81: Pour one to the kerb

[Ebiris]

[12:12] <@Ebiris> A few days after the celebration over the curse's breaking, brave parties have already set off North in search of help from the rest of civilisation in getting Lessmus back on its feet, while those still present in the town work hard preparing for the impending meteorite by building up earthenworks against the lakeshore to bear the brunt of any waves that might try to swamp the village. But for the four heroes who started off both efforts, there's another task needed. Mounting their horses and setting off, they find the animals quick to trot and seemingly eager for the exercise. Some time is lost in finding a way up to the plateau covering the West shore of the lake, but riding is sufficiently fast to make that up once they really start going. Looking over the lake below and the far shore glimpsed beneath impossibly huge mountains in the distance, it's a picturesque if chilly scene that almost might make one forget they're approaching the lighthouse that saw both defeat and victory in unequal measure...
[12:12] * HipsterSellout is now known as Duran
[12:14] * @Lucie eyes the lighthouse with distaste. "Think we need to check this out, make sure our missing prisoner isn't hiding out here?"
[12:15] <@Rudy> "Dumb place to hide out, seeing as we know it's there," muses Rudy. "Guess we can give it a once over? I'll send someone in to check out out."
[12:16] <@Henrietta> "It might be prudent, and will cost us little in time in effort," Henrietta agrees.
[12:16] <@Ebiris> "Send Myra and save us the smell," Liamae suggests.
[12:19] <@Rudy> "Nah, I got a better idea," replies Rudy. "This guy can actually speak properly, it's great. I think you'll recognize him," he adds, holding out a hand. In a whorl of shadows, a humanoid figure with a canine cranium appears on bended knee, a mighty sword strapped to his back!
[12:19] <@Ebiris> "A weredog?"
[12:20] <@Henrietta> "A hero dog!"
[12:21] * @Lucie waits with some skepticism for the "speech" part to be demonstrated.
[12:21] <@Rudy> "Yeah, I think that's it? But he's really polite! Say something, soldier!"
[12:22] <@Ebiris> "I see no enemies, my Lord. What is your command?" the canine homonid growls softly, not sounding angry as one typically would when growling, more like just a natural facet of his voice.
[12:22] <@Ebiris> "Huh. I thought you could only summon creepy stuff. He sounds almost respectable," Liamae observes in surprise.
[12:22] <@Lucie> "Very polite," Lucie observes. "Remind me what exactly you're Lord of, Rudy?"
[12:23] * Quits: Duran (~textual@ppp59-167-140-198.static.internode.on.net) (Quit: Computer has gone to sleep.)
[12:24] <@Rudy> "You got me, Lucie, but I'm not arguing with the man." Rudy points towards the lighthouse. "Perform a quick search on that building, and report back if you find any occupants," he commands. "Teleport there and back."
[12:25] * Joins: Duran (~textual@ppp59-167-140-198.static.internode.on.net)
[12:26] * @Lucie dismounts just in there's trouble, and waits. She does not seem immediately aware that her feet are stationed about six inches off the ground.
[12:26] <@Ebiris> "Yes sir," It stands and salutes before vanishing!
[12:32] <@Rudy> "Oi, Lucie. You forget where the ground is?" asks Rudy, glancing surrepitously at the mage's feet.
[12:32] <@Ebiris> Liamae looks around idly and does a double take at Lucie. "Did you get taller?"
[12:32] * Quits: Zeph (u1817@irccloud.com) (Client exited)
[12:33] <@Lucie> "Maybe you got shorter?" Lucie suggests. "Maybe it's the hat." She looks down. "Huh." Raises one foot experimentally, nothing much happens. Takes a few steps back and forth through the air. "That's new."
[12:34] <@Henrietta> "Maybe it is the hat," Henrietta echoes her.
[12:35] <@Rudy> "I guess you'll get to save on boots?"
[12:35] <@Ebiris> "Yeah, I've heard of artifacts unlocking more powers as their owner grows more used to them, or earns them somehow," Liamae nods thoughtfully. "Wonder what else it can do?"
[12:36] <@Lucie> Frowning, Lucie takes off the ever-present horned hat, and remains floating. "No, I don't think so." She concentrates a moment, and lands back on the ground. Then she starts floating again, just because: "You know what, I like it better up here."
[12:36] * Joins: Zeph (u1817@irccloud.com)
[12:37] <@Henrietta> Returning to civilization with Lucie might be problematic, Henrietta thinks to herself.
[12:37] <@Ebiris> "Enjoy looking down on the rest of us, huh?" Liamae teases as the dog-man reappears, kneeling before Rudy.
[12:38] <@Ebiris> "Sir, the structure is free of any occupants I could detect."
[12:38] <@Lucie> Lucie doesn't bother denying anything. "Maybe?"
[12:39] <@Rudy> "Very well," replies Rudy. "You can go home, then."
[12:39] <@Ebiris> The creature vanishes as suddenly as it came.
[12:40] * @Lucie mounts up again. "Don't suppose you've learned additional the trick of Myra not being a horrible monster yet?"
[12:40] <@Henrietta> "You can learn that?" Henrietta asks Rudy in surprise, turning towards him in her saddle.
[12:40] <@Rudy> "But that's her selling point!"
[12:41] <@Ebiris> "Scary is better than pretty in a bodyguard," Liamae agrees with a sage nod.
[12:41] <@Lucie> "Can't it be both?"
[12:43] <@Rudy> "Seems a bit counterproductive?"
[12:43] <@Henrietta> "Why would that be?"
[12:44] <@Lucie> "If you say so," Lucie says with a shrug. "I guess you've got the pretty part wrapped up yourself anyway, at least from what I can tell."
[12:44] <@Ebiris> "Unless she could change?" Liamae wonders, guiding her horse to start moving again. "Like one minute he's got some cute girl on his arm, then as soon as a bad guy turns up her head vanishes and giant acid-dripping mouths shoot out of her chest to murder them?"
[12:45] <@Rudy> "I'm pretty sure that'd ruin cute girls for me. If that bloody hag didn't already."
[12:45] <@Ebiris> "Oh yeah, she basically did that, didn't she?" Liamae snickers quietly, trying and failing to hide it.
[12:46] * @Henrietta winces.
[12:47] <@Lucie> "Oh yeah?" Lucie says, concluding, not entirely displeased: "Less competition, then."
[12:47] <@Rudy> "Yeah, I think I like having a firm distinction between murderous, face-burning killing machines and pretty girls," muses Rudy, nodding.
[12:48] <@Rudy> "I'm not really playing the field anymore, you know," he adds, glancing at Lucie. "For a while, I figured I'd just sit back and let things happen by themselves, see how that works out."
[12:49] <@Lucie> "Yeah, well, from what I've seen, that doesn't get you very far," Lucie says. "In any kind of pursuit."
[12:51] <@Ebiris> "Oh, hoping for something to develop travelling cross country with three beautiful girls?" Liamae teases. "Sorry, though, you're not the type I go for."
