Gheth readies his shield forward, prepared to barrel through if necessary. He takes a moment first, however, to study the crowd and hopefully spot an opening.

Perception check

A few deranged heads turn his way, and he tries to disable them without hurting them. A throat chop here, a solar plexus punch there, and hopefully he can bypass them entirely.

Heal check?

With a last bit of squirming, Gheth aims for the other side.

Athletics check

What was that? A big scary fighter was pushing through the crowd of my insane troops?

He is very much intimidating!

I feign fear to inculcate to the crowd to better give Carrmondo room!

Aid Garr succeeds. Garr's intimidate check rises by 2 to 12+7+2=21.

Gordok just does some random shit.

Endurance, Thievery, Perception.

Keeping their wits about them, G-Unit cautiously wades through the crowd. Disarming the maniacs when possible and quietly disabling those who got too close, they manage to get through with limited trouble. Still, despite having avoided outright conflict, the press of the crowd and its inherent violence assured no one could get through totally unscathed. Luckily, most of the party endures the flying rocks and random beatings with a stunning display of stoicism. It takes less than a minute to work through the maddened mob, but it feels like hours.

Partial Success: 2 surges lost. 625 XP (125 each).
Achievement Unlocked: Method Actor (Glock). 250 XP (50 each).

As G-Unit approaches the walls of the amphitheater, the briny smell of seawater rapidly becomes overwhelming. As they descend into the recessed pit that served as a stage, they soon discover why: the entire staging area is flooded. Despite the flood having extinguished all the stage lights, the interior of the amphitheater is perhaps the most well-lit area in all of Lamid. A swirling nimbus of bright light hovers in midair above the flooded stage, bathing the entirety of the theater in a soft yellow haze.

As their eyes adjust to the strange light, they begin to take in the grisly details. Dozens of bodies bobbed in the brackish water, all of them seemingly free of the taint of transformation. Only one living person remains in the theater: an old man with a scraggly white beard crouches in a far corner, stripped down to his breeches and babbling to himself. Suddenly, his vacant gaze turns on the party and his mouth turns up in a rictus grin of impossible joy.

"The Harbinger departs, but still the pilgrims seek her gifts! Come, friends. There is always room in his kingdom. We have such mysteries to show you!"

Strange, misshapen creatures surface from beneath the water, their glowing yellow eyes trained unerringly on the party. Their bodies are like a hideous mockery of the human form: grotesqueries of exposed sinew, naked bones and quivering fat. One of them, large as an ogre, casually plucks an old woman's corpse from the water and tears her head off with its teeth — never once breaking eye contact. Whether these things were the product of Carcosa's transformative corruption or had come from somewhere else entirely was impossible to guess — and they certainly weren't in the mood to explain themselves.

The old man makes no move to join in the battle, content to sit by himself and whistle an unrecognizable tune.

The smallest of the foul things stares at the party with its beady eyes, its fat lumpen form quivering with hatred. It brandishes a ragged chunk of driftwood, and hurls it at G-Unit. They easily dodge the clumsy missile, only to have it explode in a rippling blast as it splashes into the water beside them. No one is seriously wounded, but Gheth sees... things in the brief moment that he looks into the explosion. Things his faith has not equipped him to contemplate. No one can imagine what Cal's horse may have experienced, but it grows skittish for the first time.

12 damage to Gheth and to Denny, both dazed (save ends).

Defenses:
Foulspawn Hulk: AC 20, Fort 23, Ref 18, Will 18
Foulspawn Seer: AC 22, Fort 17, Ref 21, Will 19
Foulspawn Manglers: AC 22, Fort 19, Ref 20, Will 19

Conditions: The entire theater is flooded and is difficult terrain.

:savepoint: Gordok 24, Manglers 22, Cal 22, Garrmondo 22, Glock 21, Gheth 13, Hulk 6, Seer 24

Fuck yes you are the worst initiative order ever.

Denny! Oh my poor beautiful horse! You've been beaten to two-thirds of your life!

By a piece of plywood!

Hitting the water! How mortifying to all horsekind.

I wrack my brains to the best of my ability, to think of any weaknesses or special attributes and strengths these creatures might possibly have! I also ponder on how dangerous the old fart might be.

I have no idea if I need to use Religion, Nature, or Arcana on the foulspawns, so I guess you decide, Pang.
Actively perceive threat of old coot.

