Elegy

Seth was not generally a believer in revenge, but that was a belief he'd held long before he'd had to do any fighting. In the heat of the moment, he felt pain, fear, and anger overtake him, something he had never before allowed while using his magics. Raw power bubbled up from him as he lashed out once more, ripping the wolfman's mangled leg clean off and forcing it down to its forelimbs to balance. His vengeful concentration was such that he hardly noticed the spectral autumn leaves, borne on a warmer wind, that swirled around him, spirits of a lost time and place called back into being by this mobile nexus of the magic of dusk. When next the werewolf struck him, he raised his shield bracelet to meet it. The impact sent a wave of numbness down his arm, but he batted the powerful robot's strike aside as if it'd been delivered by a child. Twisting on the spot, he struck out with a telekinetic wave, crumpling the creature's snout so that its own fangs jutted through its nose. He ducked the vampire's eyebeams again and again, seeming to dance away from death as he wove yet another spell. This time there was no escape from his Seth's fury for the werewolf. Its entire frame buckled down in the middle, as if an invisible boot had plunged straight into and through it. Seth turned toward the vampire robot, eyes blazing even brighter than normal, and prepared to finish the fight.

GM Twice more Seth lashed out, his telekinetic bolts slamming into the steel werewolf with terrible force and crushing it back into itself inch by grinding inch. But perhaps the magic within the robot lent it some of the ferocity of the creature it was built to resemble, and it took the damage and kept swinging, garbled and distorted snarls emerging from its speakers. Refusing to hesitate again, it leapt at Seth and sank its sharp metal fangs into his shoulder just below the neck, trying to lift him and shake him apart. The young mage tried to force it away with another telekinetic blast, but the pain and motion broke his concentration. Finally managing to get free, Seth staggered several steps back, trying to get some distance between himself and his bestial attacker. The wolfman lunged past him, but any sense of triumph was cut short as the vampire's eye beams struck him between the shoulder blades, burning through his clothes to singe the flesh beneath. He gasped in pain, sinking to his knees, as the sent of cooked meat reached his nostrils. His protective bracelet just kept shaking like a leaf in a storm, trying desperately to shield him from so many wounds. The werewolf lunged past him, missing with a swipe meant for his head as he half fell and half knelt. The vampire offered no such respite; walking over in front of him, it fired its eye beams into his chest at point-blank range. Smoke curled up from his pecs as he flew into one of the trees of the werewolf "habitat"; his shield bracelet turned white-hot against his forearm as it devoted all of its energies to keeping the vicious attack from burning right through to his heart. Even still, it nearly did. But Seth, though the haze of pain, forced his own magic into the bracelet by willpower alone. Somehow he staggered to his feet, dragged ice-cold air into lungs emptied by his impact, and conjured his spells once more. Somehow, he kept fighting.

Experience was a good teacher, and Seth could guess how this was going to go. The vile creatures in the dioramas were going to come after him, slow him down at least. Given his wounds and exhaustion, they might do more than that. And so, when the vampire surged up from her coffin and the werewolf stalked to the forest's edge, howling, the young mage was ready for them. As the old man on the left shouted "Beware the curse! Beware the curse!" and the vampire hunters on the right yelled "Beware the eyes! Beware the eyes!", Seth reached out once more with bolts of telekinetic force, striking at the blood-drinker robot. Though the attack itself was invisible, its effects were not. The vampire's head snapped back, and it stumbled several paces as it tried to regain its balance. Violet beams of energy burst from its eyes, carving grooves in the painted ceiling. But Seth had been distracted, and it cost him. The wolfman leapt at his back, its claws sinking into his shoulders, and he cried out as blood trickled from the new wounds. His shield bracelet shook, struggling to lessen the damage. The young mage reeled away, gasping as he tried to regain his balance. But it proved difficult to fight through the pain, granting his enemies another chance at him. The wolfman swung again, trying to rip open the gouge Doctor Frankenstein's bonesaw had cut into Seth's back, but this time the shield bracelet rattled even harder. Seth's skin was suddenly iron-hard, protected by the magic within the brass, and the claws rebounded. Turning around, vengeful determination blazing in his eyes, the young mage lashed out with a crushing wave of telekinetic force, driving the wolfman back and viciously twisting one of its metal legs. It let out a tinny yelp-whine and retreated one uneasy step, and Seth turned in time to duck as the vampire's eye beams shot past his face.

