Mantis was able to move away from the pyramid fast enough before its soul-sucking grasp could take hold. She managed to rendezvous with Xune, who had her own problems. It seems her magic was failing against the aura of the pyramid. And then came the worst part of it when new undead came from the structure’s entrance. But this time, they were not some simple skeletons but magically reinforced units.

Mantis bit her lip. Two spearwielding skeletons lunged at her. The two launched arcs of soul fire beyond the spear’s normal reach. Mantis tried to evade the attacks with [Agile evade]. This was annoying. With the skeletons using tech with such a range, it was impossible for the hunter to effectively counter. Not to mention there were two of them. If it were a one-on-one, she might be able to turn the tide. But Mantis would not press her luck against multiple opponents. especially in the open of the scorched battlefield. That was when Xune ordered the retreat. Mantis didn’t hesitate. She [Backwards dash], keeping an eye on the two spearbearers to see if they would follow her and if they would start to show some oddities. They were controlled by the pyramid. That means that there must also be a range that the thing can keep full control of such powerful minions. And when its control starts to waver. There will be an opportunity to counter.

ooc: there's an idea
Time: late afternoon near dusk
Weather: Cold but not freezing
Mentions: @Tellussoil@CorvianMERCDB@Karcen@Lulidew
music:


Xune keeps control of her skeletons as they withdraw, reinforcing the magic sustaining them so the pyramid’s drain and the uneven ground do not collapse their retreat. The surge of soul flame released by the pursuing undead reaches them before they clear the area. The blast tears through the skeletons’ heavy armor and strikes Xune as well, destroying the armor and leaving her injured despite the wards. (heavy armor F of minions destroy, xune takes 1 damage)

Lorien pushes back toward the entrance to launch his attack and steps into the drain zone again. The pyramid leaches him as he moves in, taking a portion of his lifeforce before he releases the strike. The wave of dark energy reaches the entrance but is pulled inward and absorbed by the pyramid rather than detonating inside. (1 hp damage to Lorien)

Ryker attempts to evade the advancing undead fighter while falling back with Xune. The strike still connects enough to damage his armor, the soul flame edge biting into the plating as he retreats. (1 damage to Ryker armor)

Mantis evades the spear attacks cleanly and withdraws from the drain zone without injury, maintaining distance from the pursuing enemies.

The armored undead continue their pursuit. Their pace keeps them close to Xune and Ryker as the party retreats. One of the spear bearers lunges again toward 1 of the skeletons retreating with Xune while another closes on Ryker with a follow up strike of its soul flame blade. (both attacks are enhanced and basic actions will not be sufficient as seen by the characters earlier)

Shortly after Lorien’s attack is absorbed, the pyramid’s pull fades. The draining effect in the zone around the immediate area of the pyramid subsides to tolerable levels.

As Lorien dashed right back into the soul drain radius, unfortunately he ended up getting some of his soul sucked anyway. Pain struck his body as he felt his soul being pulled out of him, and his body felt like it had lost some strength too. It was an unpleasant, unnatural feeling, but he was also pretty intrigued by it. So this was what it was like to receive soul damage, the boy mused to himself.

That aside, the boy launched his attack deep into the depths of the pyramid entrance, and as it travelled deep into its belly, the pull from the pyramid started to fade as well. He heaved a sigh of relief as his reckless plan had worked out in the end, and even felt kinda proud of himself for figuring out the pyramid’s mechanism before the others did. Maybe he was a hidden genius? Well, every party needed a genius strategist on their side to balance out the dumbness after all. Without him, they’d be wandering about all day figuring out a way to get in there. He did take some damage from the stunt however, but it was definitely worth it and he did enjoy the pain too.

“It’s done. It seems like launching attacks or spells deep into the pyramid’s belly can help to satiate its hunger and prevent it from draining all our souls out. Works as a temporary measure of course, but having those barriers up too would be ideal if the pyramid ever gets hungry out of nowhere again.” He spoke to the others aloud and more notably to Xune who had the power to grant them barriers. It could tank 1 soul draining hit at the very least. However, as he turned to actually face them he realized the party was still under attack from the skeleton soldiers.

