Gizmo

Summers weathered the cacophony of teenagers shouting over each other with a carefully neutral expression. When there was finally a pause for her to speak she hadn't raised her voice at all. "I've spent the last twenty minutes attempting a brute force teleport so forgive me if I am... terse." The students close enough and observant enough noticed a trickle of blood dripping from one of the Headmistress' nostrils and another from the opposite corner of her mouth, camouflaged somewhat by her dark lip colour. "The rest of faculty will be arriving by more reliable methods shortly." She gestured with her chin to the dark elf under her shoe. "This, Mr. Ransom-Conte, is what remains of a child taken by Giant Krampus, likely some centuries ago. Which should answer your question as well, Ms. Tafari." Too quiet for anyone without enhanced hearing to pick up she added to herself. "I need to speak to the Master Mage..." Turning her attention back to Leroy she continued. "See to your friend. Let me know what you need. We'll use Mr. Barrie's... 'Santa' and Ms. Grey's illusions to allay concerns. A kaiju attracted by the electrical output of an overambitious holiday light show should be believable enough, once I agree to pay the city an appropriate fine. "Mr. Roebuck I appreciate your enthusiasm but don't provoke Ms. Conrad; she isn't incorrect. You and Mr. Lloydd, take this one down to a containment room, please." Summers gestured with her chin toward the dark elf, then delicately wiped a bit of blood from her face as the gesture send the trickle rolling across her upper lip. She looked at her stained fingertips with more irritation than she'd shown for anything else since appearing. "Take a moment," she told Corrine levelly, perhaps even with a touch of softness, the 'to right your brain chemistry' going unsaid. "Then I need the two of you," she continued, nodding to Nicole beside her, "to identify and patch anything that looks likely to collapse on top of someone. For the sake of safety. Don't worry about the... craters in the grounds for the time being. Planned to invite Gaian Knight for another guest lecture regardless." Finally she looked Astrid directly in the eyes. "Good job, Ms. Torsten."

"Tis a reasonable response," Sekhmet agreed with Lynn, unfazed by the shallow dents the smaller woman was leaving in her arm with her fingertips. Without preamble she stooped slightly and scooped Grimalkin up in a bridal carry, one arm under her knees and the other supporting her back. With a faint golden corona still surrounding her hands the goddess gave Set a muted look of inquiry. Set shook his head while counting downward from ten in his head to keep from shouting in frustration. "Ra's pert nipples," he swore under his breath, paying little mind to the other conversations occurring in the basement. "Need sky." The godling stomped past Sekhmet and Grimalkin back up the stairs, distractedly peeling off extraneous eyelids like dead skin from chapped lips. He left a trail of messy footprints in a straight line to the front door and threw it open while thunder rumbled ominously overhead. The moment he stepped out of the building crimson lightning streaked down from the clouds and struck him squarely in the chest, followed by another bolt, then another until the scent of ozone and burning flesh drowned out the tainted water dripping from his dreadlocks. The staggering figure the lightning left behind was scorched and raw, barely recognizable until the flesh began to knit back together second by agonizing second. Where it grew back however there was no sign of the twitching, blasphemous eyes.

Giant Krampus snarled and thrashed its head as Salvo rammed into its snout, a beast trying to dislodge a distracting gnat while its focus was already split between the smiling Santa simulacrum and the blinding lights exploding in front of its eyes. It took another moment for the monster to register the armoured student as a more immediate concern than the earth itself rising up to restrain it. As it began to burn it twisted and snapped its tremendous fangs to no avail, unable to get enough leverage to fight back. As its form grew brighter and brighter it settled on letting loose a boneshaking roar that sent loose ground and the broken pieces of the courtyard stones tumbling away. Then all at once the titans form disappeared in a shower of deep red and smouldering black motes like a soap bubble popping! White Lioness landed gracefully between the two pits left from the absence of giant hooves while Sun Dragon hit the ground a little more heavily but in one piece all the same. Zenith's marble pillar fell apart back into thin air and the bundle of birch trees lay where it had fallen, propped up on one end by the nearest building. Overhead the strange dome over the surrounding area shimmered and gradually dissolved. One of the handful of remaining dark elves left behind skittered backward away from Facsimile only the be struck across the back of the head by a swift kick of a smart, business casual pump as Headmistress Summers appeared with the telltale vertical flares of geosynchronous orbital teleportation. "Ms. Conrad, Ms. Whitfield-Hall, to me," she called in a tone that brooked no debate, particularly while crushing an obviously terrified mess of claws and fangs under her heel. To the rest of the haggard looking student body she instructed, "I want a list of injuries and structural damage now, ladies and gentlemen."

