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Post by Admin on Jul 11, 2014 2:03:54 GMT
Psychlis and Hans notice something in the nearby archway: two massive, heavy metal gates, raised upwards. There is a distance of approximately 10 feet between them. They look sharp and heavy enough to act as a guillotine for an unlucky dragon. However, the Emperor is being attacked by cultists, and the explosive is uncovered in the center of the arena. They have to chose between the Emperor, dragon, and bomb, or find a way to solve all three at once.
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Post by jon on Jul 11, 2014 12:37:23 GMT
"I can disguise myself as the emperor and possibly draw the cultists away from the real emperor, but we still need a way to rid ourselves of the bomb and that dragon..." Hans says, stroking his chin.
"Hmmm, Psychlis, is there an illusion you could perform to convince the dragon to consume the bomb or carry it away?" Hans asks.
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Post by kooshster on Jul 11, 2014 13:44:26 GMT
"Hmm...illusory spells aren't exactly my forte, but I think I might have a way for the dragon to eat it anyway," Psychlis replies, already mentally preparing himself for the spell. "If I cast invisibility on the bomb, then summon some Mad Monkeys to cower around it, the dragon might find them to be a tasty snack and eat them all, including the invisible bomb. It's lunacy, but it just might work."
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Post by Admin on Jul 11, 2014 22:56:00 GMT
[Leath's player just informed me he'll be away for 2 weeks, but there are some actions he suggested.]
Leath notices the bomb is still in a cart attached to a horse, looks at the archway, and has an idea. He casts a spell that allows him to speak with animals, calling to the draft horse.
"Your masters mean to kill you and all who live in this city," he beckons. "Come towards me, and I will ensure you can escape safely."
The horse, used to taking orders, begins charging forwards. The cultists in the back of the wagon are taken by surprise, and one is thrown off the back, killing him. Another unlucky cultist is run down trying to jump back on the wagon. Leath waits with open arms, gesturing the horse into the archway. He pulls out his scimitar, and hacks the ropes connecting the horse to the cart. The draft animal runs off, now relieved of its burden. The bomb, however, is now stuck in the archway between the open gates, next to Leath and Jiao.
"I do not know how this horrific machine works," Leath says. "But tell me if you can disable it. If this detonates, it would bring devastation to the natural and urban area around it."
Jiao examines the device closely. "There's two parts to the bomb. There's a drum containing an over-pressured alchemical substance, a poison that would be scattered by the blast," he turns a valve, and a hissing sound begins. "The other part is simply a large explosive. It seems the cultists were fiddling with some sort of timer, but it was not set. There seems to be a detonator near the top, though."
"What's that hissing? What did you do?" Leath asks, backing away.
"Releasing some of the compressed air, so the poison won't spread like intended. It will be inert as it approaches atmospheric pressure," Jiao says. "Maybe if we could lure the dragon in here, we could trap it with the gates and detonate the bomb? The structure should contain the blast, but will kill the dragon."
"I trust you know what you are doing," he says. "Now, how can we draw it's attention?"
"Like this," Jiao walks out with his shotgun, and blasts the dragon with both barrels as it makes a pass. "Psychlis, Hans, get ready!"
[Attack roll: 13, miss]
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Post by Admin on Jul 13, 2014 3:44:25 GMT
"Psychlis, Hans, here he comes!" Jiao warns.
The two remaining cultists in the center of the arena close in on Psychlis and Hans, who are exposed but still close to the archway. Above them, the dragon circles. The snipers continue to target the Emperor. Above them, the dragon circles for another pass.
"Kill them! They threaten all we have worked for!" a cultist removes his hood, revealing Cesare. "Kill the wizard first!" Around his neck in a jeweled medallion is the orb.
---
[Initiative: Caligula, Snipers, Cesare, Signed Cultist, Leath, Jiao, Psychlis, Hans]
The red dragon swoops down across the arena, breathing fire as it passes. While the burst of fire clearly misses the archway, it singes Psychlis' robes.
[Psychlis takes 1 fire damage.]
---
The snipers level their weapons at the Emperor and continue firing. "Kill confirmed!" one of them says. Another takes a shot at Psychlis with a heavy crossbow.
[Attack roll=11, miss]
---
Cesare draws a baton like pistol and fires at Hans.
[Attack roll=8, miss]
---
The Signed cultist lights a fuse on his vest, and begins running towards Psychlis. "For the King in Yellow!" he cries.
---
Leath begins to chant, pleading with nature to assist them. The grasses of the arena rise up, entangling the snipers, bomber, and Cesare. Cesare leaps out of the way, but his minions are not so lucky.
[Cultist and snipers entangled.]
---
Jiao draws his revolver and fires at the bomber.
[Attack roll: 18, hits. 6 damage.]
The bullet hits the cultist's shoulder, but he keeps struggling forwards, through the overgrown grasses.
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Post by jon on Jul 14, 2014 1:28:37 GMT
Hans sprints to the archway, ducking behind cover and attempts to cast a spell to make himself look like the emperor [cast disguise self].
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Post by Admin on Jul 14, 2014 1:38:25 GMT
"The emperor's with them!" a cultist shouts.
"No, the Emperor is bleeding out from your comrade's crossbow bolt," he grins. "But kill this one, in case we hit a body double."
