Mystran rest

[Ebiris]

Nothing else to do right now, no.

[Anastasia]

You go back. As you do, you sense and feel it. Nial's murmured prayer for victory in combat. You see around him.

Hanna.

Hanna stands by Aurora's gates, "We don't know exactly what's going on here, but we're going to solve it. Whatever bloodsucker has done this deserves an axe to the head. Crush any vampire spawn or servant undead, purify the wicked and strike down the necromancers. Also, there's possibly captive servants of Lathander, Mielikki, Azuth and Mystra. We don't know why they're kidnapping them and if they're even alive, but if they are, get them out of there intact. We're going in right into the thick of it, we found a place they haven't warded for teleportation, we'll get right into the teeth of the enemy forces."

[Ebiris]

She'll watch over this as something potentially interesting, and she gives Nial a faint sense of caution.

If the vampires habitually ward against teleportation and they haven't this time, that sounds suspicious after all.

[Anastasia]

"For Aurora! For Lifasa!" The cry goes up as the gates open and they go off.

It's a dark place, underground somewhere. Barely a moment before it begins - tidal waves of the dead, of corpses puppeted to unholy life. They fight with a vigor that belies being a mere zombie, even as Hanna leads the way into them.

> roll 1d100
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 96 > [d100=96]

Nial wades in, a battle cry as he slices through one. Another and another fall as combat erupts - and Nial surges, as one he impales grins and leans forward, before something in its chest glistens bright. A gemstone? No, just crude quartz. But it crackles with black fire before the dead explodes, Nial engulfed in unholy flame.

[Ebiris]

Exploding zombies are a repugnant classic, aren't they? Hopefully that didn't kill him, he's capable at ranged fighting after all... assuming they can make enough room for it.

[Anastasia]

Nial hits the ground after hard - disfigured and broken, burnt horribly. He lies there as the battle raged, the flame of his life flickering and dimming. With one eye intact and the other gone, he manages to lift his head just a little, to see the battle. "For...Aur..ro...rora." he whispers.

"....please..." A bare whispers, "I...I don't w...want to...g..go..."

[Ebiris]

Come on Hanna, throw down a mass heal. Hit the undead and heal your friends, it's a tried and true tactic!

She won't interfere heavily, but she makes her presence felt with Nial, giving him comfort if it really is the end but also giving him strength to hang on a bit longer in case any of his allies are in a position to heal him.

[Anastasia]

> roll 1d100
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 68 > [d100=68]

Nial's expression softens as the light lingers in his eyes and starts to dim, "S...sorry, I...could have done...mo...re, my..l...la...dy..." His head lolls aside as his eyes go dark.

A moment later a soldier with Helm's holy symbol races to his side and lays down a swift healing spell, but it's a moment too late. "Damn it," he mutters, "I'll make sure the healers try to bring you back," Meanwhile, Nial's soul begins to leave his body, drifting up and -

A presence. A hunger, dark and vast. Something inhuman. You feel it start to pull at Nial's soul, try to drag it down and away.

[Ebiris]

Excuse me but no. That's not happening.

That's how you get an avatar to come visit.

Is that what you want, vampires?

[Anastasia]

A snarl before a rough voice declares in your mind, 'Snivel before me, impotent godling. You are not the first and will not be the last. This one's soul will feed me. It's mine. Mine!'

[Ebiris]

Alicia nonetheless maintains a firm grip on Nial's soul to direct him to the well of souls.

In the meantime her avatar girds itself for battle and is about to gate herself over. She can tell there's no dimensional interdiction over Nial or the like that would impede her, right?

Spoiler: ShowHide

Aliciavatar HP: 855+20/855
Active spells: Many moments of prescience (CL 38), extended mind blank (CL 39), extended nondetection (CL 39), extended ray deflection (CL 39), repelling shield (CL 38), epic mage armour (CL 36), sensual blessing (CL 38), greater foresight (CL 38), seira's arcane thesis (CL 38), freedom of movement (CL 36), greater heroism (CL 36), greater visage of the deity (CL 36), recitation (CL 36), true seeing (CL 36), divine insight (CL 36), mass energy immunity (cold) (CL 39), celestial valor (CL 36), opal inviolability (CL 37)
Defences: AC 106, CMD 114, spell resistance 51, energy immunity (cold, unholy), status immunity (polymorph, petrification, disease, energy drain, ability damage, ability drain, mind-affecting, and fear), nondetection (DC 54), freedom of movement
Stat buffs/penalties: +10 armour AC, +25 competence perception, +7 insight AC/ref/init, +4 str, +2 dex, +4 con, +2 int, +4 wis, +4 cha, +9 shield AC, +3 luck AC/saves, +4 morale attack/skills/saves, +4 sacred attack/damage/AC/saves, +6 bonus hd, +6 competence attack, +4 competence fort, +10 SR checks, +5 spell DCs
Perceptions: Arcane sight, darkvision 60, true seeing, scent, tremorsense/blindsight 60, perception +79
Sorcerer spells: 6/16/15/13/8/9/14/8/8/8/7/6/6/5/5/2
Duskblade spells: 6/22/22/22/11/6/15