@Zeitgeist Blue The reroll isn't an automatic miss after the +10 makes the roll effectively an 11. Which is good because you can't spend a HP on any given effect more than once in a single turn! GIANT KRAMPUS Will Save vs Damage: 1d20+10 19 That'll do it! I'll get an IC post up and then we're officially out of rounds.

Set Extra Effort: Opposed Power Check: 1d20+7 15 Also lousy. If that manages to succeed switching to Environmental Control for Heat. Otherwise going to keep taking fatigue until succeeding or passing out again.

Set Opposed Power Check: 1d20+7 12 Deeply mediocre! Sekhmet Opposed Power Check: 1d20+7 10 Improbably worse!

GIANT KRAMPUS Reflex Save vs Snare: 1d20+6 24 So adding up all of those conditions, Giant Krampus' Defence is currently... 2. Not +2, just... 2. Which is to say you can keep the HP, @Cubismo. Toughness Save vs Damage: 1d20+17 30 @Zeitgeist Blue, @Ari you're up! 32 - White Lioness - Bruised x2, 0HP 25 - Zenith - Bruised x1, Entangled, 3HP 23 - Forever Boy - Bruised x1, Entangled, Extra Effort, 1HP 14 - Thunderbird - Bruised x1, 2HP 14 - GIANT KRAMPUS - Bruised x4, -2 Fortitude, Blinded, Entangled, Grappled 14 - Dark Elves Uninjured x6 [Ground] 14 - Masque - Uninjured, Extra Effort, 4HP 14 - Arcana, Bruised x1, Extra Effort, 4HP 11 - Ms. Thursday - Bruised x1, Entangled, 2HP > 11 - Salvo - Uninjured, Defense 10, 3HP 10 - Dio - Unconscious > 07 - Sun Dragon - Bruised x1, 0HP 07 - Facsimile - Bruised x1, 2HP

GIANT KRAMPUS Reflex Save vs Dazzle: 1d20+6 12 @Nick, @Cubismo you're up. 32 - White Lioness - Bruised x2, 0HP 25 - Zenith - Bruised x1, Entangled, 3HP 23 - Forever Boy - Bruised x1, Entangled, Extra Effort, 1HP 14 - Thunderbird - Bruised x1, 2HP 14 - GIANT KRAMPUS - Bruised x3, -2 Fortitude, Blinded, Grappled 14 - Dark Elves Uninjured x6 [Ground] 14 - Masque - Uninjured, Extra Effort, 4HP > 14 - Arcana, Bruised x1, 4HP > 11 - Ms. Thursday - Bruised x1, Entangled, 2HP 11 - Salvo - Uninjured, Defense 10, 3HP 10 - Dio - Unconscious 07 - Sun Dragon - Bruised x1, 0HP 07 - Facsimile - Bruised x1, 2HP

Trevor made a small grunting sort of sound that Aquaria was confident indicated either agreement or disagreement with her last statement; definitely one of the two. "Could get permission/" If Erin or Trevor helped her ask that was probably true. Other surfacers tended to do whatever the couple asked either because they were friends or because they had money but usually because they did the thing where they looked someone in the eyes until the other human started to smell sweaty. "Intercontinental trip to see him may come across..." He trailed off, looking to Erin for the right word.