Oh right… They were busy dodging out of the harmful soul drain area instead of fighting the soldiers within it. A good call… But it did seem pretty meek of them. A true warrior would have fought the soldiers with all their might, regardless of whether their souls get sucked or not in the process. Oh well, it seemed like it was Lorien’s time to save the day again. Geez, what would they do without a great knight of darkness like him?

Both Xune and Ryker had a skeleton undead each going for their throats. They could take em, probably… And Mantis, she seemed very loyal to their spider boss so she would cover for her if needed. In that case, trimming out the undead horde would be the better move here. First, he would move closer to the horde using [Dash] while still maintaining somewhat of a distance between them like around 30ft, before sending out an area ranged darkness attack near the back of the horde of undead chasing them using [Rend III]. Afterwards, he’d heal himself using [Heal]. "Well then, let's test and see how strong you are compared to the previous bunch." He said with a smirk on his face. He couldn't help but to get excited knowing that these guys were stronger than the small fry they faced earlier.

Actions:
1. Move closer but not too close using [Dash] – Fast F, athletics F, acrobatics F, energized F
Description: Dash nimbly with 2x movespeed up till 40ft.
Cooldown: 0 Post
2. Attack the near back of the horde using [Rend III] – Fighting style [Polearms - Specialized] E, area E, range E, athletics F
Description: User swings his poleaxe, sending a dense wave of darkness out. This wave of darkness splits into numerous waves, slashing at all targets in a 15ft radius at a range up to 30ft away. (darkness deals slashing physical damage)
3. [Heal] - Healing F, energized F
Description: User summons dark aura to heal themself for 1HP
Cooldown: 0 Post

The skeletons didn’t seem to be able to keep up with her retreat and soon lost interest in Mantis. a fatal mistake. The moment the two spearwielding skeletons turned and headed to her allies, Mantis stopped and turned around. "simple beings. Next to no flesh, they have no brains as well" Mantis suspected that the warriors would give up the chase soon enough. Now she can turn the tables on these bonebags. Having fought them head-on would not have been the smartest move. That would only increase the risk of serious injury. And there was no honour in that. not that Mantis cared for honour at all to begin with. All she wanted was victory and the taste of her enemies' flesh. Sadly, bonebags still don’t have any of that.

With weapon in hand, Mantis dashed towards her allies and the armoured skeletons. A wicked grin on her lips, Mantis was already enjoying the thrill of the hunt. In the blink of an eye, Mantis got behind the armoured spear-wielding skeleton that tried to attack one of Xune’s skeletons. {"too easy… now perish"} the elf said as she unleashed [Heartseeker], jabbing the necrotic-laced blade of her weapon through the skeleton’s back. Mantis twisted the blade before pulling her weapon back with a twirl. {"That was almost a challenge… Now, who wants to taste my blade next?"} Mantis said her gaze went to any of the other pyramid skeletons nearby, trying to decide who to strike next.

Things were only getting worse and worse Xune had tired herself from trying to clear the field of enemies and it only seemed to make it worse. Still she was feeling more refreshed despite the bast of soul fire that annoying hurt her skeletons, though that was only because she needed them to carry her around instead of lurking on someone's shoulder. Though more annoying was that she herself had been hurt, she wasn't exactly the most durable person. They needed to attack the dammed pyramid. Perhaps that would feed it enough energy to shut it up. The others were doing well enough and this whole fight had to xune been something of a humiliation given she was the one bringing everyone here and the expert so to be bested by these things was a pain. Still she was refreshed as if all her weakness was gone. They were beyond the range of the pyramid to steal her power it seemed so she could at least not worry about having her spells drained and not seemingly coutn towards the energy the pyramid needed.

" Enough Sprits unbound souls unchain guard my friends destroy my foes leave nothing behind take all life, take all heat, take all light serve me and destroy" She called out casting not just one spell but two as she mixed them. She summoned forth the spirits shields to guard herself and her allies again.

ooc: is it time to head in?
Time: late afternoon near dusk
Weather: Cold but not freezing
Mentions: @Tellussoil@CorvianMERCDB@Karcen@Lulidew
music:


Xune’s casting completes and the blast rolls out in full, soul flame flooding the area in a wide surge and consuming everything within range. The remaining undead are burned down to nothing and the ground is torn up and scorched, loose earth blasted aside and blackened where the fire passes. The few firbolgs still within the field are caught in it as well, those too slow to escape consumed along with the rest. (murderer title)

The party remains standing within the blast as the soul shields take the full impact, flaring and cracking under the strain as the force pushes through them. The pyramid remains unaffected, its surface unchanged as the energy washes over it. As the blast fades, its conduits flare and it draws in what is left behind, pulling in lingering soul fire, necrotic residue, barriers, and stray magic until nothing remains. The pull does not reach the living this time, and no new undead emerge. The pyramid goes still with its entrance open, holding in a dormant state.

