[h1][b]Alek's Condemned Shop: Rest of Combat[/b][/h1]

>Collaboration [@rush99999], [@JBRam2002], [@The Large Dumbo] and [@Cu Chulainn]

Uregaunt frowns, watching Halflight dash back up to the room. He didn't have time for this. "Come with me!" He shouted to the invisible lady, before casting Armor of Agathys on himself and running at the portal.

The AdAM's family pick their victim's door as the more legged blessed wraps up the loose ends.

Halflight draws his longsword in one hand, shuffling his armor on as he dashes for the portal.

Once through the portal, pandemonium breaks the loose, realizing Thanath and Mara have been battling seven Albinos with strange tattoos.

Uregaunt raises his free hand and casts Hex on the unconscious Albino closest to him before rushing into the store, whereupon he slashes at the Albino once before taking pause and aims a strike at the Albino's right arm, severing it. "Don't let any of the albinos escape!" He shouts.

Mara will feed Fern one of her potions (+8 HP) and then mount the wolf, urging her through the gap between the bookcases to flank around her albino opponent. Fern Dashes forward, carrying Mara to freedom as she yells out "Leave me alone!" Her warhammer is leveled at the albino, charged with thunderous energy as it smashes into him, and the duo crash into the doorway, hoping to break into safety! Unfortunately for them, however, the door is barred.

Thanath starts off his turn by throwing his light hammers into the air. He then drinks a healing potion as he begins to glow with the radiant light of Tempus' divine fury and snaps the neck of the Albino in front of him before catching the light hammers on their way down, moving to the map square to the immediate left of the closest conscious Albino, and sandwiching the Albino's head between his hammers.

One Albino retaliates and strikes against Thanath with two daggers. It hits with the first swipe and missed with the second, inflicting only 5 damage.

Another Albino will throw a dagger against Invis Lady via its readied action, somewhat terrified seeing an unseen female bloodied.

The invisible Lady takes 10 damage. The Albino, opposing Thanathm will leap over the small table, unsheathing a dagger (free action) and strike with two handed daggers against her. He misses with one dagger, but hits for 9 more damage. Due to her concentration being taxed, she loses her concentration on the Res Sphere, and the encircled, unconscious Albino with the Diamond falls to the ground. Enraged by the inflicted damage from the Albino's sharp steel, her body reflexively absorbed the blood into her unseen corporeality, with just enough of a glimpse for the Albino to witness to powerful fists heading directly towards, being beaten with 26 bludgeoning damage.

One Albino pierces the hide of the monk's mount, delivering it swiftly to the realm of unconscious dreams. The other dagger swiped at her owner, Mara, gashing her arm for an additional 10 damage.

"Oh, did the orgy start without me?" Ysalain smiled.

Thanath laughed at Halflight's words. [b]"Orgy!?"[/b] Thanath boomed [b]"This is a fight man! Get you head in the game!"[/b]

"Well, I could argue that they're the same." Halflight shrugged, nonchalantly, although there is a clear indication of disappointment in his tone and face. He starts walking towards the unconscious albino in order to determine what exactly those tattoos are. ".. What happens when they die?"

[b]"They die of course!"[/b]

"Right. What say you, friend?" Halflight directs to Uregaunt, who is the closest to him, it seems.	

The Diamond-studded Albino was dragged from the safety of Mara and Fern's side. He remained unconscious.

Cerise and her Corgi attempt to break the door down from the outside, visibly, in front of onlookers. "Hey, what are you doing?" An official cry is heard from the distance.

As Mara hears the call, she yells out from inside: "I'm a member of the City Watch! We're under attack in here!"

Two City Watch Guards hearing the yells of Mara approach next to Cerise and her Corgi. Frightened she attempts to run away. One Guard gives chase and the other attempts to open the barricaded shop door. The door breaks open!

"What in Waterdeep is going on?" The guard proclaims loudly, with no hesitation, after viewing the blood pouring from a dire wolf and the Monk, Mara.

[b]"A fight is going on!"[/b] Thanath boomed [b]"Feel free to join in!"[/b]

Mara will point at her wolf. [b]"Help us, please!"[/b]

He draws his sword, yelling, [b]"Cease and desist!"[/b]

[b]"How many times has saying that worked exactly?!"[/b] Thanath asked out of curiosity.

Uregaunt frowns as he hears the words "City Watch". He'd never really been a fan of them in the first place, and if they saw the group now... He could only imagine what their reaction would be. He  needed to think about how he could effectively take care of the albinos, when suddenly he had an idea. Uregaunt moves to place himself in front of Halflight, before performing a quick flurry of movement.

