Antikythera Lyceum Part 3

Log Info

• Title: Antikythera Lyceum Part 3
• Emitter: Subduction
• Characters: Skielstregar, Vaera, Ravenstongue
• Place: Rune
• Time: November 9th, 2021
• Summary: The party is still locked in combat with the wizards of the Lyceum, them practically maddened from their insights of the void between the stars. The party subdues them, ripping off and smacking the grubs off the wizards. The fighting ends as Ravenstongue calls for a ceasefire, which is backed up by Skielstregar threatening to knock their statue over. The grubs are executed, and the wizards are tied up, the party snoops around to figure out their next course of action before speaking with the headmaster...

GAME: Subduction rolls 1: (7)+1: 8
GAME: Skielstregar rolls will: (15)+4: 19 (Versus Glitterdust)
GAME: Subduction rolls 2: (11)+2: 13

The wizards don't seem about to give up the eyes these slug creatures supposedly grant them- the one left behind to the north forms a fresh glob of acid in his hand, hurling it at Skiel- it misses, causing the floor to blacken and bubble and release noxious vapors where it lands.

The worm struck by the flat of the bloodrager's blade is struck clean off, flopping to the ground- difficult to tell if it's dead or simply unconscious, either way it lands wetly and doesn't move. The wizard it was attached to blinks in confusion, and then his face contorts with anger and he joins the wailing of the one Vaera wrestles, "NOO! NOO! If I must be blind, then so Shall you!" he takes a pace back and holds out his hands- sending a surge of glittering sparks to cascade over Skiel, in an attempt to obscure his vision.

The remaining mage holds out his hands and releases his staff from it- it hovers ove rhis head for a moment before lashing out, striking harmlessly against Skiel's tough flesh.

GAME: Vaera rolls cmb +5: (17)+5+5: 27 (Tie up)

"Just stay still, and let us sort this out before you starve to death." Vaera growls, taking a length of rope our of her coat and binding their limbs tight against each other. "Stay put." She adds before ducking back, away from any creatures that may remain on the ground.

GAME: Subduction rolls 7: (14)+7: 21 (Worm AoO)
GAME: Ravenstongue rolls Will: (1)+5: 6 (EPIC FAIL) (Against Worm)

Ravenstongue looks around at Skiel, who is downright terrifying. Just looking at him makes her hands shiver, so she runs, or tries to--before the slug latches onto her. She stares at the statue, her hand reaching out to it, as her eyes glass over.

GAME: Subduction rolls 0: (9)+0: 9 (Escape attempt from ropes)

GAME: Skielstregar rolls weapon13-4: (11)+9+-4: 16
GAME: Skielstregar rolls damage13+3: aliased to 1d10+6+3: (10)+6+3: 19 (Nonlethal)
GAME: Skielstregar spends ONE use of BLOODRAGE.

The magic hits him right in the eyes, and Skielstregar's head snaps back. Slowly, it lowers, the red gleam in his eyes still there. "Cease this!" he snarls, ducking under various projectiles and flinching as he's bonked. Then the eyes catch his guardsworn getting assailed.

Tearing around the statue was a Forgotten, scrabbling on all threes as he bounds up to Ravenstongue. "Hold still!" he snarls, bringing the axe end up, up, up above the half-sil.

This is the end.

>CLANG!<

The slug is batted off with ferocity. "Stay behind this one!" he snaps at her, turning to block with his body.

<OOC> Subduction says, "Alright. All three of the non-hogtied wizards use acid splash this round, targetting two at skiel and one at Vaera."
GAME: Subduction rolls 1: (20)+1: 21
GAME: Subduction rolls 1: (4)+1: 5 (Not confirmed)
GAME: Subduction rolls 1: (8)+1: 9
GAME: Subduction rolls 1: (1)+1: 2 (EPIC FAIL)
<OOC> Subduction says, "One hit on Skiel."
GAME: Subduction rolls 1d3: (2): 2

The wizard hogtied on the floor squirms and writhes, trying to get himself free. His immediate delerium seems to have faded, but he's still unhappy. "Don't you fools see? These shackles grant us eyes to see that which lies beyond the vision of men. Ours is a noble goal! To make contact with the superior beings that live in the space between the stars. Now free me!" he demands.

The other freed one forms ranks with the two who are still under controll of the worms- they leave him be, so there is clearly some sort of higher reasoning going on there. They know he's on 'their side' "Take care not to harm the shackles!" he calls out to the other two, and the three of them form globs of acid which they send hurtling across the library towards the adventurers- one lands true, sizzling against Skiel's scales. The others fall wide of the mark.

