Brassbringer's Request pt 5

Somewhere in Rune.

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Knightmare      A knightly construct on the hoof bearing heraldry of  0s   5h
Lillianath      Perpetually worried-looking elf woman.                2m   3h
Lyme            Black-skinned oruch of suitable stature               1m   23m
Molly           An ash skinned half-elf with red glasses              9m   3h
Whirlpool       I am stinky!                                          12s  6d

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Last time, on Brassbringer's Request:

Within the hut of the Conjurer, Alcet Brockholme nestled in an alley within the floating city of Rune, the adventurers stood by to defend the Gnome in case his probing experiment went awry.

Ho boy, did it, and Alset was yanked halway through the portal before the group, with some struggling, managed to get him back.

After some unknown force took juuust a little too much off the top. His bat insisted his master would be 'back soon', and it's about then that things got really wierd, as tendrils grew from the gnawed stump of Alset's neck and shoulders and lashed out...

GAME: NEW ROUND!
     Whirlpool advances the initiative order.
     Round Three - Init 23.
     It is now Thing's turn! Lillianath is next!

GAME: Whirlpool rolls 1d20+9: (17)+9: 26
GAME: Whirlpool rolls 1d8+5: (8)+5: 13

The creature, such as it is, lands a blow on Lyme this time. Perhaps it likes the rhyme? Either way, it leaves him speared and rent, bleeding from a grievous series of tentacle strikes.

The bat just sort of flutters around. "Hold on, hold on. He'll be back soon!" HIS BODY IS RIGHT THERE.

GAME: Whirlpool advances the initiative order.
     Round Three - Init 16.
     It is now Lillianath's turn! Molly is next!

GAME: Lillianath rolls melee: (2)+5: 7

Lillianath takes a swing at the horror, but doesn't get close. (Placeholder pose)

GAME: Whirlpool advances the initiative order.
     Round Three - Init 15.
     It is now Molly's turn! Knightmare is next!

GAME: Molly rolls melee: (8)+5: 13
GAME: Molly rolls 1d10+3: (10)+3: 13

Molly puts a forceful sounding swipe past the creature. (Placeholder pose)

GAME: Whirlpool advances the initiative order.
     Round Three - Init 11.
     It is now Knightmare's turn! Disaster is next!

GAME: Knightmare rolls weapon1-1: (16)+6+-1: 21
GAME: Knightmare rolls 1d8+7: (4)+7: 11

As things continue to be lively in all the wrong ways, the grimfaced construct's shield is unlatched from her forearm with a couple of clicks on an outward flourish. As that hand joins the other about the hilt of her sword, the heavy steel sounds a crisp >brong!< against the floor, while the Knightmare slashes through some of the corrupting flesh of the coopted Conjurer, "Back from where?"

GAME: Whirlpool advances the initiative order.
     Round Three - Init 5.
     It is now Disaster's turn! Lyme is next!

GAME: Whirlpool advances the initiative order.
     Round Three - Init 3.
     It is now Lyme's turn! Thing is next!

GAME: NEW ROUND!
     Whirlpool advances the initiative order.
     Round Four - Init 23.
     It is now Thing's turn! Lillianath is next!

GAME: Disaster(Whirlpool) rolls 1d20+6: (5)+6: 11 (Proxy roll)
GAME: Lyme(Whirlpool) rolls 1d20+7: (20)+7: 27 (Proxy roll) (THREAT)
GAME: Lyme(Whirlpool) rolls 1d20+7: (20)+7: 27 (proxy roll) (CONFIRMED)
GAME: Lyme(Whirlpool) rolls 2d8+10: (6)+10: 16 (Proxy roll)
GAME: The Thing rolls 1d20+9: (8)+9: 17

Disaster shoots at the horrible creature, their aim a little off, but Lyme bashes it in the ... well... it would be a stump wouldn't it? The morning star they're using does seme to knock it flat. That works.

In return, the ... thing lashes out at Lyme again, it's tentacles whipping by them.

GAME: Whirlpool advances the initiative order.
     Round Four - Init 16.
     It is now Lillianath's turn! Molly is next!