[12:51] <@Rudy> "No, I never date people who know me," replies Rudy.
[12:52] <@Lucie> "What type is that?" Lucie asks, obliged to be curious. Rudy's sage wisdom warrants an agreeable nod!
[12:52] <@Henrietta> "But you could always rescue someone while on the road with us!" Henrietta tells Rudy. "So you should not lose hope!"
[12:53] <@Ebiris> "Manly men," Liamae tells Lucie with a smile. "Big and full of muscles!"
[12:53] <@Lucie> "So that's why you work with Tobin," Lucie concludes.
[12:54] <@Rudy> "That's.. one... way to meet people? I guess?" replies Rudy. "Is that what you're hoping for?"
[12:55] <@Henrietta> "It is the best way to meet people," Henrietta says firmly.
[12:55] <@Lucie> "Makes a great first impression," Lucie has to admit.
[12:56] <@Ebiris> "Oh, no," she shakes her head, "I work with him because he kills monsters and bad guys real good and gets them to focus on him so I can cast in peace. That he's gorgeous is just a fringe benefit," she concludes with a nod and a smirk.
[12:58] <@Rudy> "I dunno. It's risky. You don't really want someone all clingy, do you?" He pauses. "Don't answer that, Lucie."
[12:58] * @Lucie raises an eyebrow at being singled out, but merely shrugs.
[12:59] <@Henrietta> "Being too clingy might be bad," Henrietta concedes.
[13:00] <@Rudy> "Since we're on the topic, how 'bout it? Who's your ideal partner, Lucie?"
[13:00] <@Ebiris> "Yeah, you might be onto something," Liamae perks up. "That hag was way clingy towards you, Rudy. So you can assume that any girls who are clingy towards you really want to eat your skin."
[13:05] <@Lucie> "Well," Lucie starts, considering things, "depends a little on what you're asking for. Talking about long-term loves, or just catching your eye from across the room? Because I haven't, you know, really done that first thing. But looks, well, waves of glossy hair, that'll get me. Light colors are better, I've got enough black to go around myself. Helps a lot if she's soft in all the right places,
[13:05] <@Lucie> too."
[13:09] <@Rudy> Rudy gives Liamae a look that seems tinged with wariness. "Yeah, even if that's not literal, that's how it feels," he muses. "There's nothing worse than facing a daily interrogation on where you've been! Who you've been with!" He shudders. "Damn, though, Lucie. We're pretty much the same when it comes to looks, then. Blondes, right?"
[13:09] <@Lucie> "Had my eye on a few," Lucie admits.
[13:10] <@Ebiris> "You should find a pair of twins and double date, then!" Liamae suggests lightly. "Or hey, doesn't that nymph we were told about live near here? Want to see what colour her hair is?" she adds suggestively.
[13:11] <@Rudy> Rudy's face momentarily turns red at the mere thought of just how amazing he'll look if that night ever comes to pass...
[13:12] <@Lucie> "Love to find out if we've got time," Lucie says. "Only got so many days before that rock hits, though. I'm not so eager to see her that I'd let someone die for it."
[13:12] <@Rudy> "Hey, that almost sounded heroic!"
[13:12] <@Ebiris> "Yeah, I've heard of nymphs abducting lovers for days at a time. Guess we can't sit around that long," Liamae agrees idly, spurring her horse ahead.
[13:13] <@Lucie> "You know that color between red and blonde?" Lucie says after some distracted cogitation. "I dunno if there's a word for it, but that's best. I'd hope for that."
[13:14] <@Henrietta> "Red is a very good color itself," Henrietta mutters, following Liamae.
[13:15] <@Ebiris> Night falls as the party comes to rest at the southwest corner of the lake, feeding their horses and enjoying a filling meal themselves after camp has been set...
[13:15] <@Ebiris> OOC: anyone on watch?
[13:15] <@Lucie> OOC: presumably we can alternate?
[13:17] <@Ebiris> roll 1d100
[13:17] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d100 and gets 28." [1d100=28]
[13:19] <@Ebiris> The night passes peacefully without any interruption to rest, allowing everyone to get moving again in the morning. It's just a few hour later when the abandoned town ahead comes into view against the shoreline with forest directly past it. It looks smaller than even Lessmus, barely over half a dozen structures and all of them looking in disrepair with fallen roofs and gaping empty windows seen even from a distance.
[13:20] <@Lucie> "Doesn't much look like anyone's been keeping this place up," Lucie observes. "Walk right in or send some scouts?"
[13:20] <@Rudy> "What're we looking for?"
[13:20] <@Lucie> "Bad people."
[13:20] <@Henrietta> As caution dictates her moves far more than anything these days, Henrietta casts several defensive spells in succession before volunteering herself. "I shall ride over and look around, I think. Unless someone has a better idea?"
[13:21] * @Lucie summons her own armor, just in case there's trouble. It is somewhat more sparkly and substantial than previous.
[13:21] <@Ebiris> "Better to stick together," Liamae replies. "Remember those archers at the lighthouse? Don't want to be caught alone in their sights."
[13:22] <@Rudy> "Throw some of that on Myra, willya?" asks Rudy, as Henri casts her spells. For his own part, he empowers them both with a shield...
[13:23] * @Henrietta gets the same Mage Armor that Henrietta employs, although False Life and Barkskin remain exclusive to her due to their nature.
[13:23] * @Lucie might as well join the crowd and summon an additional shield of her own! (OOC: Shield of Faith up to because why not, I never run out of level 1 spells anymore)
[13:23] <@Henrietta> *Myra
[13:25] <@Ebiris> Liamae casts a shield of her own, waiting for the others to get ready before advancing unless other plans are offered.
[13:25] * @Lucie shrugs and advances to investigate the town.
[13:33] <@Ebiris> The town is quiet around the group as they enter, the only noise the clop of their horses' hooves upon the earth. Not even a window-shutter or a door slams, for every building appears devoid of such accessories. There's six buildings forming a semi-circle around the lakeshore, all looking like small houses more than anything else although without furnishings its hard to tell. A slightly bigger building rises above a ramp into the lake, obviously a boathouse, if an empty one. The last one is about the same size as the boathouse, placed opposite the farthest smaller structure and being the only one with two storeys. A faded sign along its breadth facing the path through the town reads '-HE --T-Y F--GO-'.
[13:34] <@Henrietta> The inn, it seems. Henrietta dismounts from her horse, and leads it to the entrance to glance within.
[13:34] * @Lucie also singles out this building as being the most likely refuge, and follows Henri to check inside.
[13:34] <@Rudy> "The Party Forgot?" wonders Rudy, squinting at the sign.
[13:35] <@Henrietta> "Flagon, I thought," Henrietta muses in response.
[13:35] <@Lucie> "Not much of a pub if it forgot that."
[13:35] <@Rudy> "The Meaty Flagon?"
