Malzii |
"Ugh...more disease and more noise!" Malzii grumbles. "Now half group sick! Malzii thinks group should hurry up and finish nosing around so can use scrolls to make disease go away," she states. "Dumb to use scrolls now and then maybe get sick again."
"But...Malzii try and see how long Brok-goblin has," she adds as she gives her companion a once-over.
Heal (Brok's Condition): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10
So far I think we've found exactly 4 scrolls of Remove Disease. Are we still wanting to stick with the original plan of trying to clear this level (or as much as we can) before we fall back and use them?
Raaz Al'Zuul DMPC |
As Raaz watches silently the godling continue to pound away at the statue and Keil examining his grisly trophy, a thought occurs to him. Clutching his symbol to his dar lord he mutters a few words in the Infernal tongue and closes his eyes briefly. After a brief moment his eyes blink open. Hurrying over to Arlok he stays the godling's blow. "Stay your hand here! I have communed with my Lord on the best course of action. His rely made little sense as all auguries do, but I believe the key is not the statue but the necklace!"
Just for the record here Raaz used his Fiendish Augury ability here.
Keil |
At first, the fetchling looks at Raaz and the others with a glazed look, Throwing sparks won't be enough, then shrugs, The goblins will figure it out. "I am not hungry. Perhaps later." Keeping his sword drawn, Keil returns to the pool to stand watch should it begin to belch more demons.
Brok Nunnelnoggin |
"Need alchemist fire to make dirty poo hands go boom!"
"Cough ... cough .... cough"
Komm the "Grandfather" |
Grezzor sends a fiery spark of flame at the hand-necklace, which briefly catches fire before guttering out harmlessly. A quick examination shows the scorch marks quickly fading from the glistening flesh of the hands.
Undeterred, the goblin wizard sends several fingers of white hot flame into it. The hands are engulfed in a smoky haze of heat and flame, but once the magic spell ends, he sees once again the charred and burnt skin already starting to regrow. Soon the hands retain their glistening appearance, with nary a mark on them.
Brok Nunnelnoggin |
"Brok think that good way for Arlok to have eternal runs ..." the goblin says as he gestures to the putrescence flowing from the fountain.
"That could be what flows out of your poop hole for eternity. Better to have stomach grumbles than that."
Grezzor |
"This time I don't think eating it is a good option" - Grezzor stifles a laugh, after he frowned at the inefficiency of his spells.
"I think we should try the spell first, and the flames second" - he ponders, while trying to recollect anything about the image they found, or any disease related lore he may have read that could help them understand this further.
History?: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19
Keil |
I need one of those scrolls!
Keil shoots Grey a look to say he did not see the amusement, "If it is a foci, shouldn't they be diseased? Cut a finger off."
Komm the "Grandfather" |
Grezzor recalls reading in one of the human tomes a tale back a number of years after the battles between the Priests of Orcus and the Army of Light, a religious order of healers entered the Mouth of Doom to establish a hermitage in the catacombs below. Healers from the shrine would travel throughout the lands, offering cures and medicines to the peasantry ... or such was the plan. The mission of this small community worked well for many years, and the healers were welcome guests in the hamlets and villages for a hundred miles around. The healers kept the location of their shrine a secret, and accepted no payment for their services other than freely-granted contributions to their cause of eliminating disease from the world.
During this time, the underground sanctuary of the healers grew considerably, as new novices were admitted into training by the original healers. At the same time, the religious aspect of the hermitage increased. The hermitage became less focused upon service to the outlying communities, and more focused upon its status and responsibilities as a temple to the healing god they worshiped. They developed a plan for striking their own blow against the greater servants of pestilence and plague. By mystical auguries and arcane research, they eventually pieced together enough clues to learn the truename of one of the greater demons of pestilence.
Here the tale ended, as the goblin wizard could not discover the end of the tale.
Praetor Grey |
Knowledge History, Aid Another: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (8) + 9 = 17
"I know this story, Grezzor..." Grey said, adding what he knew to the Goblin's tale.
