The woman giggled as Aria vanished, but didn't even see her reappear - Kass's light rays stabbed into her eyes, which she clutched at, howling in a high voice. She threw both hands out together as she danced back. Once again, no true verbal or somatic components issued from her, but the air before her and clear to Aria was suddenly filled with great clouds of flame. The hungry fires heated the sand below into a smooth glass sheet, and sucked the oxygen from the air (though more would rush in before anyone could begin to suffocate).<br/><br/>As the flames cleared, she was revealed not as the human woman: but scaling up to a 'woman' of similar coppery face and hair, but twenty-five feet in height, and girded in bronze plate armor rather than the gauzy silks of a dancer. The sand beneath her rippled as she took heavy, long strides back, seeming to step with more slow care because of her blindness. "Do you still think to challenge?" she laughed in a deep voice, whipping about herself a massive - even for her new size - warhammer now clutched easily in one great-fingered hand.<br/><br/>Aria wanted to shout "You ought believe it!" or somesuch, but there seemed to reason to spoil the element of surprise afforded by Kass's blinding the woman. The tiefling bolted through the air, glad that the spell would enable her to surprise attack the woman without the 'invisible' moments usually afforded by the blink-magic, which would've delayed her (and rendered her less accurate).<br/><br/>She flew to the inside of the giantess's free hand, slitting the wrist with the kurki before she whisked it across the giantess's throat. The follow-through brought her left hand towards the face of the giantess, whence she plunged the longer sunblade deep into each great blind eye in turn. The giantess silently fell backwards, causing sand to ripple up into clouds as she landed with a heavy thud, and a clang of the warhammer's head against the armor.<br/><br/>Aria doubled back, exchanging the weapons for a healing wand and callling, "Love the spell," as she passed Kass.<br/><br/>She reached and gave Anya a burst of regeneration with the wand. She next looked at the incinerated body of Karsus with a frown - there was no need to check for breathing or pulse, for such flesh was not even left after the fire storm, only a blackened skeleton with the copper buckles of otherwise-gone belt and sandals melted against the bone.<br/><br/><br/><br/>(The woman didn't so much 'come out of nowhere' as around the corner of the opaque pyramid - just in case the phrase indicated you thought she just 'appeared' like from a teleport.)<br/><br/>Wizard-like enemies always seem dangerous, relative to their class balance as PCs, b/c they can dump all their spell slots on one battle, and also b/c spells can be inherently very risky. (In this case it was spell-like abilities rather than an actual wizard/sorc.)<br/><br/>Yes, dying, not dead.<br/><br/>Let's see, a nonmagical bow has hardness 5 and hp 5. Each +1 of enhancement adds +2 hardness and +10 hp, so it would take 20d6-7 damage (rolled 71-7) and break (25 hp).<br/><br/>Enemy blinded; 'casts' Fire Storm (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/fireStorm.htm), 53 fire damage, DC 23 half over Aria, Kass, and Karsus.<br/>Assumes giant form, moves back 20'<br/>(Since Kass advanced 40', she's now 55' from Kass and 95' from Aria)<br/><br/>Karsus dies. Aria: 8r, evasion.<br/><br/>Aria: flying charge (no blink, so full speed and no miss chance, woo!)<br/>Draw kukri and sunblade; fa<br/>mods 43/38/33/28 and 42/37/32 (21 bab 13 dex 5 or 4 weapon -2 twf 2 charge 2 blind foe)<br/>dmg 1d4+14 and 1d10+12<br/>mh http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2980465/ (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2980465/)<br/>oh http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2980466/ (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2980466/) (oops, ignore the 4th)<br/>mh hit hit hit miss dmg 311 - 3x15 (DR)<br/>oh hit hit hit dmg 257 - 3x15 (DR)<br/>slain<br/><br/>Aria begins casting Lesser Vigor twice on Anya (to bring her from 23 damage to 1 damage).<br/><br/><br/><br/>Magic auras:<br/>Giatness's armor and warhammer and backpack<br/>And the same auras from the sky battle mindflayers (9) and kytons (4) as the others (cloaks + slippers or armor + slippers).<br/><br/>Also, we have enough XP to level up if you wish. Double-level, actually.