3-2 The Forgotten Abbey

ROUND ELEVEN
(this is preceded by round ten, followed by round twelve)

At the start of the round, Eozindra is face-to-face with the Lord Mayor. Adran, Mara, and Morik are just behind her, standing in the area of the spell that the Lord Mayor is maintaining. Elowin is nearby, having squeezed out of the spell's area of effect. To the south, Ishi and Elysia are standing side-by-side, facing eight opponents in the Entry Hall.Raging, Ishi hacks repeatedly at Lord Mayor's Man Six, beating back his sword and slashing into him again and again. Lord Mayor's Man Six takes 12 slashing damage.
Not seeing how badly his buddy is being carved up, Lord Mayor's Man Five rushes forward, shortsword drawn, and attacks both Ishi and Elysia. He manages to land blows on each of them.
Ishi takes 11 damage (reduced from 22 by Rage).
Elysia takes 6 piercing damage!
In the back, Lord Mayor's Man Eight chooses a target to attack with his hand crossbow: Elysia! The crossbow bolt vanishes harmlessly into the darkness.

Elowin yells "Dammit Ishi!" and plunges headlong into the endless void of interstellar space again. She dashes through the difficult terrain and she can tell by the sound that she is close to her party members Ishi and Elysia, who are both locked in furious hand-to-hand combat. Still within the darkness as her turn ends, Elowin successfully avoids the grasping tentacles. The Twilight Sanctuary now covers Elowin, Ishi, and Elysia.Lord Mayor's Men Six and Nine attack Ishi and Elysia with their maces, while Lord Mayor's Man Three chooses a target for his heavy crossbow shot: Ishi!
LMM6 hits Ishi; Ishi takes 1 damage (reduced from 3 by Rage).
LMM6 hits Elysia; Elysia takes 3 damage.
LMM9 hit Elysia; Elysia takes 3 more damage.
LMM3 hits Ishi with a crossbow bolt; Ishi takes 1 damage (reduced from 2 by Rage).Chilled by the empty vastness between the stars, Morik takes 8 cold damage. Then the bear shoves forward out of the whispering darkness as Eozindra bends down, trying to hook the Lord Mayor's legs (using her reaction to give Morik Help). Morik roars and shoves the man, who tries to resist. But the bear's mass is too great, and the Lord Mayor staggers back, clearing a path into the Chapel for the party members. Morik continues moving, smashing some of the ancient pews as he scrambles over them into the Chapel, making sure that he isn't blocking the doorway.In the back, the Lord Mayor's Men Two, Four, and Seven each attack twice, drawing and releasing arrows as fast as they can.
Lord Mayor's Man 2 hits each hero with an arrow.
Ishi takes 1 damage (reduced from 3 by Rage).
Elysia takes 5 damage.
[u][color="blue"]Elysia falls, dying.
Lord Mayor's Man 4 hits Ishi twice.
Ishi takes 5 damage from the two arrows (reduced from 11 by Rage).
Lord Mayor's Man 7 looses an arrow at Ishi.
Ishi is hit for 1 damage (reduced from 3).
Ishi also falls, dying.

The Lord Mayor's Men give a cheer.
"HaHA! We got 'em, boss!"
"Yeah - it's over! Please don't kill us!"

On her turn, Elysia makes a death save (a success!) and gains 7 temporary HP.The Lord Mayor growls in annoyance.
"No, you idiots! I think perhaps you miscounted!"
He swings his glowing staff at Morik. Morik takes 9 damage.

Eozindra looses a bolt that wings past the Lord Mayor and cracks into the Chapel wall behind him. Then the bard runs toward him and pirouettes gracefully around the robber leader, ending up behind him in the Chapel.
Adran freezes in the lightless void. Adran takes 7 cold damage. Then he emerges from the darkness, targets the Lord Mayor, and sinks a crossbow bolt into him. The Lord Mayor takes 6 damage. The impact shocks the Lord Mayor and he loses his connection with the darkness (failed his concentration save). The huge black sphere that had filled the Great Room dissolves and evaporates. Then Adran runs past the Lord Mayor into the Chapel and stops between the altar and the closed door behind it. The Lord Mayor swats at him as the artificer runs past, but Adran is too fast and the attack does not hit.
With the darkness banished, Mara does not freeze. It scuttles out of the Great Room up to the Lord Mayor and attacks, tearing into the Lord Mayor with its mechanical jaws. The Lord Mayor takes 16 damage, gibbering and squealing in pain. Then Mara clicks in reverse, its legs backpedaling as it moves back into the passage connecting the Great Room to the Chapel.

With the horrible spell gone, Eozindra and Elowin see Ishi and Elysia on the ground in the Entry Hall, dying, with the Lord Mayor's Men standing triumphantly over them. All of the Lord Mayor's Men in the Entry Hall see Elowin in the Great Room and, beyond her, the Lord Mayor confronting Mara in the Chapel.

