Beta:
The Servitors milled about, their visual sense impaired by the assault of light. The explosion of the desert bird was followed by the literal assault of Thales. Wings gleaming with reflected flame as he leapt, the angelborn heretic plummeted to the ground and at the last possible moment, a beat of his mighty wings propelled him to killing distance. With a quick, powerful motion, Thales brought the weapon through the "head" manifestation of one of the Servitors, and followed through with a twisting motion that chopped through another with his wings. The nearly bisected man-shaped servitor and the dark hemispheres of the other kill fell to the ground as the third Servitor whipped through the air and englobed Thales' face, right in the middle of his breath, sending deep throbbing pain through his chest and an entirely unappreciated
dragging of his soul closer to Death. Despite his fury and bloodlust, Thales was quite intelligent enough to
not wildly swing his sword at his face, and started flipping through his Arnum-blessed spells when two things happened at the same time.
Daethwin began to sing, and the rest of the party made its appearance down below. Light began to shine from Thales; soft at first, but then harder and warmer, like the perfect summer's day heat next to the bank of a snow-fed river. To the party (and Thales especially) it was a pleasant feeling; to the Servitor trying to drain Thales dry from the inside, it was akin to feeling the backwash from a blowtorch. It arched away, and Thales would snap a wingtip at it, catching the Servitor in the flank and causing some unpleasant, tarry ichor to leak from its side as it fled. The dead Servitors, who had crumbled to dust and ashes, had their leavings fly into the air, making the rays of light emanating from the Angelborn all the more obvious.
As Thales stepped back from the front line to inhale sweet, sweet air again, Jewel would rush past by several feet, leading with the shield towards a tripodal, pyramid-shaped Servitor. After bearing down, Jewel threw out his arm and SMASHED the Servitor, sending it careening off to the side. Rurail, about a second behind, would step up at
precisely the wrong moment: as the Servitor shot zig-zagging, smoky tentacles towards Jewel, Rurail stepped into the exact spot it was headed towards. They'd hit him like a triple blade to the side, followed immediately by a disturbing, dead, creeping numbness.
The only sound that came from Rurail was a smacking/tearing sound from the wound coming in. Another Servitor, emboldened by the success of its companion, swooped in towards the duo, hoping to prey on the wounded one. It caught the tip of Rurail's Holy spear through the midsection, and the fishman would deftly pin the Servitor to the ground for Jewel to bounce the hammer end off of the part of the Servitor oozing away from the fighters. With a sigh, the Servitor returned to the dust and ash from which it came.
The two brought their weapons back up to bear with near circular motions, remaining about a half-step apart for optimal manueverability. As Sylvari whirled his weapon about and grew enraged, Rurail and Jewel would, without looking, step directly away from each other, allowing the berserker to proceed through the lines. Sylvari would abandon technique and fall on killer instinct, swinging his weapon around with a feral snarl. It was brutal and primal, with Sylvari twisting and shoving through a tangle of attacks to chop off the offending limbs/organs. Surprisingly, despite several near misses, the warrior took no damage, the frantic waving and stabbing of his blade keeping the attacks from him.
Not ones to leave their companion way ahead to take hits, Jewel and Rurail would take a measured advance, feinting at the Servitors. One manifested as a snake-like creature and flew towards Jewel, black fangs gleaming with venom. Without breaking stride, the rockman would introduce the pointy end of his new weapon into the Servitor-snake's head, dusting the creature before its upper body could even hit the floor.
A Servitor, just outside the edge of the fighting, would start putting out the Call - a slow but rhythmic drumming that Daethwin's trained ears (and sense of the THINGS THAT SHOULD NOT BE KNOWN) would translate as "summoning attempt." Naturally, there was only one thing to do in order to the call: a
response. His voice would compete with and subvert the Call, diverting the energy from its intended purpose into a channel of Daeth's own choosing. Had he slightly more time or skill, the bard would have diverted the energy into himself or his companions, or allowed the summons to continue but under
his guidance; as it was, Daethwin settled for simply allowing the energies to dissolve.
Another slipped past the front lines to attack Thales, slashing out at him. Despite the fact that Thales wasn't able to retreat further, his armor saved him from damage. With his breath fully caught, the following attack was neatly parried to the left side as he used the flat of his blade to divert the blow into the wall, halfway pinning the Servitor. If Thales were to press his opportunity in the following round, the Servitor would likely die, as it was at a serious disadvantage.
Meanwhile, the advancing line would overtake Sylvari. Rurail would use the superior reach of his spear to knock aside blows, although his jabs towards the opponent were met with equal failure. This series of feints and parries would continue until the Servitor fully committed to an attack, its own spear-like protrusion arrowing towards Rurail's wounded side, only to be smacked aside again. A thrust, parry and counter; and then Rurail saw the opportunity. With a powerful lunge, the fishman would thrust the weapon into the middle of his opponent. As it dusted, he would see an opening, and would quickly pull with his lead and push with his rear hand, slamming the butt end into an errant Servitor. Adrenaline pounding, he would turn and thrust out at another Servitor, who would narrowly dodge thanks to the Servitor who had been hit throwing a decently-sized rock at Rurail's upper leg, giving him a wicked bruise and throwing off his stride just enough to make the difference.
Sylvari would take the opportunity to make one last swing, allowing Rurail to make a quick, slightly-hobbled retreat towards Jewel and Sylvari, closing the gap between the surviving Servitors and the one Thales had trapped.
Daeth: Full HP, 10 MP spent so far
Sylvari: 5 MP spent
Thales: 12 HP damage and 11 MP damage.
Jewel: Nothing
Rurail: 14 HP damage and 9 MP damage.
Surviving enemies:
A-2: Wounded (Trapped by Thales, +3 circumstance bonus to-hit)
A-4: Nearly Dead
B-1: Healthy
B-2: Healthy
B-3: Healthy
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Topic: Adventuring Party, Act 1: A Tale Of Two Hamlets (Read 38120 times)