GM Seth staggered down the twisting hall once more, the eerie music growing louder as he went deeper into Midnight Manse. The crimson carpet, thick with mold from long years of neglect, crunched and squished beneath his feet with each step. The tattered purple curtains fluttered uneasily as the cooling units pumped out streams of frigid air. The young mage's breath misted in front of him, no mean feat in the month of August. Dark magic, the cold stuff of the void, suffused the very walls; Seth could see it like no ordinary man could, a dark, cold web of snakes that streamed in from an unknowable otherwhere. The place was like a maze, and Seth, already tired and disoriented, quickly lost count of how many twists and turns he'd passed before the hallway opened up into another cavernous room. This one contained two large dioramas. On Seth's left, the carpet turned to roots and dirt. Tree trunks rose until they met the ceiling, transforming from painted plastic to painting. Fake moss drooped from the tree limbs, and a glowing full moon (a lightbulb behind a plastic shell) shed eerie light down on the scene below. A hulking wolfman and an old man with a silver-tipped cane squared off, trading the same series of blows again and again. On the right, the carpet became the stone floor of a dusty crypt. Moonlight streamed in through a filthy stained glass window, illuminating a rotting coffin of dark wood. Rats scurried around the two men who stood over the coffin, one holding a wooden stake and the other a silver crucifix. The lid had fallen away, revealing the beautiful young woman lying within. Pale, slim, and dark-haired, the young woman seemed to be sleeping. But over and over again she sat bolt upright as the stake was driven into her heart, loosing a hideous scream as her angelic features twisted into an animalistic snarl.

Seth earns a hero point for pressing on in spite of his injuries. Seth hits, Vampire bruised and stunned. Wolfman hits, Seth injured and stunned. Wolfman hits, Seth saves. Seth hits, Wolfman bruised and stunned. Vampire misses. Seth hits, Wolfman bruised. Wolfman misses. Vampire misses. Seth hits, Wolfman bruised. Wolfman crits, Seth injured. Vampire misses. Seth misses. Wolfman misses. Vampire hits, Seth injured and stunned. Wolfman misses. Vampire hits, Seth fails hard (would be staggered), hero point to reroll. Seth injured. Seth hits, Wolfman stunned and bruised. Vampire misses. Seth misses. Wolfman misses. Vampire misses. Seth misses. Wolfman hits, Seth saves. Vampire misses. Seth hits, Wolfman bruised. Wolfman misses. Vampire misses. Seth hits, Wolfman destroyed. Vampire misses. Seth misses. Vampire hits, Seth saves. Seth hits, Vampire staggered and stunned. Seth hits, Vampire bruised. Seth hits, Vampire bruised. Seth hits, Vampire bruised. Seth hits, Vampire destroyed.

Seeing as there are no attacks of opportunity in MnM, that sounds good! Feel free to describe Ed, if you'd like. I never fleshed him out beyond a name.

Ok, what I hoped would cause everyone to start posting seems to have caused everyone to stop posting. That is unfortunate. I'll have Seth go, and put out one last plea: if you are online and have time to post, please do so, regardless of initiative order! We're getting very bogged down. Gloaming will use extra effort to surge an extra move action and a hero point to throw off the normal fatigue. He will rescue the two civilians in the waiting area on the left.