Both unconscious Albinos take simultaneous gasps of air, attempting to stabilize their internal milieu to stave off expiration.
The City Guard (Initiative 17) chasing after the fairy and her four legged mount, misses with throwing a net. He audibly curses his luck, "Damn it!!!"

"I don't know what you're doing, but I have an idea..." Halflight says to Uregaunt while glaring at the guard.

Uregaunt's eyes flicker for a brief moment, and he nods to Halflight. "As do I, friend. As do I."

Halflight pulls the holy symbol to Lurue out of his pack, raising it in the air, facing the guard. "My friend and I are sanctified witch hunters and we are in a den full of necromancers! Help us!"

"WITCHES?!?!" The captain belted. "I knew it!!!"

"This building is desecrated ground! Help us out and burn it down!" Halflight communicates to Uregaunt, quietly. "... Let me do the talking. Just do what you are doing." 

Mara was quite confused about the state of things at this point. The paladin claimed he and his friend were witch hunters, which meant that these albinos must be the witches. This made sense when combined with the odd jewels placed in their chests. Mara pointed to the albino nearest her. "The whiteys are the witches, and the rest are friends!" she called out, intuitively deciphering what the paladin had claimed. "They been hurting us all, and I just been tryna get away!" With that, she kicked her fury up a notch and slammed her hammer into the albino nearest her (To hit: 20, Dmg: 15)

[b]"Death to the witches!"[/b] Thanath bellowed before pummeling the face of the Albino closest to him into a bloody pulp with his light hammers. With another Albino brought low, Thanath put away his light hammers and pulled out his maul as he charged as far down the map as his movement allows.

The Albino previously next to the unseen woman, became enveloped with shadowy energy, striking at what appeared to be thin air, but drawing blood nonetheless from the Invisible lady, now drenched in sanguine fluid.

In turn, the crimson stained girl returned punishment in kind to the changeling, imploding his chest with two thunderous blows. Quickly the dusky runes fled its corpse to feed the last two remaining Albinos, albeit they were now consumed with more darkness than white skin. The guard, witnessing the Albino in front of him and next to the monk, previously calling for help and hearing the ploy of witches, attempts to strike the grey mass like creature now transforming before him.

"... Bloody demons!" Halflight says, with as much zeal as a totally holy knight like him would have.

Hearing the paladin from yonder, the captain of the local City Watch raised his sword in the air with both hands, neglecting to don his shield, striking the grey goo of a man before him for 9 damage. The other Albino, eyeing Thanath slay his bethren, began to shapeshift into a spitting mirror copy of the Goliath Barbarian, as he opened the lesser barricaded of the two doors, with a front kick, dragging the Diamond encrusted Albino alongside with him. The silvery Albino filled with more shadow runes, instills a sense of madness among the ambiance of combat, raising his two daggers and slashing against the naive guard.

Halflight watches everything unfold, interestingly, as if waiting for something to happen...

The daggers pierced through the guard's armor, delivering the last lethal blow to send him towards a crashing flight of unconsciousness.

[i]Well, the guard still has a chance. It wasn't to his knee.[/i] Halflight thought to himself.

>Mara, Thanath, Ysalain and Uregaunt can assume that when one Albino dies, the others receive the fallen's dispersed rune tattoos, making them stronger.

Halflight shakes his head when the Guard goes unconscious. He'll have to make due with it, he supposed. Ah, well, time to curry favor with his other allies, Halflight supposes. "I'll look for our Goliath friend and give him [i]aid[/i]. You should help that woman." Halflight tells Uregaunt, pointing at Mara before heading towards where Thanath was last seen.

Uregaunt nods quietly. He wasn't going to let his friends fall, not now.

While he walks past the dead albinos, Halflight scornfully stomps on one of their skulls once he has the cover of the bookshelf to aid him.
Once Halflight makes it over to where Thanath was last seen, he notices that the Goliath is heading south. "Friend! Wait!" Halflight calls as he dashes down, "I can heal you!"

Thanath waves Halflight's offer of healing away before gesturing to the 1 remaining healing potion he has on his person. [b]"I have my own method of healing!"[/b] Thanath booms politely [b]"So you can save yours for the others! Thank you for offering though!"[/b]

The unconscious bearer of the Diamond was dragged outside, as Cerise saw Thanath outside. She yelled, "A little help over here," as she dismounts and flies up 2 stories to the roof. Her Corgi dashes into the crowd.

