[ We find Our Heroes... well, sitting outside of the door, really. If anyone walked into the hallway it'd look almost like there was a line at the restroom, which is kind of funny, actually. Although, depending on the physical nature of the Necromancer himself, there may not BE a restroom in here. ] [ Which means you should've gone before you came in. ] [ But right about now, you hear the sound of glass shattering from behind the door. It's extra-loud, as if whatever the glass object was was built to shatter with a spectacularly loud sound. ] [ Session Start! ] * Tia , who had previously been pacing nervously in front of the door, suddenly jumps. * Patrick grins. "That'd be a broken mirrior." * Alcinoe starts at that, clamoring to her feet and reaching for her sword before she relaxes. * Tia turns to the door and raps on it impatiently. "Kenji? Are you okay?" He did it! Well, I hope *he* did it. I hope that's what it was... So it's safe to go in now right? I don't know. When he comes out, I can give him a wedgie, just to be sure. Kenji? * HKenji opens the door. The inside of the room, from what you can see, is splattered liberally with blood. So is he. In fact, rather a lot of it appears to be his, given the large gaping holes in his skin and normally spotless kimono. He looks utterly exhausted, though he's doing his best to keep up a good face. Kenji! ... okay, no wedgie. Jeez, Kenji, you look like hell. * Ariake gapes. "..." What happened, Kenji? * Seylin gasps. "Holy Bahamut... " * Tia motions Will over. * Alcinoe looks at Kenji for a moment, then behind him into the room. "Y'all might wanna wait a sec 'fore huggin' him." I killed myself. * Will grimaces. "That looks painful. Don't move around. Gonna heal." Too bad I did it out of order. * Tia nods, her expression anxious. * Alcinoe takes a breath and whispers a few words, gesturing to Kenji. What do you mean? * Patrick holds his head and runs his fingers through his hair. * Will pulls out the healing wand again. Hold on a second, Will. * HKenji runs a bloody hand across his forehead. * Will blinks at Seylin. "Huh?" Make sure he's him. * Tia nervously runs back and forth around Kenji. * Seylin looks at Alcinoe. * Alcinoe nods, a smile growing on her face. "Dunno what he is, but he ain't evil." * Seylin laughs. "All right!" Sorry, Kenji. But we had to make sure. * Will smiles. "Whew. Scared me for a sec there Alci." [ Kenji gets his forehead bloody. ] [ If it wasn't before. ] * Ariake grins. * Tia takes out her butterfly-embroidered hanky from her bag and offers it to Kenji. Well, if he's not evil, would one of you kindly patch him up? * HKenji ignores Will as he begins applying healing magic. * Istvan leans over to Kenji and whispers. "I may think you're an ass sometimes, but it's good to see you not dead." * Alcinoe 's ears twitch a little, and she smirks, looking around for any nasty surprises headed their way. * Ariake grins. * Patrick grins. "The mirror busted?" It sure sounded like it did. Yes. I should go pick up my shovel, come to think of it. * Patrick chuckles. Shovel? * HKenji turns around as the last of his wounds heal, leaving him merely bloody, and goes to do that. Sey, you wanna take a look at those chests in there? Sure, now that the mirror's gone. * Patrick nods. Maybe there's something in there that'll pay for a new kimono for Kenji. * Will puts his wand back into his bag. "There ya go Kenji." * Seylin peeks around the edge of the doorway. * Tia pads off after Kenji and looks around. * HKenji walks over to where his camp shovel lays in the shattered remains of the mirror, picks it up, and slips it into the sleeve of his kimono. * Ariake peers in the room, too. "Mind if I help check?" * Patrick walks in too, keeping an eye on the exit. I'll stay out here, keep an eye out for anything vaguely dangerous. * Istvan rests against the door frame, idly twirling his war pick. * Seylin walks in, making sure not to look at what is certainly the corpse of the other Kenji, and walks over to one of the chests. * Ariake searches for RARE ITEMS. XD * Alcinoe blinks before stepping in, but only into the doorway. "Guys?" * Seylin stops. "This does not feel good." * Will looks into the room. "It's safe to go in now