"The civilians," Seth nodded in response to Silver Spider's words, mentally kicking himself for not having his priorities straight. "Of course, I will see to them and rejoin the fight when I can." Conjuring one of his portals, he vanished in a flash of light, reappearing near a sharply-dressed older man with thinning grey hair who was slumped in one of the waiting area's chairs. He laid a hand on the man's shoulder and opened another portal, appearing beside a red-headed, freckled woman in her early forties who'd ended up in much the same position and laying a hand on her as well. With the two of them ready, Seth strained to open a third portal and launch himself through, moving faster than he'd yet tried. Manipulating his magic, and moving his body, so quickly over such a short period of time was exhausting, and it was only by force of will that he stilled the shaking of his hands. Gasping, his eyes misting with concentration, he gestured once more, and then the three of them vanished from the bank. They reappeared some miles away, stumbling forward into the white-walled, dark-carpeted emergency room waiting area for the local hospital. Given his severely limited knowledge of how the modern world worked, Seth counted himself lucky he even knew about the place. But he'd passed several hospitals during his searches over the past three days, enough for the general idea of the big EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT lettering to get through his head. Ignorant he might be, but stupid he was not. He took one moment to offer a nod and a tense smile to the staring receptionist, then prepared to teleport back to the bank, leaving his human cargo slumped in the waiting area's chairs.

Wisp is beginning to feel the effects of the toxin, which is leaking up into the air now! She'll need to make a DC18 Fortitude save or be Confused as per the power. The Inspector's target is no longer even capable of successful resistance, and succumbs. To keep things moving, I'll include that action in this round of updates. Our alien friend is also beginning to feel the effects of the airborne toxin, and will also need to make a DC18 Fortitude Save or be Confused as per the power. We won't worry about initiative between Ironclad, Tsunami, and the shark; it'd just slow things down. The shark will go last, and the heroines can just post whenever they have time. Gloaming will use extra effort to power stunt an alternate power of his Magic: Enhanced Charisma 29 linked to Area Communication 2. He will then take 10 on his Diplomacy check (he has the necessary skill mastery) for a result of 36, turning the six guards within his Communication radius from Hostile to Friendly. He'll then burn his starting hero point to get rid of the fatigue.

Seth had never been sneaky; he'd never seen a need to practice it, and felt better about facing his problems head on anyway. So he simply watched as Wisp vanished into the shadows, making her way back along the vessel to the bridge. When she'd gone far enough that he wasn't likely to cause her to be discovered, he simply stepped out into the open, his hands raised in a nonthreatening gesture. Six submachine guns swiveled in his direction, but he remained calm. Whatever these masked people were up to, they deserved a chance to talk things out before more people got hurt. Of course, talking wasn't exactly an even field where he was concerned; he knew well how to use magic to silver his tongue. He might've won his own trial for witchcraft between magic and his own way with words if not for the fact that the former had been suppressed by Reverend Prophet and the latter alone hadn't been quite enough to sway an angry mob that was not entirely wrong about his practices. He'd never tried to broadcast to a crowd before, either, but it couldn't be too hard. Grasping for the threads of magic and placing them on the loom of his mind, Seth spun a new spell. Energy whooshed out of him, leaving him gasping for a moment, then tired and aching. But he'd done it! "I have no quarrel with any of you," he began, his powerful and sure voice easily carrying out to where the six sentries stood. "My only goal here is to ensure that no one else is harmed, yourselves included. To that end, I would urge you to examine your situation. You have fired on a Coast Guard vessel. When reinforcements for the authorities arrive, they will minimize their own casualties. If that means annihilating you from a distance, they will do so." His blazing orange gaze traveled from mask to mask, seeming to stare into souls. "This vessel is disabled; there is no escape here. Fighting only means throwing away your lives. I would judge, based on the fact that you've crashed here, that your plan has already failed, so you would be throwing them away for nothing. No cause is worth that." Seth took a calm step forward, heedless of the guns trained on him. "I do not expect you to surrender, but I suggest that you look at your options. You can stay here and face certain death or imprisonment for no purpose, or you can do as I suggest: throw down your weapons and leave. I give you my word that you will not be pursued." The sentries looked at each other, then back at Seth, then at each other again. "He's right," one of them said. "We can't hurt the establishment like this. If he's gonna let us run, let's run. We'll get another chance." Six submachine guns and six sidearms hit the deck as the sentries made their way to the port side of the ship and then down to the beach. Seth watched them go. It was far more important to keep Volkland's people safe and stop the spill than to punish anyone. But the last of the six turned back as she reached the side railing, taking off her gas mask. Short red hair spilled out, framing a thin, fierce face and blazing green eyes. She was a few years older than he, and several times as intense. "You're alright for a fascist, retro-clothes," the young woman said, pressing the mask into his hands, "so I'll help you out. Put this on, or you'll go loopy real fast. There's gas in the air." With that she jumped down into the sand and followed the others into the night. Seth stared after her, then down at the mask in his hands. He didn't need it; his shield bracelet meant he didn't have to breathe. But what about... "Wisp!" He called out to the heroine telepathically, hoping he wasn't too late. "This place is inundated with madness gas! I have a mask to protect you; find me near the prow."