[Anastasia]

There is not at all.

Meanwhile the force does not give up easily, pulling back against you as...

Charisma check, +5 bonus.

[Ebiris]

[18:02] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+21 (+30 more if this is an opposed check, using many moments of prescience)
[18:02] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 26 > [d20=5]

[Anastasia]

It is so 56 total.

> roll 1d20+35 (+25 MoP had the same idea)
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 55 > [d20=20]

A very wise choice for you to pop that.

It's a fight. A downright brawl but you manage to hold onto Nial's spirit, the vampiric presence clawing and fighting for every inch.

[Ebiris]

Alicia feels provoked. There's lots of things she doesn't like and she fights against, but there's always a sense off 'fairness' that everyone gets what's coming to them in the end. Interfering with the final destination of souls goes against that, goes against what to her mind is something fundamental to Creation.

That it's not made impossible suggests the Incarnations left such opportunities in deliberately.

Often it's someone like Shar that does it, however. Makes it hard to get proper redress. But this time? A gate opens, connecting Sylica with this place.

Her avatar steps through, and Nial's soul rather than being sent back to the well of souls is returned to his body, restored and resurrected as the avatar reaches a hand down to pull him to his feet.

"Together we will show what happens to those who would deny a soul its rightful place," she says firmly, power flowing into Nial so that he may fight at her side.

Nial gets to be her familiar now.

Counts as 36 hit dice for any effects that matter with those.
Hit points change to 379 if they're not already higher.
Base attack bonus changes to +36 if it's not already higher.
Base saves (before stats/feats/abilities) change to Fort +18, Ref +9, Will +18 if they're not already higher.
Gains Alicia's base skill ranks for any skills his aren't higher than. That's +39 to acrobatics, craft (landscaping), craft (painting), diplomacy, intimidate, fly, knowledge (arcana), knowledge (history), knowledge (nature), knowledge (religion), knowledge (planes), perception, perform (oratory), profession (general), sense motive, spellcraft, survival, and swim. And +16 to bluff.
Intelligence rises to 23 if it's not already higher.
Gains +18 to natural armour.
Gains improved evasion.
Gains spell resistance 41.
Can cast Limited Wish as a spell-like ability twice per day.

Spoiler: ShowHide

Aliciavatar HP: 855+20/855
Active spells: Many moments of prescience (CL 38), extended mind blank (CL 39), extended nondetection (CL 39), extended ray deflection (CL 39), repelling shield (CL 38), epic mage armour (CL 36), sensual blessing (CL 38), greater foresight (CL 38), seira's arcane thesis (CL 38), freedom of movement (CL 36), greater heroism (CL 36), greater visage of the deity (CL 36), recitation (CL 36), true seeing (CL 36), divine insight (CL 36), mass energy immunity (cold) (CL 39), celestial valor (CL 36), opal inviolability (CL 37)
Defences: AC 106, CMD 114, spell resistance 51, energy immunity (cold, unholy), status immunity (polymorph, petrification, disease, energy drain, ability damage, ability drain, mind-affecting, and fear), nondetection (DC 54), freedom of movement
Stat buffs/penalties: +10 armour AC, +25 competence perception, +7 insight AC/ref/init, +4 str, +2 dex, +4 con, +2 int, +4 wis, +4 cha, +9 shield AC, +3 luck AC/saves, +4 morale attack/skills/saves, +4 sacred attack/damage/AC/saves, +6 bonus hd, +6 competence attack, +4 competence fort, +10 SR checks, +5 spell DCs
Perceptions: Arcane sight, darkvision 60, true seeing, scent, tremorsense/blindsight 60, perception +79
Sorcerer spells: 6/16/15/13/8/9/14/8/8/8/7/6/6/5/5/2
Duskblade spells: 6/22/22/22/11/6/15