Combat Round 9
On the vulture ledge:
The vulture-man thing bleeds green goo from multiple wounds. It finds itself outnumbered. Sensing, perhaps, that the tide of battle has turned against it, it issues forth a mighty screech like the one the other monster made before it disappeared. Khogeki and Tanner go deaf, the ringing in their ears drowning out any other sounds—and Tanner just having partly regained his hearing from the last screech. But Tanner is not stunned this time. And the Unseen Servant, too, retains his wits, if not his hearing.
The tranquil warrior-philosopher strikes with precise savagery as he coolly states:
"Demon, like all of your kind, you bring suffering and oppression primarily to yourself." Being deaf, he says it rather loudly. The monk lashes out in a flurry of fists, but cannot seem to make contact with the surprisingly nimble vulture-man monster. The monster laughs derisively.
Its mirth is short-lived. The parasites in Tanner's skin
(-2 HP) enrage him. He delivers a pair of mighty slashes! The first slices a wing off. The second disembowels the monster. It falls.
Meanwhile, further aft:
The toad monster and the toad-monster statue continue their assaults on Xale and Odilo. The statue hits Xale with a stony backhand that lifts the dwarf off his feet
(-8 HP). The insects continue to bite
(-2). A few feet away, the monster steps back from Odilo—only by a foot, alas, not enough to rid the wizard of the monster's disgusting stench. A wall of violet flame springs up, separating Xale, Odilo, and their opponents from everyone else. The flames stretch from the floor to the ceiling in front of the ledge and doglegs to the aft wall on the starboard side
(see map below). Hallagad finds himself standing right next to the flames. Thanks to the magical protection of his ring, he finds the heat of the flames, which would blister the skin of most humans at this distance, to be a little toasty.
The others make themselves ready to resume battle—or at least hope to survive it. Malibran moves south, stopping more than 20' away from the wall to avoid being burned. Risdac waves his wand-staff to cast Protection from Evil on himself. Hallagad readies his thunder hammer, but pauses when the curtain of fire appears, obscuring his target.
Rool skitters back down the wall. Desperate, he drinks his last potion of healing even though he knows it's dangerous to mix potions
(dice roll). The results do not sit well in his stomach. The polymorph potion is instantly neutralized, and the healing is half what it should be
(+9). On the other hand, at least he didn't explode.
Inside the wall of fire, the toad-man monster grins evilly. Then again, how else would an infernal creature grin?
Map:
Notes:
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Status: Malibran (H LG C20[13](Pholtus)): 47/90; Khogeki (H LN M16): 47/78; Odilo (1/2E NG MU17): 22/54; Xale (D NG C14[9](Dalt)/F13):
10/75; Risdac (Giant NG MU17): 10/58; Tanner (H CG F19):
51/107; Rool (H LN T20):
12/85; Hallagad (H LG P15(Pelor)): 43/93
Effects: Protection from Evil (Odilo, 30 rounds; Risdac, 16 rounds)
Light Sources: Continual light coin (Tanner); Continual light dagger (Odilo)