Ryker... after assessing the damaged armor he looked on at the Pyramid, the fact it was both still open, the path clear and something told him the pulling was fading. "We should move, before the pyramid gets a chance to revive anything or trigger it's soul siphoning again." Ryker assessed as he looked to the others, as he walked forward, keeping his sword ready incase of further opposition, making sure each foot planted was firm, dirt, dead foliage, body and ash settled beneath his sabatons. "Xune, what does this next relic you're after look like? Similar to the previous book? If so what markings should we look out for?" Ryker asked, his voice more forward, and calm, his sword rested down at an angle to avoid stabbing someone, as well as to not get caught on loose rocks or plant life or worse a living corpse.

Xube was left panting after that attacks and defence combined. She had not been sure that the wave of fire would take out the undead and feed the oyramid. The shields had been rather pointless. Still it was good to have and something to keep up just incase they got attacked again. At least that last blast had seemingly done what dhe wanted, though she was still burned from soul flame. She needed to learn how to siphon and redirect Vitality. What ryker asked was almost laughable she thought she had told them, but well combat could make one forget.

She pointed the the pyramid " That is the relic the black pyramid the hone of the great necromancer abd seat of his power and knowledge long ago brought diwn by the spirit king and his armies. " she explained her desire clear for all to see " I must find it's core and bind it to take it as my own. Don't worry I'll make sure you and Mantis have nice spaces in it. " she continued though the stinging pain of the soul flame reminded her "anyone know any healing its one place I haven't focused on?" she asked the others wanting to go in topped up.

When Xune unleashed her massive fireball, Mantis was quick to react. She quickly grabbed the big skeleton warrior before her and moved it to be between her and the inferno. Her boney meatshield (and the barrier put up by Xune) took the brunt of the flames. enough for Mantis to come out of it unscathed, for the most part…

{”such overwhelming power… it makes me hungry…"} Mantis discarded her bone shield and took a quick gander over the overcooked field. Xune really went overboard this time and even roasted all the firbolgs who were unfortunate to be caught in the blast. Well, there went the emergency snacks. on the bright side. The pyramid seems to be done with its sucking aura shenanigans. So the party is now clear to finally enter and explore. But before they headed over Xune asked for some healing.

Mantis smirked as she holstered her weapon on her back and walked over to Xune. {"Let me try something. I wanted to try this for some time now"} She said as she placed her hand on the blade of her weapon and cut her palm with it. Mantis held out her bloody hand towards Xune. The warrior's eyes started to emit a soft red glow as the blood from her hand started to form into a few small string-like tentacles. {"Now stay still. This might hurt a little,"} She said as she cast [Blood art: Blood weaving restoration]. The tentacles shot forward towards Xune tethering themselves to the spider. Writhing and wriggling beneath her skin, the blood tentacles moved through Xune’s body in search of the source of her damage. Once found, the tentacles would forcefully stitch damaged tissue together apply healing energy to the damaged area so that it may heal. Once the healing is done, the blood tentacles retracted back into Mantis’s hand. Mantis chuckled as she raised her cut hand to her lips and licked the cut wound. {"Delicious"} She let out sounding content. {"Let go inside already before that thing recovers and starts becoming a nuisance again"} Mantis started running towards the entrance of the pyramid, coming to a stop next to the entrance to wait for the others to catch up.

Xune stole the spotlight this time round as her soul flames blasted all the skeleton warriors into smitherins. Lorien, watching the scene unfold before his eyes, his smirk vanished quickly as his neutral bored expression came back on, alongside a small hint of disappointment to it. He wanted to test out himself against the new strong foes! However, the spider boss lady had other plans it seemed. She did end up expending a lot of power in that one attack… Was she getting irritated that the pyramid wasn’t letting them in anytime soon?

