Dark Rumblings

[Anastasia]

At consecrating the hall, a dozen wet pops are heard. Stones turn to eyes, on the floor, walls and ceiling. They shudder and pop, gloopy, meaty fluids spilling out.

Ebony grimaces, "I believe you have hit on a useful tactic, Saint Alicia."

The room south is one with simple wooden benches, shattered. On the back wall of the room was some sort of image, torn apart and profaned, bloodstained. A feeling of disquiet hits you - this room is unholy, cursed. You can see it ahead - a malevolent spirit, little more than a face and a gray trail of energy, haunts this room.

"You have no death," It murmurs in a dead language, words you have never heard before. "None of you have a path to die. It is not possible! Abominations! Horrors!" It howls, furious. "Why do I not see how you die!?"

[Ebiris]

Note Ebony has consecrated presence so she'd have been consecrating with every step as we go up till now.

"We're beyond such trifles," Alicia says wearily, consecrating the room before her.

[Anastasia]

A deity's consecration is stronger than Ebony's radius of it, that's all. The source is personally laying it down.

The spirit howls as it departs, wailing into nothingness. The feeling of horror fades, the room brightening. The benches repair and the art on the wall is restored - an image of the armored paladin leading a charge, sword slashing through a howling vrock while his other hand make a sign, the body of a charging hezrou tearing itself apart.

[Ebiris]

"Yes, we'll be doing this a lot more," Alicia confirms, stepping back out and going to open the door at the West end of the hallway.

[Anastasia]

Here is a hallway that runs north south for quite a ways. The western wall glimmers as you enter, turning transparent and letting sunlight in. Yet it does not pierce the shadows, only showing the insects everywhere here in starker relief.

Yet as you stand there, taking that in?

"Alicia..." The insects chitter as one, "You strike us! You hurt us! Why? We want to spread, to see more and eat more!"

https://imgur.com/SRAKmyB

[Ebiris]

"You are invaders and defilers," Alicia retorts. "Perish, without my sympathy," she declares as her sunburst erupts on one end of the hallway, Marie's righteous smite the other.

[Anastasia]

The vermin are obliterated, chittering coming to an end by your magic.

"Fools, thinking to attrit and exhaust the divine." Ebony adds once they're gone.

[Ebiris]

"Every one we slay makes the hivemind more foolish," Alicia observes as she consecrates this hallway before she retreats back to the armoury to consecrate it and the adjoining rooms as well.

[Anastasia]

Done and done. Each time more eyes burst, cries of impotent anger as...

Perception.

[Ebiris]

[18:38] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+73 Alicia perception
[18:38] <Kobot> Ebiris rolled 1d20+73 Alicia perception --> [ 1d20=16 ]{89}
[18:38] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+71 Marie perception
[18:38] <Kobot> Ebiris rolled 1d20+71 Marie perception --> [ 1d20=7 ]{78}

Spoiler: ShowHide

Marie: 515+20/515
Active spells: Extended superior resistance (CL 31), extended mind blank (CL 31), greater arcane sight (CL 31), extended repelling shield (CL 31), bibliotheca arcana (CL 31), extended nondetection (CL 31), extended ray deflection (CL 31), greater heroism (CL 31), recitation (CL 31), sensual blessing (CL 31)
Defences: AC 93 (touch 35), CMD 83, spell resistance 45, energy immunity (electricity, cold, negative energy), energy resistance 10 (acid, cold), (petrification, polymorph, form-altering, energy drain, ability drain, ability damage, mind-affecting), protective aura, nondetection (DC 46), ray deflection
Stat buffs/penalties: +11 shield AC, +15 insight knowledge, +4 morale attack/saves/skills, +3 luck attack/saves, +25 competence perception
Perceptions: Darkvision 60, blessed sight 120, see invisibility, greater arcane sight, low-light vision, scent, blindsight 60, tremorsense 60, perception +71
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/9/10/8/7/7/6/6/7/7/6/4/3
Limited SLAs available: Limited wish, radiant assault, heal, meteor swarm, time stop

Avatarlicia: 706+60/706
Active spells: Extended nondetection (CL 32), many moments of prescience (CL 31), epic mage armour (CL 31), extended greater anticipate teleportation (CL 32), extended repelling shield (CL 32), sensual blessing (CL 31), greater heroism (CL 31), recitation (CL 31), dance of the unicorn (CL 31), keen edge (CL 31), foresight (CL 31), ray deflection (CL 32), magic vestment (CL 31), greater magic weapon (CL 31)
Defences: AC 81 (touch 34), CMD 82, spell resistance 46, energy immunity (cold, negative energy), status immunity (polymorph, petrification, disease, energy drain, ability damage, ability drain, mind-affecting, and fear), nondetection (DC 47), ray deflection
Stat buffs/penalties: +13 armour, +9 shield, +4 morale attack/saves/skills, +3 luck attack/saves, +25 competence perception, doubled crit range, +2 insight AC/reflec, +1 enhancement attack/damage
Perceptions: Darkvision 60, arcane sight, low-light vision, scent, blindsight 60, tremorsense 60, perception +73
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/13/12/10/9/9/11/8/7/3/7/6/6/4
Duskblade spell slots: 6/17/17/16/9/4

[Anastasia]

As you turn around to go back, both you and Marie can hear it. The subtlest subsonic whispers, the sound of the incorporeal creeping up behind you - a good ways away, by the door back to the east.

