For a few moments, the only sounds are those of the burning corpses of the slime creatures and the buzzing and clicking of the contraption with the Masked Gnoll sitting on it.
Then, Ohalian hears the rasping voice in his head once more.
I will eat your brains first.
Ophelia's next move will be to go and rip the head off of the illithid, just for good measure. (I am assuming that the illithid is down and out since you said the battle seemed to be over). Tell me if this is a move that I can make. I get two claw attacks and a bite attack, so in the combination of those I should be able to rip it's head off. Let me know if you need me to roll anything, ok?
We're waiting for you.
Ian is startled by the sudden intrusion into his mind, and almost breaks concentration on the ring.
Hey! This is my head, get out! He thinks as hard as he can.
As the Illithid dies, Ian Yells at the top of his lungs. "NOBODY MOVE! BACK THE HELLS AWAY FROM THAT SLIME!"
He turns to akin, and asks in a strained voice. "Akin? Is there anyplace I can set this down? I'm kinda twitchy."
Ian looks up. "And why the hell is that thing still open?"
OOC: I'm assuming the portal is still open?
[OOC: @Fidrikon: Yes, the portal is still open.
@Ophelia: The illithid seems to be dead; ripping its head off will take as much time as a single attack, no attack roll needed (unless, of course, it's not as dead as it seems - you'll find out soon I guess *g*)
@all: I'm out for a small holiday trip over the weekend, but I'm there again on monday!]
A'kin makes a quick move over to the black scroll, grabbing it in mid-air and putting it somewhere in his robes.
"There we go... oh, wait."
Pulling it out again, A'kin holds the scroll in his paws for a few seconds, then looks at Ian. "Something's happened here. Do you feel it when you focus on the scroll?"
"Yea, kinda." Ian says. "I keep feeling like theres something ... I guess the right word is BEYOND the scroll that seems to keep calling to me."
Ian looks up at the swirling green portal overhead.
"Akin? Whats the history of that scroll? What did I just get myself into?"
Tigerfury looks at the portal in the ceiling, and flips down and activates his peircing visor.
"So, what happens if the bounded space of a portal gets broken?"
"As far as I know, the portal no longer exists. But a portal like this... I don't know."
Ian turns over towrds the druid as she heads over to rip the head off the Illithid.
"Ophelia, while you'rr over there, I think I saw that Illithid use some sort of cube to activate the portal, see if you can find it so we can shut the thing off."
"Well, then if we can't figure out any other way to close this portal thing, I beleive I have the capability to blow a small hole into it through the floor above or an outside wall... with A'kin's permission, of course."
the masked gnoll while wearing a giant smile reaches out out to grab at the images he sees...
'THIS IS EVEN COOLER THAN FACTOL SKALL'S BIRTHDAY!!! GOD I LOVE SOAP OPERAS!!!!"
the masked gnoll seems to have no idea that the battle even happened.
Ian looks at the Masked Gnoll out of the corner of his eye.
I am so not letting you guard me while I sleep.
ooc:Ian looks at the Masked Gnoll out of the corner of his eye.
I am so not letting you guard me while I sleep.
Heheheheheh! That is classic!
IC:
After ripping off the illithids head Ophelia starts sniffing around for the cube. She searches the illithid. Do you want me to take 10 or 20 looking through every seem in his garments? Because Ophelia will search untill she finds the cube thingy.
A'kin shakes his head as Ian asks about the scroll. "I don't know that much myself... but I do know there's part of a divine proxy's essence bound in that scroll. Besides that, if the legends are correct, you're now bound to the scroll, meaning that, if you leave it behind, the proxy's wrath will destroy you. My assumption is that this means - being burned just like those slime creatures were."
Following the conversation, A'kin strongly shakes his head when replying to Ohalian. "No way, my shop is not going to be roasted. There's thousands of other possibilities that we can try before destroying my beloved shop, or parts of it."
As the conversation takes place, Ophelia finds the small green cube, attached to a leather necklace, floating through the icky illithid blood. She notices a slight green glow around the item, which reminds her slightly of the well-known ioun stones.
The Masked Gnoll, still sitting on the contraption and looking through the floating glasses, realizes that the creatures in the other dimension react to him. While he grabs for them, they move as if pushed away by the pressure of invisible water.
At the same time, he can see a strange, dark presence taking shape in the middle of the room. Although the presence is subtle, almost invisible, it sends shivers down the gnoll's spine. Slowly, the creature approaches Tigerfury.