[13:35] <@Rudy> He frowns. "No, the placement's off. Hmm."
[13:36] <@Ebiris> "The Betty Faggot?" Liamae suggests.
[13:37] <@Rudy> Rudy takes a moment to make sure the horses are all tied up somewhere before heading into the inn.
[13:38] <@Ebiris> Inside you find what could be a common room, there's a stone fireplace nearby which a large pile of scrap wood and debris has been piled up. A bar runs along the far side of the room, while an empty doorway to its side leads to a short hallway with stairs up off to its side.
[13:39] <@Rudy> Rudy wanders towards the stairs! With Myra in front, of course.
[13:40] * @Lucie searches the room thoroughly for any hidden hiding places the Mistress's group might have maintained while set up here, checking behind around the fireplace, rummaging through that pile of debris in case its concealing anything, checking behind the bar (and if there's anything left to drink, well, it's not a wasted trip).
[13:40] <@Ebiris> The stairs are simple wooden slats, worn and dusty. Through the gap behind them can be seen a few piles of cloth gathered up.
[13:40] <@Ebiris> OOC: spot, Lucie. Architecture, Rudy
[13:41] <@Lucie> roll 1d20+16 eyes
[13:41] * +Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 1d20+16 eyes and gets 25." [1d20=9]
[13:41] <@Rudy> roll 1d20+9
[13:42] * +Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d20+9 and gets 21." [1d20=12]
[13:42] -> *Rudy* Those stairs don't look sturdy at all. The wood has rotten through and would only take a little weight to snap.
[13:42] <@Rudy> "Yeesh. These things are rotten," he muses. "Hey, Lucie! A chance to show off!"
[13:42] -> *Lucie* There's a trap-door behind the bar. Also the area back here is far less dusty than the rest of the place. Sadly no booze.
[13:43] <@Lucie> "Huh?" Lucie calls out while she's busy hauling up a hidden trapdoor.
[13:44] <@Ebiris> The trapdoor isn't really hidden, other than its placement behind the bar. It rises up easily, revealing a narrow and steep stairway down into what looks like a storeroom, and a well stocked one from the looks of it too, considering the barrels and boxes and the shelves loaded up with wrapped packages and the like.
[13:45] <@Rudy> "These stairs'll break if anyone steps on 'em, so I was thinking..." He frowns. "Though I dunno what'd even be up there."
[13:46] <@Henrietta> "But can Lucie even fly like that?"
[13:46] <@Ebiris> "The place down here looks pretty cleaned out. There might be something good up there that the scavengers didn't want to risk the stairs for?" Liamae suggests. "Or it was cleared out back when the stairs were still sturdy."
[13:46] <@Lucie> "Check that in a minute or so," Lucie calls back. "Somebody's been using this storeroom recently." Lucie descends the stairs, watchful for any abominations the group might've left behind here as she makes a search of the room's contents--barrels, boxes, packages, anything that might contain their foul handiwork.
[13:51] <@Ebiris> It's not a big room, but there's a door that must be directly under the bar. Inside the barrels she finds a good deal of flour in one, while the other two contain a selection of cabbages, squash, onions, and garlic. It all smells just shy of going bad, probably good for a few more days though, except the flour of course. The boxes contain heavily salted meats of various kinds. The packages seem to contain a selection of preserves and sauces, along with a good deal of salt. All in all it's a pretty well stocked larder.
[13:51] <@Lucie> "Hm." Lucie tries the door!
[13:55] <@Ebiris> The door opens into a workshop of some sort, a smaller fireplace seemingly placed directly beneath the one above and a bed on the far wall past it. The rooms other sides are primarily dominated by shelves and benches of alchemical apparatus and a glassware, although the shelves seem fairly bare, no more than a dozen or so potions all sharing but one shelf. There's a table in the centre which has a sheet of paper as the only thing upon it.
[13:56] <@Ebiris> Liamae follows Lucie down into the basement, trying to look around the floating oracle. "Anything good down here? Looks like nobody's home."
[13:56] <@Lucie> "Could make ourselfes a lunch with the supplies down here if we want," Lucie responds as she heads into the room. "Food's on its way out, but not bad yet. They haven't been gone too long." The potions are collected for further examination, and the sheet of paper is immediately perused.
[13:57] * @Henrietta opts to stand guard near the entrance, just in case.
[13:58] <@Ebiris> OOC: front entrance or basement entrance, Henri?
[14:00] <@Henrietta> OOC: My bad, front entrance
[14:01] <@Ebiris> As Lucie grabs the first potion she finds the shelf tipping forward and all of the other ones crash to the floor and break open! But rather than merely leaking liquid, a series of unpleasant effects manifest all at the same time! A cloud of noxious yellow vapours bursts open from one to rapidly fill the workshop, while another explodes with a small flash and a terrifyingly loud bang that slams into the ears of even Rudy and Henrietta upstairs! Another spreads a slick grease across the floor under Lucie's feet, and from the remainder the liquid swells and expands massively once out of its confinement, forming huge quivering balls of slimy ooze all around her! OOC: Lucie roll fort, fort, and reflex. Liamae rolls fort and reflex. Rudy and Henri roll fort. Everyone roll init.
[14:02] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+5 Liamae fort
[14:02] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d20+5 Liamae fort and gets 25." [1d20=20]
[14:02] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+5 Liamae reflex
[14:02] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d20+5 Liamae reflex and gets 13." [1d20=8]
[14:02] <@Henrietta> roll 1d20+7 fort
[14:02] <@Lucie> roll 1d20+8 fort 1
[14:02] * +Hatbot --> "Henrietta rolls 1d20+7 fort and gets 14." [1d20=7]
[14:02] <@Lucie> roll 1d20+8 fort 2
[14:02] * +Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 1d20+8 fort 1 and gets 14." [1d20=6]
[14:02] <@Lucie> roll 1d20+7 ref
[14:02] <@Henrietta> roll 1d20+7 init
[14:02] * +Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 1d20+8 fort 2 and gets 10." [1d20=2]
[14:02] * +Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 1d20+7 ref and gets 9." [1d20=2]
[14:03] * +Hatbot --> "Henrietta rolls 1d20+7 init and gets 11." [1d20=4]
[14:03] <@Lucie> roll 1d20+8 init
[14:03] <@Rudy> roll 1d20+5 rudy
[14:03] * +Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 1d20+8 init and gets 16." [1d20=8]
[14:03] * +Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d20+5 rudy and gets 23." [1d20=18]
[14:03] <@Henrietta> OOC: +2 vs poison and sleep
[14:03] <@Rudy> roll 1d20+7 myra (fort, both of them)
[14:03] * +Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d20+7 myra (fort, both of them) and gets 14." [1d20=7]
[14:03] <@Rudy> roll 1d20+6 init r
[14:03] <@Rudy> roll 1d20+6 init m
[14:03] * +Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d20+6 init r and gets 24." [1d20=18]
[14:03] * +Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d20+6 init m and gets 22." [1d20=16]
[14:04] <@Ebiris> roll 3#1d20-5 init for ooze
[14:04] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 3#1d20-5 init for ooze and gets 10." [3#1d20-5 = 3, -3, 10]
[14:04] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+3 Liamae init
[14:04] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d20+3 Liamae init and gets 19." [1d20=16]
[14:06] * Ebiris changes topic to 'Rudy > Myra > Liamae > Lucie > Henrietta > Purple Ooze > Yellow Ooze > Red Ooze'
[14:09] <@Ebiris> The loud bang certainly alerts everyone to trouble, but has no debilitating effect beyond that. Down in the basement, though, Lucie and Liamae run into greater trouble as the thick yellow gas sickens and ails Lucie, Liamae barely able to hold onto her lunch in the face of it. Unfortunately the slick grease suddenly underfoot takes Liamae by surprise, knocking her flat on her ass while Lucie discovers her ability to float saves her from the same fate!