right?" * Tia whirls around. "Huh?" * Ariake blinks. "Howso?" Ya know how Ah said Kenji ain't evil? * Patrick raises an eyebrow. "What's up?" * Will takes a couple steps back away from the door. "Something wrong?" * Patrick doesn't seem deterred except by Sey's voice. * Tia nods. That doesn't mean there ain't no evil. There's a bunch of it, all in the chests. * Seylin looks over at Alcinoe and nods. "It's all around us." Fuckin' hell. I hate cursed stuff. ...Should I hit them? * Alcinoe grimaces a little and nods,too. * Ariake winces. "Damn." I'm supposed to hit evil things, right? Destroy them. Alcinoe... take care of it, yes? I'll help, if I can. Can I help, Alci? * Istvan pokes his head in, eyes the conversation... and sliiiiiides out of the doorframe, coming to lean just to the side of the doorway, on the outside. * Ariake nods. "I'll help, sure." * Alcinoe looks a little amused and nods. "Sure." If anything, we should destroy what isn't useful. Better to keep them from falling into wrong hands. ^_^ * Will nods. "Definately." * Tia cheers and sets to work with her axe. * Tia sings that horrible little song that she heard at Ganache's. * Ariake gets some tools out of a pocket and starts destructivating things. * Seylin gets to work, hacking and tearing and generally making a mess of things. * Alcinoe draws her sword and gets to work, too, doing her best to ignore Tia's song. * HKenji steps out into the hall, away from the room coated with a double dose of his own blood. * Patrick shrugs and pulls out a falchion, getting to work too. * Will also draws his sword out and hacks awkwardly at the evil stuff. * Istvan eyes Kenji as he walks out. "Y'know, you coulda lured the other you out here, so we all coulda taken it on." * Alcinoe casually gives Will tips on how to swing that sword of his. She can't resist. * Tia steps away when her chest is a pile of splinters. "I finished!" No I couldn't have. I would not have come out without the mirror, and we would shortly have been fighting an entire group of duplicates. * Will grins sheepishly and starts swinging a bit more smoothly. It's still funny to watch though. [ Smashy smashy! ] Mmm... point. * Seylin finishes up eventually and wipes her forehead. "There!" [ You all break things remarkably well, and are quite thorough. Even small stuff like rings cannot escape your smashing prowess. ] * Alcinoe finishes, then sighs, sheathes her sword, and heads out. * Patrick finishes and sheathes his sword. "Now, let's get to the Necromancer wasting." He smiles. Okay! He's evil, right? Very evil, Tia. Still, you coulda waited until it picked up the mirror. Maybe opposite evil you was dumb. I'm only supposed to hit bad men. * Will finishes too! [ The feeling of evil fades as all the stuff is broken. ] * Tia seems cheerful after breaking things. * Ariake nods. "I think we're set!" What happens if the evil one saw itself in the mirror? Where to, now? It is difficult to say. Come. * Ariake nods. "Let's go get 'im." * HKenji goes to find the next door. * Istvan looks across the hall, and points. "There, I guess." * Alcinoe runs a hand through her hair and heads after. * Patrick shrugs and moves after. * Seylin heads out, halberd still in hand. * Tia wags her tail cheerfully as she skips along behind Kenji. Her claws click on the steel floor. [ Across the hall is a door, yes. Down the hall is one last door, too. ] * Will follows behind the rest of the group down the hall. Look, another door! * Ariake follows! Can I open it this time, huh? Wait a sec, Tia. I think we should prepare before going in there. Okay. * Tia jogs in place. * Patrick pulls out his bow. "Ya think?" ^_^ * HKenji skips that door and goes for the last one. * Ariake cracks her knuckles. ... or we could just head for the last door. Can I open it? Please? Well, we should prepare before we go in any door, right? * Istvan mutters, and follows after Kenji. I mean, we don't know what's on the other side. We should prepare, yes. Not unless you have X-Ray vision. * Patrick grins. "Do you have X-Ray vision?" Not yet, but I'm working on it. [ Istvan and Kenji go down the hall. Anyone going with 'em? ] * Tia is! * Patrick is going too! * Ariake is! * Seylin is going down the hall as