Chapter 2: A Shining Pillar of Deception

ooc: i'm assuming Skythar has been following...keeping out of trouble, but still there? I'll be taking some liberties here, I hope it doesn't skew things up too much...

As Mystia rounds the corner to the lighthouse, she sees Skythar leaning against the door of the lighthouse, seemingly not able to move very fast, or with much volition. She rushes towards him, and tries to call him back from the dark recesses of unconsciousness. Seemingly unsuccessful, she guides him to a sitting position, his back leaning against the lighthouse, and out of harm's way.

Mystia turns around, and looks towards the wooden structure. She sees her two reckless companions charging headfirst towards it, and a small grin creeps across her face. They sure don't know when to stop, do they. Nevertheless, she decides to have a little chat with Squin, but not before leaning her javelins up against the lighthouse next to Skythar.

Bolstered by the apparent success of his make-shift plan, Krytox surges onward. An evil grin stretches across his reptilian face as the image of the flames burn in his obsidian eyes. His longer stride has brought in hot pursuit of the smaller, but deceptively quick, halfling. They would enter the fray together, though he knew it was unlikely he would leave.

Since escaping his own captivity, he had made it his life goal to end oppression of the innocent he encountered. The great joy of freeing Random from his bonds in the cave many nights ago brought joy to his heart. It had been somewhat hard to see the tiny man leave their group, but he knew that in the end it would be for the best. It had angered the lizardman not only to see the family of the lighthouse dead, but to imagine how they must have been murdered was too much for words. His blood boiled, his stomach in ropes as his pace seemed to increase with each heavy fall of his foot. It would be close, but for a brief moment it looked as though the fearless two-some might make it to the first pirates before they would be able to loose another volley of bolts.

One could only hope...

A grim smile breaks across his face as Squin watches one Pirate fall and the big lizardman successfully lighting up a big torch. The smile dims as he sees the crossbows some of the Pirates have brought to bear. A warm salty liquid slowly moisturizes a corner of his mouth. Remembering the close call with the arrow just a moment ago, Squin stares intenting at the Pirates trying to identify which one shot at him. His anger rising, Squin vows to take down one who shot at him. If luck is against him, and his attacker remains unknown or hidden, one of the Pirates' crossbow totting buddies will have to bear the brunt instead. Narrowing his eyes, Squin focuses his anger into notching another arrow and takes aim, as if he could infuse the arrow with his anger so that it would explode onto the targeted Pirate.

Spot: 3+6 = 9
Attack: 2+7 = 9

Letting loose his arrow, he watches it fly as if filled with his anger. Too much anger, as it begins to wobble and lose its course. Disgusted with his effort, he shakes his head as he recalls his mentor's lesson. A quiet voice echoes in the back of his head. "Calm down" a familiar voice whispers.

OOC: Squin stays just within one full range increment of his shortbow (MW).
EDIT: I haven't responded to Mystia yet because I do not know the supposed distance between Squin and Mystia. May edit later depending on DM ruling / clarification.

Squin, having moved away from the lighthouse to bring his bow to bear against the crossbow-wielding pirates, looks back at Mystia, about forty yards back. He unleashes another arrow (I don't remember if you had wanted to, Squin - I have to post quick so I rolled your attack for you), and grunts in grim satisfaction as another sea bandit is felled, gurgling red bubbling mist from his mouth.

As Krytox and Alterith surge toward the crossbowmen, they unleash another salvo of sharp bolts. Of all the ones that threaten to pincushion them, sailing by perilously close to their bodies, the two companions suffer one shot each, the bolt tips burrowing relentlessly into their flesh. (Alterith + Krytox = 6 dmg each). They shrug aside the pain and continue lumbering forward. The looks on the pirates' faces begin to look substantially less pleased, as the gap between them closes to mere feet.