:savepoint: Battle Stats:savepoint:
[AC 20 Fort 23 Ref 18 Will 18] Hulk..... : 000 dmg [xxx/???]
[AC 22 Fort 17 Ref 21 Will 19] Seer..... : 000 dmg [xxx/???]
[AC 22 Fort 19 Ref 20 Will 19] Mangler A : 000 dmg [xxx/???]
[AC 22 Fort 19 Ref 20 Will 19] Mangler B : 000 dmg [xxx/???]
[AC 22 Fort 19 Ref 20 Will 19] Mangler C : 000 dmg [xxx/???]
[AC 22 Fort 17 Ref 21 Will 18] Cal... : 47/49
[AC 23 Fort 22 Ref 17 Will 17] Garr.. : 57/57
[AC 23 Fort 18 Ref 16 Will 21] Gheth. : 44/56 | dazed
[AC 22 Fort 15 Ref 18 Will 20] Glock. : 46/50
[AC 19 Fort 17 Ref 16 Will 18] Gordok : 51/54
[AC 14 Fort 15 Ref 13 Will 10] Denny. : 24/36 | dazed
[AC ?? Fort ?? Ref ?? Will ??] Geoff. : 00 dmg [xx/??]

Gordok looks at the amphitheater's balconies. Gordok looks at the wonderfully hideous creatures before him. Gordok looks at the amphitheater's balconies again. That support column looks lonely so Gordy gives it a hug and ascends to the third floor. Yes indeed the view of the monstrosities is even better from above. Feeling ashamed that he has no bouquet to throw down to the odd performers from his perch the halfling improvises a bundle of praise starting with who he believes must be playing the role of some sort of royal vizier.

Climb column at P-47 to M-47
Diabolic Grasp Foulspawn Seer

Bravo! The royal vizier moves two steps forward and graciously takes a bow. He must appreciate blown kisses~ Gordok winks in kind. Dexter claps himself repeatedly.

17 damage to Foulspawn Seer, coerced to S-51

Cal racks his brains for what he may have heard about such creatures, quickly relaying his recollections to the rest of the group.

Foulspawn are deranged humanoids corrupted by contact with the Far Realm, a maddening and distant plane. Foulspawn come in many shapes and sizes, but they share a universal contempt for natural creatures. Foulspawn gather in roving packs and are drawn to serve powerful aberrant creatures such as aboleths, beholders, and mind flayers.

As regards these specific varieties of foulspawn, Cal knows the following specific facts, since he is looking directly at them:

Foulspawn Hulk: Large aberrant humanoid.
Foulspawn Mangler: Medium aberrant humanoid.
Foulspawn Seer: Nothin' (okay, Medium Aberrant Humanoid is heavily implied.)

Crazy old Bresnik doesn't appear to pose any real threat on his own; he shouldn't be hard to deal with once his undesirable guests are out of the way.

Gordok lunges at one of the amphitheater's support columns, running his hands all over the wet pole. But alas, he cannot grip the shaft. It is far too slippery. Determined to molest something, Gordok attempts to fondle one of the foulspawn with his giant spooky magic hand. But the seer vanishes just as the shadowy claws begin to close around him, instantly reappearing next to the addled Mayor Bresnik. The diabolical claw makes a series of rude, frustrated gestures before dissipating uselessly.

Immediate Interrupt: Bend Space

The foulspawn nearest to Cal's cherished mount immediately sets to work carving up the defenseless pony. Horsemeat's good eatin'!

Bone Dagger: +13 vs AC, 14 damage to Denny (bloodied)
Wrote A instead of C on the roll, no deception meant

The mangler near Garrmondo darts around him, giving the fighter a wide berth before darting in toward the dazed cleric with his jagged bone knife. Gheth is caught totally unawares, and the foulspawn drives the filthy dagger deep into his ribs. That's gonna leave a scar.

Bone Dagger: Critical! 25 damage to Gheth (bloodied)
This is the real roll for Mangler A, sorry again

The third mangler flicks a pair of daggers across the stage at Cal's battered horse, slicing open the gentle beast's tendons and sending it to the ground. Cal nimbly rolls off the horse as it crumples, inwardly cursing the wasted 75 coins.

