The Dweller's gaze moves between the Cleric of Light and the Ranger with the ghostly blade. It spares a glance for the nearly defeated Necromancer and the forces surrounding him.
They'll finish him soon enough and then they'll come for me. There is too much to be lost here just to sate my anger. I'm free now. I need only time to regain my strength. Fighting here gains me nothing and could lose me everything.
The Dweller regards the Cleric and Ranger again. As he sinks into the floor - to wait, hunt, and regain his full strength, he offers a final word.
:: This round is yours - enjoy the moment while it lasts. Know that my return is assured. When I am ready - we will meet again. ::
Ushari's circle severs the last remaining magical connection between the children and the Dweller - ending its last immediate way onto the plane. The Dweller seethes, its plans thwarted for the time being.
It assesses its numerous enemies. I've come too far to risk being dispelled from this plane by fighting rashly... but perhaps there is time for a quick message. The spectral fragment of the Dweller bridles at the thought of retreat from these lackeys.
The Dweller sinks into the floor and away from the painful globe of holiness. It re-emerges next to Jofram. It's hooked claws - which melt through armor and flesh to rend the souls of its victims - rebounds off the coat of mystical armor surrounding the Ranger. His gauntlet flashes as it repulses the incorporeal assault.
The Dweller flows through the skeletal bars as if they don't exist and glides leisurely towards the cowering children in the corner. It stops by the first dead body - the shell of a little girl. Its arms solidify and stretch to pull the husk off the floor. Lovingly, it rubs a shadow-laden clawed hand over the skull and then with a ferocious twist, accompanied by a sound like dried twigs snapping, it pops the girl's head off and tosses it like a bouquet at Ushari's feet.
:: A present for you... to give to her parents... with my fondest regards. ::
The conscious children start screaming like lambs being slaughtered.
MOVE: Enter the cage and round up dinner
STAND: 'Play Time'
Ushari is halfway over the pit when she starts casting her spell. She slides to a stop and the rapier-like blade of holy force launches forward and plunges into the amorphous side of the Dweller. It hisses its irritation and, just possibly, a little concern. Its purple eyes flash at the cleric's taunt. She hears its sepulchral voice whispering in her ear.
I remember... Why don't you come closer? I'll dine on you after these little ones.
Jayse almost wishes he could see the expression on the invisible Necromancer's face as the Dweller responds. With a wave of a gaseous hand, it dismisses Dinwat and silently chuckles at his folly... then it flow/flies around and through the podium (ignoring the magic circle as if it were a child's scribble), slides past the Monk with a cursory glaring glance, and wafts up to the cage. Instinctively, the two still conscious children crawl toward the far wall trying to escape. They wail in fear - the bogey-man is here.
The black skin inside the Arch firms up, flickers a few times, and then vanishes - leaving only a blank, stone wall. The portal between the worlds is closed... and Jayse almost feels a sense of relief now that the greater threat to the world is gone... almost. The he notices the black exhalation, the dark fog spewed by the Dweller lingers in the archway. It ripples, flows, and forms into a living shadow. It rises up to the height of a man and its wispy hands form nebulous claws. It's gaseous head takes on a form close to that which tried to push through the Arch. Eyes appear in the 'head', glowing purple and malevolent. Something of the Dweller got through... fueled by the lives of three children. It is small, no more than man-sized, and it resembles a shadow or wraith more than a Nightwalker... But the intelligence behind it, the malice, the fearsome intellect, and some fragment of the hideous soul of the creature managed to cross the gap into the Prime Material.
Seeing the Necromancer beset by enemies, the Dweller reduces its draw of life-energy, shoves two clawed hands into the small gap and tears wide the hole into the Prime Material plane. It rams its shark-toothed maw into the hole and exhales... A thick black mist flows through the gap between worlds and pools on the floor before the Arch.
Child 1: KIA Child 2: KIA Child 3: Sputtering Child 4: Draining Child 5: Draining Child 6: Alive
On-Going Effects Good:
Pro Evil w/in 10' of Ushari - 1 Hr (7 minutes elapsed) --> +2 AC v evil; +2 on Saves
Prayer w/in 40' of Ushari RND 5 of 6 --> Allies: +1 Luck on ATT/DAM/Saves/Skills ; Enemies: -1 on same
Inspire Courage RND 5 of 12 --> +2 ATT/DAM ; +2 on Fear/Charm Saves
Ushari & Straehan...
Haste RND 6 of 6 --> +1 Attack on FULL ; +1 ATT Rolls ; +1 Reflex Saves ; +1 Dodge AC ; +30' Move
Jofram...
Allegro RND 5 of 6 --> +1 Attack on FULL ; +1 ATT Rolls ; +1 Reflex Saves ; +1 Dodge AC ; +30' Move
The Dweller widens the finger-hole into this reality and, reaching an impasse, sucks more energy through the link. Another child body becomes a lifeless husk and yet one more filament begins to sputter. The clawed finger is replaced by the shark-toothed face stretching the skin. You see a purple cat's eye peer through the hole greedily and you hear a whispering voice from your worst nightmare.
The Dweller struggles at the portal, thrashing and clawing. One smoking black clawed finger manages to penetrate the skin-like barrier. The creature works frantically to make the hole larger...
Pro Evil w/in 10' of Ushari - 1 Hr (7 minutes elapsed) --> +2 AC v evil; +2 on Saves
Prayer w/in 40' of Ushari RND 3 of 6 --> Allies: +1 Luck on ATT/DAM/Saves/Skills ; Enemies: -1 on same
Inspire Courage RND 3 of 12 --> +2 ATT/DAM ; +2 on Fear/Charm Saves
Ushari & Straehan...
Haste RND 3 of 6 --> +1 Attack on FULL ; +1 ATT Rolls ; +1 Reflex Saves ; +1 Dodge AC ; +30' Move
Everyone else...
Allegro RND 2 of 6 --> +1 Attack on FULL ; +1 ATT Rolls ; +1 Reflex Saves ; +1 Dodge AC ; +30' Move
The Dweller tears at the fabric separating realities with teeth and claws. There might be a frisson of concern in the act. Then it inhales... and the pulse of life coming from Dinwat surges as it sucks in life at a quicker rate. The sudden pull nearly topples the Necromancer who compensates by drawing more energy from the children. A shadow of doubt crosses his features.
That shouldn't happen.
Pro Evil w/in 10' of Ushari - 1 Hr (7 minutes elapsed) --> +2 AC v evil; +2 on Saves
Prayer w/in 40' of Ushari RND 2 of 6 --> Allies: +1 Luck on ATT/DAM/Saves/Skills ; Enemies: -1 on same
Inspire Courage RND 2 of 12 --> +2 ATT/DAM ; +2 on Fear/Charm Saves
Ushari & Straehan...
Haste RND 2 of 6 --> +1 Attack on FULL ; +1 ATT Rolls ; +1 Reflex Saves ; +1 Dodge AC ; +30' Move
Dinwat's face is a mask of concentration as he continues casting his spell and acting as a conduit to drain souls. Another child slumps to the ground, an arm thrown bonelessly through the bars of the grisly cage. The faint trail seeping from the first child grows fainter still.
The featureless face pressed against the portal's skin pauses in its struggle into the world and looks towards Jayse and the open doorway... The monk is disconcertingly sure it sees and recognizes him. The mouth opens in a silent, shark-toothed, roar. The jaw opens and opens more - to a distance greater than any normal mouth could. Wider than a snake unhinging its jaws. It bites feverishly into the thin skin of the portal separating the worlds.