Some of them shout cries of dismay as they drop their uncranked crossbows and begin pulling out bladed weapons. Meanwhile, the structure is up in flames. It will take some more time for it to come down, if at all, but it is burning brightly as screaming, flaming bodies leap from its tallest ramparts, falling to the voracious pirate-lizardfolk battle below. Truly a shining pillar of deception.

ooc: Since I'm 40 yards back, and I'm on Run x4, I should make it in one more round, right?

Mystia continues to run towards Squinn, with her arm outstretched, as if in a slow-motion flashback movie. She glances at Alterith and Krytox, just in time to watch the two warriors receive two more arrows in their flesh. Suddenly her mind starts to feel dizzy, but she manages to continue running towards Squin. She could simply not bear to lose her friends this soon after meeting up with them again. First things first, though. Her first target was the Centaur, bravely continuing the fight, albeit from a distance.

Krytox stumbles slightly as the bolt lodges itself squarely between his scales. Blood spurts past the shaft, but he regains his footing, only losing a half-step on Alterith. He hardens himself for the close combat that is about to ensue. If no weakness is shown, it may put a fear in the hearts of their foes and a shake in their weapon-hand. The final distance between the frenzied companions and the pirates closes very quickly and in an instant they are upon them. Flaming bodies plummet to their doom all around, but the Underlost takes no further heed of his previous success. The heat from the nearby conflagration emanates wildly, threatening to push this battle further away from the towering inferno.

The heat of the structure is one thing, but the heat of battle consumes the two warriors. Their weapons swing about wildly, but one could appreciate the beauty in the trajectories. Metal clashes upon metal sending sound and sparks about, adding a sense of rhythm to the dance they called battle. Krytox was mere inches from his death once again, but his spirit raged on, fighting for those who no longer could. Despite his depleted physical state, he still managed to rely on his instincts and experience and found what seemed to be an opening in his enemies defenses.

Attack: 16 + 7 = 23
Damage: 2 + 5 + 2 (2-handed) = 9


OOC: I'm just going after the first pirate who is drawing a melee weapon. If Alterith has arrived there first, then I will attack the second pirate drawing a melee weapon. If no more pirates are going melee, I'll just go after the nearest with a ranged weapon out.

As the pain flows from the bolt in his chest, Bloodlust surges forward, no shackles holding him back as Alterith embraces the pain and flows to the back of their collective mind. Without the hindrance of Alterith's moral ambiguity, Bloodlust brings his axe to bear on the nearest pirate. A red haze clouds his vision, and adrenaline begins pumping into his veins in larger amounts than most people can handle. This endorphine surge carries him thru the pain, lending him much greater strength and stamina, unfortunately for the pirate on the receiving end of his glowing arc of death. The reddish orange gleam of the fire reflecting on the axe blade give it a hellish appearance. After the brief clash with the first pirate, he leaves a trail of blood dripping from his axe as he moves on to the next opponent, not even bothering to see if he leaves a body or a foe behind.

Reaching for another arrow, his heart jumps in fear as he sees his two charging friends hit with bolts. As time seemingly slows down, Squin watches them stagger. Helpless feeling turns into slight relief when he sees them recover and keep pressing onward. The relief is short-lived however, as he realizes that they're still in danger from those pirates still holding crossbow bolts. Steadying his aim, he tracks his target and fires. As he fires, he realizes that a black dotin the sky he hadn't paid attention to begins to grow larger and larger. It dawns on him that its headed at him, but unsure of what it was and not wanting to take chances, he jumps away from the spot he was just standing at. Unfortunately, as he jumped away, his bow clipped the tail of the arrow's shaft and changed its direction.