[14:09] <@Ebiris> OOC: Lucie you're nauseated until you pass a fort save or leave the cloud
[14:11] <@Rudy> "Fuck... ears... ow..." mutters Rudy, holding his head. He quickly casts a spell of haste on himself, Myra, and Henri, and sends his pet monsters down into the basement to see what's going on!
[14:11] <@Rudy> *monster
[14:12] <@Henrietta> "The villains never rest!" Henrietta proclaims, far more loudly than would normally be called for.
[14:12] <@Ebiris> Myra bolts downstairs and finds Liamae lying just past the doorway, a cloud of noxious yellow gas filling the room ahead of her...
[14:12] <@Ebiris> OOC: she'll have to roll fort/ref if she goes in, Rudy
[14:14] <@Rudy> OOC: I think she has self-preservation instincts for the moment, so she'll stop at the edge of the cloud
[14:16] <@Ebiris> Clambering to her own feet and being careful not to move and risk slipping again, Liamae covers her mouth while gesturing towards the yellow ooze that's closest to her.
[14:16] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20-4
[14:16] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d20-4 and gets 6." [1d20=10]
[14:17] <@Ebiris> Lucie can see the space around that ooze becoming warped and twisted, like a crazed hall of mirrors effect, but it doesn't seem harmed at all by it.
[14:17] <@Ebiris> OOC: Lucie
[14:19] <@Lucie> roll 1d20+8 fort
[14:19] * +Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 1d20+8 fort  and gets 22." [1d20=14]
[14:19] <@Lucie> OOC: strike! Can't make one this round.
[14:20] * @Lucie is far too busy retching to do much of antying right now. Her magical protections will just have to see her through until she can fight off these creatures!
[14:20] <@Ebiris> OOC: Henrietta
[14:20] * @Henrietta rushes in after Myra, though the same self-preservation the monster had demonstrated must have rubbed off on her as well. Pausing just next to her, Henrietta imbues herself with the power of flight!
[14:20] <@Henrietta> roll 1d10+7 FL
[14:20] * +Hatbot --> "Henrietta rolls 1d10+7 FL and gets 16." [1d10=9]
[14:22] <@Ebiris> It's getting pretty cramped down there, but Henrietta squeezes in with Myra well enough. Meanwhile the oozes begin to quiver and lash out at Lucie with viscous pseudopods!
[14:22] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+9 purple ooze
[14:22] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d20+9 purple ooze and gets 23." [1d20=14]
[14:23] <@Lucie> OOC: AC 25!
[14:23] <@Ebiris> The purple ooze finds its attack bouncing off of Lucie's protections while the yellow ooze quivers in anticipation of its own attack!
[14:23] <@Ebiris> roll 1d3, purple, lucie, red
[14:23] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d3, purple, lucie, red and gets Error: Numeric values only." [1d3=1]
[14:23] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+9 yellow
[14:23] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d20+9 yellow and gets 29." [1d20=20]
[14:24] <@Ebiris> roll 1d6+5
[14:24] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d6+5 and gets 9." [1d6=4]
[14:25] <@Ebiris> But the pseudopods hits the twisted space Liamae placed around it, warping unnaturally and even vanishing partway to Lucie before reappearing at another angle and lashing out at the purple ooze! Said ooze seems somewhat diminished and paler after the contact, even if obvious injuries are hard to see on such things.
[14:26] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+9 Red
[14:26] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d20+9 Red and gets 28." [1d20=19]
[14:26] <@Ebiris> roll 1d6+5 Lucie and roll a fort save
[14:26] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d6+5 Lucie and roll a fort save and gets 6." [1d6=1]
[14:26] <@Lucie> roll 1d20+8 why can't they all be will saves
[14:26] * +Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 1d20+8 why can't they all be will saves and gets 9." [1d20=1]
[14:28] <@Ebiris> Lucie finds that as well as burning, the ooze secretes a psychoactive chemical that elicits sudden crazed euphoria in her. She might be wounded and puking her guts out, but she feels amazing, incredible, like the whole world is one big joke and she's in on it!
[14:28] <@Ebiris> OOC: You're staggered for 1 round with uncontrollable laughter. Staggered isn't as bad as nauseated so it doesn't hinder you otherwise.
[14:28] <@Ebiris> OOC: although it will keep you debilitated even if you save against the gas
[14:28] <@Ebiris> OOC: Rudy
[14:31] <@Rudy> Seeing the oozes prompts Myra to wade in and attack... the purple one, whilst Rudy himself lapses into a sudden bout of spellcasting! (Casting SM IV, it's full-round)
[14:31] <@Ebiris> OOC: fort and ref, Myra
[14:31] <@Rudy> roll 1d20+7 fort
[14:31] * +Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d20+7 fort and gets 17." [1d20=10]
[14:31] <@Rudy> roll 1d20+4 ref
[14:31] * +Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d20+4 ref and gets 11." [1d20=7]
[14:32] <@Ebiris> Myra has probably smelled worse, since the gas doesn't seem to bother her any. On the other hand her feet slip out from under her as soon as she steps in the doorway, tumbling in a heap at Liamae's feet!
[14:33] <@Ebiris> For her part, Liamae starts working on another spell and sends two fiery lances at the yellow ooze even as the space around it normalises!
[14:33] <@Ebiris> roll 2#1d20+6
[14:33] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 2#1d20+6 and gets 20." [2#1d20+6 = 7, 13]
[14:34] <@Ebiris> roll 4d6
[14:34] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 4d6 and gets 13." [4d6=3, 2, 4, 4]
[14:35] <@Ebiris> One of her rays is errant, striking against the roof while the other slams into the ooze and makes it wobble and shrink as part is burnt away! However the gas filling the room starts sparking and crackling ominously in the air around the path her rays travelled, prompting her to wince. "Watch the fire spells down here, the gas is an accelerant!" she warns.