well. * Seylin giggles. "I can see okay in the dark, but not that well." * Alcinoe shakes her head and walks after. Yup. * Tia sings "I want to open the door" to Ganache's song. [ Near the last door, there's a pair of recesses that blend flawlessly with the hallway itself. In fact, you don't even notice them until they each produce a big stone person that takes slugs at the group! ] * Will follows behind Alci. * Alcinoe notices that and draws her sword. "An' Ah thought they only used zombies an' mirrors." * Seylin stops. "Uh-oh." * Patrick stops too. "Oh, this is perfect." * Tia backpedals quickly. "Whoa! It's a...stone...man...thing." [ Unfortunately, the big people-shaped rocks - which are carved to resemble armord men in such fine detail as to make a Dwarf or Gnome weep in utter joy - pick Seylin and Tia as targets, and uncanny dodge denies them their free hits. ] [ Everyone roll initiative. ] * Istvan mutters. "This isn't gonna be pretty... nice craftsmanship, though." Damn things... * Seylin hops back. "Yikes!" [ Kenji, attack! ] * Tia giggles. "Mr. Axe likes the stone men things." * Tia suddenly looks thoughful. "Oh, hit them there? Okay!" * Seylin blinks. "Tia, who are you talking to?" Who's Mr. Axe? * Patrick grins. "I'd guess her axe." * HKenji turns around, steps back, draws both blades, and sends a shower of sparks flying as his blades do little more than scratch one of the golems. [ Kenji's swords make pretty music as he batters the golem with them. ] [ Tia, show them your might! ] * Tia roars cheerfully and swings Mr. Axe, then slashes at the golem with a forepaw. [ Tia's paws don't do anything but become filed against the golem, although... uh... 'Mr. Axe' does just fine, thank you, taking a big chunk out of the golem. ] How was that, Mr. Axe? She's talking to her axe? O-kayyyy... * Istvan winces, the dwarf in him saddened by the destruction of such fine craftsmanship. * Tia giggles again. "Thanks!" * Ariake looks at the axe. "Hm." [ Patrick, go! ] * Patrick aims carefully at the Golem that tried to hit Seylin. "Never know when one of them is gonna jump out and talk to you." ~_^ He releases a volley of four arrows at that Golem. [ Two of the glowing arrows hit, diging gouges into the center of the golem. ] [ Alcinoe, use smite attack now! ] * Alcinoe doesn't use smite attack, instead raising her sword and letting out a shout. Something about her seems to change, though it's hard to tell what. [ One of the golems attacks Kenji, the other Tia, and they both get smacked HARD. Twice each, even. ] [ Istvan, go! ] * Istvan scowls. "Stone... pick. Okay, I can do this." *attacks the golem Tia had previously taken a chunk outta* * Tia roars as she is struck. * HKenji is slammed hard, and it shows. He's bleeding. From bludgeoning damage. [ Istvan takes another chunk out of that golem! ] [ Seylin, go! ] * Seylin looks up at the golems, then at her halberd, then runs over to Tia. "I think I'm better off just helping you hit it more." She reaches out and touches Tia's side, whispering a few words. [ Will, go! ] * Will takes a couple steps away from the golems, all the while muttering a prayer. A warm invigorating feeling fills the party. Thanks, Will. Thanks, Sey! [ Ariake, go! ] You're welcome, Tia! * Ariake raises an arm and casts a Magic Missile at the golem that hit Tia and Kenji. [ Ariake's magic missiles splash harmlessly against the golem. ] * Ariake curses! [ Kenji, Go! ] * HKenji continues throwing off a shower of pretty sparks and making some nasty sounding music as he grinds away at the golem like an industrial metalworker. [ Tia, go! ] * Tia glares at the one that punched her earlier and decides to return the favor with Mr. Axe leading! [ Tia's axe digs massive gouges out of the golem's sides, cutting it nearly in half! Then the pokes the center with her claw and the golem falls into two pieces and stops moving. ] All right! Way to go, Tia! * Will cheers! "Go Tia!" Yay! * Tia hugs her axe. [ Patrick, go! ] Excellent! * Patrick grins and comments "Nice job!" as he turns around effortlessly and unloads a quad of arrows at the remaining golem. [ Patrick adds more pockmarks to the golem, but it does not fall! ] [ Alcinoe, go! ] * Alcinoe doesn't comment on Tia's