Acqua Alta Finale

Yrisz visibly winces as Noxias's flaming sphere veers into the library, but when no sounds of burning paper issue forth she noticeably relaxes again and returning her focus on the remaining Matchless Gang member and her wounded party members.

Pausing but a second to send a quick healing pray towards the official seeming Tiefling and then she strides across the room sending blessing to her new allies who are locked in melee with the battered dwarf.

Noxias is impressed by his fellow fire wielder and makes a mental note to engage him in conversation to discuss his technique, and to discover what guild he belonged to. Perhaps if the mortal realm has such proficient halls of learning they may be able to help him return to his home.

Nox cannot figure why his companions seem to be pulling their punches. So he decides to split forces with his sphere and prepare to attack the stocky crossbowman. Nox hesitates for a few seconds to see what his new found friends are playing at.

This is the ninth Acqua Alta Finale main post. Players' posts in either thread are due by 11 pm, Tuesday, April 3rd. The next main post will appear by 11 pm, Thursday, April 5th.

The dwarf staggers a little as Yrisz's prayer quenches some of his fire. His eyes flick over to nearest pillar just as Rogur's next sling shot comes flying out of it. He ducks to the side, but not quickly enough, and is caught on his left shoulder.

Konstansz steps forward and levels her copper-tipped baton at him. It glows with a halo of negative light. "You are beaten. Surrender now and we will spare you."

He grins unpleasantly but raises his left hand with some difficulty, palm open, while hooking his war hammer back onto his belt. Then he glances to the back.

"Roszroon of the Golden Invincibles, charging in!" shouts a muffled voice from the other side of the double doors a moment before they are kicked open, forcing Zephyr and the thug both to skip out of the way. A short, muscular woman in a hide gambeson wearing a cheerful expression stands at the entrance, framed in shafts of gray daylight from her right. She's holding a cheaply-worked, rusty mace in one hand and hefts a shield in the other.

"Hey," she says, looking around, "I know you!" She shoves her mace into Zephyr's side, "Hey, hey, where's the goliath? I wanted to see her today!" She lets out a peal of laughter and then calls back over her shoulder, "Roti! Do the stream attack!"

From behind her, a fair-haired man with a day's growth of beard steps up next to Roszroon. He's wearing similar armor. Taking a quick feint in Zephyr's direction with his sword, he quickly follows it up by striking out with his shield, leaning his body into it with all his might and forcing Zephyr backwards. He's as tall as Zephyr, and looks like he might be as strong as him, too. It looks like he's already been through a bit of trouble, as his head is wrapped in bandages stained with dried blood.

"There's no such thing, Rosz," the man gasps as he crouches low in a guard, flicking his sword point between Zephyr and Marc.

Behind the pair, at least half a dozen more people take up positions to the sides of the room and on the other side of a large, hardwood table. They let fly a volley of disparate missiles into the melee.

"Tufer's in the right-side phantom pillars!" shouts the dwarf as he begins edging through the doors. "Mind that ball of fire --" he exclaims, but gets no further before Konstansz's bolt of magic renders him senseless.

Noxias calls to Marc and Konstansz, "wow, you sure do make friends quickly." He turns, bewildered, to Zephyr, "wait, you know them to?! Well it must be some kind of class reunion or someth-- woah!" He flinches at the incoming bolt from the newly appeared enemy and reflexively throws his hand out before him. The arcane energy springs to life before him and stops the bolt dead.

"I believe what the dwarf was trying to say was to embrace my flaming sphere, it will soon send you to your toward the light!"

"Let's just say we danced back at the church." He looks at the gang and addresses them, "Stop this nonsense, or feel my full wrath. We weren't at the church to fight you. We were their to save an innocent girl. You just happened to let your personal politics get in our way. We didn't WANT to fight you, we had to. So if this is retribution, you can stop now. If you don't I will make sure you never harm an innocent again."

"Politics? What's that?" Roszroon hefts her mace and shrugs, "Tell you what. Send out the goliath and let me go at her, just one-on-one, right here in this corridor. Then we'll call the whole thing off. How's that?"

"What are you talking about, what goliath? No goliaths were with us when we arrived!" Noxias says exasperated. "Now unless you wish to perish in a ball of fire, or perhaps witness your friend's coup de grace, I suggest you disengage immediately!"