[14:36] <@Ebiris> OOC: Lucie go, if you pass your fort save you'll only be staggered now (can only make a move or a standard not both)
[14:36] <@Lucie> roll 1d20+8
[14:36] * +Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 1d20+8 and gets 27." [1d20=19]
[14:36] <@Ebiris> OOC: pass
[14:37] <@Lucie> Lucie feels SO great right now that she thinks it would absolutely hilarious if that yellow glob stopped existing immediately. Cackling with mad glee, she wills a freezing aura into existence around it.
[14:37] <@Lucie> roll 7d6 cold, fort 20 halves
[14:37] * +Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 7d6 cold, fort 20 halves and gets 24." [7d6=4, 2, 3, 1, 5, 4, 5]
[14:37] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+6
[14:37] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d20+6 and gets 9." [1d20=3]
[14:38] <@Ebiris> The yellow ooze turns blue-white with the sudden coating of frost rendering it almost solid!
[14:38] <@Ebiris> OOC: Henri
[14:38] * @Henrietta flies towards Liamae's side! Her intent was to use her own fiery rays against the oozes, but the warning has her default to her most beloved spell and four roses are summoned with a snap of her fingers before she tries to impale the purple ooze with their stems.
[14:38] <@Henrietta> roll 4d4+4 MM
[14:38] * +Hatbot --> "Henrietta rolls 4d4+4 MM and gets 13." [4d4=3, 1, 2, 3]
[14:39] <@Ebiris> The purple ooze is briefly perforated with roses! It doesn't look much different after they vanish, but who knows with these things? It certainly doesn't stop it assailing Lucie some more, though!
[14:39] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+11 forgot purple and red were flanking
[14:39] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d20+11 forgot purple and red were flanking and gets 29." [1d20=18]
[14:40] <@Ebiris> roll 1d6+5 and fort, Lucie
[14:40] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d6+5 and fort, Lucie and gets 6." [1d6=1]
[14:40] <@Lucie> roll 1d20+8
[14:40] * +Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 1d20+8 and gets 9." [1d20=1]
[14:40] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+9 yellow Ooze
[14:40] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d20+9 yellow Ooze and gets 25." [1d20=16]
[14:40] <@Ebiris> roll 1d6+5
[14:40] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d6+5 and gets 7." [1d6=2]
[14:40] <@Ebiris> OOC: and fort
[14:41] <@Lucie> roll 1d20+8
[14:41] * +Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 1d20+8 and gets 14." [1d20=6]
[14:41] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+11 red ooze
[14:41] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d20+11 red ooze and gets 21." [1d20=10]
[14:41] <@Ebiris> OOC: that actually hits for reasons that will become apparant once I explain what purple did
[14:41] <@Ebiris> roll 1d6+5 and fort
[14:41] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d6+5 and fort and gets 9." [1d6=4]
[14:41] <@Lucie> roll 1d20+8
[14:41] * +Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 1d20+8 and gets 12." [1d20=4]
[14:42] <@Ebiris> OOC: Lucie you are paralyzed, staggered, and confused for one round. The first kinda trumps the others.
[14:44] <@Ebiris> Battered on all sides, Lucie's system is invaded by a host of psychoactive and depressant chemicals, plunging her into a bleak despair that prevents her even thinking about moving when everything is just so utterly pointless. The surge of joy she just felt is lost amidst a flicker of confusion that all becomes swamped under depression.
[14:44] <@Ebiris> OOC: Rudy
[14:44] <@Rudy> roll 1d3+1 come forth, archon squad!
[14:44] * +Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d3+1 come forth, archon squad! and gets 4." [1d3=3]
[14:45] <@Rudy> Rudy dispatches a pack of lantern archons, each one a familiar white ball smeared with black lines that floats into the basement, zapping away at the red ooze whilst Myra trys to claw apart the purple one!
[14:46] <@Ebiris> OOC: the archons have to move to get down there so they can't fire this round
[14:46] <@Rudy> roll 1d20+13 myra bites
[14:46] * +Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d20+13 myra bites and gets 23." [1d20=10]
[14:46] <@Rudy> roll 1d20+13 myra bites
[14:46] * +Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d20+13 myra bites and gets 29." [1d20=16]
[14:46] <@Ebiris> OOC: and Myra has to get up and move before she can claw anything
[14:46] <@Rudy> roll 1d20+13 myra gores
[14:46] * +Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d20+13 myra gores and gets 22." [1d20=9]
[14:46] <@Rudy> OOC: Oh, so she does!
[14:46] <@Ebiris> OOC: far less full attack
[14:46] <@Rudy> OOC: Any saves/checks needed to do so?
[14:47] <@Ebiris> OOC: standing up is free, moving is a reflex save
[14:47] <@Rudy> roll 1d20+4 reflex!
[14:47] * +Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d20+4 reflex!  and gets 5." [1d20=1]
[14:47] <@Rudy> For his own part, Rudy follows after the archons, to better see what's going on!
[14:48] <@Ebiris> Myra deliberately pulls herself to her feet but then falls over after her first step, just as the archon lanterns arrive into the fray! Liamae debates her options before trying to twist space around the purple ooze!
[14:48] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20-4
[14:48] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d20-4 and gets 11." [1d20=15]
[14:48] <@Ebiris> Space does look pretty weird around it, now!
[14:48] <@Ebiris> OOC: Lucie is paralysed, Henri?
[14:49] <@Ebiris> OOC: belated but Henri needs a fort save
[14:49] <@Henrietta> roll 1d20+7 (+2 vs poison/sleep)
[14:49] * +Hatbot --> "Henrietta rolls 1d20+7 (+2 vs poison/sleep) and gets 14." [1d20=7]
[14:50] <@Ebiris> Henrietta finds herself suddenly choking and feeling her breakfast threatening to rise up as the vile gas assaults her sinuses! Uncaring of other possible threats, the trio of oozes continue to attack Lucie!
[14:50] <@Ebiris> roll 1d2 yellow, lucie
[14:50] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d2 yellow, lucie and gets 2." [1d2=2]
[14:51] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+11 purple
[14:51] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d20+11 purple and gets 12." [1d20=1]
[14:51] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+9 yellow
[14:51] <@Lucie> OOC: AC manages to be 14 thanks to magic, at least!
[14:51] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d20+9 yellow and gets 17." [1d20=8]
[14:51] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+11 red
[14:51] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d20+11 red and gets 15." [1d20=4]
[14:51] <@Ebiris> roll 1d6+5 and fort
[14:51] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d6+5 and fort and gets 10." [1d6=5]
[14:51] <@Lucie> roll 1d20+8 fort 1
[14:51] * +Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 1d20+8 fort 1 and gets 10." [1d20=2]
[14:51] <@Ebiris> roll 1d6+5 and fort
[14:51] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d6+5 and fort and gets 8." [1d6=3]
[14:51] <@Lucie> roll 1d20+8 fort 2
[14:51] * +Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 1d20+8 fort 2 and gets 22." [1d20=14]
[14:52] <@Ebiris> Shaking off the depression, Lucie remembers just how crazy and stupid the world really is, it's all she can do not to laugh her head off at how good she feels! Even the acid melting her skin just reminds her that the joke's on them!