@Fox A cone would be tough to aim with Salvo in the air and Sun Dragon and White Lioness up on top of Giant Krampus but I'd say we're talking about 150' - 200' radius? 32 - White Lioness - Bruised x2, 0HP 25 - Zenith - Bruised x1, Entangled, 3HP 23 - Forever Boy - Bruised x1, Entangled, Extra Effort, 1HP 14 - Thunderbird - Bruised x1, 2HP 14 - GIANT KRAMPUS - Bruised x3, -2 Fortitude, Grappled 14 - Dark Elves Uninjured x6 [Ground] > 14 - Masque - Uninjured, 4HP > 14 - Arcana, Bruised x1, 4HP 11 - Ms. Thursday - Bruised x1, Entangled, 2HP 11 - Salvo - Uninjured, Defense 10, 3HP 10 - Dio - Unconscious 07 - Sun Dragon - Bruised x1, 0HP 07 - Facsimile - Bruised x1, 2HP

Giant Krampus bellowed in surprise as it abruptly found its arms pinned to one side and every ounce of its mighty build straining to keep from toppling over, hooves slipping and digging in and slipping again as it stumbled about in a circle. Its trashing proved unable to shake the foe it could only see in its peripheral vision by craning its neck over its shoulder, nor could it dislodge the agile White Lioness from its fur. The weird, ethereal pillar sticking out of its basket whipped through the air as it struggled, narrowly missing Salvo. Distracted as the titanic monster was it didn't notice the sudden appearance of its equally ancient opposite number until it came inexplicably eye-to-eye with the Colossal Claus. It reared back with a spittle spewing snarl, dropping its clutch of birch trees and turning another section of the school's bordering walls to rubble under its hooves. Catching its balance Giant Krampus redoubled its efforts to free itself from Sun Dragon's impossible mass, to no avail! Their numbers abruptly cut by Thunderbird's assault and no reinforcements on their way past Zenith's marble barrier remaining dark elves went into a frenzy, launching themselves at the nearest teenager with reckless abandon. Ms. Thursday easily remained a step ahead of her undisciplined assailants despite their greater numbers while gnarled claws scraped harmlessly off of Facsimile's form.

GIANT KRAMPUS @Ari Opposed Grapple Check: 1d20+46 51 @RocketLord Will Save vs Illusion: 1d20+10 12 Still believes in the illusion! Dark Elves @Cubismo Attack Ms Thursday: 4#1d20+5 16 16 15 11 @Exaccus Attack Facsimile: 2#1d20+5 10 23 That's a DC 20 Toughness Save. I'll get IC posts up once we know if Giant Krampus is still grappled! @Fox @Nick you're on deck!

Trevor cleared his throat softly, caught mid-sip from his mug. Aquaria had seen surfacers mix up whether they were breathing or drinking many times; it seemed like it would be annoying to constantly have to be keeping track of that. "Not... immediately. Interruptions," he explained carefully. "Also... more before that. May not be good example for you. Impression you're looking for more... immediate gratification than longterm partnership?" He winced very slightly looking vaguely apologetic even though he hadn't done anything that seemed like it required an apology. Aquaria knew from Becky and Kimber that some surfacers were just like that.

"Er, Set, aye. The Destroyer? Less so," Set clarified, shifting uncomfortably in her seat while her outfit resumed the appearance she'd arrived in apart from keeping the new hat. "God stuff! Also branding. Also also: do not so crassly demand the details of another's gender, oh polished prima donna." She gave Chromium a cold look, grey eyes darkening perceptibly and shoulders squaring. "Nor their 'natural form'. A shapeshifter may reveal many aspects; you simply reveal an ass." Turning toward the head of the table the godling gave Anna's partner a pleasant smile. "Carrying on, I should much rather hear more about yourself, Nicci. One who can inspire Anna to sit still for an entire family meal be a true champion, indeed!"

Alright, catching up! @TheAbsurdist I think Zenith can reasonably do that with her Create Object, just give me a reminder here about the Toughness the plug would have. GIANT KRAMPUS @Tiff Toughness Save vs Damage: 1d20+17 22 Dark Elves @KnightDisciple Toughness Save vs Damage: 6#1d20+5 23 16 19 10 6 19 I'll pump the breaks of Giant Krampus' turn until folks can get IC posts up, including @RocketLord. 32 - White Lioness - Bruised x2, 0HP 25 - Zenith - Bruised x1, Entangled, 3HP 23 - Forever Boy - Bruised x1, Entangled, Extra Effort, 1HP 14 - Thunderbird - Bruised x1, 2HP > 14 - GIANT KRAMPUS - Bruised x3, -1 Defence, -3 Fortitude, Grappled > 14 - Dark Elves Uninjured x6 [Ground] 14 - Masque - Uninjured, 4HP 14 - Arcana, Bruised x1, 4HP 11 - Ms. Thursday - Bruised x1, Entangled, 2HP 11 - Salvo - Uninjured, Defense 10, 3HP 10 - Dio - Unconscious 07 - Sun Dragon - Bruised x1, 0HP 07 - Facsimile - Bruised x1, 2HP