GAME: Vaera rolls cmb: (14)+5: 19 (Grapple worm)

Before she can react to the worm creature latching on to ravenstongue, Skielstregar barrels around the statue and smacks off the creature in question. With a brief nod, she sprints after one of the other wizards, lunging for another worm and pulling it free.

"They are controlling your minds." She states flatly, but she does not wish to resort to more lethal means yet.

GAME: Ravenstongue rolls Spell Penetration: (16)+Spell Penetration: 16 (19 total vs SR)
GAME: Ravenstongue casts Magic Missile. Caster Level: 3 DC: 15
GAME: Ravenstongue rolls 1d4+1: (1)+1: 2
GAME: Ravenstongue rolls 1d4+1: (3)+1: 4

Now that she's freed from the slug, Ravenstongue shakes her head and shivers. "That statue--the patterns on it are directions! They point to a void in the stars!" she yells out to Skiel and Vaera as she steps out and sends two magical darts at the last wizard with a mind-altering slug remaining. They find their mark and burrow into the slug, but do not kill it.

GAME: Subduction rolls 1d20: (4): 4 (Escape attempt)
GAME: Skielstregar rolls weapon0: (6)+6: 12 (punch, 13  total)
GAME: Subduction rolls 0: (14)+0: 14 (aoo)

Skielstregar whips his head around as he's slammed with some acid. His lip curls into a snarl, and he turns towards them. Getting down on all three's, he starts to gallop towards th-

And suddenly is having to kill his momentum with Ravenstongue stepping in front. "Stay BEHIND, softskin!" he hisses at her before curling a fist and lashing out at the worm. It whiffs just barely.

GAME: Subduction rolls 1d4+1: (2)+1: 3
GAME: Subduction rolls 2: (9)+2: 11
GAME: Subduction rolls 2: (3)+2: 5

The hogtied wizard continues to squirm helplessly against the bindings. "Controlled!?" he retorts. "We are not controlled! We took the shakles willingly!" he asserts.

The other three back off once more- one of them leaving his worm behind in Vaera's grip. Apparently, self preservation is a larger concern than the worm, for now. Their floating staves lash out once more, swinging either side of Vaera but failing to strike home.

The last controlled mage does not speak, but his hands raise up and points of light flash from his fingertips to slam into Skielstregar.

<OOC> Vaera says, "going to try to drop it, move back and pull out the firearm and shoot it"
GAME: Subduction rolls 3: (5)+3: 8 (Worm AoO)
GAME: Vaera rolls 1d20+8+1-2: (19)+8+1+-2: 26 
GAME: Vaera rolls 1d12+4+1: (2)+4+1: 7

Vaera pulls free the worm attached to the wizard, but she scowls when the others continue to attack her allies despite being freed. She drops the worm, kicking it away when it attempts to latch on, and takes aim with her thunderbelcher. With a flash of blue light and a crack of thunder, the worm is nearly bisected by a jagged metal projectile that pierces the ground.

"There has to be more than four researchers here. Explain where." She growls, loading another round from her belt into the weapon.

GAME: Ravenstongue rolls 1d20+1+2: (6)+1+2: 9

Ravenstongue scowls a little at being told to stand back. "I just want to help, and I can't if I'm cowering in the corner--so I'm being brave for once!" she says, stepping out again to fling out a ray of frost from her hand... only for it to whiff.

Pothy looks at Ravenstongue as her expression goes downcast and says, "You tried, honey," in the sympathetic voice of a mom watching their toddler try to do something and fail.

The worm, blasted by the bullet writhes and twitches silently as its pale blue blood seeps from its gaping wound. It slithers towards the wizard next to it, and he stoops to allow it to climb back on- where it latches firmly back onto the base of his skull.

GAME: Skielstregar rolls weapon13-4: (3)+9+-4: 8

Skielstregar groans, clutching at his head for a moment before hissing out wetly, "No, behind asss in, I'm trying to run at them!" Whatever got in his head makes his flat blade swing go wide, and he snarls.

<OOC> Subduction says, "The wizard 5' steps back and acid splashes Skiel, the other two acid splash at Raven and Vaera, respectively."
GAME: Subduction rolls 1: (14)+1: 15
GAME: Subduction rolls 1: (10)+1: 11
GAME: Subduction rolls 1: (10)+1: 11
GAME: Subduction rolls 1d3: (1): 1

The wizards seem determined to drive off the adventurers- although they are being driven further and further back against the wall. They hold out their hands, flinging gobs of sizzling acid towards Skiel, Raven and Vaera. The first collides with Skiel's chest, sizzling against the scales once more- the others fall wide, crashing into books on the shelves and dissolving their pages in puffs of smoke.