Attack: 1 + 7 = 8 (minus whatever penalty, if any)

As the fire continues to rage and consume the invasive, alien wooden structure intruding on the native shoreline of the swampland peninsula, the battle rises to a fever pitch. Bodies, both humanoid and reptilian, fall endlessly. In one part of the chaos, two friends, one monstrously larger than the other but both equally ferocious, swing their weapons at their sea-bound foes, their battle metal limning deadly arcs through the air. Krytox cuts deep into one of them, but despite the opponent's apparent awkwardness on solid ground, he manages to twist his body at the last microsecond, suffering a grievous wound but avoiding death. Alterith, consumed by Bloodlust, threatens to devastate everything in his path - his pirate opponents, however, clumsily dodge out of the way, beating a hasty retreat behind their companions who have now reloaded their crossbows. They raise their mechanical weapons... and another salvo of bolts flies toward the pair. Of all that barely miss, two slice more wounds open on Bloodlust's raging body. (13 dmg to Alterith)

Mystia reaches Squin, ready to rejuvenate her friends and increase their battle readiness, while preventing their death. Her beautiful eyes flicker across the battlefield, passing by Alterith, whom she sees is still far from destroyed (and in his current state, would not allow her near anyway), and resting briefly on Krytox. The underlost's muscles bulge and his scales surge with color in the waning light of the afternoon sun, and concern knots her comely features as she catches glimpses of the hulking beast's life water dripping slowly but steadily to the ground in thick, aquiline droplets.

ooc: Make Spot checks, everyone.

As the pain envelopes his mind, the rage is complete and Bloodlust surges forward. Most opponents would have dropped with two quarrels sticking out of their chests, but Bloodlust is barely even slowed. Blood pours out of the wound, coating the front of his jerkin, but the pain is a small annoyance in the back of his mind, completely overwhelmed by hatred for the injustices done to those behind him. His axe continues to flash in the light, the blood coating his body giving him an even more demonic appearance. On the 9th shell he would hardly be noticed at this point, the image is so complete. His fury carries him forward, obvlivious to all else around him except for the pirates that WILL pay the ultimate price for their cruelty. As he turns through his latest opponent it is only by a hair that Alterith is able to slow the blade as it arcs towards his underlost companion. Bloodlust's frustration quickly suppresses the softer alter-ego, however, and the axe continues on towards it's next target.

Attack:+6

Random number (1,20) :

18

Damage:+3

Random number (1,10) :

2

Spot:+?

Random number (1,20) :

5

"What kind of trouble have you gotten yourselves into this time?" she jokes, as she starts looking at Squin's wounds. "How are you feeling? Don't make any sudden movements." Mystia realizes that the situation is dire, and begins thinking about what she should do.

Roll: Spot: 3+2 = 5

ooc: I just realized that I didn't prepare any spells for today...

The solid hit sends shock waves up the sinewed arms. Krytox' attention shifts toward his next foe. As he turns to see who would face him next he is met with a surprising sight - the halfling trembling to stop his axe inches from the Underlost's midsection. While the berserker had taken a firm hold of the halfling, there was still a deceptively strong hold by his normal psyche, preventing Krytox from meeting a grim fate at the hands of an ally. The moment seemed to last an eternity, but almost instantly they both returned to battling their true enemies.

The heat-blasted lizardman, ready to press on, noticed that while the strike was true, his previous attack did not completely fell the pirate. He returned to his task in attempt to finish what he had started. There was no sense in leaving someone to attack them from the rear.

Attack: 9 + 7 = 16
Damage: 2 + 5 + 2 (2-handed) = 9

Spot: 16 + 3 = 19

OOC: I'm not sure if I should apply any bonuses to my attack roll on a critically damaged person (50% damage taken in one round). Additionally, if I gain any AoO, go ahead and roll for me, that way we won't waste any time with me posting again. You're pretty good with the flavor text anyway!

The corners of Squin's mouth turns slightly upwards as a small grin breaks out over his face at Mystia's seemingly relaxed state and jovial nature. "All sorts of trouble. If I see a projectile flying towards me I'm going to move." Seeing yet another volley of bolts fly at the giant lizardman and the little halfling, he flinches yet again. Interesting, they seem to have trouble hitting a big target, but not so much the little target. I wish they would all miss though ... that would be best. Maybe with some luck I can do something about it.

Drawing another arrow, Squin picks out another pirate holding a ranged weapon. Focusing on his shot, a satisfying twang hums in his ear as he releases the arrow, hoping it'll fly true this time.