[OOC: Note that noone except of the Gnoll can see the presence. Ophelia still has a bad feeling, as if her animal senses try warning her, and its getting stronger every second.]
Ian's eyes go wide.
"Lady's Blades! Akin, if I'm bound to the scroll, does that mean I can touch it and not get burned? Because if not, than carrying that thing around could be a big problem."
Ian looks over at Ophelia. "You found it yet?"
"Yeah, I found it... it's covered in blood though," Ophelia makes a face. She then asks, "Can I touch it? I mean I am starting to get a REALLY bad fealing, kind of like I can sense something bad in this room."
"I think your just sensing the scroll. I think it was projecting thoughts at me earlier. You should be able to touch it."
The cube, not the scroll, I mean. We all know what happens if you touch the scroll."
"Honestly," A'kin says, "I don't know. But I'm pretty sure I have some kind of bag in here that'll help solve that situation."
ooc: @ joyblood: Who is A'kin speaking to?
OOC: On the off chance that Akin is talking to Ian, Ian sits and waits for Akin to continue and describe the bag.
"Oh.... No one wants to play with me! This is just like Bleaker Camp!"
As He spots the dark presence, he says "Hey! You cant tag Tigerfury! Your not it, I am! Silly shadow."
He still oblivious to any danger.
Ohalian's ears perks up when he hears the Masked Gnoll mention him, and he turns around to face him, running a full sensor scan of the area.
"What did you just say?"
[OOC: A'kin is speaking to Ian, but it doesn't seem like he's going to say more about it.]
Despite the seriousness of the situation that he's in, Ian can't help but laugh at the mental image of 'Bleaker Camp.'
"So, you wanna play tag?"
"Well I... Oh, whats the point."
"Oh, just some shadow-man who wants to play tag with you." He pauses for a moment. "No, Ohalian, you have to run! Thats half the fun of tag, you know."
*Ophelia picks up the cube with her bear claws and tucks it into her belt pouch.*
"What Masked Gnoll?! What in the nine hells are you talking about? I just know I can feel the prescense of something bad in this room and if it is about to attck Ohalian, NOT "tag" him, then we definitely are still in danger."
"Wait, The Masked Gnoll called it a shadow. Ophelia, any chance you can cast daylight again? That might weaken it or something. And Ohalian? I reccomend you move, lucky for you it seems rather slow or it would have gotten you by now."
In order to prevent any 'accidents', Ian telekenetically sets the Scroll down on the counter, immediatly lifting it again at the first sign of anything dangerous.
Ohalian starts backing up towards the others.
*Ophelia casts the Daylight spell and waits to see what is going to happen*
Just as Ohalian tries to move, he feels a strange chill running over his spine... and he feels a cold pressure on his forehead.
Bow down, thrall, and I will make it an easy death.
The rasping voice runs through his mind right into his heart, telling him that the moment of his death is near.
Frag off. I bow to noone.
He then walks towards the others.
[OOC: Everyone please roll for initiative and tell what you're doing. Ophelia is first in this round for she's already in the progress of casting her daylight spell.]
OOC: Initiative: roll= 13 +9= 22
OOC: Intitative: 20 (16+4)
ooc:@everyone: Why is no one rolling using the "roll dice feature" on the edit a post part to roll their dice?
OOC: why use a dice roller program? I bought this novelty-sized D20 for a reason, gosh darn it!
"Shadow? I don't see a shadow..... Oh well, I'm ready for it if there is one."
OOC: For Initiative, I rolled a 17+12(initiative modifier) =29 at this point blackthornes will ready himself for the creatures appearance after the daylight spell..... that is of course, assuming the spell will work.
OOC: Here's my initiative.
OOC: just out of curiosity, what have Naruk and the Harmonium officer been doing all this time? I can understand Naruk staying out of the way, since he doesnt have any spell prepared, but surely the Harmonium officer would be interested in an attempted robbery.
[OOC: Sorry for late reply - another internet crash here, hoping to get it solved ASAP... satelitte dsl sucks :-/
@Fidrikon: I wondered when someone would ask 
Naruk is hiding behind some shelves, and the Harmonium officer cowers behind some silvery shield in a corner.]
[OOC: @dread pirate swan: What is the Masked Gnoll going to do?]