[14:52] <@Ebiris> OOC: staggered 1 round
[14:53] <@Ebiris> OOC: Rudy
[14:55] <@Rudy> OOC: What can I hit with a 10x10 square, ooze-wise?
[14:56] <@Ebiris> OOC: all three of them! (and Lucie)
[14:56] <@Ebiris> OOC: otherwise just one
[14:57] <@Rudy> With a wave of his hand, a pit appears, into which the red ooze might plunge! OOC: reflex DC 18
[14:57] <@Ebiris> OOC: if you're going in there to get line of sight/effect you need to make a fort and a ref save
[14:57] <@Ebiris> OOC: and your archons all need fort saves
[14:58] <@Rudy> OOC: Oh, well, never mind me doing that, then
[14:58] <@Rudy> roll 1d20+6 (+4 vs pzn) arch1
[14:58] <@Rudy> roll 1d20+6 (+4 vs pzn) arch2
[14:58] <@Rudy> roll 1d20+6 (+4 vs pzn) arch2
[14:58] * +Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d20+6 (+4 vs pzn) arch1 and gets 13." [1d20=7]
[14:58] * +Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d20+6 (+4 vs pzn) arch2 and gets 26." [1d20=20]
[14:58] * +Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d20+6 (+4 vs pzn) arch2 and gets 7." [1d20=1]
[14:58] <@Rudy> roll 1d20+6 (+4 vs pzn) arch4
[14:58] * +Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d20+6 (+4 vs pzn) arch4 and gets 14." [1d20=8]
[14:58] <@Ebiris> OOC: arch2 saves, the rest cry about the smell
[14:59] <@Rudy> Whilst Rudy wonders what to do when confronted with so much toxic gas, one of his archons manages to remember it doesn't have a nose, and opens fire on the purple ooze!
[14:59] <@Rudy> roll 1d20+3 zap
[14:59] <@Rudy> roll 1d20+3 zap
[14:59] * +Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d20+3 zap and gets 22." [1d20=19]
[14:59] * +Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d20+3 zap and gets 7." [1d20=4]
[14:59] <@Ebiris> OOC: 2 hits
[14:59] <@Rudy> roll 1d6 beam
[14:59] <@Rudy> roll 1d6 beam
[14:59] * +Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d6 beam and gets 1." [1d6=1]
[14:59] * +Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d6 beam and gets 1." [1d6=1]
[15:00] <@Ebiris> The purple ooze takes little pinpricks from the light beams that instantly seal over owing to its gelatinous state!
[15:00] <@Ebiris> OOC: Myra
[15:01] <@Rudy> Myra tries to stand up!
[15:01] <@Rudy> roll 1d20+4
[15:01] * +Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d20+4 and gets 7." [1d20=3]
[15:01] <@Rudy> And fails, to the embarrasment of all concerned.
[15:01] <@Ebiris> She gets back up! And falls back down again!
[15:02] <@Ebiris> Liamae works her magic once more, but now in a more lethal manner as a series of micro-meteorites rocket towards the yellow ooze!
[15:02] <@Ebiris> roll 4d4+4
[15:02] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 4d4+4 and gets 16." [4d4=4, 2, 3, 3]
[15:03] <@Ebiris> They slam right through the yellow jelly, leaving gaping holes as the whole thing quivers madly before falling apart in a splash of slime beneath Lucie's thankfully floating feet!
[15:03] * Retrieving #dunes modes...
[15:03] * Ebiris changes topic to 'Rudy > Myra > Liamae > Lucie > Henrietta > Purple Ooze > Red Ooze'
[15:03] <@Ebiris> OOC: Lucie
[15:04] <@Lucie> Lucie thinks it would be EVEN MORE HILARIOUS if someone other than her got eaten up by acid blobs, that way she could sit back and watch. She makes a staggered break for the door!
[15:05] <@Ebiris> Denied their primary prey, the remaining two acid blobs roll across the floor towards Liamae and Myra respectively!
[15:05] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+9 Liamae
[15:05] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d20+9 Liamae and gets 11." [1d20=2]
[15:06] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+9 Myra is prone
[15:06] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d20+9 Myra is prone and gets 10." [1d20=1]
[15:08] <@Ebiris> But these two foes prove significantly more resilient than their initial prey... and it's also now that something is heard falling down into the fireplace, a brief shattering of glass heard before the bundled up wood sets itself aflame, burning higher as Liamae glances round with a suddenly terrified expression. "Run!" she shrieks.
[15:08] <@Ebiris> OOC: Rudy
[15:08] <@Henrietta> Too nauseated by the fumes to contribute in any constructive way, Henrietta manages to retain enough of her senses to float back out and slightly past Rudy so that she isn't in the way, at least.
[15:13] <@Rudy> Rudy curses, and runs inside to making a flying leap at Liamae! OOC: jumping over the slippery stuff, basically hoping to land adjacent to her?
[15:15] <@Ebiris> OOC: acrobatics check. You've got 10 feet to cover from a standing start, so DC 20.
[15:17] <@Rudy> roll 1d20+23 haste makes this easier
[15:17] * +Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d20+23 haste makes this easier and gets 40." [1d20=17]
[15:17] <@Ebiris> Rudy bounds over to where Liamae is!
[15:18] <@Rudy> "Away!" he announces, and the two of them vanish with a pop, to reappear outside the tavern!
[15:18] <@Ebiris> OOC: Myra
[15:18] <@Rudy> Myra also tries to run away!
[15:18] <@Rudy> roll 1d20+4 stand up!
[15:18] * +Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d20+4 stand up! and gets 8." [1d20=4]
[15:19] <@Ebiris> She's having poor luck, only falling flat on her face while trying her first step.
[15:19] <@Ebiris> OOC: Lucie. You're fine!
[15:19] <@Ebiris> OOC: wait, Liamae
[15:20] * @Lucie flies upstairs and out as fast her, er, legs can carry her!
[15:20] <@Ebiris> "Thanks!" Liamae gives Rudy a quick and ardent hug, "Not quite the carrying away I expected, but can't argue with magic!" she gets out quickly before calling towards the inn, "Hurry, it'll go up in seconds!"
[15:21] <@Ebiris> Meanwhile Lucie flies up the stairs as easily as walking over solid ground, getting past the bar and having a choice of either the front door or a window that's just a bit closer.
[15:21] <@Lucie> A window is good enough! She can easily make a dive out through that, surely.
[15:22] <@Ebiris> OOC: Henri
[15:22] <@Henrietta> Between the Fly spell and Rudy's Haste, the combination of magic upon Henrietta is more than enough to get her well away from the basement and outside to rejoin Liamae and Rudy. In fact, it wouldn't hurt to be more prudent and head even further away, as far as the magic will let her.