GM Wisp and Gloaming appeared, one in a puff of smoke and the other in a nimbus of orange light, on the deck of the crashed container ship and found themselves in the midst of a chaotic scene. Men and women in gas masks and wetsuits, submachine guns held at the ready, were everywhere; some patrolled the deck, while others were moving up and down the cargo ramp, carrying heavy crates from the containers on the deck down into the hold. Wisp easily vanished into the madness, making her way toward the bridge. She ducked behind containers, slipped by sentries when their backs were turned, and, on one notable occasion, was forced to hang from the side rail while a patrol passed. In the end, however, she reached the bridge, ascending the stairs under the cloak of night while the rotating spotlights were pointed elsewhere. Three men in the same black wetsuits and gas masks were visible through the large window at the front, only the steel bulkhead door (unlocked) between Wisp and what could only be the group's local leadership. The thick walls made it impossible to hear what they were saying, but the discussion appeared to be heated. Yet a strange feeling was beginning to overtake the heroine; her vision blurred with each breath she took, and strange colors danced across her eyes. Perhaps the spill wasn't just into the water... Perhaps there was a reason for all the gas masks... Gloaming, who lacked any skill at stealth, simply stepped into the open with his hands raised. A half-dozen guns immediately swung toward him. Meanwhile, a slipperiness came over the thoughts of OVERTHROW sentry Amon Reid. Take me to your leader. He laughed nervously and shook his head to clear it; he almost thought he'd heard a voice echoing in his mind. All those sci-fi B movies he loved to watch must mess with his head when he got stressed. But seconds later the voice wormed its way into his brain again, and this time he found himself unable to resist. Take me to your leader. The conscious Amon forgot ever hearing the voice as he moved to obey its command, walking along the deck toward the bridge. He was almost there when another guard stepped in front of him. "What are you doing, Reid?" The woman hissed from behind her gas mask. "You're supposed to be watching the starboard side!" Behind Reid's mind, The Inspector began to feel a peculiar sensation, as if a fog was pressing in on his mind... As all this occurred, Tsunami and Ironclad were at work in the water. The former's hard water settled easily into the jagged rips in the bottom of the ship, stopping the cloud of purple from growing any larger; the rest of her efforts at containment flowed around the purple cloud, creating an inverted dome that constrained it on almost every side. But not quite; some of it still seeped out over the top, trickling into the surrounding ocean. And Tsunami was soon made aware that some damage had already been done. A pale, sleek silhouette glided out from behind the cloud, its fins catching the moonlight that filtered down through the water. A great white shark, easily twelve feet long, was headed straight for the young heroine! Nearby, Ironclad completed her speed analysis. This compound was a nasty one, a blend of hallucinogens with effects so potent that even the most ruthless of drug kingpins would never touch the stuff. It was a weapon, pure and simple, deliberately designed to drive anything and everything that inhaled or drank it to acts of insane violence. And if this much had already spilled out into the water, driving any aquatic life that'd been beneath the ship temporarily mad, there must be a vast amount of it on board. Vast enough to take out four entire city blocks in a wave of senseless hate. Or, given the ship's crash location, enough to do away with every guard on Blackstone Island. And, if the containers were ruptured, it could easily be released into the air, too...