Spot: 2+6 = 8
Attack: 13+7 = 20
Damage (if any): 5

ooc: Mystia, I suggest healing the group to the utmost of your ability as expeditiously as possible...

Once again, the group's weapons flash out in deadly arcs and shafts of lightning, and once again, more bodies fall to join their fellow cadavers. The battle is beginning to die down, as both sides take a heavy toll. Through the foggy storm of chaotic battle, the group peers toward the shore and sees a group of four figures striding toward the shoreline amidst their raggedy pirate minions. The lead figure is a human-looking female, her tanned skin covered in tattoos and the loose, folded clothing of a true sea dog, wearing a weathered black captain's hat. Her weapons are sheathed as she surveys the battleground with a small pair of... toy binoculars (the group's hair rises on end as they surmise where she obtained such an item from). By her side is a gruff, stout dwarf with a patch over one eye, and instead of a hand, his right arm ends in a spiked morning star. Close to them to their sides are two pirates that don't look so distinct from the rest of the cannon fodder... save for their rough sea blue uniforms that look weather-beaten and the red handkerchiefs tied around their mouths, masking their identity. They are probably pirate lieutenants, and wield cutlasses. The wind blows across the shoreline into the grassland where the battle is taking place, and it seems as though the essence of chaos, not just the wind, blows through their hair and clothing.

Looks like the pirate command group...

Bloodlust's axe continues to whine as it cuts back and forth through the air. Long sprays of red follow its motion as first one then another of the pirates falls victim to the gleaming blade. As four new targets present themselves, Bloodlust begins working his way towards them, cutting down enemies as he goes. His targets begin to wane and he finds himself faced with a choice. It isn't a hard one though. His blood is raging, cutting through his head and driving him forward towards further blood. It is the only thing that seems to calm his rage. Randomly engaging one of the four, he enters into further battle, not even pausing in his actions for the typical conversation with your nemesis.

Target: 1-captain, 2-dwarf, 3-left pirate, 4-right pirate

Random number (1,4) :

4

Attack: +8

Random number (1,20) :

9

Damage: +7

Random number (1,10) :

4

Mystia quickly looks at the pirate tower, trying to discern how much of a threat they still posed.

Spot check: 2 + 2 = 4

Not seeing too much activity, she focuses her attention on the wounded Centaur in front of her. She winces as she realizes the full extent of his injuries, and immediately begins to work. She begins by positioning herself away from the incoming bolts, using Squin as a shield in an oddly ironic way. Realizing she doesn't have much time, Mystia closes her eyes, concentrating her will, reaching out towards Sedna. A short prayer in a tongue foreign to Squin is mumbled through her relaxed lips. Finishing the prayer, she touches her hands to her lips, and her hands begin to glow with a bluish light familiar to the Centaur. Mystia reaches out and touches him, sending Sedna's healing powers through his body. Sedna would not fail Mystia this time.

Cure Light Wounds (1d8+caster level): 6+1 = 7

The blue glow disappears from Mystia's fingers as the spiritual energy is sent through them towards Squin's wounds. Immediately, the blood flowing from his wounds stop, and begin to mend themselves. What can only be described as an immensely unsettling feeling, as if waves of water were bursting forth from the wounds, only to be silenced as the wounds themselves disappear.

Seeing the Centaur's facial expression was enough for Mystia. She leaves the Centaur and makes her way sloppily towards the burning wooden structure, attempting to dodge projectiles. The lizardman was still hacking away at enemies, despite having bolts sticking out of his body. She mutters something under her breath, but nobody else on the battlefield could have discerned anything.

ooc: i guess it's up to the DM to decide if anyone heard what she said at the end, haha

Seeing the last of the tower-pirates fall, Krytox sees Mystia for the first time. The fire rages on, but he strides triumphantly toward the woman and centaur. He attempts to hold his head high, putting on a show, but it is obvious he is in dire need of help. His gait is uneven as his large scaled feet drag a little on the ground. Thick dark blood oozes down his body, slowly gushing past the numerous injuries on his body. Those that had previously been healed from encounter with the crocodilian had reopened and were bleeding anew. He looked like a pincushion, though notably less so than Alterith. Despite all this, a big grin spreads across his weary face as he reaches the pair.