GAME: Lillianath rolls melee: (20)+5: 25 (THREAT)
GAME: Lillianath rolls melee: (7)+5: 12
GAME: Lillianath rolls 1d4+3: (4)+3: 7

The Seer's weapon of choice isn't built for a stand-up fight, but with options running low and the mystery of how a wizard even comes *back* from a bisection yet to be solved, Lilli lunges forward, gambling on a wide overhead slash toward one of the central tentacles.

The good news: the corpse has stopped moving. The bad news: it has started healing. In the sense that the tenteacled horror crawling out of the stump is trying to regenerate. That much is clear.

Knightmare steps over the corpse and levels the tip of her sword at the aftermarket growths of the Gnome, "We clearly have problems." That said, she levels the plane of her visor on the hole in the air from whence the party had come.

Molly is about to stab it again, or at least try to, when... Well. Thank heavens. Someone else has killed it.

"What *WAS* That?! she demands, as she makes a great production out of cleaning off her glaive. "That was not natural or acceptable or, or, or, *RIGHT* in any sense of the word. Also, the poor man is dead and what on the face of the world made him end up like that?" She takes a step back from the corpse, "I am going to have NIGHTMARES about this! I am. I am! This was just awful!"

"*Is,*" Lilli says with horrified curiosity. "What *is* that, and it looks like it's ... growing *back.*"

Her head snaps toward the bat. "If you have *any notion* on how to save your master, now would be the time to speak, before we have this fight again."

"I have no idea what it is," replies the bat, "I'm just a bat! And my master is FINE. He'll be just fine, I swear!"

The tentacles sprout out of its neck-stump some more, regrowing. Wiggle. Wiggle wiggle.

"Maybe you should ... hit it some more? The boss keeps some flammable stuff around here somewhere.."

Knightmare levels the point of the sword over the crux of the growth, perpendicular to the floor, cups a hand over the pommel and drives it down through the reknitting flesh, "I'll try to keep this from recovering too much."

"Well *where is he?!*" Perhaps Lilli isn't being the picture of serenity at the moment, but, when you're dumping holy water on regenerating killer tentacles growing out of the bottom half of an apparently dead wizard, it could be forgiven if you don't have all your wits together.

"How is your Master going to be fine?!" Molly demands of the bat, holding out both hands. "How exactly? HOW?! I mean look at him!" she points with one finger towards the corpse on the ground, "Look! His head is in an ALTERNATE DIMENSION and has been replaced by a hostile, regenerating squid monster that doesn't like being killed! And doesn't seem to do so permanently! Which is grossly unfair on the rest of us, I might add. Please explain to me how he's going to be fine, because clearly, you know something we don't!"

Knightmare's tail flicks some as she shifts her footing slightly, setting a hand around either quillion and giving the embedded blade a wrenching twist, "Perhaps there is something on a shelf?" she muses, then looks around for anything that seems a collection of flasks or bottles.

"It's," a flutter of wings, "magic! You know!" There is more fluttering following this and it spins a quick circle.

GAME: Knightmare rolls perception: (20)+8: 28
GAME: Molly rolls perception: (15)+5: 20
GAME: Lillianath rolls perception: (3)+5: 8

So, the monster is still regenerating and some hunting around with the bat's assistance reveals flasks of, well... presumably flammable liquids. At least, that's what the *bat* indicates. "Yes! Those will do! He always keeps fire aroiund just in case!" You never know when you'll have to set an extra dimensional corpse-horror on fire.

Lyme looks over. "I can hold him down if you want to douse him!" This he can do. He can!

Knightmare hmm's softly, almost absently twisting the blade again, and, perhaps in tribute to her distant steed, puts a firm hoof down on a squirmy tendril, "The amber beaker on the third shelf looks promising." The offer from the Oruch prompts a nod, though she notes, "You may get burned as well."