Yrisz shoulders sink perceptually when the door opens to reveal Roszroon, Roti, and their curlish friends. With a slight sigh of disappointment she gracefully steps next the ailing Zephyr to lay one of her mailed mittens onto his back allowing her Lady's healing energy to sooth his fresh hurts.

"Rosz, Karu is indisposed at the moment so you'll have to content yourself with who is present," she says indicating the fierce looking gentlemen to her front.

"Oh, and do scurry out the window when you lose like last time, that was actually quite endearing of you considering your prior boasts," Yrisz says a half amused smile lighting her face.

Roszroon's face falls. "She's not feeling good, today? Well, that was a huge waste, coming here. I guess we can disengage," she points to Konstansz with her mace, "if you hand over that 'thete. We need to keep her quiet for a few days."

"Oh no, Karu is quite well, she is simply minding other matter for the Kingdom, and as for your conciliation prize," Yrisz says indicating Konstansz with her touch bearing hand, "we've grown quite fond of her over the last minute, love at first site as it were, so I'm afraid you'll have to live without having her as well."

Konstansz glares at the gang members, "Your hostility only increases my suspicion that your pathetic gang is responsible for Polon's disappearance. Do you have so much to hide that one lowly legothete inspires such an overblown response?"

This is the tenth Acqua Alta Finale main post. Players' posts in either thread are due by 11 pm, Saturday, April 7th. The next main post will appear by 11 am, Monday, April 9th.

Roszroon smiles and shakes her head, "Eh, I don't get half the words you people are saying. Let's just fight!" With that, combat is joined once more. The party wastes no time in getting back into the action.

Marc and Zephyr promptly fall upon Roti. He manages one more light cut against Zephyr with his long sword, but their blows send him reeling. In particular, Zephyr strikes with exceptional speed and ferocity. His body literally begins to ooze a strange, glowing mist. The half-elf seems to be prone to this sort of thing lately, so you take it in stride, but his manner is so threatening that two of the gang members faint in dread at the sound of his ululations.

Noxias's conjured sphere of fire revolves around the melee and bowls down Roti. His armor chars and catches fire, and he briefly lets out a hoarse scream of pain and frustration before expiring.

"Aw Roti, that wasn't a good way to go," says Roszroon. She raises her voice and calls out behind her, "Listen you tufers! If you want to live through this, at least get that elf wizard taken care of!" Obediently, they move into position, but fear or haste spoils their aim and none of their weapons fly true.

Roszroon starts to strike about randomly. It could be taken for a sign of desperation, but her demeanor is still unperturbed. One of her blows forces Zephyr backwards a step and she quickly moves forward to within striking distance of Marc and Noxias.

The spirits are active in Zephyr today it appears. Flames bursting forth, life giving mist, and a roar like a lighting storm. What this means, Zephyr cannot tell, but nonetheless, he continues. "I was hoping words would cause you to realize your futility, but alas, I guess my pick will have to do the talking." As Zephyr plunges into Roszroon, the mist seems to affect him a little bit too, making him feel a bit more resilient.

The smell of burning leather fills the room. Noxias is somewhat pleased that the sphere he worked so long to perfect has been as powerful as he hoped.

"Roz'oon, is it? Terrible name, as terrible as your friend's aim. Listen here! I am Noxias, Eladrin wizard of fire, member of Soliditas Magicalis, you will die this day! Burned to charred pulp like this formally powerful warrior who was no match for me." He indicates Roti's crispy remains with his staff. "If you wish to taste wine or drink, or the feel your wench's warm embrace again, flee now!" Noxias attempts to punctuate his monologue with a great peal of thunder aimed at Roszroon. However, as he releases a wave of energy that lashes up from the ground the cast of it stutters for a second as the unpleasant cold force of thunder courses through him. The sonic blast misses it's mark but sounds impressive nevertheless.

Realizing that the wave of power completely missed it's target, Noxias tries to recover quickly by directing his sphere in close for an attack.

Visibly shaken by Roti's grizzly demise Yrisz tries to call forth her Lady's energies to slow Roszroon rain of attacks, but her heart simply is not in it and her energy never even forms.

Turning to face Noxias fully and she raises her usually soft soprano nearly to a yell to say in Elvin, "Noxias stop burning people! We will all come to a bad end if this continues and we have an official here who'll see that they meet a proper end."

Reverting back to common she says, "and if you want to know what is going on we need a head not a tail," quickly pointing her torch at Roszroon,"with Roti dead she the only head, don't kill her!"