Trevor raised a hand to silently stop Aquaria before she could ask about the electrocution thing which sounded extremely interesting. "Unique biology," he clarified, placing the same hand lightly on his chest. "Adaptation against extreme physical strain." Unexpected emphasis in the middle of a sentence usually meant someone was making a joke Aquaria had missed but the surfacer male's expression remained neutral as he paused to take a long sip of coffee so that must not have been right. He was quiet for long enough she almost said something to fill the gap before judiciously adding, "Dangerous to generalize but... may signal confidence? Eye contact, smiling with teeth, risk taking. Demonstrating gravity of interest." He looked over to Erin with a enigmatic quirk of one eyebrow.

If not for the by-now familiar scent of black coffee it might have been a long while before Aquaria realized that Trevor had entered the kitchen at some point and was leaning against the counter to her opposite side, silently sipping from a steaming mug and listening to her explanation. She sometimes felt as though the dark haired surfacer had more in common with an octopus than the humans she with whom she interacted the most: readily camouflaged, getting into places one didn't expect, leaving inky clouds behind. Even other surfacers seemed to find him inscrutable which made him an especially tough clam to crack open for her! Today he was wearing a shallow lake blue dress shirt and dark pants, with a dirty cloth tossed over one should that she took to mean he'd been working in the garage where there were many, many such cloths. He regarded her with what she took to be a serious expression - or possibly amused, he didn't really seem to do the lip movements she'd been taught to look for - then looked to Erin to await her response.

"Eugh..." Sekhmet winced and carefully set Strix's smouldering husk onto the ground by the stagnant water and took a step back, brushing bits of ash from her hands awkwardly. She watched Temperance work for a moment before gesturing over her shoulder. "I shall see to assisting the shopkeeper, then? Call if thee need a pit dug for burial." Striding a little more quickly than usual over to Grimalkin and crouched down next to the other woman. "I cannot remove the contamination any more cleanly, Champion Epstein but I can lessen the pain, should thee allow." The goddess brought a glow back to her hand but waited for confirmation before placing it on Lynn's shoulder. Set waited until he was confident that the others all had their attention elsewhere - and not because he was putting of what needed to be done, he assured himself - then took a silent breath. He clenched his disfigured hands into fists until grains of sand began to spill from beneath his fingers. All at once the godling's form exploded into a whirlwind of particulates, a miniature desert cyclone spinning above the water. The rush of wind almost covered the small squelches from within as drops of milky white goo dripped out. For only the span of a few heartbeats the contained sandstorm raged before just as abruptly reconstituting into the form of a young man, collapsed against the ground by the edge of the pool, pushing himself upward with one arm. Set bled from dozens of small wounds across his face, arms and everywhere else but the extra eyes were gone. "If you... nngh... are short on blood, oh s-s-sanguine sapphire... ghhk! Ex-excuse me... something in m-my throat..."

GIANT KRAMPUS @Ari Opposed Grapple Check: 1d20+46 61 Woah, so close! The grapple works! Dark Elves @Exaccus Toughness Save vs Damage: 3#1d20+5 11 21 14 @Tiff @TheAbsurdist You're up! > 32 - White Lioness - Bruised x2, 0HP > 25 - Zenith - Bruised x1, Entangled, 3HP 23 - Forever Boy - Bruised x1, Entangled, 1HP 14 - Thunderbird - Bruised x1, 2HP 14 - GIANT KRAMPUS - Bruised x3, -1 Defence, -3 Fortitude, Grappled 14 - Dark Elves Uninjured x6 [Ground] Uninjured x6 [Dormitory Walls] 14 - Masque - Uninjured, 4HP 14 - Arcana, Bruised x1, 4HP 11 - Ms. Thursday - Bruised x1, Entangled, 2HP 11 - Salvo - Uninjured, Defense 10, 3HP 10 - Dio - Unconscious 07 - Sun Dragon - Bruised x1, 0HP 07 - Facsimile - Bruised x1, 2HP

