Once more into the breach...

[DM Bob]

“When the day becomes the night and the sky becomes the sea, when the clock strikes heavy and there’s no time for tea; and in our darkest hour, before my final rhyme, she will come back home to Wonderland and turn back the hands of time.”

Rituals spoke-sang; dances made begrudgingly. The sing song spirals of cold then flame give birth to blackness and a brief loss of self. Only to then erupt into heat and brilliance once more. Once more into the breach.

But things have changed.

The rock, once alone thronged with elemental fire in all directions and somehow holding it's own upon compressed fury, is surrounded by dancing mephits of flirting fire. Some thirty or more tiny men and women of fire dance much as you did upon entry. When you appear to be noticed? They light up brighter, perhaps in excitement or maybe in joy that what they've been waiting for has finally appeared.

"Ai ai! They were not wrong! Send word to the masters of brass & pain! Tonight we shall not be beaten again!"

A half dozen make to leave directly away from where to where you believe the eternally burning forest lies as the others dance faster and closer to your person.

[Attilius]

Attilius makes the haste lime trade with Coden before they leave Athas and stores it in his belt right hip pouch.

Jul 26, 2024 16:06:30 GMT -12 DM Bob said:

“A half dozen make to leave directly away from where to where you believe the eternally burning forest lies as the others dance faster and closer to your person.

"Kalak's Cock! Take out dem fleeing ones first!" the gladiator frustratingly belts out as he moves in to intercept the closest mephit numbers and begins throwing his darts holstersed in his two chest bandoleers...

[Round 1 - initiative 8]
Armor Class: -7
vs. missile weapons: -9

The Murmillo throws his darts towards the escaping mephits...

5 thrown darts - initiative: 10
Hit AC's:
-9 / 14 mundane piercing
2 / 14 mundane piercing
3 / 14 mundane piercing
1 / 16 mundane piercing
0 / 15 mundane piercing
[17/-5 darts]

Shield punch (smash) - Initiative 16
Hits AC -10 / 18 mundane bludgeoning

[AthasianLaborer]

Round 1 Initiative: 9 (rolled a 7, -1 Dex, +3 Casting Time)
Round 1 Intention: Cast Slow, targeted to catch the 6 fleeing mephits and 4 of those closer if possible (those fleeing are the primary target of the spell)

[Niachi]

AC 0, Initiative 3 (rolled 2, -2 Dex, +3 cast time)

Intent to cast Touch the Black with a 40' cube at the lower part of the circle of dancing amateurs, to split them into L and R groups for convenient  kills.

CON roll 20.

Attachments:

map 1.jp2 (23.07 KB)

[Skrye [AC3; 48/48HP]]

- Watching the half dozen fire mephits attempting to fly away as the combat starts to develop, Skrye focuses her energy into calling the power of her Lords to command those ones back - "Fly back mephit messengers and stop other mephits from leaving this area" - in an attempt to hold back ones with anothers, solely focusing in this cast

[OOC: Initiative 10.
Casting 3rd level 'Dictate' spell at the 6 flying away mephits.
vodabois.fi/2eSpells/

Locate Object spell (7hrs), Protection vs Fire, Barkskin (AC 0, 6rnds).
AC 3, 48/48HP; SPELLS 1stLvl(4/5), 2ndLvl(5/5), 3rdLvl(2/4), 4thLvl(3/3)]

[Umbris (AC 2 | HP 37/37)]

Attacks one of the fleeing mephits, flinging a rock with his sling

Init: 5 (Rolled 3, +6 from speed, -4 dex)
Hit AC of 0
Damage of 4

[Quila Oris (John M.)]

Looking around her, Quila sees that she was right in suspecting a trap or at least an ambush of sorts. She is still shaken a bit at the sight of the Eternal Hearth around her again, not having forgotten the recent close calls there and the burnt-to-a-cinder-witches from which they took the slugs and the tent. A bit slower than normal she gets into the action and starts casting.

Init: 12 (rolled 10, -4 dex, +6 spell)
Casting Protection from Fire (lvl 3) upon myself.

[DM Bob]

Coden stands on the defensive, perhaps not wanting to fight creatures that showed intelligence without communication first. He has the option to ready a ranged weapon at this point if he so wishes.

They are slowed due to 'Muiko's arcane attack and all but one begins to return from Skrye's dictating command. That one is easily dropped by darts and the remaining sling shot. The darts are actively burning away after contact with their small leathery bodies.

But this as a whole startles the pack of impish red folk. Those that are not slowed run, fly and scatter to just about every direction but towards the combined party, screeching and hollering. Much like a startled flock of geese (red fire geese). This, coupled with the roar of an infinite fire and the smells of every type of burning matter, make for quite the impression on your return to this insane locale.

[Umbris (AC 2 | HP 37/37)]

He snarls, watching the wee beasties scatter like a swarm of cockroaches 

"Hrmm. I not often get dis feelin', but methinks we need to move, and quick. Mightve fucked up..."

He takes a moment to look over the one dead one, keeping a careful distance as the body and flesh flicker and burn

[AthasianLaborer]

'Muiko laughs as the chaos unfolds, looks as though he's preparing to cast before having second thoughts as Quila begins to speak...

[Quila Oris (John M.)]

"Hot damn," Quila exclaims, biting her lip nervously, "Please don't hit them anymore. Let me try to reason with them instead. Tell them about the wonders of the rolling dunes."

Quila starts speaking in an oratory fashion, putting her passion into a tale, pulling from the fully remembered account of her favorite book from the Kurn Library: Deserts of the World by the dwarven scholar Komantes who lived a few King's Ages ago.
She makes sure to point out all those aspects of the deserts that would speak to a fiery critter.

(OOC: Quila casts an Enthrall (lvl 2) spell. Initiative rolled 2, spell takes the full round to start up.)

[Attilius]

Jul 29, 2024 10:06:43 GMT -12 Quila Oris (John M.) said:

"Hot damn," Quila exclaims, biting her lip nervously, "Please don't hit them anymore. Let me try to reason with them instead. Tell them about the wonders of the rolling dunes."

Quila starts speaking in an oratory fashion...

Looking skyward, the giant angrily growls at the fleeing beasts but heeds the Templars request to use fancy words instead.

[DM Bob]

Hmm. The oratory seems to grab most of their attentions...

Save for seven of the fiery mephits. Three of those were already attacked before darts and make their way out of range (via flight) of the emotional suppression.

Three more unaffected are those that are slowed and one non-slowed escapee will be out of range soon.

Twenty-two of the lil men and women smile and begin to sit cross legged. They apparently do not get story time in the Great Hearth.

[Attilius]

"Huuurrrrmmmm..."
The gladiator stands behind the Templar on overwatch. He clearly doesn't believe what he is seeing and expects a tembo (dog) pile trap to be sprung on her at any moment.

[Niachi]

As Niachi’s plea to The Black is denied once again in this wretched place, he weighs his options as nonviolence happens.

Hurmph.

He stands with hands free, watching the storytime. Calling upon an elemental kin still seems not opportune just yet.

But at least he will come back with even more beautifully bronzed skin, so things are good!