This ends round eleven.

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20 - Ishi (0/35) Dying
18 - Lord Mayor's Men Five and Eight
15 - Elowin (12/24, 9 temp HP) Twilight Sanctuary
13 - Lord Mayor's Men Three, Six, and Nine
10 - Morik (Bear 24/34, Dwarf 13/33)
10 - Lord Mayor's Men Two, Four, and Seven
8 - Elysia (0/24, 7 temp HP) Dying One success
3 - Lord Mayor
1 - Eozindra (12/15, 7 temp HP)
1 - Adran (22/26)
1 - Mara (7/20, 7 temp HP)

Round eleven, continued.

Raging, Ishi hacks repeatedly at Lord Mayor's Man Six, beating back his sword and slashing into him again and again. Lord Mayor's Man Six takes 12 slashing damage.
Not seeing how badly his buddy is being carved up, Lord Mayor's Man Five rushes forward, shortsword drawn, and attacks both Ishi and Elysia. He manages to land blows on each of them.
Ishi takes 11 damage (reduced from 22 by Rage).
Elysia takes 6 piercing damage!
In the back, Lord Mayor's Man Eight chooses a target to attack with his hand crossbow: Elysia! The crossbow bolt vanishes harmlessly into the darkness.

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20 - Ishi (9/35) RAGING
18 - Lord Mayor's Men Five and Eight
15 - Elowin (12/24, 9 temp HP) Twilight Sanctuary
13 - Lord Mayor's Men Three, Six, and Nine
10 - Morik (Bear 34/34, Dwarf 13/33, 7 temp HP) In the dark spell
10 - Lord Mayor's Men Two, Four, and Seven
8 - Elysia (10/24)
3 - Lord Mayor
1 - Eozindra (12/15, 7 temp HP)
1 - Adran (22/26, 7 temp HP) In the dark spell
1 - Mara (7/20, 7 temp HP) In the dark spell

Round eleven, continued...

Elowin yells "Dammit Ishi!" and plunges headlong into the endless void of interstellar space again. She dashes through the difficult terrain and she can tell by the sound that she is close to her party members Ishi and Elysia, who are both locked in furious hand-to-hand combat. Still within the darkness as her turn ends, Elowin successfully avoids the grasping tentacles. The Twilight Sanctuary now covers Elowin, Ishi, and Elysia.Lord Mayor's Men Six and Nine attack Ishi and Elysia with their maces, while Lord Mayor's Man Three chooses a target for his heavy crossbow shot: Ishi!
LMM6 hits Ishi; Ishi takes 1 damage (reduced from 3 by Rage).
LMM6 hits Elysia; Elysia takes 3 damage.
LMM9 hit Elysia; Elysia takes 3 more damage.
LMM3 hits Ishi with a crossbow bolt; Ishi takes 1 damage (reduced from 2 by Rage).

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20 - Ishi (7/35) RAGING
18 - Lord Mayor's Men Five and Eight
15 - Elowin (12/24, 9 temp HP) Twilight Sanctuary
13 - Lord Mayor's Men Three, Six, and Nine
10 - Morik (Bear 34/34, Dwarf 13/33, 7 temp HP) In the dark spell
10 - Lord Mayor's Men Two, Four, and Seven
8 - Elysia (4/24)
3 - Lord Mayor
1 - Eozindra (12/15, 7 temp HP)
1 - Adran (22/26, 7 temp HP) In the dark spell
1 - Mara (7/20, 7 temp HP) In the dark spell

Round eleven, continued...

Chilled by the empty vastness between the stars, Morik takes 8 cold damage. Then the bear shoves forward out of the whispering darkness as Eozindra bends down, trying to hook the Lord Mayor's legs (using her reaction to give Morik Help). Morik roars and shoves the man, who tries to resist. But the bear's mass is too great, and the Lord Mayor staggers back, clearing a path into the Chapel for the party members. Morik continues moving, smashing some of the ancient pews as he scrambles over them into the Chapel, making sure that he isn't blocking the doorway.

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20 - Ishi (7/35) RAGING
18 - Lord Mayor's Men Five and Eight
15 - Elowin (12/24, 9 temp HP) Twilight Sanctuary
13 - Lord Mayor's Men Three, Six, and Nine
10 - Morik (Bear 33/34, Dwarf 13/33)
10 - Lord Mayor's Men Two, Four, and Seven
8 - Elysia (4/24)
3 - Lord Mayor
1 - Eozindra (12/15, 7 temp HP)
1 - Adran (22/26, 7 temp HP) In the dark spell
1 - Mara (7/20, 7 temp HP) In the dark spell

Round eleven, continued....