GAME: Subduction rolls 0: (19)+0: 19 (AoO)
GAME: Subduction rolls 0: (7)+0: 7 (AoO)
GAME: Subduction rolls 1d6: (6): 6
GAME: Vaera rolls 1d20+5: (11)+5: 16
GAME: Vaera rolls 1d3+1: (1)+1: 2

Vaera growls when the worm slinks off to reattach itself, and the wizard helps it to do so. She rushes back in, earning a sound strike to her head in the process, but the opening allows her to land a solid punch to their neck, sending the worm flying off to the floor.

GAME: Ravenstongue casts Charm Person. Caster Level: 3 DC: 16
GAME: Subduction rolls 8: (19)+8: 27

Ravenstongue takes a brief look at Skiel in the other room. She purses her lips thoughtfully for a moment before flicking her wrist out at a wizard and reciting the incantation for a simple charm spell. This is the one that comes the most easily to her, the syllables just rolling off her lips--and yet it doesn't work. The wizard retains his faculties.

To say Ravenstongue looks displeased is an understatement.

GAME: Skielstregar rolls melee-4: (1)+8+-4: 5 (EPIC FAIL) (TWF Punching)
GAME: Subduction rolls 0: (17)+0: 17 (aoo)
GAME: Skielstregar rolls melee-8: (1)+8+-8: 1 (EPIC FAIL)
GAME: Skielstregar ends his rage. (Fatigued for 12 rounds)

Skielstregar tosses his halberd off the side and strides up the last wizard in the corner with the grub. He licks his chops, and pulls his fists back. The wizard slapping him makes him daze for a moment before he suddenly lashes out, grabs the wizard by the robes, and opens his maw to tear at his neck.

"Grrrrr- no!" he suddenly shouts at himself, throwing himself off the wizard. "THIS ONE is in control, not you!" he hisses to himself, staggering back. The Forgotten show ends. The fangs recede, the claws snick back. The crimson glare in his eye fades. And by the Dragonfather, does he look exhausted.

GAME: Subduction rolls 0: (17)+0: 17 
GAME: Subduction rolls 1d6: (3): 3
GAME: Subduction rolls 2: (7)+2: 9
GAME: Subduction rolls 2: (14)+2: 16
GAME: Subduction rolls 1d3: (2): 2

"As for the others... not all survived the experiments." one of the 'freed' wizards aserts, before flinging a glob of acid at Raven which flies free. "But their sacrifice granted us greater insight, it was not in vain!" he insists.

"You reject our gift of eyes, you only had but leave us be. You could have joined us, but you will remain blind-" another says, flinging a ball of viscous acid at Vaera- it clings to her, burning straight through to her scales which smoke and sizzle.

The last one does not speak, pinned in the corner he lashes out with his quarterstaff, striking at Skiel's gut.

GAME: Subduction rolls 0: (11)+0: 11
GAME: Vaera rolls cmb: (7)+5: 12 (Grabbing a wizard)

Vaera stares at Skielstregar. "Calm yourself!" She shouts, ducking out of the way if another blow. But their speech almost enrages herself now. She pins grabs the wizard by the neck, face to face with them."You experimented on your fellow researchers, you are beyond scum. You are not better than them, just lucky, and idiots." Vaera growls.

GAME: Ravenstongue rolls Diplomacy: (7)+6: 13

Ravenstongue peers at the wizards that remain. "She's right," she calls out. "But more importantly, we're not here to kill you! We were just sent here to find out what's going on. Everyone is very worried. Surely we can talk, mage-to-mage, right?" she asks, her voice earnest in her desire to see the fighting stop. Somewhere in those addled heads must be some sense of reason...

GAME: Subduction rolls 0: (3)+0: 3
GAME: Skielstregar rolls melee-1: (17)+6+-1: 22
GAME: Skielstregar rolls damage0-1: aliased to 1d3+3-1: (1)+3+-1: 3

Skiel looks over at Vaera, somewhat sheepish now, but still in 'protect the pack' mode. "This one is calm!"

He turns back to the wizard. Despite his fatigue, he brings up one arm to block the hit on him, and the fist lashes out and strikes the grub, dislodging it. "Cease this! We need not fight!"

GAME: Subduction rolls 0: (7)+0: 7 (Break grapple)
GAME: Subduction rolls 0: (5)+0: 5 (Aid another)

With eyes suddenly clear the wizard in the corner suddenly finds himself face to face with a very large, very angry Sith-Makar. He presses his back to the wall and brings his quarterstaff up to defend himself, cringing away from the attack.