[15:24] <@Ebiris> With all that going for her, Henri is even faster than Lucie, zipping up and out the door just as Lucie dives out the window! Down below, left abandoned and forlorn, Myra turns to face the enemy, grimly defiant and intent on taking them down with her. The faceless oozes quiver in uncaring hatred for the monster beyond reality, lunging upon her as she lashes out with all her limbs, biting and clawing and headbutting in a blur of motion... just as all goes white.
[15:24] <@Ebiris> roll 18d6
[15:24] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 18d6 and gets 64." [18d6=6, 2, 2, 6, 4, 4, 1, 3, 6, 5, 3, 4, 4, 6, 4, 2, 1, 1]
[15:25] <@Ebiris> There's a terrific whump that rocks the ground and causes the neighbouring houses to slump and crumble, but the inn takes by far the brunt as the blast heaves the entire structure up into the air, disintegrating rapidly in the blinding flash of the explosion as it falls and showers the survivors with debris!
[15:25] <@Ebiris> roll 1d6 Henri
[15:25] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d6 Henri and gets 1." [1d6=1]
[15:25] <@Ebiris> roll 2d6 Liamae and Rudy
[15:25] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 2d6 Liamae and Rudy and gets 3." [2d6=2, 1]
[15:25] <@Ebiris> roll 3d6 Lucie
[15:26] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 3d6 Lucie and gets 9." [3d6=4, 2, 3]
[15:26] * @Henrietta throws her arms into the air reflexively, hoping that Feather Fall might alleviate the worst of it!
[15:27] <@Ebiris> Lucie, caught while diving out the window, takes the worst of it but manages to roll to safety without being too hurt as the others barely feel the constituent parts of the structure hailing against them. Where once an inn stood above an alchemist's hideout, now lies only a pile of shattered and smouldering debris.
[15:28] <@Rudy> "Why did this have to happen?!"
[15:29] <@Henrietta> "I have no idea!"
[15:29] * @Lucie rolls under her back, mildly stunned, staring up at the sky for a moment. "Stupid," she snarls, pounding the ground with a fist. "They left a trap. There was a note there, didn't get a chance to read it."
[15:29] <@Ebiris> "Oh, I'm sorry!" Liamae suddenly looks sad, "Myra was still in there, wasn't she?" She pats Rudy's back consolingly. "There there, you know she'll be back."
[15:29] <@Lucie> *under = onto
[15:30] <@Rudy> "I'm not talking about Myra, I'm talking about The Putty Flagon!" he exclaims. "It was a building with history! I'm sure it was a great place, back in the day. And now it's gone forever."
[15:31] <@Ebiris> "Yeah... yeah, I guess it was," Liamae nods, fishing out a bottle from her torn (but not by the explosion) dress and emptying it to the ground. "Lets pour one out for The Putty Flagon."
[15:32] <@Henrietta> "I want to go home."
[15:32] * @Lucie climbs to her feet, brushing off debris and specks of ooze. "I think we're done here, aren't we? We're done here."
[15:32] <@Rudy> "Jovar's that way," replies Rudy, as he pulls out a hip flask and mimics Liamae.
[15:32] <@Ebiris> "Yeah, just over those mountains. It's actually not far when you think about it..." Liamae muses.
[15:33] <@Henrietta> "Do you all want to come along, perhaps? For a quick visit away from all this?"
[15:35] <@Lucie> "Job's not done yet," Lucie says, pulling her hat off and clawing through tangled snarlws of hair. "Maybe someday."
[15:35] <@Ebiris> "Yeah, maybe after we get back to Salerno we can take some time off and hop on a merchantman?" Liamae nods, "But not before I see this meteorite land."
[15:36] <@Henrietta> "Ah. Yes. The meteorite that will likely kill Illie," Henrietta mutters, frowning. "Now that we avoided a horrible death once more, what next?"
[15:37] <@Rudy> "Let's go see Illie and ask her if she's got a way to save herself."
[15:37] <@Ebiris> "Right," Liamae nods, heading towards the panicked looking horses and trying to calm them down before setting off.
[15:37] <@Lucie> "That," Lucie agrees. "Take a nice, blob-free walk through the forest."
[15:40] <@Ebiris> It's another day before reaching Illie's grove, thankfully without attack or interruption. Arriving into the wintry woods of skeletal trees, the dryad is a lot easier to pick out amidst the upper branches this time thanks to Henrietta's hat being perched still upon her head.
[15:41] <@Henrietta> "Illie! Hello!" Henrietta calls out to the dryad in greeting.
[15:44] <@Ebiris> OOC: is Myra resummoned?
[15:44] <@Rudy> OOC: no
[15:44] <@Ebiris> She sits up jerkily before rolling over and looking down. "Hello!" she calls back before tumbling off the branch and plummeting down from the tree in a way that would surely maim anyone else, but she somehow moves just where she has to be for the branches to slow down her momentum until she's hanging from the bottommost one and then drops lightly onto the hard packed ground. "You're back early! What's the occassion?" she asks, leaning forward inquisitively.
[15:45] <@Henrietta> "Well...." Now that they're there, Henrietta isn't sure how to breach the subject. "We wanted to ask you, umm, how you can defend yourself from attack."
[15:47] <@Ebiris> "Oh, no one would ever attack me," she smiles guilelessly. "All creatures of the forest are my friend, and I can convince any woodcutters to leave me well alone."
[15:47] <@Rudy> "Not that kind of attack," replies Rudy, rubbing his head. "What if a giant rock fell from the sky?"
[15:49] <@Ebiris> Her eyes widen and she looks up, a hand going to rest on the hat atop her head. "That happened before, once," she comments with a frown developing as she turns her gaze Westwards towards the lake. "Long before I was born."
[15:51] <@Ebiris> "Wait, are you saying Lake Navathanaasu was made by a meteorite?" Liamae asks in startlement as she follows the dryad's gaze. "Well this one's a lot smaller than the monster that must have made that!"
[15:51] <@Lucie> "Happening again," Lucie says, "and we haven't got long to get ready. Anything you can think of to protect yourself from this? We've got ideas, but...they might take a little time."
[15:53] <@Ebiris> Liamae just stares at the dull waters reflecting an overcast sky glimpsed through the trees, seemingly lost to the world. "There's a ritual I can do, but only in Summer," Illie says with a shake of her head. "Winter is a time of death, it wouldn't work now. How do you know about the sky rock, though?"
[15:54] <@Rudy> "Astrology? You can tell by reading the stars, right?" asks Rudy, glancing at Liamae.
[15:54] * @Lucie looks to Liamae to let the team stargazer answer this.
[15:56] <@Ebiris> "Huh?!" she jerks her head around as she's addressed, wide-eyed for a moment before collecting herself. "Uh, y-yeah. I watch the movement of the stars. A new one appeared months ago, by tracking it over the heavens I worked out it's going to land within a few miles of here just after midnight in a week's time."