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Post by kooshster on Jul 14, 2014 13:46:36 GMT
Blowing his lips in an irritated fashion at his singed robes, Psychlis hopes that Erik and his Varangians will protect him. He focuses on the bomb, figuring that the cultists won't know whether he's made the bomb invisible or teleported it away. Those cultists need to be distracted just as much as the dragon needs to be lured in, so he decides to cast Mad Monkeys.
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Post by Admin on Jul 15, 2014 2:26:54 GMT
[Initiative: Caligula, Snipers, Cesare, Signed Cultist, Leath, Jiao, Psychlis, Hans]
The dragon lands over the archway just over Hans and Psychlis, and the flaming aura singes both of them. The dragon sticks its serpentine neck within, as if preparing to breath fire at the swarm of monkeys beneath.
[Hans takes 2 damage, Psychlis takes 3 fire damage, Jiao takes 5, and Leath takes 3.]
---
The snipers open fire with crossbows.
[Attack rolls: 10, 7.]
Their bolts go wild.
---
Cesare holds back, and begins to reload his pistol.
---
The suicide cultist runs into the archway, preparing to detonate his bomb. He takes cover behind the parked carriage, excited his death will trigger a larger explosion than before.
[One round until detonation.]
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Leath pulls Hans and Psychlis back, assisting them in moving deeper into the archway. He opens fire with his sling at the dragon's head, realizing another spell may detonate the bomb.
[Attack roll=13, miss]
---
Jiao jams a lever to the side, which controls the metal gateway.
[Disable device check: 17]
The first gateway comes crashing down, pinning the dragon's head underneath it. It looks briefly at the terrified suicide bomber before preparing to breath fire.
"Someone! Shoot the valve at the top of the bomb! That'll blow it up and kill the dragon!" Jiao says. "Or better yet, use a spell while we run!"
Psychlis recalls the mad monkeys would be perfect for such an action.
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Post by kooshster on Jul 15, 2014 10:16:58 GMT
With his half-human blood surging through his veins and the adrenaline pounding in his temples, Psychlis points at the valve. "Go, my monkeys! Destroy the valve! DESTROY THE VALVE!"
[Orders the monkeys to go attack the valve while he runs in the opposite direction.]
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Post by Admin on Jul 15, 2014 23:02:06 GMT
The monkeys begin to smash the valve as the party runs. The dragon attempts to free itself from under the heavy grate at the moment the weapon detonates. The archway buckles as the weight of stone falls beneath it. The bomber cultist is buried with the remains of the dragon, as was one of the unlucky snipers. The wave of pressure kicks up a cloud of dust, rising above Byzantium like a pillar of ash.
A deafening blast wave of pressure and heat rips through the Hippodrome. Stone and masonry crumbles into dust as the shockwave propagates outwards.
[Reflex saves: Psychlis knocked prone and takes 1 damage, Hans saves and avoids damage, Leath still standing with a 14 but takes 3 damage, and Jiao fails and is knocked prone, taking 4 damage.]
The side of the Hippodrome closest to them has collapsed. Townsfolk begin to flee, and city guards and Cesare's mercenaries alike begin to retreat.
Somehow, Cesare walks forwards with the sphere in hand, seemingly unaffected by the blast wave. He cocks his head at an angle, and pulls out his pistol in his other hand. "The Emperor lies dead, yet so is my dragon," he mutters. "This sphere gave me visions, of Newton, of Vizzini, and the one in the dwarven keep. That was why I sabotaged the half-elf's expedition, as he could not be allowed to retrieve it. It told me of the Signed, and how I could manipulate them into doing my bidding."
His eyes begin to glow. "No matter, for soon, I shall claim the throne of the Greeks! If I want to take, I take! If I want to kill, I kill! If I want you to die, YOU DIE!"
[Initiative: Cesare, Hans, Leath, Jiao, Psychlis]
--
Cesare fires at the prone wizard, not wanting him to stand up.
[Psychlis takes 5 damage.]
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Post by jon on Jul 16, 2014 22:39:13 GMT
Hans slowly moves around Cesare in a circle, with his musket aimed, attempting to get behind him. Hans comes to a brief pause and fires [grit]. "Over here you loon!" he yells at Cesare.
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Post by Admin on Jul 17, 2014 2:40:42 GMT
[Attack roll: 7 vs touch AC, hits. Deals 4 damage.]
Hans' shot punches through Cesare's armor, but he's merely angered.
--
"Flann!" Leath calls out to his companion. The pony will not arrive for a while at least. Leath hurls a sling stone at Cesare.
[Attack roll: 20, crit unconfirmed. 3 damage, 3 cold damage. Flann will arrive following round.]
It nails him in the face, but sadly the enemy is still standing.
---
Jiao channels positive energy, meaning to support the others as best he can from the back ranks.
[Heals Psychlis 5 hp, Leath 2, Hans 5, and himself 5 hp.]
--
[Psychlis is up.]
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Post by kooshster on Jul 17, 2014 14:06:40 GMT
Psychlis gets back up, brushing the shrapnel from the pistol off his robes before balling his fists together. "I'll see your firearm and raise you some proper fire!" he shouts.
[Cast Scorching Ray]
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Post by Admin on Jul 18, 2014 2:43:37 GMT
[The ray deals 17 damage to Cesare.]
The burnt Cesare curses out load and drops his empty pistol. He draws a rapier, and charges towards the mage. He jams the rapier into Psychlis' chest, but cannot follow the strike up successfully. "I will bury you with this empire!"
[Cesare deals 6 damage to Psychlis.]
---
[Round 2 order: Hans, Leath, (Flann), Jiao, Psychlis]
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