And to make matters worse, she ended up burning barbequeing the remaining firbolgs in her attack. Lorien took note that he ought to avoid getting on her bad side or he might just end up like them as well.

He followed silently along with the group going into the pyramid, listening in on their conversation along the way. He didn’t really know much about her mission to collecting these relics, but it sounded like a fun quest. That was when Xune asked for some healing, to which Mantis stepped in to help out with that. Her method of healing was pretty… interesting to say the least. Lorien eyed her blood tentacles as they did their job, penetrating the spider boss’s body to heal her. Actually, that looked like it could be fun.

“Hey, Mantis was it? I’m injured too. Could use some healing.” Lorien lied, clutching his abdomen as if he had some internal injuries. He had already healed himself earlier, but he was curious how it would feel to have those tentacles forced their way into his body. "The damned soul drain had got me good." He groaned while faking a pained expression.

ooc: Xune (murderer) - what a lovely place
Time: dusk
Weather: Cold but not freezing - warming near the pyramid
Mentions: @Tellussoil@CorvianMERCDB@Karcen@Lulidew
music:


The field fell quiet behind them, scorched earth faintly steaming as the last traces of magic were pulled into the pyramid and nothing rose to replace them. The entrance remained open. For a moment, nothing happened.

Then the new feeling became apparent the instant the threshold was crossed. As Ryker stepped into the pyramid’s entry way, the surface beneath his foot gave a subtle shift, not enough to break balance but enough to feel wrong. The black lines etched into the floor flare a dull green for a single pulse. In that same instant, the stone fractures open in tight, precise seams.

Thin spikes of dark metal erupt upward in a violent surge, filling the entryway from floor to ceiling in a blink. They rise fast and straight, packed close enough to skewer anything caught within their span, the force behind them more than enough to punch through armor and bone alike. (Ryker, defend yourself)

The rest of the entrance begins to react in sequence, more seams forming, more lines lighting beneath the surface as the pyramid’s interior systems come alive before them.

Xune was again surprised by the pyramid, she had expected it to be well more magic wards abd mechanical traps. The inside of the pyramid looked nothing like some ancient structure and more like something out of the steam punk bastions of this world. She would almost say a magical cyberpunk, but the large tube of energy destroyed that. There had been games in her old world that had a race that was about steam punk and really this place looked like it.

" Okay I was expecting ancient Egypt not magitech " xune said her shields over the ithers gone nearing she needed to rest a little bit.

The pyramid didn't want to let them do that as the metal spikes erupted from the ground. Now that the whole place had an advanced high tech inside xune almost found the primitive looking spike trap out of place. Had the great necromancer just left old traps in place? Were these new ones added latter? There was no way the great necromancer had made the pyramid in this style. That ryker was in danger was annoying but with how swiftly the trap went off there was no time to chant a spell. That was another thing to work on latter.

" everyone becareful watch fir runes or strange stones anyone know anything about traps? " Xune asked as she tried to use her knowledge of the great necromancer and his magics to figure out where he would place traps at least of a magical nature or to feel fir odd flows of magic.

As the party were about to enter the pyramid’s entrance, Ryker was the first one who crossed the entry way and a bunch of spikes erupted from the ground aiming to pierce him. Thankfully Lorien wasn’t in the front this time round, so he didn’t need to budge an inch to dodge it.

When Xune would ask if anyone knew about traps, Lorien shook his head in response. It’s not like he had a trap detection skill or anything, but he might have a way of spotting them still. “I could try to sense the area around us, but its pretty limited.” He said, before carrying on to use [Sense] in order to sense the area near the entrance for any traps.

[Sense] – Grade E – Feature: dark vision, heightened sense F (hearing), appraisal E, perception F, energized E
Description: Sense the area around with enhanced sight and hearing, while also being able to see in darkness.
Cooldown: 0 Post

Ryker feeling the shifting floor beneath him, as he activated a trap cursing under his breath. He jumped backwards back towards the entrance and everyone else as a means to avoid being punctured. As well as to avoid triggering any further traps further in.