You'd have multiple ways of detecting it, but this was first and gives you the most time to react.

[Ebiris]

Marie doesn't even turn around, she just points ahead and a flurry of glowing purple magic missiles emanate from her fingertip, flying out a short distance before they separate like a starburst to rebound back all around her and zero in unerringly on their incorporeal stalker!

Twinned/quickened/repeating/entangling magic missile and twinned/repeating/entangling magic missile away!

[18:49] <@Ebiris> roll 2#1d20+38 magic missile SR
[18:49] <Kobot> Ebiris rolled 2#1d20+38 magic missile SR --> [ 1d20=18 ]{56}, [ 1d20=10 ]{48}
[18:49] <@Ebiris> roll 28d4+56
[18:49] <Kobot> Ebiris rolled 28d4+56 --> [ 28d4=69 ]{125}

Spoiler: ShowHide

Marie: 515+20/515
Active spells: Extended superior resistance (CL 31), extended mind blank (CL 31), greater arcane sight (CL 31), extended repelling shield (CL 31), bibliotheca arcana (CL 31), extended nondetection (CL 31), extended ray deflection (CL 31), greater heroism (CL 31), recitation (CL 31), sensual blessing (CL 31)
Defences: AC 93 (touch 35), CMD 83, spell resistance 45, energy immunity (electricity, cold, negative energy), energy resistance 10 (acid, cold), (petrification, polymorph, form-altering, energy drain, ability drain, ability damage, mind-affecting), protective aura, nondetection (DC 46), ray deflection
Stat buffs/penalties: +11 shield AC, +15 insight knowledge, +4 morale attack/saves/skills, +3 luck attack/saves, +25 competence perception
Perceptions: Darkvision 60, blessed sight 120, see invisibility, greater arcane sight, low-light vision, scent, blindsight 60, tremorsense 60, perception +71
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/7/10/8/7/7/6/6/7/7/6/4/3
Limited SLAs available: Limited wish, radiant assault, heal, meteor swarm, time stop

Avatarlicia: 706+60/706
Active spells: Extended nondetection (CL 32), many moments of prescience (CL 31), epic mage armour (CL 31), extended greater anticipate teleportation (CL 32), extended repelling shield (CL 32), sensual blessing (CL 31), greater heroism (CL 31), recitation (CL 31), dance of the unicorn (CL 31), keen edge (CL 31), foresight (CL 31), ray deflection (CL 32), magic vestment (CL 31), greater magic weapon (CL 31)
Defences: AC 81 (touch 34), CMD 82, spell resistance 46, energy immunity (cold, negative energy), status immunity (polymorph, petrification, disease, energy drain, ability damage, ability drain, mind-affecting, and fear), nondetection (DC 47), ray deflection
Stat buffs/penalties: +13 armour, +9 shield, +4 morale attack/saves/skills, +3 luck attack/saves, +25 competence perception, doubled crit range, +2 insight AC/reflec, +1 enhancement attack/damage
Perceptions: Darkvision 60, arcane sight, low-light vision, scent, blindsight 60, tremorsense 60, perception +73
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/13/12/10/9/9/11/8/7/3/7/6/6/4
Duskblade spell slots: 6/17/17/16/9/4

[Anastasia]

Technically I don't think that obeys line of sight rules, but eh, I'll allow it even if it doesn't obey them.

An unearthly wail follows and then silence, Ebony not looking back. "I've heard stories before, of mortal enterprises like this going terribly wrong because a deity is provoked and sends an avatar. How they fight in vain against one, how they are broken and overwhelmed. It is like being a force of nature."

[Ebiris]

Well we don't have facing, Marie could've turned around just as easily. It's cooler this way!

"The fact that I never drew an avatar to respond to anything I did in the past leads me to be sparing in how I use my own," Alicia admits. "It's only fair. Still, needs must from time to time. If this isn't stopped it could spell ruin for the whole world."

She leads back to the first room of the cathedral, consecrating along the way before opening the Western door of the room they killed the nycaloth in.

[Anastasia]

That's why I allowed it, yes.

Thus you go back and...

Look at the map. Do you mean the eastern door?