[16:00] <@Ebiris> "That's amazing, you humans can be surprising sometimes," Illie smiles sadly, going to lean back against her tree, resting her palms against the bark at the sides. "I can't move out of its way, though. And I can't protect myself, not now. I can't do anything until the leaves turn green..." her eyes glisten as she says that and she turns her head away.
[16:00] <@Henrietta> "Do you have any friends who might help us build a... a wall or a dome to protect you?"
[16:01] <@Lucie> "Thought maybe we could move the tree," Lucie says. "If we had some help."
[16:01] <@Ebiris> "A dome of thorns isn't going to keep out a sky-rock," she shakes her head. "All I can do is hope it's as small as you say, and that it doesn't land too close to me."
[16:05] * @Henrietta finds herself in a situation where she desperately wants to do something but lacks any decent ideas to try, and looks between Rudy and Liamae for any inspiration.
[16:06] <@Rudy> "Oi, Henri, can't you do something? Make it bloom prematurely or, I don't know?" whispers Rudy, just as Henri turns to him.
[16:08] <@Ebiris> "No, it can't be moved. It's connection to the earth is too great," the dryad eventually tells Lucie in resignation.
[16:09] <@Lucie> "What, not at all? What would happen if we tried?"
[16:10] <@Henrietta> "I... might be able to raise a dome of thorns, perhaps?" Henrietta whispers back helplessly. "Or shrink the tree and hope it presents a smaller target?"
[16:11] <@Ebiris> "It would never bloom again," she tells Lucie. "And I would waste away into dust..." turning and embracing the tree, she shudders. "It does not wish such an existence."
[16:13] <@Ebiris> "Rudy, what's the biggest thing you can summon that can fly?" Liamae asks quietly, turning towards him.
[16:14] <@Rudy> "A rhino, if Henri casts Fly on it."
[16:15] <@Lucie> "Illie, do you know anyone on this side of the lake that could, I dunno, help build a wall or something? I know we can't get much help from Lessmus on this, too far away and they're busy fortifying the town, but maybe there's someone out in the wilds we don't know about could pitch in?"
[16:15] <@Ebiris> "Hmm... the spell's too slow, I don't think you could get it high enough to make a difference before it's too late," she shakes her head, discounting that idea.
[16:15] <@Henrietta> "What if I am there as well, and recast it?"
[16:16] <@Ebiris> "Sky-rocks can shatter mountains, there is no wall that would stop it," the dryad shakes her head, not trusting that idea.
[16:17] <@Ebiris> "Will the summon last long enough? It'll take minutes to get into position, and we'd need more than one," Liamae says. "Not to mention we'll have to be *very* close to impact ourselves for this."
[16:17] <@Rudy> "They only last a few minutes. But, you know, if Henri and I went up together, I could just summon them on the spot." He pauses. "Spill, what're you thinking? We send stuff up there to push it out the way?"
[16:18] <@Henrietta> "Redirect it away, if we have to?" Henrietta muses. "After all, only a direct hit would threaten Illie, from my understanding."
[16:19] <@Lucie> "Couldn't hurt, right?" Lucie presses. "If maybe it hurts far enough way, maybe having even something little between you and it might help."
[16:19] <@Lucie> *hurts = hits
[16:19] <@Rudy> Rudy bites his lip. "I could try summoning a whale?" he muses. "I could maybe swing that. Not sure."
[16:19] <@Ebiris> She nods briskly. "Illie's right on the edge of a five mile wide zone it could land in," she begins, "Now it's going to be moving very fast, we don't have a chance of forcing it to land where we want it to. But Since it's coming from the East and Illie's on the Western edge, if we throw enough mass dead on in its path, that might bring it down just a fraction further East."
[16:20] <@Henrietta> roll 1d20+7
[16:20] * +Hatbot --> "Henrietta rolls 1d20+7 and gets 13." [1d20=6]
[16:21] -> *Henrietta* You've no idea if it would help.
[16:22] <@Ebiris> The dryad gives Lucie a small smile and nods. "I'll erect a barrier around my grove, then," she promises. But Lucie can read people and even fey well enough to know she's only agreeing to put Lucie's own mind at ease.
[16:22] <@Lucie> It's better to see than helpless despair, so Lucie leaves it at that.
[16:22] <@Henrietta> Since her own knowledge isn't good enough, Henrietta asks, "Illie, is there anything we could do to help you regain your protection, even for a brief moment? With magic, perhaps?"
[16:27] <@Ebiris> "Hmm?" she looks at Henrietta thoughtfully and then steps closer to cup her cheek in a smooth wooden hand. "You have the strength of the forest in you, with the year round vitality of a human... If you lend me your power it might help, but two wouldn't be enough..." she trails off, thinking hard by her expression. "If you can get Silke and Hypathiae and Talari to come as well, we could together have a chance."
[16:28] <@Lucie> "I don't think we know all of them..." Lucie says, prodding for details. "Are they all close by? Only got a week to sort this all out."
[16:28] <@Henrietta> "We still have the time to try," Henrietta asserts, heartened by that. "Since we can only plan to divert the rock, and there would be time to try that later."
[16:28] <@Rudy> "If we're in a hurry, we could split up?" asks Rudy, though he seems doubtful.
[16:29] <@Lucie> "If we have to," Lucie concedes, also not sounding enthusiastic about this."
[16:29] <@Henrietta> "Silke and Hypathiae are near, are they not?" Henrietta asks. "Only a day's trip, I think?"
[16:30] <@Ebiris> "Silke and Hypathiae live in the lake, I think you said you met Silke already? Tarlari lives in a valley you'll find if you go that way," she points now to the Northeast.
[16:31] * Quits: Yuth (DESKTOP@ip70-176-70-231.ph.ph.cox.net) (Ping timeout)
[16:31] <@Lucie> "That was the valley full of poisonous plants or ones that eat people?" Lucie asks, just to clarify.
[16:31] <@Ebiris> "Both," she replies straightforwardly.
[16:32] <@Lucie> "Your friend going to be upset if we maybe have to kill a few of these plants to stay alive?"
[16:32] <@Henrietta> "How about trying to catch the attention of one of Silke and Hypathiaea?" Henrietta suggests. "We can ask the first we come across to get the other and head towards Illie, while we proceed to the... valley of scary plants. How does that sound?"
[16:32] * Joins: Yuth (DESKTOP@ip70-176-70-231.ph.ph.cox.net)
[16:33] <@Ebiris> "Oh, no," she shakes her head and smiles, "That which lives deserves to live, she thinks. And getting one of the other two to find the other sounds most sensible, yes. Hypathiae stays in the one place, but since Silke moves around a lot you might run into her before you reach Hypathiae."
[16:34] <@Henrietta> "I was thinking the same thing," Henrietta agrees. "In that case, we have little time to waste. You can start working on that barrier in the meantime?"
[16:35] <@Ebiris> "That part's easy enough. Good luck, and thank you - I'll really be in your debt if I survive this!"