[b]"That's not me!"[/b] Thanath warns [b]"That's an impostor!"[/b]

Uregaunt frowns and licks his lips, clenching a fist as the blade he held in his hand dissipates. His eyes nervously pan around the room as he watches the chaos unfold before him. He wasn't going to fall here, not now. He had to help out, no longer could he idly stand by and use the unit that Kelemvor had granted him. He places himself in front of his bloodied servant and drops a tinderbox on the ground before him. "My friend and I are witch hunters!" He proclaims loudly. "This building is full of witches! Burn the witches! Destroy them all!" He shouts, in a fit of curious behavior before casting Eldritch blast, aiming two beams of crackling energy at Mara.

>On his way, Halflight snatches a scroll.

"Oi! I'm on your side, you half-wit!" Mara called out angrily before pulling the stopper of her other potion off the bottle with her teeth and jamming it down Fern's gullet (healing for 6 HP). "Come on, Fern, let's get out of here," she muttered. As the wolf got to her feet, Mara pulled her City Watch badge from her pack and held to up so the other guards could see. "I'll check outside!" she called before darting into the forming crowd. Although they made way for the wolf as needed, Mara's intentions were more to put space between herself and anyone wishing to hurt her. Both she and Fern darted low to the ground and around a corner, taking cover among the citizens and breaking line of sight.

"It's only you left now!" Thanath calls out to the last conscious Albino in the building [b]"Let's see if you're any better in a fight than the others!"[/b] (Prepared Action: Thanath attacks Albino twice with maul. Action Trigger: The Albino gets Thanath's attack range.)

The scarlet servant obeyed her Warlock master, taking and striking the flint over the unconscious changelings, igniting their dying cadavers ablaze. The scrolls, wood, and timber within the shop began to feed the fiery inferno, thanks to the aberrant oil spread earlier.

Then, the ruby lady commences its disappearing act, once again cloaked by Invisibility. She dashed next to the blackened Albino riddled with revolving tattoos, its darkness hindering the ambient light and warmth to reach him, but welcoming the unseen fool to its proximity. 

Eyeing the mighty force next to it, the conglomerate of tattoos and bitter darkness strikes with Disadvantage against the unseen servant of Uregaunt. However, both swift swipes missed the intended target. Angrily bellowing a howl, the Albino moved away from the burning building, and of course the woman in cognito, provoking an Attack of Opportunity. The enraged changeling stumbled upon the cobbled rue, as the crowd, overwhelmed by the  frightening spectacle, began to flee rampantly. The chaotic riddle of a man inched near to their new found quarry, the One with the Diamond, but also haphazardly closer to the guards attracted by their Captain's yells.

>The Thanath imposter will ready an action after stopping dragging the unconscious changeling studded with the large Diamond

Halflight, thinking fast as the shop begins to burn down, decides to try something sinister- he runs towards the bookshelf, attempting to push it over the Goliath as a means to impede him. Sadly, however, his strength failed him. Cursing to himself, Halflight holds his holy symbol close and whispers a short prayer, touching his dagger's blade. Soon, he begins to fade from sight.

Cerise, witnessing the mutated Albino, now engorged with height and tattoo, focused on her fairy shield in, praying to her deity in hopes to summon a sacred flame upon the monstrosity, ironically ignoring the crackling fires beneath. The radiance split the heavens and descended upon the rune riddled behemoth, but to apparently no avail. Her Gossamer wings flew her higher to building, to witness the surrounding landscape and the sun overhead nearing the flanking horizon of Waterdeep's cemetery, the City of the Dead.

Uregaunt frowns, realizing he didn't have his holy symbol with him. Regardless, he hoped that this would work. He walks 30 feet forward, before turning to face Thanath. "Stop, heathen!" He shouts, throwing his hands in the air in what appears to be an elaborate gesture. "The powers that be command you to stop!" Thanath would feel paralysis overcome his body. Once he has done that, Uregaunt lets his hands fall. "Forget destroying the witches. Come with me," he says, his voice no longer a shout.

The footsteps of the invisible lady follow her master's voice, drowned out by the surrounding flames.

[b]"Hey!"[/b] Thanath booms as he tries in vain to move [b]"I'm not a heathen! Why did you cast that spell on me!? Do I really look like 1 of those Albinos to you!?"[/b]

All three city guards hear Thanath's last words before succumbing to paralysis. As they approach, they see their fallen captain and question the looming impostor of a Goliath. "Stop! What happened?" one questions, while the other interrupts, assuming the man was pulling the unconscious Albino out of the building in regards to safety, "The house is on fire! We need to get everyone else out." As the further guard moves, the Barbarian impostor attempts to stab (an Attack of Opportunity) against the sentry as he leaves his proximity. Seeing the attempted assault, the guards, with swords already drawn, strategically flank the unknown phony. "Stop!" They yell in unison as the other guard runs back around the corner.