Action 1 basic evade backwards

When the others caught up to Mantis at the door into the pyramid, Lorien suddenly requested healing from the elf. Mantis turned to the human and gave him a look of disdain. Why would she heal him just because he asked? not that he even needed it. Mantis could see that Lorien was faking it [insight F]. {"Human filth. Pray that you are still of use to Xune, that I am not cutting you up right now for such a grave insult!"} She spoke with a cold tone while glaring at the human.

The rest had arrived at the pyramid. It was about time that they could finally enter the big, black construction. But sadly, things were not as easy. When Ryker crossed the threshold, several metal spikes erupted from the floor, nearly impaling the knight on them. How annoying. The place was rigged with traps.
{"I’m a warrior, not a trap layer. can’t say I know much on the subject"} Mantis said annoyed when Xune asked if someone knew anything about traps. And by the sound of it, no one really knew much.

Then she suddenly got an idea. Mantis ran back towards the battlefield to look for something. The elf was looking for some remains of any of the big skeletons that had attacked them earlier. skulls, pieces of armour or their weapons. She wanted a few pieces of those, preferably at least one skull and one weapon, before she would return to the entrance.

When she got back, she noticed Lorien trying to sense for traps. {"Ignorant human"} Mantis said as she took one of her pieces of loot in hand and threw it into the pyramid in an attempt to preëmtively trigger some traps. She did that with every piece of stuff she found. throwing them into different directions and at different angles.
One should safely trigger traps to determine how and when they will spring. Was it through motion sensing? Or trigger them when something touches the ground? If it gets triggered through runes, then it should reveal these runes when the trap springs. Doing it this way will reveal much more useful information than simply staring at the ground. And once they know how the traps work, they can think up a way to evade them entirely. and who knows. Maybe if the traps get triggered, they won't trigger a second time. That would make things a lot simpler.

ooc: Xune (murderer)
Time: dusk
Weather: Cold but not freezing - warming near the pyramid
Mentions: @Tellussoil@CorvianMERCDB@Karcen@Lulidew
music:


Lorien’s senses stretch into the entrance, sharpening the dim interior just enough to catch what the eye alone might miss. Fine seams run along the floor in tight, deliberate patterns, not cracks but placements. Faint lines thread between them, dull and dark until they catch the light at certain angles. Along the walls, segments shift slightly out of alignment with one another, as if parts of the structure sit on hidden joints. Deeper in, vertical structures rotate at a slow, steady pace, and thin veins of dim green light pulse through channels that do not follow any natural design.

Mantis finds little left of the battlefield to work with. The remains she searches for are gone, burned out and taken back into the pyramid. What she gathers amounts to loose debris and fragments of the terrain. When thrown into the entrance, the objects strike the floor and slide or bounce without provoking a response.

At the threshold, Ryker reacts in time. He pulls back as the spikes surge upward, avoiding a lethal impalement, but not cleanly. The rising metal catches his armor and tears through it, splitting plates and leaving it badly damaged as he clears the trap’s reach. (Ryker armor sundered. no longer offers protection)

As quickly as it came, the trap retracts. The spikes withdraw straight down into the floor, the seams sealing behind them until the surface appears whole again. The faint lines dim and not unlike the rest of the floor, and the entrance returns to stillness.

The party remains outside, the interior open before them once more. Considering the dimensions of the trap, it looked like something that could be hopped over, but without knowing trigger, it may be risky either way.

Ryker settled a moment with a sigh, as he decided to take off the damaged armor... as he just threw it inside the corridor of the Pyramid not really aiming for anything, just tossing something on the inside to see what happens on the inside beyond the already obvious trap, considering well the armor was useless for it's main purpose.

Action 1 -.... YEET

Lorien didn’t know what Mantis was saying as she was speaking in a foreign language the entire time but he could tell that she had no intention of healing him. Strange… Did she notice he was lying somehow? “Sorry, could you speak in common? I don’t quite catch what you are saying.” He said, tilting his head to one side innocently as he did so.

As Lorien proceeded to sensing the traps, she seemed to have called him something crude. He only raised an eyebrow in response, although he returned his attention back to sensing out the traps. He realized he was unable to sense any of the traps, he could only pick out on a clearer image of the pyramid they were in, which didn’t seem all that helpful. “I don’t sense anything out of the ordinary. Maybe we just need to avoid the traps as they come.” He announced his findings to the others. He then turned to Ryker. “If you ever need some new armor, I could craft one for you once we’re done with this mission.” The boy offered.