"Welcome, blue hands," he says emphatically. Almost at the same time he sees the halfling, still in full fledged fury, dart past toward the shore. His eyes follow the trajectory of the short man and see his is running straight toward... more pirates. These, though, are noticeably different, exuding confidence and skill. They are even dressed the part, not wearing the tattered, ragged clothing of the others, but something more akin to what one would expect of a true scourge of the sea.

"More blue hands?" he asks hurriedly. Anxious to help his friend, though not necessarily wanting more bloodshed, he pulls a throwing axe and heaves it at the commander. The distance might be great, but so was the power in his arm. The Underlost remains near Mystia, hoping that there might be some sweet relief left in her hands.

Attack: 19 + 5 = 24
Damage: 5 + 5 = 10

OOC: If the distance between us and them is ridiculous (read: more than 2 extra range increments), I'll keep the axe and remain by Mystia. If she is able to heal me first, I will charge and throw the axe from a shorter distance.

A wave of energy flows from Mystia's hand flowing through Squin's body. As the wave flows over the wounds, the centaur gets a feeling of something prodding his wounds. However, instead of sending shockwaves of pain, a feeling of relief eminates from the wounds. Feeling refreshed, the centaur looks more alert, more energetic, and a smile is spreads across his face for a few moments.

He sees Mystia take off, and start talking to herself. She's can be a bit crazy sometimes, but is definitely a good friend. Projecting her direction, he sees Krytox approaching them. Looking past the lizardman he catches glimpses of an enraged halfling that appears out of control and charging a new group. This group looks more dangerous. The leaders maybe ... with a toy binocular? ... ... The smile on Squin's faced is replaced with a scowl.

Trotting forward impatiently, the voice of mentor echoes in his mind. "Letting emotions overrule common sense and smart tatics equals defeat." Stopping, he quickly scans the original group to see if anyone is paying attention to them. He stays near Mystia and Krytox shooting at the nearest target attempting to eliminate as many threats as possible. Meanwhile, he whispers another prayer.

OOC: Shooting at whichever pirate still within range. If none within close range, he'll wait until Mystia finishes healing Krytox before moving forward again possibly as a group.

Attack: +7

Random number (1,20) :

5

Damage (if any):

Random number (1,6) :

3

Mystia sees the huge lizardman bounding towards her, and is somewhat relieved to find that he can still move. What was more troubling was the sheer amount of damage his body had taken. Gashes were in abundance on his body, as were crossbow bolts that were still embedded in his flesh. It was all Mystia could do to hold back the tears welling in her eyes as she looks at the wounds. Krytox's huge smile catches her attention, and her spirit lightens. She smiles weakly that he remembered the last time she had to call upon Sedna.

"Hold on," she says, as the lizardman looks impatiently at the sea. "Stop moving around so much." Mystia lowers her consciousness once again and allows her spirit to wander, looking for the strong traces of Sedna that were present before. Fearing that she might fail this time, she takes another deep breath before stretching her will again, but Sedna proves once again that she had not forgotten her long-distance follower.

Cure Light Wounds (1d8+caster level): 7+1 = 8

She recites the prayer again, and yet again touches her lips. Mystia's "blue hands" have returned. She looks up at the lizardman in time to see him overexert himself again, this time throwing an axe somewhere. Not the slightest bit distracted, she extends her hands towards his damaged flesh, transferring the healing powers of Sedna to yet another creature in need of compassion. The feeling is not foreign to Krytox, having experienced it before. The bleeding stops, and his open wounds begin mending themselves. However, due to the fact that there were simply too many, and that Mystia could not fully channel Sedna, especially being so far away from her homeland, one could still see substantial injuries on the lizardman.

Mystia is now pretty spent on spiritual energy, and is actually a little dizzy. She drops to her knees, and a few sweat droplets are visible on her brow. She surveys the battlefield again, her hand on her crossbow, looking to make a bigger impact on the battle.

