Neva rushed into the room to get a clearer shot on the skulking cultists. Reaching the southern wall, she hastily reloaded her crossbow.
Raliscar hustles into the room up beside Neva then fires another shot at the figure he'd tagged earlier.
HP: 55/64
AC: 20 (13 T / 17 FF)
CMD: 20
F/R/W: +9/+10/+5
Ranger's Focus (+4/+4): [X] [ ]
Level 1 spells prepared (1+1): gravity bow [X] [X]
Necklace of Fireballs: 6d6 [X] // 4d6 [X] [ ] // 2d6 [X] [ ]
-Ongoing Effects-
Favored Terrain (underground/dungeon): +2 to Initiative, Perception, Stealth, & Survival for ALL party members
Deadly Aim: -2/+4
He didn't notice at first, but it soon becomes clear that Rutter's swipe had damaged the glass of one of the empty vats. A spiderweb of cracks begins to travel along the exterior as the groan of it trying to hold in whatever foul liquid sounds across its surface.
Neva moves in to the room to take up a position against the wall that allows her a decent view of the whole room. As the priests cast their spells, she too prepares by loading another bolt into her weapon.
"Say, did you hear something?"
Feldivarxon casts grease, targeting the priest's holy symbol.
Vyshael enters the room, bow readied, and snaps off a quick shot at Urgathoan #1, hoping to disrupt the spell.
Vyshael moves in to line himself up with the wounded enemy, hoping to disrupt any spellcasting the man performs. A disruption, however, is unnecessary as his arrow plunges hard and deep into the man's chest, dropping him to the floor.
Raliscar follow Neva into the room, and fires off his crossbow at the remaining priest, but the bolt glances off the man's armor, and clatters across the floor.
Sitting astride his mount within the doorway, Feldivar can just make out the last priest. The image is distorted by the curved glass of the two vats, and the green liquid within, but still enough to give him a target. Focusing on the holy symbol the man wears, he conures a think coating of grease to cover it. The symbol shoots out of the man's grasp to clatter to the floor.
Rutter moves around the cracked vat and passes the doors to block the last priest from escaping. He swings at him powerfully again, clearly learning nothing from his wild swing before.
Rutter rushes up on the second Urgathoan, not only to strike out at the man, but to become an obstacle preventing him from escape. He swings hard again, his blade rushing toward its target, but some unseen force is just enough to shift the blade only slightly. The result of which being the weapon glancing off the man's armor.
The remaining man makes no qualms about the decision to not stand face to face with the angry halfling before him. He steps back and moves right past Raliscar to squeeze up between the vats and stand over his fallen colleague, though not protectively. Instead, his weapon is trained on the vat with something in it. Like he intends, in his emergency, to break the glass.
[ooc]in case Rutter's AoO doesn't do the whole job...]
Neva raised her crossbow to attack the cultist as he tried to break the glass.
Neva tries to fire over Raliscar and between the two vats to hit the remaining cultist, but her shot is not enough to pierce the man's defenses.
Vyshael raises his bow and fires again, trying to end the threat of the Cultist
for
Rutter drops one of his kukri, and pulls a flask out of a pocket of his coat. He hurls it at the last Urgathoan before he can swing his weapon at the occupied vat.
As the cultist pulls his cudgel back for a swing, Raliscar snaps off a pair of heavy bolts from his crossbow with a growl and a stream of oaths that call into question his target's parentage.
HP: 55/64
AC: 20 (13 T / 17 FF)
CMD: 20
F/R/W: +9/+10/+5
Ranger's Focus (+4/+4): [X] [ ]
Level 1 spells prepared (1+1): gravity bow [X] [X]
Necklace of Fireballs: 6d6 [X] // 4d6 [X] [ ] // 2d6 [X] [ ]
-Ongoing Effects-
Favored Terrain (underground/dungeon): +2 to Initiative, Perception, Stealth, & Survival for ALL party members
Deadly Aim: -2/+4
If it worked with one, maybe it will work again...
Feldivarxon casts grease again, this time on the floor at the man's feet, hoping to see him fall.
Vyshael lines up his shot and fires an arrow to punch right into the Urgathoan. His shot is quickly followed by another from Raliscar, sinking deep into the man, as the two shots quickly drop him to the ground.
The man crumples atop the body of his fellow.
Rutter looks at the vat still intact as he sheathes his kukri, "What's this thing in the jar?" He starts searching the dead clergy, trusting the more intellectual types to investigate the trapped creature.
Neva reloaded her crossbow, walked over to the still breathing cultist, and put the bolt through his head.
"Let's find if there are any more, before they can escape", she said, her eyes flashing with rage.
Raliscar shakes his head in ignorance at Rutter's question. "No idea, lad, but I'm certain I'd rather it stayed in its fishbowl rather than out."