Thrown Bone Daggers: +13 vs AC, 22 damage to Denny (Unconscious, Dying)
Dunno if you want to bother rolling death saves for a $75 horse, your call.

:savepoint: Cal 22, Garrmondo 22, Glock 21, Gheth 13, Hulk 6, Seer 24, Gordok 24, Manglers 22

Gheth grunts as the bone knife slips between the chain and padding, shredding his lung. He turns to cough blood, but offers up a grim smile to the griever. He takes this grievous wound in stride because he knows that the mystical power of his totally rockin' eyeball necklace will scare the ever-loving shit out of opportunistic adversaries.

Mangler A takes 2 necrotic. WHAT NOW, SCRUB

"NO... DENNY!"

You can't die. Not now. Not when we've known each other for almost two months. No... not here....

You ask if I want to keep an animal that costs 1 year's wages alive? Hell yeah!

Glaring at the Mangler with utmost malice, I dig into my quiver and draw the longbow strings taut.

"You."
"Killed."
"My."
"Horse!!!"

My anger explodes like a miniature nova.

"FUCK YOU, YOU FUCKING FUCKER!!!"

Mangler C is my Quarry.
Two-Fanged Strike on Mangler C. Rolls of 10+ will hit, due to Prime Shot.
Use 1x Lightning Arrow.
Mangler C takes 1 + 3 + 7 + 7 + 6 = 24 HP damage and is dazed till the end of his next turn.
ACTION POINT: Shadow Wasp Strike on Mangler C, with duergar beard arrow.
Critical Hit! Maximum damage applied - 27 + 8 (quarry) +1 (crit bonus) = 36.
Total damage sustained: 36 + 24 = 60.
Withdraw to N-48.


As I watch the Mangler expire from his wounds, my anger is abated, but only by a little bit. The now-weaponless Mangler B, and that Seer who's responsible for starting the chain of events leading to Denny's downfall, must pay. If only the seer isn't immune from ranged attacks, with his immediate-interrupt teleportation powers! Best to let the melee defenders handle his ranged arse!


:savepoint: Battle Stats :savepoint:

[AC 20 Fort 23 Ref 18 Will 18] Hulk..... : 02 dmg [xx/??]
[AC 22 Fort 17 Ref 21 Will 19] Seer..... : 02 dmg [xx/??]
[AC 22 Fort 19 Ref 20 Will 19] Mangler A : 17 dmg [58/60]
[AC 22 Fort 19 Ref 20 Will 19] Mangler B : 02 dmg [60/60]
[AC 22 Fort 19 Ref 20 Will 19] Mangler C : 60 dmg [00/60] Kilt daid

[AC 22 Fort 17 Ref 21 Will 18] Cal... : 45/49
[AC 23 Fort 22 Ref 17 Will 17] Garr.. : 55/57
[AC 23 Fort 18 Ref 16 Will 21] Gheth. : 41(4)/56
[AC 22 Fort 15 Ref 18 Will 20] Glock. : 44/50
[AC 19 Fort 17 Ref 16 Will 18] Gordok : 18/54 dazed
[AC 14 Fort 15 Ref 13 Will 10] Denny. :-15/36 dazed dying[0/3]

Flute of the Dancing Satyr to shift to P-51.

The muck in which they are sitting is doing nothing for our favourite robot's flute. He whips it out, but the tune it bleats is weak and dull. It isn't until after blowing on it that he finds a rotten finger has floated it's way into it and blocked the sound.

Vicious Mockery to Seer.
ffffffffff

Annoyed at the cleaning job he's going to have to do later, Glock's mind clearly isn't on the ball when he yells out "Nice neckpiece, asshole!" to the one that Gordok has a crush on. He doesn't quite realize the vizier is in fact quite proud of it, and has a small problem understanding sarcasm.

Majestic Word on Gheth
16 + 4 + 4 = 24 Health regained. +4 Temp HP.
Dunno if I can shift him in this context or not, but if so, he's now at Q-50.

At least he can help the lizard a little bit. "Hey bro, these bitches ain't shit but hoes and tricks. How you gonna be if you just sit there bleedin' all over the place like a woman?"

Although he is soothed by the robot's eloquence, Gheth is still reeling somewhat from the deadly strike he had been given only moments before, and he has time for just a sidelong blow against the griever. A steady arm and a serious wish to draw blood is all that's needed to skewer the thing's thigh, however.

