Early on in life, every magic user eventually learned a fundamental rule about their power: no matter how strong or devoted you were, it would always fail at some point. Each time Fahl cast a spell, the reason for the issue was obvious; a flickering and fickle thing, his magic required massive quantities of will in order to shove it into a paw or past teeth without it deciding to retreat back to its source. Not much could be done about its nature other than to repeat the action and hope his stubbornness won out this time unlike the last. Maybe, crouched behind stone and having vented a measure of his frustrations out, he could better concentrate now on blasting away at the less molten parts of the golem. If not, what a poor image he would cut, a cowering weakling rather than a mage struggling to wreak havoc upon an enemy.

Whether it was the persistent heat or his efforts manifesting, the jade embedded in his tongue pulsed warmth against the roof of his mouth. If the sensation increased to a scorch, he'd never know since jaws parted in preparation to unleash hell. His head poked around the side of Tourmaline's wall, looking for all purposes like a gawking bystander. At least that was the case until he glared, spat out an insult involving the golem's nonexistent mother, and a blinding white beam headed for its bracers amidst the swirling magma.

Surgis... still couldn't get away, not well enough. The crackling of obsidian in the previous room was terrifying enough, but so was the golem, and so she did the brave thing (yeah right) and fled back into the golem's chamber.

And there it's back to heat, right into danger. "Aw, shit." Like everyone else, she could hide behind the wall that'd been made, and Surgis was obviously going to protect herself. Nails scattered on the hard rock, gobs of lava coming dangerously close, but she made it, panting for breath in the raw fire of the room.

"What the hell is it doing?"

The weird cloud of dust that the agate's chaotic magic spat out didn't seem to have much of an effect on the massive living mound of molten rock. It growled, stewing in its frustration until it noticed the creature begin to spin rapidly, globs of its burning body flying right at it.

Oh shit.

It SHOULD'VE ran, but it was frozen at the sight of burning doom hurling towards it, and when it finally DID get its feet to move there was no way it was going to outrun the fire.

Fahl’s biting back at him makes him grin with all teeth- good, gives his brain something else to do other than panic, as he replies, “At least I tried something! I have never done that before,” As he coughs for a bit too long from the heat and smoke.

Eugh.

Burning flesh, he pointedly tries not to think about how it smells like - nope. No.

Focus.

The tumbling furball can throw earth, and he lets out an appreciative whistle and whoop as the earth buckles and rises under their command, before it turns to semi-panicked spitting noises as he books it for cover.

“Spinning throws things, but this? Is not fair!” As he books it for cover behind the wall.

With the wind as you fly away
Give a smile from your lips and say
"I am free! Yes, I'm free!"

September blinked and realized he'd...made a grave error. "Uh. BACK UP?!" He was already turning to canter away when the golem began to spin, throwing chunks of molten lava over the gathered gembound. September turned, eyes panicked and trying to catch where he should go to dodge and realized he might not be able to. There were too many and he was too close.

So, instead, he concentrated on mounting his defense here, where the winds whipped around him again and cut through the air in front of him, pushing back any lava that got close, slowing them down, at least, so they didn't hit him, or otherwise blowing them off-course.

september

Wyrm's eyes widened. Oh, this was horrifying. Liquid ROCK?! So hot it had melted, and she'd thought she understood what that meant until the stench of burning fur and flesh made its way into her scent pits and onto her flicking tongue.

True fear spiked in her, driving out any thoughts of fun and adventure. Terror was on its way.

She bolted for the wall, bounding, trying to wiggle her way behind cover while she had the chance.

She made it with time to spare, squiggly noodle agility paying off.

A glance back told her that a few of them were still in harm's way. Thalassa--just out of range and she had wings. Agate, out of her reach--and huge. But--Rajani was fairly close, and already burned badly. Wyrm saw the gobbets of lava coming, and darted out again, just long enough to try and leap toward the tiger, to push him to safety.

She wasn't all that large just yet. Still young, only a couple cycles old. But maybe her momentum would be enough to help him to safety--to stop him from being burned even worse.

Wyrm is trying to protect @Rajani !

The now slightly smaller lava golem stopped spinning a moment later. It tried to give chase for Rajani, only to find itself... slowed?

The construct paused, and looked down. Tourmaline's ice sheet wouldn't last, but for now? It had cooled the bottom of the lava golem. Parts of its lower half were darkening, hardening. Slowing it, even stopping it temporarily! It was at this point that Fahl's magic blast shattered one of the bracers at its molten wrists.

One hand flung out, waving free--and then disintegrated.

The slowed golem began to sludge its way forward again, but weakened now. And smaller. As it seeped toward the wall that stood in its way, it lost even more mass: lava that left a trail behind it, cooling into stone.

Now and then it spun again, flinging molten stone in glowing drips at the Gembounds it was trying to catch.

---

BOSS BATTLE

Characters can roll to try and damage or slow the golem, or take other actions. Failures will be seared by flinging gobbets of magma again. Critical Failures will be more badly burned.

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The next post will take place on July 15th in the afternoon/evening GMT.

Hargrave is at risk of chrysalizing. The placeholder post should be completed, rolls posted for last round, and then this round posted for, or she will chrysalize.

@Fahl @Thalassa @Bauxite-T-One @Rajani @Tourmaline @September @Surgis @Hargrave @V-Agate-One @Tyrin @Wyrm

As much as he didn't want to admit it, it was only because of the two that decided to help him that he was able to make it out of the way in time before he became a toasted tiger.

He scrambled to the side, panting softly as he turned to look at the thing, growling softly in annoyance. He really just wanted this stupid fucking dungeon trip to be over.

He did the only thing he could really think of and bristled, raising his hackles and growling at it, hoping to intimidate it even just enough to make it hesitate for a moment. Could a sentient pile of magma be intimidated or even have feelings? He had no fucking clue, but there wasn't much else he could do.

There's naught but a whisper from her stone, and her confidence in it makes her feel just as foolhardy as the tiger slamming up against the golem. Particularly when a gob of the superheated sludge sails through the air, beyond the wall that had been raised, and sizzles against the fur and skin of her neck for the moment that it takes her to shake it off, and then roll to smother the residual flame.

Hargrave forgoes an offensive response, interested only in attrition and survival. Cowardly, perhaps, but she isn't going to feed fire with her own if her magic can't behave under this duress. Her eyes are purely on the sailing chunks of stone and lava, and her feet interested in avoiding any molten pools that have already landed and settled.

this is a catch-up post for the previous round.