job, instead acting by attacking the standing golem not once but three times. [ Alcinoe gouches some good-sized chunks out of the golem, and it topples! ] * Tia roars triumphantly. "Yay, Alci!" * HKenji sheathes his swords in an instant and turns back towards that last door. Good job again! All right! Nicely done! * Alcinoe watches it crash to the floor. "Okay, if he ain't hearin' that, the guy's deaf." Impressive. * Will gives Alci a congratulatory hug. "Go Alci!!" * Patrick grins. "Well, he *is* a necromancer." Err... yeah. * Alcinoe acks, moving her longsword out of the way before she gets hugged. "Watch the sword, Will!" Alcinoe, ready your enhancements. Will, ready counterspells. Ariake, ready your speed spell. * Tia hugs Alcinoe too. Oops. Forgot about that. * Istvan eyes his pick. "Didn't like that stone, didja?" * Ariake nods. "Got it." * Patrick nods. "Let's make this guy go down fast." Wait, anybody needs healing first? * Will takes out the stick. I think I saw Tia and Kenji take a beating. Make it quick. * Will nods. "Here we go." * Tia shrugs. "I've got a few scratches," she confesses. Anything I should prepare? Prepare to slice, dice, and puree. * HKenji pushes his way through the door just as soon as Will is finished. * Patrick chuckles. "Don't forget perferate." * Will puts his wand back. "All done." * Tia runs after Kenji. * Ariake follows. "Mutilate!" * Alcinoe storms after Kenji, not bothering to sheathe her sword. You got it! * Seylin follows Alcinoe. * Patrick keeps pace behind Kenji. He whispers something to Seylin. * Istvan follows. * Will follows close behind Alci. * Seylin whispers back. Ready, Mr. Axe? * Patrick smiles warmly to Seylin and nods. [ You're at the door, already. ] * Will mutters a quick prayer on the way. A brief glow surrounds every party member, making them feel a bit tougher. *Mass Bear's Endurance* * HKenji pushes his way through the door just as soon as Will is finished. * Patrick nods and follows. [ Beyond the door is a dour chapel of black that glows faintly with red light. On a raised dias at it's end stands a man with short hair, red spectacles, and a close-trimmed beard rimming his face. He wears black armor with four chains leading from it's waist, each of the chains holding a very distressed person. In front of him is a woman of a palid complexion and piercing red eyes, dressed in armor and carrying a twin-pronged spear. ] * Tia waves. "Hi! Are you evil?" [ "Of course not, foolish girl. There is no such thing as evil." ] * Ariake raises an eyebrow. "I rarely judge by appearances, but..." * Patrick grins evilly. ... that'd be a yes. Yup. He's evil. Okay! A man who would have you believe there is no such thing as evil cannot be any but evil himself. * Tia whispers to Kenji. "Does that mean I should hit him?" I don't there is such thing as a good necromancer, right? Oh, quite the contrary. They do exist. They're just very rare. * Alcinoe doesn't say a word, eyeing the chains and those attached to them. [ The man continues to gaze impassively at the bunch of you. "Judge me if you wish. It does not matter." ] Wow. Never knew that. [ The people in the chains are all pale of complexion, and one of them looks remarkably similar to the woman with the lance. They are all, however, quite horrified. ] What's say you release the ladies on the chains so we can have a nice, orderly brawl? Enough talk. * HKenji darts forward to take down the bodyguard. * Patrick draws an arrow and releases it just as Kenji goes for the bodyguard. AT the bodyguard. [ "That would be awfully stupid of me. They will shield me against your attacks." ] * Ariake begins casting a spell. * Tia runs up after Kenji. ... ah well. Was worth a shot. *advances on said bodyguard* [ This is where you roll init. ^_~ ] [ Istvan, go! ] * Istvan stomps up to the girl with the spear and brings his pick down in a rather quick overhand motion. "Outta the way, lady." [ Istvan's pick digs down into the woman's chest, entering near the collarbone. She gives a cry of pain, and then glares balefully at Istvan before grabbing the pick and shoving it back out. ] [ Seylin, go! ] * Seylin goes around the side and takes a swing at the armored woman. [ Seylin's shot screeches off her