Righteous Brand on Griever A with +3 bonus to Garrmondo (13 damage)
Save from Dazed

Cal flies into a rage at the likely death of his horse, peppering the nearest Mangler with a barrage of arrows. Without thinking, he fires a lightning arrow into the beast — and regrets it immediately as the mangler's pincushion corpse collapses into the water. Ripples of electricity dart across the fetid water, giving a nasty shock to everyone in the theater. Bresnick seems to barely notice the uncontrollable twitching in his limbs, muttering something about forgetting his medicine. Denny, already in dire straits, struggles to hold his breath underwater despite being electrocuted — and miraculously succeeds. Maybe he can get out of this alive, if his owner can stop inadvertently wounding him.

Cal vaults the gate surrounding the stage area, hoping the monsters will ignore him if he lurks in the gloom. The rest of G-Unit scarcely makes a dent in the enemy force, though Gheth manages to make a lasting wound on a Mangler after the fighter distracts it.

2 damage to every motherfucker in the room. Cal is actually "under" N-48: treat the gates as partial cover in both directions.

The foulspawn hulk glowers around the room, absently chewing with its mouth open. Little bits of brain and skull trickle out of its maw into the water. While the dying horse was a tempting meal, it was no real threat. The little man behind it, humping the wall — he could be dangerous. And perhaps more importantly, he would be easy to squish. The hulk slogs through the water, mauling Gordok with his massive fist.

Slam: +11 vs AC. 18 damage to Gordok.

The Seer chuckles as his massive companion brutalizes the halfling. Good. This was the king's theater now, the midget has no right to befoul it with his vile wrigglings. That's just out of line. The seer waves a misshapen hand, and a ripple darts across the foul water — splashing up into Gordok's bloodied face. Choking on the filthy muck, Gordok struggles to get his bearings before the creatures give him another beating.

The Seer then ducks behind old man Bresnick, figuring the interlopers too soft-hearted to wound a harmless old man to get at him.

Warp Orb: +14 vs Reflex. 13 damage to Gordok; bloodied, dazed (save ends).

:savepoint: Gordok 24, Manglers 22, Cal 22, Garrmondo 22, Glock 21, Gheth 13, Hulk 6, Seer 24

Standing around without any apparent motive, Gordok decides he's tired of standing next to this horse. It's all smelly now, and it keeps thrashing around and trying not to drown. As an act of mercy, Gordy decides to put the poor doomed beast out of its misery.

Eldritch Blast: Kill That Horse.

Sadly, while our hero is sending Brave Horse to his deserved rest, he is distracted. The Hulk takes this opportunity to punch him in the face. Gord's head does a full 360° turn on his neck, and he sprawls into the water in a baffled heap.

Attack of Opportunity: Slam — 20 damage. Gordok unconscious and dying/drowning.
You see what happens, Larry? This is what happens.

With the dazed halfling having been doomed by his own inattentiveness, the Manglers have no obvious targets. One of them hacks away at Garrmondo, the fighter having muttered something insulting about his ancestry — but it's futile. The other darts around behind, drawing more daggers from his belt. He scratches up Glock's finish and generally wounds his pride.

Bone Dagger: 4 damage to Glock

:savepoint: Cal 22, Garrmondo 22, Glock 21, Gheth 13, Hulk 6, Seer 24, Gordok 24, Manglers 22

"No."

"No!"

"No!!!"

"NOOO!"

YouTube Video

Clever halfling. How could you? HOW COULD YOU??? Yes, he was helpless. Dying. Drowning. But you robbed me of the opportunity to try to save his life with a potion!

I stand, dumbfounded and unmoving, after watching my so-called ally blast my horse open.

Delay turn until after Gheth.

Egads, a monster!

Poking him with a...stick. Or something.

Glock isn't entirely certain where this pointy stick came from. All sorts of shit is present in the jungle juice in which they were now swimming so happily in. All sorts of HORRIBLE shit.

His robo-mind is busy conjuring up all sorts of possibilities. Thoroughly disgusted, the robot backs away slowly and starts chugging the vast quantity of alcohol the fighter so kindly gave him. Despite the fact that he's pretty sure this is HIS booze, he'll have to thank the meatsack later nonetheless.

Double shift to O-50.
Chug Elixir of Dragon's Breath.