The other two struggle against Vaera's grip, one grabbing her arm trying to pry it off- but neither of them able to free him. "Were you not listening, you fool? They gave their lives gladly! Even in death their insights serve, for posterity!" he insists.

"Worried. Ha! You still don't understand. But you will." the hogtied one calls out to Raven.

GAME: Vaera rolls cmb: (7)+5: 12 (Pin)

"Yes, I am sure they all did, and not due to having their minds addled by worms forcing them to." Vaera growls, tripping the wizard and pinning their arms to the ground. "I need more rope to restrain them!" She shouts to the others.

GAME: Ravenstongue rolls Diplomacy: (18)+6: 24

"I don't have any rope, sorry," Ravenstongue says apologetically to Vaera. She sighs as she looks at the wizards again. Her back straightens up and she folds her arms, making her look somewhat more authoritative despite her short height.

"Please, just /listen/ to me! You can't continue your research if everyone here dies, so surely by talking to someone else about it, maybe we can help. What are you looking for? Why has it become so important that you're willing to let other people die?"

GAME: Skielstregar rolls intimidate: (19)+8: 27

The exhausted makari snarls at the cowering one, him raising a fist to do something about it, but he suddenly turns heel.

"Lisssten to the half elf!" he hisses at them, yanking out rope and tossing it to Vaera. "Ceassse this foolery, ceassse this fighting, or thisss one will turn Forgotten again and topple your presssious totem!" he bites at the group.

There's no way he could-

The seven foot and some change sith-makar puts both hands on the statue. His muscles bulge. He grunts, straining.

Oh... he's not fucking around.

"The gods die, and people war." One of the wizards answer. "They don't realize how fragile this existance truly is. There are older, greater beings of the void." another continues. The one cowering in the corner speaks up, uncertainly, "We- any price is worth paying, if we can make contact with them." and finally the one hogtied on the ground cries out, "They will elevate us, all of us!"

And then the Makari threatens to topple the statue over, "No!" the one in the corner cries out, standing up again, "No! We were so close, so close to finding it..." he- he's actually crying at the thought of the statue being toppled.

Ravenstongue blinks a couple of times. "Wait. You're trying to reach out to the void because you want power. You're concerned about fragility but you're willing to let people die? Does that make a lot of sense? I get being desperate... I've done desperate things to live before," Ravenstongue says, her voice growing soft for that one moment, "but that... That doesn't make sense to me. I wouldn't kill my friends and colleagues just to try and preserve myself."

"Not just us... all of us! All of mortalkind will know truth beyond comprehension!" one of the mages protests to Ravenstongue then. "Their minds were not strong enough, but they gave them willingly. We were so close, so close to finding the answers..." he complains.

Eventually, another one of them speaks, "If you wish to know the truth, seek the headmaster. He resides above, in his study." and then gestures towards the stairs. "You have defeated us, but you cannot stop our work."

Skiel looks over his shoulder, scowling heavily. "Clossse? Clossse? Look are yourselvesss, ssskin and bone. Dry. Another day of thisss and you would have died from the very pursuits you were trying to fufill!" he hisses at them. Still his muscles bulge and strain. He's not shoving it, but it's very easy for him to start *actually* trying to topple if they try anything.

Ravenstongue looks more like a dissatisfied teacher than anything, her arms still folded. "How do you know you're not dooming mortalkind? What happens if you do contact the void and really awful things happen? What if some super-gross /thing/ comes down and kills every last one of us because you were desperate? Some things shouldn't be known--and /that/ is coming from a follower of Navos!" she says.

Pothy's blue eyes flash for a moment as he echoes Navos's name in a reverent tone.

Vaera sighs, and finishes tying up the second wizard. "You do realize what you are saying, that is correct? How can they save everyone, if only four were left from an entire research institute?" Vaera growls. "I think you are the ones with weak minds to not resist, and be swayed by the whispers of dark entities. "There are no answers, only lies and trickery they will continue to feed you. If that was not the case, why would they need to forcibly latch these worms onto you?"

One of the unbound wizards shakes his head at Vaera, "You still don't understand. Your mind is so... small, you cannot comprehend." he insists. "We found the Shackles, and we gave ourselvs willingly to them. They speak the distant tongue, they see the space between the stars." he says then. "We gave ourselves to them, we all did, that we might bring salvation to Mortalkind, and free us from the yoke of our blindness." he says then- sounding more like a preacher than a scholar.

"Seek the headmaster, and see for yourself." he says again. At least they've given up on violence, but it seems they're not ready to abandon their pursuit of alien 'wisdom' any time soon.