Absolutely, AA. Go for it.

No worries, Shaen! Real life happens. Astoundingly, the crewman resists The Inspector's mind control! He does not, however, notice that anything has happened, so the hero is still in position for next round. I'll put up a descriptive post once everyone's had a chance to act. That just leaves a post from Wisp. I'll wait a couple of days if needed, but I do want to keep things moving.

GM The efforts of the heroes cleared them a little breathing room, but more animated objects were already on the way. The ceiling fans, which had been hovering behind the battle line, rushed to fill in the gaps. One flew down toward Comrade Frost, aiming its fast-moving wooden arms at his face, while two of them flew over the heroes' heads to harass Silver Spider the minute she came through the door. The two rugs Amelyth hadn't shredded rose up, twisting like snakes, while one of the waiting area chairs scuttled over and tried to hit her from behind. Another rug wormed its way under Foreshadow's feet, trying to yank away and leave him sprawled slapstick-style on his back, but his acrobatic prowess was easily a match for the clumsy scheme. The standing lamp in front of him, however, took advantage of the distraction, its metal support bending fluidly to allow the top to swing at him like a flail. It broke its lightbulb over his shoulder, scattering fragments of glass, and came around for another pass. Another of them came at Gloaming, but he managed to avoid it. The heroes at the door were having other problems. As Silver Spider entered the bank, the parking meters in hot pursuit and the fans coming at her face, the terrible screeching of tortured metal filled the area. The very doors were ripping themselves free of their heavy hinges, their glass shattering as their frames tried to wrap themselves around Gloaming and Silver Spider! The parking meters, taking advantage of the newly-cleared line of fire, opened up on Comrade Frost with a barrage of quarters that would leave heavy welts on an ordinary man. Meanwhile, the black bags collecting money from the ATMs were almost at capacity, save for the one that Gloaming had knocked over. That one, however, had righted itself, and the money that had fallen out of it was scooting along the floor like a mass of cartoon inchworms in an effort to get back in. The computer monitors on the front desk were warping, their wires and circuit boards pushing through their bottoms to become crude (and very sharp and pointy) legs, allowing them to scuttle like huge-headed spiders toward the battle. From the vault, at the very back of the bank, came the sound of more tortured metal. And in the distance, sirens could be heard...

Ok, lots happening this round. Amelyth is targeted by the surviving pair of rugs, which attempt to grapple her. Both of them, however, miss her. A chair also attempts to hit her, but that misses too. Comrade Frost is attacked by a ceiling fan, but it misses him. The two parking meters open up on him with autofire. One misses. The other hits, necessitating a DC 19 Toughness save. Foreshadow is attacked by a standing lamp, which hits him. He'll need to make a DC18 Toughness save. A rug hits and tries to trip him; he'd need to beat DC 15, but since he has that much Acrobatics already it's a foregone conclusion that he stays upright. Gloaming is also attacked by a standing lamp, but it misses. One of the doors attempts to slam him, but that narrowly misses as well. Silver Spider is attacked by a door, which attempts to grapple her but misses. A pair of ceiling fans also attack; the first misses, while the second... misses. In order to make sure that everyone gets a chance to post while they can, and thus to keep the thread moving as much as possible, I've decided to abolish initiative order. Just go ahead and post whenever you're available! Once all the heroes have posted, I will update the animated objects' actions again.

The OVERTHROW goons aren't looking very hard, apparently, because that's a success versus an opposed check result of 10. I'll let Wisp and The Inspector put up a post before proceeding, if possible. I don't want to leave anyone behind.

