Session Start: Sat Oct 18 17:08:51 2008
Session Ident: #castlevania
<Holmes> [The party finds itself deep underground at the bottom of a
large stone pit once used as a quarry.  Enemies are hiding in the
cliffs and crevices above and who knows what horrors lurk further
in?]
* Skip moves silently up the wall until he reaches the crevice.
* Skip gives a slight twitch of his head, activating the darkvision
feature of his headband, and peers into the opening.
<Holmes> [Skip can count half a dozen ghouls on the ledge and more
clinging to the walls nearby waiting to ambush the party once it
enters the quarry.  Looking around, Skip can see more ghouls on
ledges on the opposite side of the quarry and more ledges further up
the walls.]
* Skip takes a tally of all ghouls and baddies, then silently creeps
back down the wall to his comrades.
* Skip reappears in the shadows, then creeps over to his friends
waiting patiently in the tunnel.
<Skip> The place is crawling with ghouls. They're all along the walls
and in the little nooks and crannies. From the look of things,
they're waiting for us.
<Biff> Oh good.
<Biff> Gimme a sec here, I think I got a plan.
<Biff> ...
<Biff> Right.  You guys back up a bit, so you can't see out there
anymore.  Well, more sos they can't see you, you dig?
* Skip nods. "All right."
* Skip moves back around the bend with the rest of the party, leaving
Biff to his maniacal plot.
<Biff> O, you stay here.  I'll invis us both.
<Biff> Uh, unless you can do it yourself.
<Biff> And you guys, be ready to come running when the explosions
start.
* Olivia starts to turn, but then turns to look at Biff instead. "For
a little bit, I can, but not long. What're you trying to do?"
<Biff> I'm gonna bunch 'em all up.
<Biff> A little bit is fine, but I can't exactly blow 'em all up,
y'know?
* Olivia nods slightly, then points at herself. "So you want me for
the second volley?"
<Biff> Second?  First.  I'm not gonna do any damage at all.
<Charlotte> Hm?
<Biff> Charlotte, you're a ditz.  Get back dere around the corner.
* Charlotte isaround there?
<Biff> Anyway, invis up, toots.
* Biff hops up on Big O's shoulder and invises himself.
* Olivia focuses for a moment, disappearing as her cloak seems to
envelop her as it disappears.
* Biff waves his invisible paws around an invisible cheeseburger, and
magical duplicates of the whole party appear, complete with noises
and deliciously foody smell (well, if you're a ghoul, anyway), and
walk forward, out into the crevasse.
<Holmes> [The doppleganger party wanders out into the quarry and
begins walking toward the far end.  With a howl, dozens of bodies
begin to stream down the walls and accost the mirage.]
<Biff> That's your cue, toots.
<Holmes> [After perhaps a dozen seconds, the undead have collected
down in the quarry and are trying to cut down the image.  After
several failures, the mob stops attacking.]
* Olivia slips an invisible wand into her invisible hand and points
it down towards them. She closes her eyes a moment, peering at them,
and then suddenly her eyes snap open as four seperate shockwaves fly
from the tip of the wand, in rapid succession, as she appears out of
being invis, a half-smile on her face. Bombardment of sonic
fireballs!
<Holmes> [The blasts erupt near the center of the quarry.  The party
can feel their hearts skip a beat with the force of the blast.
Everything within the blast radius is instantly vaporized, leaving a
sphere-shaped gap in the quarry floor and walls.]
<Holmes> [The shockwave rattles up through the quarry walls, shaking
loose soil and debris and causing it to rain down in a cloud on the
quarry.]
* Olivia stands there with her wand still out, letting her get some
dramatic hair blowing cape fluttering in after detonating 20 feet of
space 4 times in the span of a round. And then she twirls the wand
and puts it away. "Like that, tomcat?"
<Holmes> [Everyone has grit in there mouths now and a haze of dust
hangs in the air.]
<Biff> An awe-inspiring symphony of destruction, toots.  I could get
to like a gal like you.
<Biff> Uh, you guys can come on up, now.
* Charlotte applauds
* Skip walks up, "How many of them were there?"
<Biff> Uh... I didn't really get to count, per se.  By the way,
that's ghoul and granite smoke.  Don't breathe that.
<Biff> There were a LOT.  Probably pretty close to three dozen.
* Skip nods and covers his mouth.
* Olivia covers her mouth with her cloak and says, muffled, "We
should probably move. My ears are still ringing a little, and sound
goes through stone pretty well."
<Biff> Yeah, let's get moving.
<Charlotte> Right
* Charlotte tries to move onward, stealthily
<Biff> Skip,  you stay back with Nyyx.