The glow caused by Thanath's divine fury begins to fade away as he struggles against the magic holding him in place. [b]"Now let's see!"[/b] Thanath booms to himself as he tries to remember what 1 of his sisters advised him to do should he ever become paralyzed [b]"If I remember what Onegeo told me correctly, I just had to do this then that, then that then that, then that then that, then that then...erm...this?!"[/b] Unfortunately for Thanath he had not remembered his sister's advice correctly. [b]"Oh bother!"[/b] Thanath says as the flames licked ever closer.

The unseen woman watches Thanath struggle, awaiting his master's next desire. The captain sliently crawls nearer to death's door; his strewn body gasping upon the previously barricaded frame.

The dusky, enigmatic albino rushed the nearest guard, swiping it with dark daggers of angst. With one swoop, the guard plummetted like a ragdoll before it blade. Using the other arm, a bludgeoning backhand rotated to catch the City Watch sentinel off guard. Thwack! However, the man remained standing, only for the adjacent Goliath to bare its facetious dentition. With an abrupt downward stroke, the man's armor and corpus was filleted, literally split in half by the thunderous blow.

Dragging the man with the Diamond between them, they fled southeast towards a gate of the City of the Dead.

Halflight gripped the dagger eagerly in his hand as he eyed the now paralyzed Goliath.   Approaching him, Halflight lunged his leg at Thanath with the intent of kicking him down, his magical guise shimmering away as he appeared. The Paladin then raised his dagger in the air, a look of fanatical zeal in his face... "Fairest Lady! I dedicate this sacrifice..." Halflight began, stopping in a quick trance of thought as the heat of the burning building became apparent to him. Yes, this could be even better... Halflight retrieves a clay flask from his belt, uncorking it before pouring it over the downed barbarian. "I dedicate this sacrifice, bequeathed in flame, in your name!" Halflight exclaims to the sky, before looking back down at Thanath. "I envy you, to meet her before I..." Halflight shook his head, dropping the flask before turning away and heading for the exit.

The winged cleric belted another ray from her deity but the target was again ready, dodging easily without much effort, the brilliant holiness sent from the heavens. Seeing the guard below, she feared making an appearance once more, hiding again above the building's shingles. She knew this refuge would succumb to fire, as flames began to fan outside the door, with its bellowing smoke attracting all those nearby.

Uregaunt bats at the fires that start to overwhelm him, realizing the tactical issue in lighting the house that he's in on fire.  In retrospect, perhaps that wasn't his best idea. "This way!" Uregaunt shouts, reinforcing his order from before, before exiting the burning building. As soon as he is out, he breaks out into a mad dash to the east. He wasn't going to let himself get caught, and he hoped that the fire would provide a sufficient distraction for his escape.

In an effort to strike when opportunity was hot, the last standing guard attempted to impale Uregaunt but lost his grip with the sword plummeting inside the burning house of all places. Now, devoid of weaponry, the sentry pulled his dead captain from the ablazed shop, unknowing that he had already succumbed to the grim reaper's scythe moments earlier.

Just as Thanath began to make another attempt to escape, he felt the ability to move return to him. [b]"Well that's conveni-!"[/b] Thanath boomed before being interrupted by a flame licking at his arm. [b]"Gah!"[/b] Thanath yelped as he jumped to his feet [b]"I should probably get out of here!"[/b] Thanath said before putting away his maul and exiting the shop. Upon doing so, Thanath spotted Halflight trying to get away. Thanath began to glow again as he charged towards Halflight and attempted an choke slam. Thanath chugged down his final healing potion before looking down at Halflight and pulling out his maul. [b]"Thought you could leave me to burn!?"[/b] Thanath boomed as he hefted his maul for a powerful downwards strike [b]"You thought wrong!"[/b] With that said, Thanath brought his maul down on the traitorous paladin.

Thanath laughed in anticipation of a good fight as Halflight avoided the maul strike.

The unseen servant followed, bitten by the bitter flames ignited by her new master. She hugged close to his shadows, but glancing over her invisible shoulder towards the Albino with the diamond, hauled off by the two fiends, which was soon interrupted by a half-orc fighter.

Ragnar, a sellsword, stepped up to the Albino duo and the Goliath. "What the HELL is going on here??? Whoa! Does that man have a giant diamond in his chest??? GIMMEE!!" The half-blood fighter reared his scimitars upon the Albino riddled with tattooes, and released a surge of green angst upon the duo.