Somehow, by some combination of instinct and blessing, Seth managed to dodge the next strike. The swipe of the saw that would have taken his head cleanly from his shoulders whistled instead through empty air, and the young mage seized the moment to fight past the pain and take hold of his power once more. And once more the forces of the cosmos leapt to heed his call. Invisible fingers tore into Doctor Frankenstein, pulling at the shredded metal of his chest plate until it sheared entirely away. Then they pulled once more, half of them up and half of them down. Sweat ran down Seth's face as he concentrated. And then, with a great screech of tortured steel, the good doctor was torn in two. His mechanical jaw continued to work as sparks flew and smoke billowed from where his waist had been, grating out "Take your brain! Take your brain! Take your br..." And then, with a long zhooooow, the robot was cut off mid-sentence, never to speak again. Gasping for air as he fought against the pain, Seth kicked it in the head for good measure and then stepped over it, moving back toward the hallway. He hissed through his teeth with each throb of his bloodied back. For a moment he looked back the way he came, wondering if retreat was his best option now, wounded as he was. But no one else was coming, and there was no telling when something awful would happen to poor Albert, if it hadn't already. He was the man's only chance; letting him down was not an option. So he walked on, deeper into Midnight Manse, a spell ready at his fingertips. He had no doubt that this was only the first obstacle on his path; whoever these strange kidnappers were, they were determined to stop him...

GM Seth had no time to savor that triumph; a moment later, a bone saw bit savagely into his back! He gasped in shock and pain, managing to pull away and wheel around. Doctor Frankenstein, though throwing off sparks and smoke from his mangled metal body, had managed to haul himself across the floor one scoot at a time and bury his weapon in his unsuspecting foe. Blood tricked down Seth's spine as he struggled to remain standing, eyes wide with shock. Doctor Frankenstein grinned the same manic grin, raising the bloody saw... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "He's finished, brother," said the man in the hockey mask. "The ceremony may proceed unhindered." Behind the Frankenstein mask, the other man's lip curled. "Well done, brother. Our delays were more effective than we could possibly have hoped." But a flicker of motion on the monitor caught his eye, and he strode over to look more closely. Somehow, in spite of the wounds he'd suffered, the young mage was still alive, still fighting. "You may not be entirely correct, brother," he said. "Prepare more of them, just in case."

By some extraordinary effort of will, Seth managed to regain his feet by the time the monster reached him. He reached out once again to tear at the shoulder joint with invisible but potent force, ripping away a strip of metal that crossed all the way down the animated machine's chest. It hardly even slowed, swinging the table at him again; Seth ducked the blow and tore the chest plate open even further, but the monster still refused to admit defeat. With a mechanical groan-roar it swung again; this time, as he dodged, Seth managed to tear its left arm clean off. The monster dropped the table, sinking to its knees as its arm hit the floor beside it, throwing up a curtain of sparks. It stared blankly at Seth, trying once again to assess and move past the terrible damage. Reaching invisible hands into the chest plate, Seth tore the gap wider, causing it to leak black smoke. Yet the monster still refused to keel over. Frustrated now, Seth seized its head between his metaphysical hands and squeezed. The monster's flat-topped green visage slowly buckled, seemingly imploding, then squashed like a soda can. The body hit the ground an instant later.

GM Hungry for revenge, or as much so as a half-magical machine can get, the monster hefted the slab bed on which it had been restrained and swung it at Seth, narrowly missing the young mage as he leapt back. The huge electrical coil that had been suspended over it took the hit instead, shearing off from the ceiling and flying against the faux stone of the diorama's side walls, where it shattered like the hard plastic it was. Sidestepping around the creature, Seth tore its sparking shoulder wound wider with invisible hands. The thing reacted by pivoting on the spot and swinging the bed directly into Seth, sweeping him from his feet and hurling him across the room. He thudded into the curtained wood wall of the horror house, his protective bracelet rattling frantically and becoming hot against his skin as it absorbed a blow that might otherwise have pulped him. Still, the young mage could only lie there, ears ringing and seeing stars, as the monster stomped over to where he'd fallen and raised the heavy table to finish the job...

