The end times were here. That much Theodore could tell, although he had never imagined for it all to happen quite this fast. Had the people only listened to the word of the faithful, perhaps this could have been averted. But now the only option they had was to push towards the root of this problem, to the sphere that hung in the sky, devouring all creation into itself. The presence of the Darkness caused the Aasimar to recoil in disgust. And that feeling did not get any better once he saw the big creature.

It stood upon the stairs to the keep, a keep which would yield to the Darkness as well as the rest of the world. The group was already running out of space with the plane they stood on being devoured one second after another... the only way forward was to fight. Theodore smirked under his mask as he brought his right hand onto it. No matter how imposing the foe was, it was a creature of darkness. And those had no place existing where a templar stood.

Theodore removed his mask from his face and attached it to the side of his bolt case, a small mechanism within clicked as it unlocked the latch that kept the bolts inside and took hold of the mask. As he pulled his crossbow onto his arms, more threats appeared before their very eyes. The massive behemoth of an adversary has spawned in more shadows. Had it not been simultaneously casting something massive, Theodore might have taken it for a weakling. As things were, he quickly formed his own strategy within his head: That creature had to be their priority in this combat.

The first thing to do was to clear a path to it and that was what Theodore set his mind to. He knew that with this shadow at his feet, he would not get to move freely, but it was a risk he would have to take. Otherwise it would throw off his aim, and that he just couldn't work with. The ranger broke into a short sprint, making distance between himself and all the nearby shadows, but soon he could feel spectral claws digging into his heel. It stung, but he could be glad to know there would be no wounds to slow him down later. "Clear the path, we need to stop whatever that big thing is planning to do!" he shouted over the sounds of cracking stone and booming... laughter?

A bolt found its way onto the prepared crossbow with the aid of Theodore's fingers. It was prepared to do what any bolt within the case was built for: To strike down the enemies of the Kingdom of Light. Before sending the piece of ammunition on its way, Theodore carefully pronounced a few magical words, infusing the bolt with energy not every bolt had the privilege of carrying. Then it was time to get on with his own plan.

The bolt was let loose, and before Theodore himself could even register his aim had been true, a Hail of Thorns erupted from the projectile, raining punishment upon the two other shadows that close by as well. The main target of his evaporated pretty much as soon as the bolt struck it, the thorns headed its way struck the stone where it had once stood. However, the ranger smiled as he saw another shadow being obliterated from this realm, freeing the path for his allies. The final one yet remained standing... but right now, there were bigger problems than that. The path towards the giant, as well as the doorway this "Shujaat" had been after, was now clearer.

[hider=Effects&Rolls]
Theodore took an Opportunity attack from the Shadow that had spawned next to him, taking 1 damage. He is thus left with 19/20 HP.
This allowed him to sidestep from the group of shadows to a place where he had a clear line of fire towards the five that had appeared about ten feet before their group.
From this vantage point, Theodore fired his crossbow at the middle shadow on the right ([url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/rolls/2391]19[/url]). This attack dealt [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/rolls/2396]12[/url] damage.
Having cast the Hail of Thorns spell before firing (but after receiving the attack so no concentration checks here), the attack that struck true unleashed the spell, dealing [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/rolls/2392]5[/url] damage to all enemies in a five (5) foot radius of the target, halved on a successful DEX save.

The main target of the attack and one other shadow perished as a result.
Theodore ends his turn.
[/hider]