Ravenstongue huffs a little. "No getting through to you all. Not yet, at least," she says. She looks to Skiel and Vaera. "Should we go /talk/ to the headmaster, then?"

There'd likely be more than talk, judging by the tone of her voice, but that was likely to be the case anyway. Didn't take being a void-crazed researcher to know that much.

Skiel stops his pushing, and quietly ambles over to his halberd and inverts it to be spear tip down. "... alright. Keep your ssstatue."

He walks over to one of the worms, flatly stares at the wizards. Then drops the spear tip into one of the grubs with a wet >slurch!<. "But thessse abominationssss are done."

He starts walking to the next one. It's hopeless to try and stop the makari man. They've seen first hand his capabilities. "We'll speak with them." >Slurch!<

"Yes, we should talk to the headmaster in question." Vaera nods, not stopping Skielstregar from ending the worms. With less hurry, there was enough rope to go around to bind all of the wizards. "Get them out of this room too, this statue has some manner of influence. I saw such on you earlier Skielstregar."

The remaining wizards protest weakly as the worms are killed- but there's little they can do about it as they are tied up. The rest of the ground floor is easy enough to explore now that the wizards are felled. They were the only ones down here, after all- and there are no remains of those which are missing.

The group discover that one closed door to the side leads to a library and study. The other doors, however, are locked- on the west wall, a double door, and a smaller one under the stairs. The wizards are easy enough to drag off into the side room and out of sight of the statue.

Vaera finishes dragging the wizards away, and she sighs once returning to the previous room. "I hope they are convinced due to magical influence, and either time or dispelling the magic affecting them will let them see the actions they have done." She chuffs. "I do not like that statue remaining here however. it may cause trouble again if someone comes across it. And the doors locked here may be for a reason. we should investigate them further, so we are not caught off guard."

GAME: Skielstregar rolls strength: (15)+3: 18 (Burst door check)

Skielstregar nods, him picking up his halberd from the final grub. "Thiss one agreess with Vaera. Thisss one was thinking of toppling it anywaysss. But firssst."

He strides up to the door, cocks a taloned foot back, and kicks.

He launches himself backwards and clatters to the ground. ".... thisss one. Hates. Doorssss." He picks himself up, embarrassed.

Vaera chuckles and helps pull the other sith makar to their feet. "It was a valiant effort Skielstregar. But that door is well made it seems. if you can not do it, there may be no choice but to find the key or break it down. And there is another door to check as well, still."

"Aww, it's okay," Ravenstongue finds herself saying as Skiel picks himself back up. Her hand even goes out to help him, although she trembles a little, as though her brain has remembered that Skielstregar is scary and was just raging at all of those wizards just moments before. "Umm, maybe the headmaster will have the keys we need to open them?"

GAME: Skielstregar rolls strength: (15)+3: 18 (Burst door check)

Skiel gives an unnverving smile to Ravenstongue as he takes Vaera's hand to get up. He notices, and smells, the tremble. "Ah... thisss... thisss one must apologize, Ravenstongue," he bows slightly. "Thisss one is... hasss some methodsss that are unnerving, and when they usse thossse methodsss, thisss one getssss.... agitated. It may sssound like thisss one isss upssset with you, but they are not. Their body sssays one thing, but their mind isss clear."

He's totally pretending he didn't just almost rip someone's throat out.

Eyeing the door next to him, he gives it a little kick out of retribution. And to his surprise, it pops open! "... oh."

GAME: Vaera rolls perception +2: (14)+9+2: 25

Vaera pauses at the larger set of doors, and she pulls out a dagger. "One moment." She asks before using the weapon to gouge out a sliver of wood from the door, before she pushes against it. widening the hole with combination of the normal gap to peer through.

"I thought this place was supposed to do research related to the stars." Vaera chuffs, taking a step back. "There is a fully furnished alchemy lab there. and part of the room blocked by a curtain. I cannot see further.

"We may need to force our way in now or after. But it seems the scope of their research is a lot larger than what we were told going in here."

To be continued...

-End Scene-

Combatty

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 |     Name      |  CHP (T) |  HP  |
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 | Ravenstongue..|   16     |  18  |
 | Skielstregar..|   22     |  29  |
 | Vaera.........|   24     |  37  |
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 ===================== Current Initiative Order - Round 9 =====================
 ---Init--Name------------AOO-Notes--------------------------------------------
     20   Cowled Wizard 4  1  
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     20   Cowled Wizard 3  1  
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     19   Cowled Wizard 2  1  
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     19   Vaera            1  
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     14   Ravenstongue     1  
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  >> 6    Skielstregar     1  Fatigued (5 rnds remaining)                   <<
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