<Biff> Charlotte, O, you're with me.
* Biff takes off ahead, letting Charlotte and O trail a bit behind
him.
* Biff is, luckily, essentially invisible, being a tiny little cat
made to blend into shadows.
* Olivia skulks along with Biff.
<Holmes> [The party skulks ahead, through the mist of stone dust and
moves toward the far end of the quarry.  Biff is in the lead with
Charlotte and Olivia close behind with Nyyx, Skip and Theodore in the
rear.]
<Holmes> [Through the mist, the far end of the quarry appears to be a
multi-leveled structure of worked stone.  Green-flamed torches light
three different levels of what look like balconies stacked one on top
of the other with the lowest at ground level.]
<Biff> Well... that looks promising.
<Biff> Any enemies about?
<Biff> I don't see a damn thing.  Where's all the guards?
* Olivia shakes her head slightly and murmurs, "The dust isn't
helping."
<Biff> You can't have an evil temple without guards!
<Biff> that's against the rules.
<Biff> Okay, well.  Onward, ho.
* Biff heads towards the evil castle of evil.
<Holmes> [An explosion of sound rings out from the structure and
something whizzes by Charlotte's head and buries itself in the stone
wall.]
<Charlotte> Eek!
<Biff> As I was saying...
<Biff> What the hell was that, anyway?
<Nyyx> Hell if I know.
<Biff> Is someone seriously shooting at us?
<Biff> THIS IS INTOLERABLE. 
<Nyyx> I wouldn't doubt it.
* Nyyx looks for their attacker.
<Nyyx> I don't see whoever it is.
<Charlotte> Seomemovement
<Charlotte> Up there, on the thierd.
<Charlotte> Careful now
* Biff snaps a claw and an immense fog bank, thicker than pea soup,
springs up in front of the party, blocking all sight.
<Biff> That'll get us halfway there or so.  Let's go.
* Biff dashes off into the fog.
* Charlotte heads off
* Nyyx slips into the fog and switches stance to Hearing the Air in
order to orient herself in the cloud.
* Olivia moves along in that direction. Hopefully she doesn't step on
any tails.
<Biff> there'll probably be a quick shot at one of us as we come out
of the fog.  Ignore it and head for the door at top speed.
<Nyyx> Sounds like a plan.
* Biff comes up almost to the edge of the fog and hesitates,
gathering himself for a sprint.
<Biff> If it's closed, toots, we're counting on you to make like a
battering ram.
<Nyyx> Right.
* Nyyx readies herself at the edge of the cloud.
* Nyyx smiles a bit. "Just say the word."
<Biff> Go. 
<Biff> We'll be right behind you.
* Nyyx makes a dash for the entrance.
<Holmes> [As Nyyx breaks through the fog, a burst of sound rings out
overhead.]
<Holmes> [Nyyx feels a whistle through the air near her head and
something impacts near her feet as she rushes forward.]
<Holmes> [As she pushes forward, Nyyx sees that a large stone door is
set in the center of the first tier.  At the same time, she notices
that four figures on the first tier of the structure emerge from
behind support pillars with pistols drawn.]
<Holmes> [The figures open fire in a burst of sound and smoke.]
* Skip invisibly emerges from the fog, gives a short hop, and
teleports straight to the third tier.
<Holmes> [Two shots hit Nyyx as she charges forward.]
<Holmes> [Skip arrives on the third tier to find it empty.  The green
lich-torches burn with a chilling glow.]
* Nyyx grunts as she takes the bullets, but she leaps forward as
planned. She swings her adamantine sword into the door with all the
momentum of her charge, and the door explodes into so many stone
shards.
<Holmes> [A stone chamber can be seen beyond the door.]
<Holmes> [A large figure wrapped in a gray robe stands hunched over
in the middle of the room.  It turns toward Nyyx and charges.]
<Holmes> [The figure pounces and slashes with two large, clawed
hands, wounding Nyyx.  Under the hood, a feminine voice shrieks and
growls.]
* Biff is now known as GodlessKillingMachine
* Nyyx bleeds profusely.
* GodlessKillingMachine steps out of the fog, a ten foot high, twenty
foot long lizard made of nothing but tail and claws. It LOOKS at the
gunners and lets out an angry roar.
* Olivia , for her part, disappears as she makes for the building
with the rest of them. Running is fun.
* Charlotte rushes and fires off a trio of arrows at the robed figure
* GodlessKillingMachine looks intimidating!
* Nyyx bears the pain of her wounds remarkably well and glowers
meaningfully at her robed foe.
<Holmes> [END OF SESSION]
Session Close: Sat Oct 18 21:48:34 2008