In the back, the Lord Mayor's Men Two, Four, and Seven each attack twice, drawing and releasing arrows as fast as they can.
Lord Mayor's Man 2 hits each hero with an arrow.
Ishi takes 1 damage (reduced from 3 by Rage).
Elysia takes 5 damage.
[u][color="blue"]Elysia falls, dying.
Lord Mayor's Man 4 hits Ishi twice.
Ishi takes 5 damage from the two arrows (reduced from 11 by Rage).
Lord Mayor's Man 7 looses an arrow at Ishi.
Ishi is hit for 1 damage (reduced from 3).
Ishi also falls, dying.

The Lord Mayor's Men give a cheer.
"HaHA! We got 'em, boss!"
"Yeah - it's over! Please don't kill us!"

On her turn, Elysia makes a death save (a success!) and gains 7 temporary HP.

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20 - Ishi (0/35) Dying
18 - Lord Mayor's Men Five and Eight
15 - Elowin (12/24, 9 temp HP) Twilight Sanctuary
13 - Lord Mayor's Men Three, Six, and Nine
10 - Morik (Bear 33/34, Dwarf 13/33)
10 - Lord Mayor's Men Two, Four, and Seven
8 - Elysia (0/24, 7 temp HP) Dying One success
3 - Lord Mayor
1 - Eozindra (12/15, 7 temp HP)
1 - Adran (22/26, 7 temp HP) In the dark spell
1 - Mara (7/20, 7 temp HP) In the dark spell

Round eleven, continued...

The Lord Mayor growls in annoyance.
"No, you idiots! I think perhaps you miscounted!"
He swings his glowing staff at Morik. Morik takes 9 damage.

Eozindra looses a bolt that wings past the Lord Mayor and cracks into the Chapel wall behind him. Then the bard runs toward him and pirouettes gracefully around the robber leader, ending up behind him in the Chapel.
Adran freezes in the lightless void. Adran takes 7 cold damage. Then he emerges from the darkness, targets the Lord Mayor, and sinks a crossbow bolt into him. The Lord Mayor takes 6 damage. The impact shocks the Lord Mayor and he loses his connection with the darkness (failed his concentration save). The huge black sphere that had filled the Great Room dissolves and evaporates. Then Adran runs past the Lord Mayor into the Chapel and stops between the altar and the closed door behind it. The Lord Mayor swats at him as the artificer runs past, but Adran is too fast and the attack does not hit.
With the darkness banished, Mara does not freeze. It scuttles out of the Great Room up to the Lord Mayor and attacks, tearing into the Lord Mayor with its mechanical jaws. The Lord Mayor takes 16 damage, gibbering and squealing in pain. Then Mara clicks in reverse, its legs backpedaling as it moves back into the passage connecting the Great Room to the Chapel.

With the horrible spell gone, Eozindra and Elowin see Ishi and Elysia on the ground in the Entry Hall, dying, with the Lord Mayor's Men standing triumphantly over them. All of the Lord Mayor's Men in the Entry Hall see Elowin in the Great Room and, beyond her, the Lord Mayor confronting Mara in the Chapel.

This ends round eleven.

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20 - Ishi (0/35) Dying
18 - Lord Mayor's Men Five and Eight
15 - Elowin (12/24, 9 temp HP) Twilight Sanctuary
13 - Lord Mayor's Men Three, Six, and Nine
10 - Morik (Bear 24/34, Dwarf 13/33)
10 - Lord Mayor's Men Two, Four, and Seven
8 - Elysia (0/24, 7 temp HP) Dying One success
3 - Lord Mayor
1 - Eozindra (12/15, 7 temp HP)
1 - Adran (22/26)
1 - Mara (7/20, 7 temp HP)

ROUND TWELVE
(this is preceded by round eleven, followed by round thirteen)

Ishi lay on the ground, his vision going in and out of focus. Dying, Ishi succeeds on his first death save. At the end of his turn, Lunea blesses him. Ishi has 7 temp HP.