Spot check = 14 + 2 = 16

ooc: I'm not exactly sure why I'm doing so many spot checks, but I'd also like to know about how many pirates are left and stuff. I think with at 16, I should spot the newly arrived pirates and Alterith, but Mystia would probably not engage them directly if there were other enemies abound

Seeing a number of new targets spring up between him and his enemy, Bloodlust reorients on his target. The ones responsible for the abomination he left behind him in the lighthouse. With a roar of rage, he barrels for the enemy, ignoring everything in his path. The small halfling moves with an unhalflingish speed as he farely flies across the ground, bearing down on his opponent. As he passes the last of the combatants above the beach, he focuses in and has eyes for only the binocular wielding enemy who appears to be mocking him. With a mighty leap he launches himself into the air, his axe whistling through the air in a two-handed, over the head, chop.

Initiative:9
Full run to reach targets. Once there:
Attack:24
Damage:12

The surge in energy was more than welcome as Mystia's healing powers mended many of his opened and reopened wounds. Though he felt instantly better, it was always a strange feeling and made the flesh under his scales crawl, not unlike goosebumps to a human. The last of the energy of the spell was absorbed before the Underlost was completely rejuvenated. Mystia crumpled slightly, her legs giving out momentarily. Squin was able to reach out and support her as she regained her footing.

The healing had distracted him slightly, giving a sense of euphoria, though now that it had ceased he was able to concentrate again. Finding a throwing axe already in hand, Krytox remembered that he was going to throw at the pirate command group. Looking at the distance between them, he quickly realizes that it would be foolish at best to waste an axe on such an impossible feat. Not fully wanting to place the weapon back in his belt, he finds another target (pirate A). Taking out this would help give Alterith a more direct path to his obvious goal, so the lizardman releases the spinning blade at the much closer target. Breaking into a run after the attack, he tries to stay close on the halfling's trail.



Initiative: 13 + 3 = 16
Attack: 19 + 5 = 24
Damage: 5 + 5 = 10

OOC: I just kept the previous roll with the new target - pirate A. I think I could actually hit the pirate captain... I counted it as 22 spaces - which would have been +5 increments at -2 penalty each. Meaning it would be a -10 range penalty. Even with the 19 roll it seems unlikely though. They'd have to have pretty crappy armor modifiers. Are there maximum ranges for thrown weapons?

Initiative: 19+2 = 21
ooc: I think I'm all confused about the order of stuff for rounds. In any case, I'm going to post in case I got it right, and then you can delay my post if it's out of order? or something?

Mystia is still a little weary of not having received the mark that her friends had, but nonetheless, she's determined to help them out. "Squin, let's try and move together." With that, she takes her crossbow in both hands and loads up a bolt. "I've left some javelins by the lighthouse, do you think we could use them?" Her question was actually directed at the already speeding-off lizardman, but she instead looks at Squin.

Initiative: 18 + 4 = 22

Squin scans the battlefield while Mystia heals Krytox. Seeing a pirate wander close to them, Squin takes aim but suddenly out of the corner of his eye Squin sees Mystia stumble. He reaches out to support her while Mystia regains her footing. Almost as soon as Mystia regains her footing Squin reaims at the nearest pirate (Pirate A). By trying to take care not to hit the enraged halfling, Squin's aims drifts a bit wide. A brief frown of disgust flashes on his face as he realizes the arrow is flying off to the side of his intended target. Well, with any luck maybe I'll nick something, Squin hopes.

Attack: 9 + 8 = 17
Damage: 1

Hearing Mystia's question, Squin glances around the battlefield, at Mystia, and back towards the lighthouse before replying. "The lighthouse seems a bit far away. I see you have a crossbow, as long as you have enough bolts and a melee weapon you should be fine for now." Understanding dawns on him and Squin grins as he teases Mystia, "So you're not on friendly terms with the lizardmen not named Krytox. Now why aren't you friends with them?"