He turns then at the sound of a crossbow firing to see Neva looming and nigh unto bursting with fury. He shoulders his own weapon and steps over to her. "We'll deal with 'em, Neva. You can trust me on that count, don't ye doubt. But we don't need ta rush on like some surly boars in a wood either." With one hand placed tenderly at the back of her elbow, he gently guides her with his other hand to stow her crossbow. "Especially with you lookin' like ye do right now. Yer tremblin', lass. Here, have a seat an' catch yer breath. We'll see this den of snakes cleared, but we need ye sharp."
Raliscar plops down on a stair beside her, his beard puffing briefly as he huffs. "I never saw evil like this on the road. Bandits, sure, but them you could understand. Greed an' need are simple enough to grasp, but these lunatics?" He shakes his head and sighs in bafflement.
Vyshael says, "I'm not quite sure... but I can't think that it's good. Might be the source of the plague, or something that feeds on it.... I'll see if I can recognize it now that I have a moment to study it when there aren't evil clerics casting spells at me."
He starts toward the tank, then stops as he hears Raliscar's words, looking at Neva. He says only, "My mother was a Paladin who dedicated her life to destroying this kind of evil... and I dreamed of following in her footsteps.... but now that we face it - true, destructive... I don't think I was quite ready for just how... ugly... it is. But, for myself, I know that my mother, and Ragathiel, would be proud of what we've done today -- and that by facing this ugliness, we allow so many others to never have to see or experience it... and that's the best thing we can do...." He trails off, his voice clearly tentative, unsure of his ability to comfort, though sure of the sentiment of his words, and turns his attention to the tank, and its contents, to cover his embarrassment.
Vyshael recognizes the thing as a Daemon, or a Leukodaemon to be precise. He is aware of the basic Daemon traits that they all share, but beyond that all he knows is that Leukodaemon's are associated with the Horseman of Pestilence. It's presence could very well be associated with the Blood Veil.
The gnome leads the riding dog over to the vat. He looks at the creature with interest - but not the foggiest idea of what he's looking at.
Neva took Raliscar's and Vyshael's comfort as best she could. She leaned against the wall and began taking some deep, trembling breaths.
Vyshael winces, "That thing is... very... bad. It's a Leukodaemon, which are the pets of the Horseman of Pestilence. If it were free, I'd say the thing's probably been gathering the souls of those who fall to the plague.... since it's not, I can't help but think it could be the source of it all."
"Alright then. How does one go about getting rid of a luke-o-demon then?" Raliscar fumbles a little with the unfamiliar word, but he rises from his seat on the stair and swings his crossbow back around into his hands, expecting violence to be the only answer.
Vyshael says, "It can be destroyed, but we may not be strong enough to do that. However, if it was the source of the plague, it may be that it's been trapped and bound here... which means if we broke that binding, it might be sent home. Let me try to study this before we do anything rash, though."
Rutter grinned when he looked up to see Neva executing the worthless enemies, happy to see another of the gang coming around to his way of thinking. His grin faded, though, as he watched her be comforted by Raliscar and Vyshael. He frowned and continued rummaging through the gear of the dead cultists, quietly reflecting about how ill-prepared she must have been for all this mentally, even though she'd impressed him so often with her capabilities.
The thing he'd come to appreciate about her most has been her earnestness. He'd felt like he could trust her more than anyone else he'd met, and he wondered if experiences like this could take that away from her.
As he finished, he stood and considered the Leukodemon with Vyshael, Feldivar, and Raliscar. "So, this thing is the source of it all? It's an ugly piece of crap." He looks at the other three vats. "The other ones dead? Is whatever's in the tank what's killing them? We should just let it finish the job on this one - he don't look like he's got much life left to him."
"We should probably try to clear the rest of this facility, so they can't do any more of this." Though he stands with the men at the vault, he turns to look toward the troubled midwife leaning against the wall, choosing his next words carefully in an awkward attempt to reassure her conscience, "Just a few more a-holes to kill, and we'd help the whole town."
"I think Rutter's got the right of it, but let's give Vysh a minute. Should we take a stroll back to that lift and check on our tied up doctor while we wait? Wish we could just snap our fingers and send 'im to Kroft's doorstep. Carting that lump around is a burden an' burdens aren't helpful when you're neck deep in evil cultists."
"I'm not much of a scholar. I might as well come along in case Esmerelda needs to bite the burden. You know, as incentive."
As they go, he is still trying to remember what he might know about daemons. Besides not much, that is.
"Good idea, Raliscar. We've got some more doors to check out. We can drag him along with us from room to room. Man, I hope there's not much more to this place."
With a little discussion between Vyshael and Feldivar, the two determine that the container itself is somehow keeping the creature both confined and bound. Otherwise, the thing should be able to easily break out. It's not likely, however, that breaking the vessel will send it home, or why would the priest have attempted to do so.
Vyshael sighs, "Logic would indicate that, since the priest wanted to let it out, letting it out would be bad.... Of course, I don't much like the thought of leaving it here to be let out by someone else... or to have it continue to be... 'harvested' for more plague."