Dark Elves [Ground; Attacking Ms Thursday] @Cubismo Toughness Save vs Damage: 3#1d20+5 17 11 19 @Zeitgeist Blue Toughness Save vs Damage: 8#1d20+5 22 20 18 20 13 16 20 13 GIANT KRAMPUS Sense Motive vs Intimidate: 1d20+18 28 Toughness Save vs Damage: 1d20+17 35 21 does hit Giant Krampus' Defense, though so keep that HP. @Ari @Exaccus You're up! 32 - White Lioness - Bruised x2, 0HP 25 - Zenith - Bruised x1, Entangled, 3HP 23 - Forever Boy - Bruised x1, Entangled, 1HP 14 - Thunderbird - Bruised x1, 2HP 14 - GIANT KRAMPUS - Bruised x3, -1 Defence, -3 Fortitude 14 - Dark Elves Uninjured x6 [Ground] Uninjured x3 [Ground; Attacking Facsimile] Uninjured x6 [Dormitory Walls] 14 - Masque - Uninjured, 4HP 14 - Arcana, Bruised x1, 4HP 11 - Ms. Thursday - Bruised x1, Entangled, 2HP 11 - Salvo - Uninjured, Defense 10, 3HP 10 - Dio - Unconscious > 07 - Sun Dragon - Bruised x1, Entangled, Extra Effort, 1HP > 07 - Facsimile - Bruised x1, Entangled, Extra Effort, 3HP

GIANT KRAMPUS Toughness Save vs Damage: 1d20+18 25 That's another bruise! Go ahead with the IC post. @Cubismo Don't forget that Toughness Save then Ms Thursday is up! @Zeitgeist Blue Salvo is on deck, let me know if she's spending the HP to avoid Fatigue from the Extra Effort. 32 - White Lioness - Bruised x2, 0HP 25 - Zenith - Bruised x1, Entangled, 3HP 23 - Forever Boy - Bruised x1, Entangled, 1HP 14 - Thunderbird - Bruised x1, 2HP 14 - GIANT KRAMPUS - Bruised x3, -1 Defence, -3 Fortitude 14 - Dark Elves Uninjured x8 [Giant Krampus' back] Uninjured x6 [Ground] Uninjured x3 [Ground; Attacking Ms Thursday] Uninjured x3 [Ground; Attacking Facsimile] Uninjured x6 [Dormitory Walls] 14 - Masque - Uninjured, 4HP 14 - Arcana, Bruised x1, 4HP > 11 - Ms. Thursday - Uninjured, Entangled, 2HP > 11 - Salvo - Uninjured, Defense 6, Extra Effort, 4HP 10 - Dio - Unconscious 07 - Sun Dragon - Bruised x1, Entangled, Extra Effort, 1HP 07 - Facsimile - Bruised x1, Entangled, Extra Effort, 3HP

Giant Krampus staggered back a step under Salvo's all-out assault. Rather than blood where the lances of directed energy struck puffs of black, sooty particulates burst into the air: coal dust. The released dust swirled about amidst the white of the falling snow before most of it was swept up in the pinprick of crushing hunger Sun Dragon had created. The light devouring attacks from the prince and Facsimile struck true, afterimage shadows against the blinding light streaming from the Bellios armour. Giant Krampus grunted, pulling its great shoulders together for a moment before rising back up to its full high with a bellow, rage replacing its surprise at the students' counterattack. The spindly forms of the dark elves continued to stream forth from the Basket of Ancient Winters, heedless of their fellows being laid low by White Lioness' claws or bursting into glittering shards of black ice as Arcana's magic washed over them. A group rushed toward Ms Thursday, knife-like fingers scratching at her club wielding arm, while another cadre tried to climb Facsimile's glacial legs, biting at transmuted ice. Still more appeared with each moment, faster than the teens were defeating them!