Finding himself behind a pillar, Glock looks at it a little bit, and tries to determine if it's all rotting, full of holes and is some nasty shit wood, or if it's sturdy enough to support his metal frame should push come to shove.

Scope out dat pillar, son.

Always they gotta pick on the little guy. Gheth sees the huge bone-thug attempting to mash Gordok into a fine paste, and he feels a twinge of schoolboy-era sympathy.

"You leave him alone!" Gheth announces violently. Despite a slight quiver in his lip, he speaks up again.
"He can wear shorts in the shower if he wants to!"

At this, Gheth gives a good thrust of his spear at the closest thing he can manage to Brock Lorgenson, famed dragonborn track and field star. The restrained tears, as it turns out, make for poor eyesight.

Healing Word on Gordok (surge +11-- I always forget about Healer's Lore)
Nerd Rage Righteous Brand on Griever A

Denny. D-denny...

Drained of emotion and strength, I halfheartedly send two volleys at the seer who contributed to Denny's death. I missed, but who cares? With Denny's death, everything is meaningless.

Twin Strike at Seer, through superior cover. Miss, of course.
Move to L-49. Stealth check to hide from everyone. 3 + 1 + 13 = 17
Designate Mangler B as quarry.


There ya go, Pang. I pre-rolled the low numbers out for ya!

Glock examines the pillars that brace the audience boxes above him. Despite the flooding, the timbers look to be in good condition. At least the building wouldn't come crashing down on them, on top of everything else. Small comfort...

Cal contributes to the battle effort by running away and hiding in a dark corner. Despite his extremely excellent hiding skills, everyone but the Hulk still sees him.

The Hulk turns to Gheth, glowering. The lizard man had interrupted what had begun to look like a lovely evening of pummeling the small and puny. Why would anyone object to this? This is what the small and puny were for: to make the non-puny feel better about themselves. The Hulk smashes his fist down atop Gheth's head, reducing his height by an inch or two and rendering him significantly more puny. It was important to put people into their proper categories. If you will defend the puny, you will join them in their tiny puniness!

Smash: 19 damage to Gheth (bloodied)

The Seer issues a rattling sigh. As usual, the Manglers got distracted by the shiniest, noisiest thing they could find. Well, if the fighter wanted all the attention that'd be fine. The Seer sends a roiling sphere of foul water roiling across the room, smashing Garrmondo in the chest. The water itself was harmless, but the force of the blow staggers him and while trying to keep his footing he clumsily bashes his head on the support beam behind him.

Warp Orb: 10 damage to Garrmondo (dazed)

:savepoint: Gordok 24, Manglers 22, Garrmondo 22, Glock 21, Gheth 13, Cal 22, Hulk 6, Seer 24

Things became blurry again for Gordok. He is too used to this sensation by now that it's almost blissful. The halfling cocks his head to the side. Is that the changething crying far in the distance? What had just happened? Things are certainly still busy around him so why has Cal gone hiding in the shadows to sulk? Oh yeah. Gordok had killed his horse. That big tough trollish fiend who had smashed Gordy down into the water had done far worse to Denny. Poor thing would have drowned with its legs all mangled and such. The halfling had decided it would be best to put the beast out of its misery. Sure, grieve for the horse but not while there is still battle afoot! What madness! Gordok decides its time Cal learn this lesson well.

Fey Switch with Cal

Right. Cal can sit there and cry over Denny and die or he can man up and live.

Sick of listening to Cal's blubbering (the high-pitched whining sound was clearly audible despite Gordy's head being underwater), the halfling decides to really give him something to complain about. In an instant, Gordok makes the soggy gestures that will transpose him with an ally and finds himself halfway up the theater stairs.

With the fighter dazed, the manglers seize their opportunity. Darting in, they tear a bloody gash into Garrmondo's shield arm while he's distracted. The second mangler finds no such purchase, and instead hops over the gate to pursue the bard — if he retreats, he must surely be easier prey. Garrmondo takes a swing as the mangler zips away, but the little bastard is too quick.

Bone Dagger: 14 damage to Garrmondo
Garrmondo's AoO misses due to Mangler Mobility (+5 AC vs AoOs from movement)

:savepoint: Garrmondo 22, Glock 21, Gheth 13, Cal 22, Hulk 6, Seer 24, Gordok 24, Manglers 22

Virtue of Cunning
Garr to P-50