Ofelio takes advantage of his position and shoves the glaive straight past Garim and towards their zombified foe.
Surprisingly, the oracle is unscathed and the paladin's weapon actually hits what he's aiming at! The zombie crumples to the ground.
Combat over.
The walls of this room have been cleared of all coverings and decoration; instead, a vibrant mural provides artistic interest. In the mural, which tells a story in several stages, a man bearing a symbol of an inverted pentagram stands proudly in front of a throne wearing a cloak that seems to billow in an unseen wind. Further on, the same man leads warriors in battle against a frail-looking man wearing the Eye of Aroden in a room that looks a lot like the shrine down below. Next, there is an image of a skeletal figure, still wearing the same cloak, sitting on the throne previously depicted.
Two doors lead out of this room, both bearing a coat-of-arms carved into their surfaces.
"Hmmm...national coat-of-arms of Cheliax. Before falling to the forces of Hell, I mean." Laya mutters to nobody in particular.
"The historical discoveries are amazing here. However until we clear it of long dead things, no scholar will come close."
Genisen check out the door to the northeast then listens to see if he can hear anything on that side.
Genisen finds no traps, nor does he hear any sounds coming from the other side.
"Seems clear of traps and there is nothing on the other side, at least nothing that I hear moving. Let's hope it is truly empty."
Vellica nods, "Let's be on with it. The sooner I can get out of this do-gooder disguise, the better," she whispers.
Feeling the bruises and sore spots on his arms and torso Garim uses the healing wand on himself.
"Bayel and Zagog, you ready to take down Kreel?" Garim adds in the same whispering tone Vellica used.
He positions himself next to the door northern most door, putting his weapon away again while holding the wand in his shield hand, then once everyone is ready opens the door slowly.
"Ready," an infant voice whispers back at you.
In this room, there are two torches embedded in the wall, each covered with a cloth, and emitting only a small amount of light. At the north end of the room is a large, luxurious bed. An armoire sits along the west wall, and piles of plunder line the east. The room continues around the stairwell, and faint light flickers from that direction as well.
Just around the corner, Garim can see two skeletons, each of them wearing some sort of scorched ceremonial metal armour and holding a shortsword. They stand at attention in the next room and make no move to approach you.
Bump!
Vellica looks to the warriors, expecting one of them to lead the way.
"Bayel and Zagog, can you go scout it out? See where Kreel is, and any others?"
"Okay," Bayel whispers. You hear Zagog chuckle as invisible wings fly off. As they do, a voice calls from the darkness to the east. ”So, finally, somebody has breached the seal. Alas, you do not appear to be rescuers from Cheliax, so I can only assume you to be treasure-seekers, or else spies from Absalom. Come further in. I wish to learn of the world outside these walls.”
Garim remains where he is for a moment, hoping Bayel or Zagog will report back quickly.
Eventually, you hear a flutter of wings. "He's on his throne, waiting for you to go kill him," Bayel whispers in Garim's ear. "His skeleton honour guard stands waiting to give you a warm reception!"
Then he laughs and flies off.
"Well ok, lets get this over with. He isn't going to kill himself."
"Get into position." Garim whispers to the hidden fiends.
He then steps into the room and states loudly, "And what happenings of the outside world would you be interested in learning of?"
"Learning of? Learning of? Now I know you are not of Cheliax, or has the common Opparan rape of proper grammar infected our glorious nation as well? The news of which I wish to learn is the fate of that noble nation, and of His Exalted Faith, The Lord of Hell. Does Cheliax cover the land, all nations conquered on their knees? Do all school children the world over learn the true faith of Asmodeus?"
"The war still rages, not all is as it yet should be." Garim adlibs while taking a few more steps to get a clear look at Kreel and his guards.
Why is this house attacking itself? Don't all of these guys serve Asmodeus? GAH! My head hurts.
Ofelio stands ill-at-ease and twitches after advancing to be next to Garim.
A rich purple carpet leads up to a dais fashioned from obsidian tile. Three covered torches would provide bright light to the room, if not for the cloths. On the dais sits a large throne, and on the throne, a skeletal figure wearing a suit of full plate and a cloak (and closely resembling the figure in the mural) sits at his ease, a massive sword leaning against the side of his throne; four other skeletons, wearing polished breastplate and armed with longswords, stand as an honour guard.
"No doubt! Bringing peace and order to all the world is a large task, even for a nation as great as mine. Ah, a half breed! Noble blood flows through your veins, boy. What do you have to say for yourself?"
Garim fidgets, feeling Ofelio's discomfort at the direct question. Well nothing to it, we came here for a specific reason.
He holds his free hand behind his back, holding out three fingers and one by one folding in his fingers as he speaks, hoping his companions understand his intentions. "An immense task indeed, but the faithful persist to change to world."
Garim flings out his free hand from behind his back, twisting vines of metal reaching out from his sleeve and entwining themselves around the legs of the first skeleton, toppling it to the ground.
Kreel watches Garim intently, not really fooled, however, he does nothing but lean back in his throne and watch the ensuing melee. As Garim uses his metal trick, he chuckles, "Oh ho! Another man who appreciates the true power of metal. This shall be interesting."
You can all have surprise actions.
Initiative:
Genisen:
Laya:
Ofelio:
Timbur:
Garim:
Vellica:
Kreel:
Skeletons:
Roll-off
Laya:
Timbur:
Round 1
Initiative: Genisen, Garim (already posted), Skeletons (surprised), Ofelio, Vellica, Kreel, Laya, Timbur
Skeleton 1
HP: 4/4
AC: 16 (12 touch, 14 FF)
F/R/W: +0/+2/+2
Skeleton 2
HP: 4/4
AC: 16 (12 touch, 14 FF)
F/R/W: +0/+2/+2
Skeleton 3
HP: 4/4
AC: 16 (12 touch, 14 FF)
F/R/W: +0/+2/+2
Skeleton 4
HP: 4/4
AC: 16 (12 touch, 14 FF)
F/R/W: +0/+2/+2
Kreel
HP: ??/??
AC: 24/12/24
F/R/W: +6/+2/+6
Vellica chants a spell, and points her finger at Kreel's blade. A spurt of yellowish grease flies from her hand to coat the sword.
"Wait... waitwait... was he talking about me earlier?!" Ofelio asked, pulling out his glaive short on the uptake.
Genisen fires a blunt arrow at the skeletons
Even as Garim begins his maneuver, Genisen brings up his bow and fires, shattering the skull of one of the skeletons, which explodes in a spray of bone and fire, scorching the carpet.
"As we thought, a skeletal champion, and these are burning skeletons. Try destroying them from range, or they'll...do that."
+1 to attack and damage, AC and saves vs the burning skeletons...she'll switch that to Kreel if and when he becomes active
Timbur, not having many other options, charges the downed skeleton.
Round 1
Genisen and Garim are up.
Garim takes a step closer and lashes out with another set of metallic cords, but is unable to get trip the next skeleton.
Botting Genisen...
Genisen enters the room and lets another arrow fly at a distant skeleton.
A second skeleton literally explodes on the receiving end of Genisen's bow work.
Garim attempts to trip a second skeleton, this time unsuccessfully.
The skeletons, true to their name, suddenly burst into flames. The downed one attempts to stand.
He hits it, but the blade of his sword merely scrapes off the bones. The skeleton then takes a swing at him with its sword.
The other skeleton moves up and swings at Genisen.
Ofelio is up.
Ofelio grunts and moves to lunge at A-125 with a grimace. He still hates that the other devils are watching.
It unnerves him so much he can't hit a thing.
New Map