Options and hopes (full party)

[Ebiris]

Not good news then. Not good at all. Afina slowly drifts to the ground, standing for all that she barely reaches the thigh of most people around here. "So now we have to put Lief to rest... Castle Crumbling again? Or will Lixer have him elsewhere?" She doubts at least that he'll be sent to Lifasa, since that's Bel's lookout and not Lixer's.

[Anastasia]

Balyss slowly lands and then goes limp, the glow fading around her. Priest is at her side a moment later, checking her over.

Hanna closes her eyes and sighs long, "Lady Gwynharwyf help them," she murmurs, "And help us make this right. There's already too many injustices on Creation, so guide us to punish the wicked and correct this one."

"Negation," Sylvie speaks up here, "Castle Crumbling is one of Lixer's bases, his outpost on the Negative Energy Plane. Negation's his home in Hell." she says.

Sylvie took 10 on the relevant knowledge skills.

[Corwin]

"What others of Lixer's bases can you think of?" Jaela asks Sylvie, ignoring her discomfort due to the situation they're in. "Hitting a couple might force him to redeploy to protect the rest, and make a strike right at Negation possible."

[Merc]

Ithea's fists tighten at the mention of mourning Muirfinn and Lief's apparent fate. What Muirfinn's fate must have been that Selune would simply say to mourn him when Lief is being turned into an undead creature? Not something she wants to focus on, actually...

"Forcing him to redeploy and making him question where we're targeting is probably the best way to make a strike possible on Negation," Ithea agrees. "We've seen the results of giving him time to prepare, so I definitely want to ruin his plans as much as I can. Also, can we figure out how to deal with that mage armor spell that protected the pit fiends during our battle? If we can reliably destroy that, getting through their defenses will be easier."

[Ebiris]

"My behemoths can destroy mage armour and other force effects by striking them," Afina answers Ithea. "Past that you just have to rely on dispelling it. I think making some quick raids against Lixer's holdings is a good idea as well - lets relocate back to the war room and we can strategise?"

[Corwin]

"Was it a force spell?" Jaela confirms. "I have ways of breaking through that, and I think there is a special crystal growing on one of the elemental planes that cuts through such spells as well."

[Merc]

"It was an improved version of the regular mage armor spell. Much, much stronger defense. If I had to guess? Five times stronger or so?" Ithea answers based on what she saw from the battle, before nodding to Afina. "Okay, we'll head back and try to figure out where Lixer has other facilities that we can hit, as well as how to handle what defenses Sylvie and I saw in place so far."

[Anastasia]

Based on Ithea's description, any of you can make K:A.

[Ebiris]

[18:57] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+35 arcana
[18:57] <Serith> Ebiris roll for Serith < 47 > [d20=12]

[Corwin]

[20:58] <@Annerose> roll 1d20+26+15 K:A
[20:58] <Serith> Annerose roll for Serith < 55 > [d20=14]

[Anastasia]

Both Afina and Jaela can identify the likely spell as epic mage armor. An 11th circle spell of great power, it surrounds the target wtih a field of force capable of stopping catapult shots cold. It's one of most well known spells beyond the 9th circle, in part because regular mage armor is such a popular option.

"Force can be overcome," Hanna agrees, "The true problem is that Lixer is willing to personally support already formidable minions. We can dispel and kill all the Nessians we please, but if they're willing to devote the personal time to that, it's only fighting the symptoms, not the cure."

Meanwhile Priest levitates Balyss up with a few gestures, taking her to lie before the altar. He tends to her quietly, occasionally murmuring a prayer to the Seladrine.

[Anastasia]

"In other words, we have the honor of the personal attention of Hell's nobility," Sylvie says, rolling her eyes, "Taelfagn said as much. If it's any consolation, it shows that we've really managed to get on Hell's hit list."

[Corwin]

"What if we don't kill them?" Jaela voices. "Or, at least, not until a quick plane shift back home to do that? It's one thing if he's running around nursing them back to health after they reform, and another if they're just gone." She runs a hand through her hair, admitting, "I've always hated that fucker Lixer. How about make that our short term goal?"

[Ebiris]

"Or capture them," Afina says. "Plenty of room still in the dungeons. But yes, we can't let this go unanswered. Even if Bel is our primary target, a strong response to Lixer here should give anyone else pause before they consider joining the fight against us."

[Corwin]

"You've read my mind," Jaela tells Afina, nodding resolutely. "And you were right earlier, let's go back to the war room. I propose an immediate strike to wipe out Lixer's outpost on Astral, and then we'll gather information on his other holdings. Once he's angry enough to show his hide, we'll bring him down!"