Chapter 3.2 - Return to the Golden Grain Inn

Round one, completed.

Lyrel continues her ritual, casting Detect Magic.
Ember whips out her rapier as she leaps to her feet and misses the twisting snake.
Myrtha pushes past the others to attack with the spear over Aanbo's shoulder and misses the snake.
"You think it's a coincidence to have a big snake in a place with a big snake statue?" Aanbo says to her over his shoulder, missing his strikes with both staff and palm.
"Strike it down with sacred flame!" Arya implores Pelor, but the snake dodges the column of light that beams down into the collapsed mound!
Chase moves past Myrtha to stand between Ember and Aanbo, but his flashing stabs with the shortsword do not manage to connect with the undulating reptile.
Theran watches sardonically. It's just a snake.

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22 - Lyrel (9/9) (performing her ritual)
20 - Morton (9/9)
20 - Mudviper (-3)
19 - Ember (9/9)
17 - Myrtha (17/18)
6 - Aanbo (27/27)
6 - Arya (10/10)
4 - Chase (14/14)

Round two
(this is preceded by round one, followed by round three)

Having drawn her sword, Lyrel continues her chanting, using the blade to trace patterns in the packed dirt floor.
Beads of sweat break out on Morton's smooth brow as he holds up his hand and continues to let the demonic power rip through him.
The mudviper takes 2 force damage as it is hit again!

The mudviper didn't see where the two blows that hit it originated (that is Morton), so it lashes out at the one who disturbed its home again: the dwarf!
But Myrtha reaches around the monk with her shield, and the snake's fangs bounce off, gouging a long scratch in the paint!

Ember stabs with her rapier as the snake is snapping back to strike at Aanbo again. The tip of the blade skewers the reptile and it twists and writhes in pain.
The mudviper takes 12 slashing damage!

Recognizing that the flickering torchlight and the shadows of the people struggling with the snake in front of her are throwing off her aim (and the spear over a person's shoulder is better for a cavalry charge), Myrtha opts to use a different weapon. She yanks the handaxe (that she retrieved from the undead's body earlier) from her belt and flings it over Aanbo's shoulder at the enormous snake's sinuous form. But the shadows still confound her aim and the hatchet sinks into the loose dirt harmlessly.

The Earthshaker monk Aanbo whirls, sways, and leaps to avoid the snake's darting head and piercing fang strikes.

"May your sacred light shine and subdue this beast!" Arya evokes Pelor's Sacred Flame again
The mudviper is seared for 4 radiant damage!

Raising his torch a little higher to get a better view, Chase stabs again!
The mudviper takes 5 piercing damage!



Theran watches and waits. All things die in time.

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22 - Lyrel (9/9) performing her ritual
20 - Morton (9/9)
20 - Mudviper (-26)
19 - Ember (9/9)
17 - Myrtha (17/18)
6 - Aanbo (27/27) Dodging
6 - Arya (10/10)
4 - Chase (14/14)

The mudviper didn't see where the two blows that hit it originated (that is Morton), so it lashes out at the one who disturbed its home again: the dwarf!
But Myrtha reaches around the monk with her shield, and the snake's fangs bounce off, gouging a long scratch in the paint!

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22 - Lyrel (9/9) (performing her ritual)
20 - Morton (9/9)
20 - Mudviper (-5)
19 - Ember (9/9)
17 - Myrtha (17/18)
6 - Aanbo (27/27)
6 - Arya (10/10)
4 - Chase (14/14)

Round three
(this is preceded by round two)

Confident that the others have it handled and tuning the fight out as a distraction, Lyrel remains focused on her ritual, chanting "Manifestare Occulta! Manifestare Occulta!" at measured intervals as she assumes the different poses that the magic requires, incorporating her sword in the ritual.

Morton struggles to keep the open portal to the Abyss fully under his control. The heat is growing more intense, but his hand shakes so that the blast hits the collapsed mound, showering Aanbo, Chase, Ember, and the angry mudviper with dirt.

Hurt and confused by so many attacks at once, the territorial mudviper coils back to choose a target. Hurt most by the rogue, the mudviper strikes out at Ember! But the rogue's sword has pinned the massive snake's body to the dirt, and its strike is pulled short, poison fangs slashing the air uselessly in front of her!

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22 - Lyrel (9/9) performing her ritual
20 - Morton (9/9)
20 - Mudviper (-26)
19 - Ember (9/9)
17 - Myrtha (17/18)
6 - Aanbo (27/27) Dodging
6 - Arya (10/10)
4 - Chase (14/14)