“Anyway, I’ll see if I can secure a safe path in. I might just be fast enough to dodge the traps, you just need to follow the path I take and see what traps spring out. If I do get injured though… Well, I’m able to heal myself so it should be fine. Or perhaps I can rely on Mantis for that?” He looked at Mantis with a slight teasing smile.

He then turned to the entrance once more, preparing himself by taking in a deep breath, before going in with [Dash] and attempting to jump over the area with the spike traps from earlier. He continued venturing deeper in, using his [Sense] to pick out any unnatural movement from the surroundings in case another trap were to spring out.

[Dash] – Fast F, athletics F, acrobatics F, energized F
Description: Dash nimbly with 2x movespeed up to 40ft.
Cooldown: 0 Post
[Sense] – Grade E – Feature: dark vision, heightened sense F (hearing), appraisal E, perception F, energized E
Description: Sense the area around with enhanced sight and hearing, while also being able to see in darkness.
Cooldown: 0 Post

There was nothing to do but to go in, though Xune was still a bit tired it seemed like she really should limit what spell or scale of spells she used. Everything she went all out it seemed the protections she used were just countered by the pyramid. She almost felt like the place was mocking her. She still had her skeletons so they could serve as trap testers.

"{ don't worry its fine though if you can do try speaking in common for the humans. We will need to be able to understand each other. }b Xune requested of Mantis though she wasn't going to force the elf to do anything. Though she did hope Mantis could be polite but well Xune liked having someone outspoken loyal she would need to get her a criminal human to hunt an kill as a reward. The see had to have some they wouldn't miss.

" Anyways new plan I'll cast another barrier and gave the skeletons ho before us. That shoukd eat up any traps assuming the pyramid dosent fuck with me again. " Xune sighed at the last words before starting her spell.

" Souls of the dead shield us from our foes " she chastened summoning new shields. Before urging the skeletons to jump the spikes and head in.

Actions
Soul shield summons forth a barrier of blue fire souls often manifesting as wailing skulls around the target.

Magic D catalyst D duration F Selective magic D Barrier D Affinity soul flame D magic Targets D Magic range D Magic circle
Rank D 100f range 25 targets 1 hour duration.

Targets Xune the party and skeletons.

Mantis’s throw random bullshit didn’t lead to any result. So the traps were not triggered by pure proximity or weight then. Annoying yet not unexpected. Assuming the trap’s trigger is magical in nature was safe to assume then, and Lorien’s report claiming that nothing seemed out of the ordinary reinforced Mantis’s suspicion.
Although that human was starting to get a bit too cheeky for his own good. Having the audacity to request her to speak that filthy human tongue. "No! You learn Sylvan instead!" Mantis said, glaring at Lorien with disgust. Xune asked if Mantis could speak common to the humans {"I speak their filthy tongue when necessary. do not worry about that"} She said to the spider before returning her focus to the traps

How annoying. If the trap is magical, as she suspects, there must be a casting focus somewhere. Take out the focus, and the traps will stop working. But first, they needed to know what triggers the traps. With that info moving around the place will be far less dangerous.
Ryken threw off his damaged armour and threw it into the hallway. probably a wasted effort as the debris she threw earlier didn’t cause any reaction. But what could one expect from a dense-minded human? Still, it’s other material than sticks and stones, so who knows if it does something.
Lorie,n on the other hand, was more reckless with its plan. They gamble it all on being faster than the traps. a surefire way to get yourself killed. or at least harmed. Mantis sure hoped the traps wouldn’t outright kill him so she could salvage his half-dead body before she eats him.
{"If he survives this and begs for healing, I WILL make it cost him an arm or a leg so you know…"} She told Xune not hiding her frustration about the human’s action nor her intentions at all.

There has to be a path. Mantis used [magic focus] to reveal the magic lines that spread across the floor that Lorien had noticed earlier. Perhaps those were the triggers. Mantis calmly walked forward with [agile step], making sure she avoided stepping on any of the faint lines while still ready to dodge away if she triggered a trap.