anything else.

Xael ponders for a moment, before turning to his demonic minions.

You. Bring me that kid you found. He may know something useful.

[Realms of Chaos]

The demons pour the terrified contents of their bag to the floor, injuring the young boy further as he looks from person to person with wide-eyed terror.

[doko239]

Xael's eyes narrow as he considers this specimen.

Tell me everything you saw before my minions captured you. Be truthful and thorough, and I might even let you live.

[Realms of Chaos]

The child, breathing heavily and looking in vain for some avenue of escape or unlikely rescuer, eventually blurts out, "I saw someone... out in the forest... before they caught me. Looked like... kind of a human but not really. A shadow that stood like a man... just looking up into the sky. I watches it for a while before it slipped into a crack in the ground. I swear that's what happened."

[doko239]

Xael motions imperiously with one hand.

Take us there. Now.

[Realms of Chaos]

Wasting no time in running off (and quickly realizing that outrunning you is impossible), the child leads you through the surrounding forest to a cracked rocky bluff overlooking a lake hundreds of feet below. A waterfall is visible off to your right, as are a couple of small towns in the distance.

[meemaas]

Screw this. Figured i'd wait for Xael to go first, but since nobody is posting, it falls to me.

Nesbythe follows, typically about fifteen feet in the air, and when the child stops, he starts talking. "So, where did you see this person?"

[Realms of Chaos]

OOC: sorry for delay. Week has been weird.

The child points to a spot near the edge of the bluff, where, indeed, a few cracks rest in the rock.

[meemaas]

Nesbythe

Nesbythe makes his way to the exact point where the child pointed, and started to examine it for anything of interest.

Perception check [roll0]

[Realms of Chaos]

Nesbythe can see a small bit of black gunk wedged in the crack.

[meemaas]

Nesbythe

Bending down, he starts to try and pull it out, pulling a vial out to put it into once he gets it out.