OOC: Well, blackthornes seems to think it will appear when Ophelia casts Daylight. Im not sure about that, so right now Im still sitting in the chair, pointing at where the shadow is and telling everyone whats it looks like its about to do. If it becomes visible, Ill get up and attack.
OOC: I am having back surgury today, just founf out a little while ago, and I will not be able to be on the computer for at least a few days. Sorry guys! 
As Ophelia finishes her spell, the whole room is engulfed in bright light. Those who care to look notice the one or other object - a few scrolls, a ring, a staff - catching fire or simply crumbling to dust when touched by the light. A'kin obviously notices this, but doesn't react yet, focussing on a staff that wasn't in his paws a second before.
Just a hand's length away from Tigerfury, the silhouette of a shadow creature becomes visible, sparkling like a sharp sword scratched over stone. Merely a second later, the bright light disappears again... or rather, it is literally sucked away by the dark presence, which turns invisible again.
Blackthornes, seeing the sparkling silhouette, moves into a fighting position near the shadow. If the creature is still there, he can try attacking it. [OOC: Meaning you can still do an attack within this round, if you want to.]
Ian takes the chance to move the scroll to the creature's location, but when he reaches the right location, the scroll simply passes through empty air. Either the creature has already moved, or it is unaffected by the scroll.
The very moment that the dark presence becomes visible, the Masked Gnoll jumps up from the strange contraption, making the floating glasses disappear as well as the clicking and buzzing of the machine's parts. Obviously, he is now aware of the danger, striking at the opponent that just turned invisible again.
Only a second later, A'kin raises his staff, and several large emeralds decorating the item begin to glow in a blue light. A single - REALLY large - ruby at the staff's top glows in a dark red light, and a smile appears on the fiend's face... a smile giving creeps to everyone who sees it. The so-called friendly fiend seems to have blood lust.
Ohalian - or Tigerfury, how the other ones know him - backs away from the shadow, trying to get out of danger... almost too late, as he feels the touch of ice-cold tentacles on his head. They tried to grab his head just as he moved, and somehow he knows that he just escaped certain death... yet he is not unharmed. Something within him feels frozen by the creepy touch. It feels... it feels as if part of his very life was captured in ice.
[OOC: Ohalian is attacked and hit by the dark presence, just escaping a lethal attack, but still suffering the following effects:
- The hit point maximum as well as the current hit points are reduced by ten; it's not forever, but Ohalian doesn't know that, he simply feels like part of his life has gone from him.
- Ohalian's initiative is reduced by two points as long as the above effect is active.
- The icy tentacle still touches his head, trying to find the right place to bore through his skull]
[OOC: @Ophelia: Whee, sounds bad. I hope you come back soon at full energy 
Maybe you actually find the time for another post today? ]
Anyone who cared to look at Ian would notice, for a very brief second, that his face wore a shocked expression.
Quickly bringing himself under control, Ian trys to makes sense of the last few moments.
What the hells was that shadow? What it Akin doing with that staff? Why did I use the scroll again, I was just thinking about how I might need my blade.
Oh Powers... Is the scroll starting to mess with my thoughts? I didn't even realize I had used it before It was already there...
Ian seems to reach a descision, and ceases his concentration on the scroll, so it dropps out of the air.
"Ohalian! you might feel a slight pull..."
OOC: I was actually going to use my rapier instead of the scroll, but this works too.
Right now, Ian is going to attempt to telekenetically pull Ohalian away from the shadows location, and move him to a safe area.
Ohalian, if you try to resist the tug, you should get a will save.
OOC: Hey joyblood, do I have to roll an attack against Le Shadow?
OOC: ok, well i am going to roll an attack now. Unfortunately I don't have my own dice, so i will use the dice roller. You are going to have to take out any of the penalties for the creatures invisibility, because i'm not sure how that works, and I don't have the resources at the time.
[OOC:
@Fidrikon: So far, your PC only knows Ohalian as "Tigerfury"...
@everyone trying to attack: Make an attack roll against DC 10, I'll calculate the rest. Please tell what kind of weapon you use, especially anything magical.]
OOC: Oh, opps. Ive been calling him Ohalian for a while now. And I'm sure the Masked Gnoll called him that at one time or another. Sorry.
Ophelia transforms into a half-bear creature, but before she could make her first attack, the battle is already over.
Or... is it?
Something is not quite right, her animal senses warn her.