Centoriel

As we play, occasionally we'll close a thread and open a new one to keep the size of threads (and relative complexity) down to a dull roar. Here's where we store the closed posts from the history of Errant Road.
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Drannin
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Re: Centoriel

Post by Drannin »

"DAMMIT!" Argus heard Lillith scream; worse, he heard her leg crack. Instinct took over. Without a second thought, he doubled back. A quick glance showed the problem; Lillith was clutching her ankle, obviously in pain. No time. A quick thrust of his hand, and a stone brace flew into being around Lillith's ankle. The next moment, Argus had scooped her up into his arms and was running hell-bent for shelter.

It would have looked quite heroic, except that Argus had spent a couple of years wrecking his body with alcohol and had a partially-stone shoulder. The best he could manage was an awkward, lurching dash. But at least they were both moving. And not falling. "Dammit, woman, what have you been eating?!"

So much for chivalry, for that matter.

Still, a woman screaming in pain brought back a very... unpleasant... memory.
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Graybeard
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Re: Centoriel

Post by Graybeard »

Sister Rose almost stopped to help Lillith, but thought better of it. Sounds like a fracture. I could probably heal it to where she could walk, but that's about all, and unless we can stop whatever's coming up the shaft, that would just mean I extended her life expectancy by 30 seconds or so ... Sorry, Lillith, you'll have to rely on Argus for right now -- but I have an idea. She put on a sprint and caught up with Brother Miguel just as he got to a rickety stone building.

"I don't think this thing is going to stand for long against whatever is coming up that shaft," Miguel puffed. "We're in trouble here."

"We are," Rose affirmed. "But sacrilege or no sacrilege, there's one thing I want to try." She explained to Miguel as another groan echoed from the shaft and the green glow grew stronger.

"Worth a try," he said, "and I haven't got any better ideas. This would have to happen during Departure, wouldn't it?"

Rose nodded, and the two Veracians started to chant.

An insubstantial, vaporous image formed in the air, about 30 feet above the center of the pit. It clarified into a huge face, perhaps 50 feet across, with a bald head and a flowing beard.

This had better work, Miguel thought, as there was a sudden change in the timbre of the rumbles coming from below ... and another green bolt of magic shot through the face, dissipating in the heavens above.
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Sareth
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Re: Centoriel

Post by Sareth »

Tucked against Argus' chest, Lillith didn't have much of a clear view of things. Nor did she have much of an inclination to look, absorbed as she was with the pain in her ankle. Every jounce and jostle sent new bursts of flame through her nerves.

Never the less, through watering eyes, she was able to glimpse the formation of something above the vent, a giant face of some sort, bearded and stern. She could hear two voices, one male, one female, chanting.

Ah. The Veracians, summoning their silly ubermale god, she thought, a rather uncharitable and unbecoming mindset on the part of one who they were attempting to save with the vision.

She blinked back her tears of pain to try to see, to figure out if it would work, as she clung to Argus' shoulders. A green gout of light rushed upwards through the vision, and she drew in a breath in anticipation and fear.

Just at that moment, Argus wobbled through the door of the stone building. Awkward with the weight of Lillith and the need to hurry to safety, his concern was not with getting through the door gently, and a rush of pain overwhelmed Lillith as her wounded ankle smacked against the edge of the doorway. She shrieked, and passed out, thus missing what happened next.
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Re: Centoriel

Post by Graybeard »

"It's not working," Brother Miguel said softly, through clenched teeth.

"I'm not so sure," Sister Rose grunted, straining with the effort of the spell. Had that last Energy Blast been a touch less powerful than the one before it? She wasn't sure, she thought it might be, she certainly hoped it was. It had to be. Stick with the plan... "Re-create the Visage, a little bigger, a little higher in the air, a little angrier looking." She started to chant again.

Miguel looked at her dubiously. How could they possibly have enough mana to bring this off? But as he joined the chant, he found to his surprise that the spell was coming to him more easily this time than the last. Gathering the energy to channel into Luminosita's Visage was easier now ... and suddenly, now he understood what Rose had in mind.

The face of the Veracian deity took shape again in the air, as a long, slender, spider-like leg thrust momentarily over the pit's edge.
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Drannin
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Re: Centoriel

Post by Drannin »

Argus swore memorably as Lillith passed out. So much for damn heroics... Still, he had done his part. At least the woman would live (assuming any of them survived this.) Now, Rose and Miguel...

Appeared to be summoning an image of their god, for some odd reason. Well, never mind. As gently as he could, Argus lowered Lillith to the floor of their stone shelter. It was the best they were going to get for a while. The stone brace he had formed around her ankle was cracked; it seemed the materials he had rapidly summoned for it were only half-solidified into a form of clay. Combined with his awkward gait... well, OUCH was the only thing that readily came to mind. But at least she wasn't vaporized.

Still, he couldn't help but feel a little guilty. Hang on, where was Harker? He was right with us as we were going across that ledge... don't tell me he fell in...

"OHHHH CRAAAP!!!" Harler's voice. Panicking. Argus turned his head. Saw a spider-like leg thrust over the edge. Saw Harker clinging for dear life to the 'knee joint.'