Lilli snarls, pinning a tentacle to the floor with her starknife. "I'm willing to suffer burns to *get rid of this thing.*"

"I'm willing to do the setting-on-fire," Molly offers, taking a step back from the corpse. "From all the way over here." She touches the holy symbol of Navos that she wears around her neck, and gives a curt nod. "I am definitely willing to channel the might of Navos for such a purpose. I am certain this will be an appropriate way to use the power he has entrusted me with." Yes, certain.

Knightmare considers her fellows, then looks to the Oruch, leaning back from the blade she's still skewering the abberation with, "Please keep twisting this, and I'll get the bottle."

That said, the construct grinds her hoof into the tendril as she steps over the corpse to go get the combustables. Lyme uses one hand to turn Knightmare's blade, the other to grind a spiked-headed morningstar into the mass in the middle -- at least until the incendiaries start flying.

GAME: Knightmare rolls ref: (2)+1: 3
GAME: Lillianath rolls reflex: (3)+3: 6
GAME: Lyme rolls ref: (18)+1: 19
GAME: Molly rolls reflex: (13)+1: 14
GAME: Whirlpool rolls 1d6: (5): 5
GAME: Whirlpool rolls 1d6: (2): 2
GAME: Fire damaged Knightmare for 2 points. 29 AND 6 TEMP HP remaining.
GAME: Hot! damaged Knightmare for 1 points. 29 AND 6 TEMP HP remaining.

Whoosh!

Given a little time, you set it on fire. It seems to stop moving for a time, after a little thrashing. Both Knightmare and Lil get singed in the process. Let's be honest: It's on fire, and they have to try to keep it from escaping.

This works, mostly...

... a charred husks remains. Eventually, it's reduced to smoldering. Eventually.

And then? Welll... naturally, just when it seems likes its over, it sits up right and shoots a tentaccle *right at Molly*.

...until its blown apart by the arrival of... wait, how is that gnome standing THERE? ALIVE?!

His hand sparkles with magical energy.

"Sorry, sorry! It took me a while to get out of the cloning chamber."

Molly SHRIEKS when the tentacle shoots out towards her; the kind of blood-curdling, ear-splitting wail of terror that usually precedes a rapid running the hell away. But, then there's... a gnome.

"YOU CLONED YOURSELF?!" she screams. "Why didn't you TELL US That was going to happen?!"

Knightmare is a little distracted by the fact that she's accidentally set both herself, and Lyme alight, and she's in the midst of dealing with that when the scream gets her attention. She snatches up her sword, then turns from the blasted bits that drip from her shell to regard the gnome, "What have we learned?"

""Oh my! What did you do to my corpse?! It's all burnt!"

Alcet stares at it for a moment, then lets out a sigh, "Now I'm not going to learn anything from *that* until the autospy. I'll need a Vardaman, or two. Perhaps a necromancer." There's a pause, then he looks up ,"Oh! You're on fire. Let's..." He waves his hand, dousing the flames with an application of telekinetic smothering. it feels weird.

"I wasn't going to risk myself without precaution, but I didn't 5think I'd get my head bitten off either. I had no reason to believe that thre was a phyuical threat lik that. Sorry!"

"Well," Lilli says, squirming as the flames are smothered by an invisible blanket, "I'm glad you're unharmed...? But... Your, um, corpse... Some tentacled horror sprouted from the neck and tried to kill us, and it wouldn't stop growing back until we set it on fire."

Lyme isn't actually on fire -- turns out the big yrch can move remarkably quickly when motivated. He rolls up to his knees, clutching his morning star. "What on Kor's swollen member is going on?"

"I'm not sure! I sort of died, but then I woke up in my cloning chamber. I'm a bit disoriented but .. I think it's safe to say that these 'cysys' in the ley lines are a real problem." He puts a finger to his chibn.

The construct considers that for a few moments, reclaiming her sword and shield, reaffixing the latter to her arm with a could of clicks, then, "I follow Her, but I'm no Mourner." she confesses. Her face turns toward the portal, then back to the conjurer, "Do you have locations?"

"That.... would follow from what we observed," Lilli says, voice strained as she sits back on the floor. "I hope you don't need to do more testing?"

"Not right this moment," is what Alcet saysa after a moment, "But we can!"

HE looks hopeful.