"Let's deal with the rest of the vipers in this nest for the time being then. Goldfish there isn't goin' anywhere. Come on then, back at it."
Neva did her best to prepare for Raliscar's suggestion, straightening up, reloading her crossbow and moving toward the doors. But she noticed her hands were shaking a bit.
Vyshael shrugs, "I guess you're right. Maybe if we rid ourselves of this lot, nobody's likely to free the daemon before we get back."
Rutter draws a kukri. He tries to quietly open the door.
The doors open smoothly to reveal a long hallway beyond. The long hall opens into a circular chamber rising into a high dome. Seven basins jut from the walls, ensconced within evenly spaced alcoves that circle the room. Each is filled to the brim with a unique liquid corruption—blood, bile, milk, or other unidentifiable fluid. Each fills the air with its own distinct reek, creating a noxious, eye-watering bouquet. Upon the floor around each basin lie several small, empty metal boxes, each carved with images of skulls, much like the box Rutter recovered from the ship's wreckage.
At the room’s center, rising from a wide pool of crystalline water, rises a golden statue of a sight both erotic and horrifying. The statue is that of a beautiful nude woman, human above the waist, but below this the figure is nothing more than a skeleton.
As you near the chamber, a pale woman with raven black hair, dressed in equally dark colors, greets you with an icy smile brimming with confidence. She is wearing a black breastplate with the symbol of Urgathoa prominent in its design, and wielding a wicked looking scythe. She stands from her kneeling position on the other side of the fountain, and addresses you. “And so you have found your way to me, hopeful heroes. Know that you stand before the architect of your city’s death. You call this sending blood veil, yet I know it as the gentle kiss of the Pallid Princess. Your reward shall be great, choose of the seven scourges to become one with the goddess." She indicates the seven basins of differing foul liquids around the room. "Those who drink, I shall only cripple, leaving you alive to enjoy her as she quickens inside your flesh. Those who abstain are fools, not fit to house the divine gift. You may prostrate yourselves at my feet and I shall make your end all the more swift for it. Swifter, in any event, than this delightful end your lovely queen has enjoined me to create!”
Feldivarxon 'spurs' Esmerelda to move between Vyshael and Neva. As he comes alongside Rutter, he casts a quick spell and touches the rogue. "She'll see you after your first attack, my friend. I trust you will make that first one count."
Vyshael whispers a few words and traces a pattern, pointing at the woman with his mother's blade, causing three small darts of force to throw themselves at her, "As a general rule, I'm not keen on living things inside my flesh... and, I'm more of the arcane gift sort."
Invisible, due to Feldivarxon's spell, Rutter draws his second kukri as he moves to one of the basins. He waits until the cult leader is distracted, finding his time when she is struck by Vyshael's magic missiles, and then he discreetly dips his blades into the toxic liquid.
Raliscar hustles forward, grumbling loudly at the porcelain-looking woman. "Bah! Quit yer lip-flappin', ye lunatic! Yer wantin' someone ta kiss something? Kiss this!" He punctuates this by jerking a small bead from his necklace and tossing it over the intervening pool.
HP: 55/64
AC: 20 (13 T / 17 FF)
CMD: 20
F/R/W: +9/+10/+5
Ranger's Focus (+4/+4): [X] [X]
Level 1 spells prepared (1+1): gravity bow [X] [X]
Necklace of Fireballs: 6d6 [X] // 4d6 [X] [X] // 2d6 [X] [ ]
-Ongoing Effects-
Favored Terrain (underground/dungeon): +2 to Initiative, Perception, Stealth, & Survival for ALL party members
Deadly Aim: -2/+4
Ranger's Focus (Evil Lady): +4 to hit, +4 damage
Feldivar rides up beside Rutter, and with a word of instruction, casts a spell to cause him to vanish from sight. The woman merely laughs, "Hiding will do you no service, the perfect pestilence of Urgathoa will soon find you all."
Using his newfound disappearance, Rutter moves to one of the nearest basins, and dips his weapon in just enough to coat the blade in whatever putrescent liquid rests within. Though it looks to be a clear liquid, much like water, there's no telling what it truly is.
Vyshael and Raliscar settle for starting with magical attacks. Vyshael hits her with a trio of missles, glowing with force energy. They each leave a little wound of entry, but seem to do little to sway her confidence. Raliscar, on the other hand, moves in and drops one of his few remaining fireball beads, taking the opportunity to hit her with it before his allies get too close.
Neva begins running around the pool to her right, hoping to get a clearer shot.
She raised her crossbow and readied to shoot of the woman began casting.
The woman tuts at the group and their efforts thus far. She begins walking northward around the pool, putting the statue between herself and the one person aiming a weapon at her. As she walks, she looks as if she is walking up invisible steps, gradually getting higher and higher as she goes. Once she's on the other side, she calls upon Urgathoa's divinity, as her body grows more visibly powerful. With her on the other side of the statue, Neva's aim just isn't enough to make it past the obstacle to score a decent hit on the woman.