As the monster sat, trying to sort out its damaged functions, Seth and the mad metal man grappled on the opposite side of the fake machine. Fighting up close was not something the young mage was accustomed to, and as his opponent closed the distance with another swipe of his bone saw, wearing a maniac's grin, Seth fell back before the onslaught. Both attacks went wide, his concentration broken as he frantically dodged away from the jagged instrument coming at his face. Meanwhile, the monster shook itself and began to stomp toward their battle. Knowing that he couldn't afford to be flanked, Seth let loose with his power once more, wrapping invisible hands around Doctor Frankenstein's torso and pushing with all his mystical might. The metal chest plate caved in beneath the tremendous pressure, bending and denting the steel frame beneath and crushing wires and mechanisms. The Doctor fell to the ground, smoking, leaving Seth just enough time to spin around and face the monster bearing down on him. Of all the strange things he'd done in this city, he reflected, this was by far the strangest.

Seth misses Doctor Frankenstein, and Doctor Frankenstein misses Seth. The monster, no longer stunned, lumbers forward, but takes one additional round to reach Seth because of the obstacle between them. The following round, Seth scores what would be a critical hit against the Doctor (if he were not immune) with his telekinesis, and the Doctor fails his toughness save by more than 10, leaving him staggered and stunned. The monster picks up its slab and tries to hit Seth with it, but misses. Seth hits the monster with his telekinesis, and the monster narrowly fails its save, becoming doubly bruised. The monster responds by smacking Seth across the room with the table, leaving him bruised and stunned and knocking him back 25 feet. The creature spends the next round stomping over to where he flew. (Accidental extra attack roll for the monster; I used the first one). Seth stand back up and blasts the monster, but it still refuses to go down, merely becoming thrice bruised. The monster tries to hit him again but fails badly. Seth hits the monster again and still only bruises it. The monster swings at Seth and misses again. Seth hits it and it fails its save by more than 10, becoming staggered and stunned. Seth still doesn't finish it the following round, giving it a sixth bruise. By this time Doctor Frankenstein has reached Seth, and the two robots attempt to go out in a blaze of glory. Seth hits the monster again and finally squashes it, but Doctor Frankenstein hacks the young mage up with a critical hit from his bone saw, leaving Seth stunned, bruised, and injured. The Doctor attacks again while Seth is stunned, but misses. Seth turns, hits the Doctor, and finally ends the fight.

GM Doctor Frankenstein pivoted to face Seth's new position and rushed forward, screaming "Take your brain! Take your brain!" He swung the rusty bone saw two-handed, as if it were a sword. It was fairly obvious, however, that the fake surgical tool, though genuinely sharp, was not meant to be a weapon. The mechanical madman's blow whistled straight past his live target, severing one of the dangling wires of the reanimation device. Sparks flew everywhere, momentarily blinding the combatants, but the doctor merely readied his steel arms for another swing. The monster, its crushed shoulder throwing off sparks as well, was too stunned by feedback to even turn around.

Seth was reasonably sure that wasn't supposed to happen. Fortunately he'd been prepared for most anything when he stepped into this crazy place, and while he hadn't had this in mind he was ready to deal with it. Making a snap decision to deal with the bigger target first, he threw one hand out in the direction of the hulking, open-skulled monster. The invisible forces of the universe responded instantly to his call, reaching down to crush the metal with incredible force. The creature's right shoulder buckled beneath the intense pressure, arresting its charge and spinning it around on its awkward, gangly feet. Conjuring up a portal with a flick of his wrist, Seth jumped through, putting the slab and electrical apparatus between him and the stunned monster. He hadn't brought it down, but he'd bought himself some time to deal with its supposed creator, and an obstacle would buy him more time still. Turning on the spot, he raised his left arm and its shield bracelet, preparing to meet the mad doctor's charge. Now that he looked, he could see black magic on them: smoky coils had burrowed inside the machines, tainting the steel with hate. He was definitely in the right place.

Seth uses his telekinesis to blast Frankenstein's monster. Thanks to the creature's awkward bulk he hits, though only just. Though made of tough stuff, the monster fails its toughness save by more than five, and is bruised and stunned. Doctor Frankenstein takes a swing at Seth with his bone saw, but misses spectacularly.