armor. Alcinoe, go! ] * Alcinoe ignores the woman, instead charging the necromancer. She brings her sword high and around... striking at one of the chains binding the people to his armor. [ As Alcinoe passes the woman, the latter strikes out at her with her spear. ] [ The spear tears into Alcinoe's side, but she keeps truckin'! ] * Alcinoe grimaces as it goes straight through her armor and blood stains her side, as she refuses to stop. She reaches the necromancer, swinging her sword to one of the chains and severing it almost effortlessly. [ The necromancer scowls. ] * Alcinoe grins at him, despite the pain. [ He makes a comment in an ugly-sounding language, and the woman with the spear nods. ] [ The woman attacks Istvan with her spear once, lancing him squarely through the chest. ] [ Kenji, go! ] * Seylin screams. "Istvan!" * Istvan coughs out blood. * Alcinoe hears the scream and loses her grin, but she doesn't turn around. * Ariake snarls. "For that..." * Patrick nods and smirks. "So that's the way they're playing..." Isty! * Istvan looks down at the chest, back up at the girl, and rolls his eyes. "Fucking perfect..." *coughs out more blood* * HKenji takes a flying leap straight over the heads of the rest of the group clustered around the speargirl and comes to rest beside Gendo in a bright flash of steel. [ Kenji's sword finds a niche in the armor near the shoulder, digging down to the man's clavicle... ] [ And then being pushed back out as the wound heals, partially. The remaining chained people scream as wounds appear on their shoulders, the exact spot where Kenji caught the necromancer. ] * Seylin gasps in shock. "Oh no!" [ The man reaches out to Kenji, grasping his face, and red- black energy pours out from his hand. ] * HKenji grunts. A little. For those who know him, that means he's in extreme pain. This is evident from the large black hand now imprinted on his face. [ Ariake, go! ] * Ariake growls, and casts Haste on the party! [ Will, go! ] * Will jumps to Isty's side and puts a hand on Isty's chest. Blinding light surrounds the two of them in a surge of healing energy. "You'll be all right Isty. Show her what you can do!" [ Patrick, go! ] * Istvan watches the wound in his chest completely close up. He coughs up one last mouthfull of blood, then grins. "Round two. You got a healer handy?" * Patrick sets the lady in his sights, grinning. "See you in hell." He unleashes a volley of five arrows at her. [ The woman takes four arrows, one in the head. She turns towards Patrick, and raises the spear like to throw it at him, but then she peters over backwards and stops moving. ] * Patrick swivels and faces the Necromancer. The chains! Break the chains! Y'all just *realized* that? It's a reminder! * Tia 's ears twitch as she hears Seylin's voice. Baring her teeth, she roars again and chops into the chains. [ The necromancer scowls and holds out his hand. The spear flies to him, and he catches it. ] [ Tia breaks the remaining chains. ] [ Istvan, go! ] [ The people all run off, by the way. Gendo doesn't seem to think they're worth killing as they go, either. ] * Patrick grins. "I figured you got it under control." * Istvan advances towards the Necromancer, swinging his pick down into the mage's chest. "Nasty trick, those chains. Hope this is nastier..." [ Istvan scores a hit, and the necromancer scowls. "This isn't going as planned. ...next time, then." ] [ Dark energy builds around the necromancer before washing out over you all; when it's gone, so is he. ] Next? Hey, wait- * Seylin is cut off by the dark energy. Hey! NO! * Will shields his eyes from the dark energy. ... ow. * Tia stomps a forepaw. "I wanted to hit him!" * Istvan falls to one knee, then stands back up after a moment. * Ariake curses repeatedly. "That's quite a spell. DAMN." * Will grunts in pain as the dark energy reaches him. * Patrick shields himself from much of it, but still gets hit. "And the chase is on..." * Tia staggers as the dark energy strikes her. Ow! * Ariake leans against the wall, and winces. * Seylin gets knocked down by the dark energy. "Ow!" * HKenji slashes angrily through where the necromancer was just standing. ... we should prolly make sure those four girls are okay. [ Session End. ]