"How the hell did he...?"
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Re: Centoriel

Post by Graybeard »

It's working, Sister Rose thought as another beam of magic lanced up through the floating face. This one was definitely less powerful than the previous two; still something that would do mere flesh serious harm, to be sure, and quite possibly incinerate an unprotected human, but definitely weakening -- as the mana around them grew stronger.

"Once more," she grunted to Brother Miguel, "and let's put some extras on it." Gathering their energies, they cast the Visage again, higher, larger, angrier, and with a menacing red flash in the face's eyes. Another spider leg protruded above the rim of the pit, and it took a few seconds longer for the magical bolt; when it did appear, it was weaker still, maybe even something that a sturdy mage could survive, certainly something that would give three magically adept humans (and two others) a fighting chance.

And now the body of the -- thing -- came into sight. Eight legs spanned the chasm with room to spare. Suspended in their center, like a huge, malevolent berry, was a gray-black sphere with a pulsating, greenish protuberance on top; the source of the Energy Blasts, probably. The impression was of a vast black widow spider, although it was clearly a magical/mechanical construct rather than something animate. It groaned again as the body spun, apparently not sure where the enemy was -- except for that mysterious apparition overhead that it must, must, must destroy.

"NOW!" Rose shouted to Argus. "Here's our chance. We'll distract it one more time, then hit it with everything you've got!"

Miguel started one last casting of Luminosita's Visage -- the mana was so strong now that he could support the image all by himself -- while Rose gathered her own meager energies to prepare a Force Bolt. As the spider-thing turned toward them, she yelled, "On three! One ... two ..."

And that was when she saw Harker clinging to the spider leg.
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Drannin
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Re: Centoriel

Post by Drannin »

(OOC:Warning: incoming emphasis. Beware of capslock and exclamation points)

"YOU INCOMPETENT BIOLOGICAL PATCHWORK!!!" Argus shrieked at his familiar.

"BITE ME, BOSS!!! ALL YOU WANT!!! BUT GET ME DOWN FIRST!!!" Harker screamed back.

"I WANT AN EXPLANATION LATER!!!" Argus shouted again, jerking his hand in a sudden gesture.

"I SLIPPED!!! SO SUE MEAGGGHH!!!" A rather large rock shot out of nowhere, smashing into Harker and carrying him away from the pit and somewhere into a group of trees. His old friend rescued, Argus turned his attention back to the spideroid, which had been distracted by Harker's sudden, rocky departure. It somehow looked confused.

Argus surged with everything he had. "Rose!! Miguel!! Draw its attention!! This'll take everything I've got...!"
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Re: Centoriel

Post by Graybeard »

Brother Miguel got another Visage in place, but it looked like the spider-thing was finally wising up; no Energy Blast greeted the Visage this time. Instead, the spherical body continued to turn, revealing what looked like a single, large eye ...

... And it was staring right at them.

An event unprecedented in the recorded history of the Veracian Church occurred, as Miguel and Sister Rose said, in perfect harmony and simultaneously (and with supporting vocals from the others in the rickety building), "OH, SHIT!"

The weapon on top of the sphere slewed toward them as Rose and Miguel hastily erected a Barrier spell.
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Re: Centoriel

Post by Viking-Sensei »

A bright jet of reddish flame lanced across the spider-like creature's path, seperating it momentarily from the frantically casting clergy. The ground itself burnt, sending up a thick wall of black smoke to further obscure the view. The sound of... well, it sounded a little like someone beating a carpet to try and get the dust out of it... filled the air.

As the smoke cleared, a second... and decidedly more dragonly... shape could be made out amongst the plumes.
How could a plan this awesome possibly fail?
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Drannin
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Re: Centoriel

Post by Drannin »

Whatthehellisthatdamndragondoinghere?! Argus' thoughts shrieked. But there was no time. His spell was cast. He had to activate it. The dragon could wait until later. Argus pushed.

Argus Cleiviein's specialty was in inorganic manipulation. However, he was also quite skilled in lightning magic. From time to time, the two fields intersected. Certain minerals, when given applied mechanical stress, could generate surprising amounts of electrical energy. A strong magical field, along with a thunder invocation, could turn a properly composed spire of rock into an electrical-based weapon. Fortunately, the ground around here had large amounts of applicable minerals. Specifically the large cliff-face towering above even the spideroid golem.

With Argus' exaggerated gesture, a massive hunk of rock broke off from right above the giant war machine, forming into a gigantic, if rough, spike. Then, it stated crackling with tremendous amounts of electricity. Anything organic touching it would have been incinerated almost instantly. Finally, the electrical spike was driven, hard, into the top of the spider.

The armor was punctured easily. The spike went all the way through, crushing numerous internal systems. That alone would have done the job. The electricity surging through its body, causing massive systems explosions, was just overkill. In one gigantic attack, the spider-golem was done in, and slowly fell into the pit. A few moment later, a loud crash could be heard has it touched bottom. Gravity was a real bitch that way.

Standing in front of the stone structure, Argus likewise toppled forward, unconscious before hitting the ground. His mana was exhausted. He had nothing left, and fell into a peaceful pit of oblivion.

This was unfortunate, as there was still a dragon hovering above them, and it slowly tuned to face them.

(OOC: The science of piezoelectricity I'm using here is so abused I should probably go to prison for assault. But keep in mind, a Wizard is Doing It.)
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