@KnightDisciple Consider the Entangle status cleared! GIANT KRAMPUS Spends the round clearing the Daze. Dark Elves Attack White Lioness: 2#1d20+5 9 20 Attack Ms Thursday: 3#1d20+5 12 22 7 Attack Facsimile: 3#1d20+5 23 12 6 I'll need a DC 20 Toughness Save vs Damage from @Cubismo and @Exaccus! Meanwhile another 18 Dark Elves will come crawling out of the Basket of Ancient Winters! 20 actually does just hit, @Nick! Just need the second half of that from @Fox now. 32 - White Lioness - Bruised x2, 0HP 25 - Zenith - Bruised x1, Entangled, 3HP 23 - Forever Boy - Bruised x1, Entangled, 1HP 14 - Thunderbird - Bruised x1, 2HP 14 - GIANT KRAMPUS - Bruised x2, -1 Defence, -3 Fortitude 14 - Dark Elves Uninjured x8 [Giant Krampus' back] Uninjured x6 [Ground] Uninjured x3 [Ground; Attacking Ms Thursday] Uninjured x3 [Ground; Attacking Facsimile] Uninjured x6 [Dormitory Walls] > 14 - Masque - Uninjured, 4HP > 14 - Arcana, Bruised x1, 4HP 11 - Ms. Thursday - Uninjured, Entangled, 2HP 11 - Salvo - Uninjured, Defense 6, Extra Effort, 4HP 10 - Dio - Unconscious 07 - Sun Dragon - Bruised x1, Entangled, Extra Effort, 1HP 07 - Facsimile - Bruised x1, Entangled, Extra Effort, 3HP

"Late-in-life?" Set scoffed, waving a manicured hand about dismissively. "You've yet to even reach your first century, dearest. Try coming out to the conceptual embodiment of earth and sky in the primordial chaos before existence." She placed a hand to the side of her mouth and stage-whispered to Esperanza, "Mortifyingly supportive. Geb and Nut be famously sex-positive. Problematically so." The godling shuddered at some half-repressed recollection before returning her attention to Anna. "If you were worried it would be unsettling that you've definitely gotten busy while dressed as my brother, tis fine, truly. The falcon motif always was a hit with the ladies. I could lay hands on one of those old snakeskin bustiers if you like. Built-in fangs," she offered Nicola, miming the curved teeth with a middle and index finger. Sekhmet cleared her throat from across the table. "Rest assured, Lady Cline. For one who speaks so much the liesmith guards secrets well enough. Should you wish thy alliances remain unspoken, thus they shall be." She nodded her head cordially to their hostess then narrowed her eyes at Chromium. "I have witnessed revellers crush their metal goblets against their foreheads before discarding them." She leaned forward enough that he could see the ominous light of the eye behind her asymmetrical bangs. "That." "Sniffing about the wrong monolith, oh silvery stripling. Isis, mayhaps..." "I do not think you may make that jest," Sekhmet frowned as she settled back into her seat. Set shrugged. "Osiris would have laughed. The point be you appear more contented than I can easily recall, Anna. Tis most heartening."

GIANT KRAMPUS Sense Motive vs Feint: 1d20+18 26 Toughness Save vs Damage: 1d20+18 38 Sorry Pan! @KnightDisciple Thunderbird is up if you'd like to spend an HP to clear the Dazed condition. @Fox @Nick Giant Krampus and the Dark Elves will be going after that but have your combined attack figured out since you're on deck. 32 - White Lioness - Bruised x2, 0HP 25 - Zenith - Bruised x1, Entangled, 3HP 23 - Forever Boy - Bruised x1, Entangled, 1HP > 14 - Thunderbird - Bruised x1, Dazed, Entangled, 3HP 14 - GIANT KRAMPUS - Bruised x2, Dazed, -1 Defence, -3 Fortitude 14 - Dark Elves Uninjured x2 [Giant Krampus' back] Uninjured x6 [Ground] 14 - Masque - Uninjured, 4HP 14 - Arcana, Bruised x1, 4HP 11 - Ms. Thursday - Uninjured, Entangled, 2HP 11 - Salvo - Uninjured, Defense 6, Extra Effort, 4HP 10 - Dio - Unconscious 07 - Sun Dragon - Bruised x1, Entangled, Extra Effort, 1HP 07 - Facsimile - Bruised x1, Entangled, Extra Effort, 3HP