1.3 - In Search of Sanity - Never-Ending Nightmare

Razhel holds her crossbow at the ready, bolt locked in place, prepared to fire should the thing in the crate break free.

The crates creaks and cracks just before it bursts in an eruption of splinters, sending wooden pieces across the room. You watch as the thing inside twists it's form from a smaller canine into a large, fiendish-looking bullmastif with red eyes. It's bones and muscles snap, pop, and pivot as it grows in size until it stands a good five feet off the ground, easily twice as long. It sniffs at the air and howls - the sound is enough to send shivers through your bodies.

Initiative:

Name	Init	Status
Enemy	A
Iosef	B
Razhel	B
Axon	B
Elias	B
Grim	B

"Pfft!" Grim vocalizes as he thrusts Red Destiny into the swollen dog-thing.

Razhel fires her crossbow at the big dog, as it bursts out of the crate and tries to look intimidating.

Iosef scrabbles for his crossbow as Grim stabs the box, mumbling about the need for proper plans, before managing to fire a shot.

Grim hits, Red Destiny again drawing blood from the creature (-2hp, AC 16, DR 5/?).While Iosef's crossbow bolt plinks harmlessly against the far wall, Razhel's hits the creature but with the same effect - the bolt doesn't pierce the animal's skin and instead falls to the floor (no damage due to DR, DR 5/?).

"What is that... dog thing?" Elias says surprised as it bursts out of its box.Sensing the evil in the creature, Elias raises his shield to stand in its way and tries to put it out of its miserable existence quickly. "Another one of those nightmarish twisted creatures!"

While the creature manifests as a fiendish Bullmastiff, Iosef, having seen it transform from a more normal-looking canine knows it is much more than it appears. Given its earlier inclination to make whimpering and crying sounds, that it could clearly have gotten out of the crate at any time it pleased, and the recent indications of inter-planar creatures crossing through the yellow mist, Iosef believes this creature to likely be a form of Sahkil, particularly an Esipil.

As such, the creature would be one that preys and feeds upon fear itself. Esipils prey upon the unease that comes from living among beasts. The civilized world has domesticated animals, but those creatures are just a step away from wild animals, and esipils make sure that humanoids who live around them remember that.

Their true form is that of a canine torso atop a worm-like lower half with disgusting vein-like tongues sprouting from its mouth. Along with its ability to change shape at will (which it typically uses to lure people in by appearing to be a loveable puppy), they are naturally resistant to most physical damage. Weapons that are 'Good' aligned will bypass this. They are immune to fear, poison, and disease, and resistant to several elements.

(DR 5/Good, Immune: Fear, Poison, Disease, Resistence: Cold 10, Electricity 10, Sonic 10)

Axon, overcoming the nagging fear at the back of his mind, moves up to get a better vantage point against the creature(P17). He throws his hands out and flashes light in the creature's face, hoping to dazzle it.

The giant, fiendish canine is rebuffed for a moment by the sudden flash of light in its face. It still seems off its and makes like it's going to growl, only to find no sound to come from its throat. It lunges for Grim's mid-section with its massive jaw. It misses the mark as Grim dodges to the side.Initiative:

Name	Init	Status
Enemy	A	17/19hp, AC 18, DR 5/good, Resistance 10 Cold, Sonic, Electricity
Iosef	B
Razhel	B
Axon	B
Elias	B
Grim	B

Seeing the creature struggling after Axon's light flash, Elias takes another shot at the beast

'This creature, it's planar, our weapons may not be as effective, unless someone good planes on side. .' Even as he speaks he shrugs off his bag and starts to rummage through it. 'Now who had... Here! He pulls out a small vial holding it out for someone to take.