Lord Mayor's Man Five runs up to Elowin and tries to run her through with his shortsword. He manages to get around her shield twice. Elowin takes 12 damage. But the Lord Mayor's Man Eight hangs back and tries to perforate her with his crossbow...he misses.Elowin casts Booming Blade, but her darting, whistling rapier is parried by the robber. She entreats Lunea to give her aid. Lunea makes a shimmering sickle appear, floating in the air and obeying Elowin's commands (Spiritual Weapon). As the sickle appears, it slices into Lord Mayor's Man Five. LMM5 takes 12 force damage. Elowin uses the distraction to circle around behind the robber, moving herself adjacent to her two dying companions, Ishi and Elysia. At the end of her turn, Elowin is filled with the love of Lunea (Elowin has 9 temp HP).
Lord Mayor's Man Six moves forward to confront Elowin, straddling Ishi's dying body and swinging his mace menacingly. "You're going down for this, elf!" He attacks her twice, with ADV from his Pack Tactics. Elowin turns aside some of the blows with her rapier, but others smash into her shield, shaking her arm.
Lord Mayor's Man 3 yells "Youse guys'a got this one, yeah?" and runs forward past Elowin; her rapier lashes out and stabs him as he runs past. Lord Mayor's Man Three takes 6 damage. Lord Mayor's Man Nine is right behind him, yelling "Yeah, you getter while we help da boss!" Dodging around Lunea's sickle brings LMM9 past Elowin, too. Ignoring any such attacks, desperate to be seen helping their boss, Lord Mayor's Men Three and Nine load their heavy crossbows and attack Mara. Mara takes 5 piercing damage.
Morik the ferocious bear snaps and slashes at the Lord Mayor. He fends off the bear's jaws with his fitfully glowing staff, but Morik's claws get through. The Lord Mayor takes 12 slashing damage, grunting as blood fountains on his faded finery.
"Dweller! Dweller, help me!"
"The law of the deeps is that the strongest feast on the weaker. You know this, Gilles."Lord Mayor's Man Two, who had been wounded and so scared for his life that he ran to raise the alarm for help earlier, is reassured by the unfair odds. He sets aside his longbow and draws his shortsword, rushing around Elowin to attack her from the side. "There's only room for one gang down here, and that's us!" The first stab bites deep, but then Elowin whirls and parries his later thrusts.
Elowin takes 8 damage.
Meanwhile, Lord Mayor's Men Four and Seven nock new arrows and run past the twilight cleric, each drawing and loosing a brace of arrows at Mara, which stands with the Lord Mayor's blood dripping from its jaws in the doorway. "Save the boss! Kill that dog thing!" Everyone can hear what these robbers are saying.
Mara takes 3 damage.Elysia struggles to breathe, her fingers clutching at her wounds......at the end of her turn, Lunea's blessing falls once more on the half-elf. Elysia has 9 temp HP.

"B-b-but...Dweller...!" The Lord Mayor's eyes widen as he clutches his side where bear Morik had savaged him in the same place that Mara had. Had his patron actually abandoned him, consigning him to be eaten...?

The Lord Mayor screams as understanding dawns on him. His dark patron was not abandoning him! His scream extended into a shriek as his body convulsed violently and his flesh tore open. No, his patron was admonishing him, telling him what to do as it has done so often previously...! In a split second, the earthly vessel that was once the noble scion Gilles Lavertine and was more recently the devotee who called himself the Lord Mayor burst apart, shattered as something else, larger and more feral, erupted from within, too large to be contained by his puny humanoid form. Glossy fur covered his body, large, membranous wings extended from his back, his limbs ended in large pads that extended vicious claws, and his tail lashed behind him, bristling with long, serrated spines. The wreckage that was the Lord Mayor's human body fell to the ground with a wet splat. His glowing staff clatters to the ground with a clang. Only a twisted version of his humanity remained in his face, his eyes and nose appearing incongruously stretched on a long leonine snout featuring a mouth filled with long yellow fangs.

Where the Lord Mayor once stood, wounded and afraid, now stands a manticore.



The monster roars a challenge in Morik's face that echoes everywhere through the ancient Abbey. His dark master had told him eat, or be eaten. "We shall see who gets eaten!"Elysia hears the thump of her heartbeat slowing, slowing, and gradually getting drowned out by the sound of rushing wind and waves, a storm threatening to drown out all other sensation...but then her sister Eozindra's words break through the noise. "Get up, Sia!" The storm recedes, and her heart beats again, louder. "You can't leave me like this" Elysia takes a rasping breath. "I need you!" The warm sensation of her sister's embrace suffuses Elysia's torn body, and her eyes snap open. Prone Elysia has 5 HP from Eozindra's L2 Healing Word. Eozindra stabs at the Lord Mayor, but his thick hide is tougher than his human skin was.

Adran sinks a crossbow bolt into the thick hide of the Manticore Mayor. The manticore takes 8 damage. Mara hunkers down and initiates the self-repair routine. Mara gains 9 HP.

This ends round twelve.

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20 - Ishi (0/35, 7 temp HP) DYING, one success
18 - Lord Mayor's Men Five and Eight
15 - Elowin (9/24, 1 temp HP) Twilight Sanctuary
13 - Lord Mayor's Men Three, Six, and Nine
10 - Morik (Bear 24/34, Dwarf 13/33)
10 - Lord Mayor's Men Two, Four, and Seven
8 - Elysia (5/24, 7 temp HP) prone, two successes
3 - Manticore Mayor
1 - Eozindra (12/15, 7 temp HP)
1 - Adran (22/26)
1 - Mara (15/20)