The first blow hit the towering changeling with accuracy, felling it to the ground, with a gash across its chest. [b]"I SAID GIMMEE!!!"[/b]

The avocado luck continued onto the barbarian, as the half-orc continued its rampage (Action Surge after non-dominant strike), savoring four lethal stikes against the faux Thanath, rendering the now reverted changeling extinguishing and dying. Ragnar, completely exhausted, hoisted his leg in Captain Morgan fashion over one of the dying Albinos, to his right. [b]"WEIRDOS!!!"[/b] He realized the stage was now set, and he was vulnerable, until he rallied to reap his reward.

Halflight avoided the maul gracefully as the burst of divine light scorched him. Thanks to his Celestial blood, however, he was able to withstand the sudden burst of energy. Annoyed that his sacrifice decided not to stay as one, Halflight spun his dagger in his hand. "You should've stayed dead," he remarks, before he prepares for a lunge.

His feint, having been successful, results in Halflight lunging his blade into Thanath's chest while saying a quick prayer to his patron deity, causing a burst of holy light to coalesce from the tip of his blade. The poison of treachery, lathered on his dagger, stings much more as the Goliath was distracted from the earlier feint. Leaving his dagger in the Goliath's chest, Halflight stepped back as he watched the poison work its magic. With a smug grin, Halflight looked the Goliath straight in the eye, with one last quip before he retreated towards Uregaunt, avoiding the guardsmen as he does so.

"Consider it a souvenir. Keep it, you filthy animal."

Thanath cried out in pain as Halflight's dagger pierced his chest with extraordinary force. As Halflight stepped back to admire his handiwork, Thanath attempted to stagger forwards after him, but instead the Goliath faltered and fell onto his side. He saw Halflight's mouth move, but couldn't make out what he was saying. Something about animals? Either way, Halflight retreated after that, once again leaving Thanath for dead. [b]"It only took him one hit."[/b] Thanath breathed as his vision began to darken [b]"Incredible"[/b]

"You never told me your name, by the way, friend!" Halflight said to Uregaunt out loud as they ran from the guards.

The fairy shrugged behind the gutter of the burning the building, concentrating on a gigantic simmering scythe. It materialized before the barbarian's bloodied body, exhuming from the ground itself, in a spectral fashion, a spiritual weapon to guard her friend. Descending on Gossamer wings, she dropped next to the Goliath, to both protect and persuade him to end this pandemonium. "Thanath, please rest and stop. I am afraid we are gonna kill each other. We need to figure out why these stones are in us." Her plea was eavesdropped and she waited for this verbal treaty to be overhead by the red gemmed assailants.

"In due time, friend," Uregaunt nearly shouts, while trying to formulate a plan. He looked over at the combat, as he slowly eyed the field. He didn't want to deal with any more potential threats to his plan, and to that extent, with a whisper and a wave, he sent two blasts of crackling energy flying towards Thanath, before fleeing even further.  The guards should deal with the two of them, but with his cover blown, Uregaunt knew it was only a matter of time before he was in deeper... "We need to leave and get as far away as we can from here, follow me!"

The guard blows a whistles and readies his weapon. He hoped his brothers in blue would heed the holler.

The half-orc sheathes one of his blood stained blades, allowing his non-dominant hand to grapple the expensive unconscious changeling, dragging the ragdoll body, bleeding and paralyzed on the floor.

"Very well!" Halflight nodded back, watching the half-orc and keeping a mental note to himself. "Half-orc! If you wish for better bigs and shinies, then I have a proposition for you!" Halflight says, before taking a small pouch of 50 gp out.

He ignores the treacherous paladin and his meager bargaining chips, focusing rather on the big ass diamond, he had in tow.

Halflight sighed, then ran back over to Uregaunt's side. "We should try and find a way to get that body back. It may hold secrets as to what we were doing in there." Halflight told Uregaunt once he had caught up.

"Why?!?!" The cleric questioned the knight, as she ran to the exsanguinating pile of sculpted flesh. Her hands full of comfort were placed on the shoulders of the collapsed goliath, healing Thanath for 21 HP, saving from the vile grasp of the grim reaper. The scythe maintained its poise, unwavering in a possible defense against any further threat. "Are you okay? Thanath, was it?"

Uregaunt gives a dry chuckle. "Oh, it has something of interest, alright. I'll tell you once we're out of harm's way." With that, he dashes even further away from the battle, waving for Half-light to follow.

As the healing magic began to do its work, Thanath sat up and watched Halflight and Uregaunt run off into the distance. Even after the healing, he was still too injured to pursue Halflight successfully, let alone fight him. So instead Thanath got to his feet, pulled the dagger out of his chest, and smiled thankfully at Cerise as he leaned on his maul for support. [b]"Thank you,"[/b] Thanath said.