+2 to the result. That gets us past 20. Maybe it will help.
Komm the "Grandfather" |
Praetor remembers a few additional details, though the exact details remain lost in time. The witchdoctor knows the summoning ritual was indeed successful, but the healers were either unable to control the demon or the demon managed to escape its bindings. At that point the records were lost, though an uncontrolled demon is generally considered a disaster...
Praetor Grey |
"So, they conjured a greater demon of pestilence, perhaps Nurgal, or one of his servants, but were unable to bind it. The botched ritual has created this... fountain of disease. The necklace of hands is somehow connected."
Grezzor |
Grezzor ponders what details he remembers, and listens to Praetor's additional information also - "So, the priests tried to establish a bastion for Good, under the patronage of a Healing God - they went too far in their endeavors, and perished under the forces of Disease and Pestilence" - he reasons - "Thus they are antithetic, and we should find a strong force of Disease to destroy the necklace, or the other way around?" - he looks around at the others.
Vargrenz |
Varg looks at the others:
Perhaps we need to heal the necklace? Remove the disease from it, and likewise the pool. Would one of the scrolls work?
Have we done detect magic/spellcraft/knowleage (religion or arcane) on the pool or the necklace?
Brok Nunnelnoggin |
Brok gives Grezzor the suspicious goblin side-eye when he starts using words like "antithetic" .....
Keil |
Liking the idea of not using a scroll on the necklace, the shadowy man points his sword tip at the grey witch in an enthusiastic nod of agreement adding a small note of caution, "As long as it doesn't summon anything else." Then, with little concern for the rudeness of his gestures, Keil waves his sword towards the pool as encouragement for Grezzor (or whoever is holding the necklace) to throw the necklace into the pool adding with a casual shrug, "I can always fish it out if it doesn't work."
Komm the "Grandfather" |
As Grezzor lofts the 'necklace' into the massive fountain, it lands near the center of the bubbling putrescence with a dull *plop*. As you all watch in anticipation as to what will happen to the fountain, you see the necklace of hands sink under the surface of the vile goo.
For a brief moment, the fountain continues to burble and fountain upwards, then the whole fountain shudders as wave after wave undulates throughout the entirety of the fountain, all the way down to where the large rivulets of the fluid trickle away from it, and then it finally falls still and quiet.
Of the necklace there is no sign.
Praetor Grey |
Grey chuckled with pride and roughly clapped Grezzor on the shoulder, a somewhat uncharacteristic display of boisterous orcish triumph from the stoic witchdoctor. "Well done."
Komm the "Grandfather" |
After the destruction of the hand-necklace in the fountain you all decide to retreat out of the Fountain room to plan your next move. Clearly resting in this place next to any of the pools of pestilence is not possible, but there were several rooms back from where you explored earlier that would work nicely.
Not long afterwards, you all see Shade fly back into the room where you have regrouped. The undead shadow seems somewhat sated as it reports, "I have slain many of the...rats that ran from me. Most got away as they ran down the stairs. Still I feasted on...several."
Raaz Al'Zuul DMPC |
Fort save DC 16: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8 fail.
Raaz, listening to the shade's report, suddenly spasms in pain as you see the telltale signs of the disease continuing to spread. Gasping in pain he asks, "Stairs? Leading down?" The shadow turns to face the priest and nods affirmatively.
Keil, please give me a Fort save.
Keil |
Feeling a slight tickle in his throat Keil forces out a cough before shoving a bony finger up his left nostril. Finding nothing of interest, the fetchling wipes his hand up and down his cloak then looks around his eyes falling on Raaz and his spasms, "Agreed. We should press on."
Fort: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 1 = 20
It doesn't feel like we were on this level for a day, how long have it been? I vote we press on some more before resting.
Praetor Grey |
"We are in no hurry. We can rest if we need to. Those of you who are ill need not suffer longer than you wish to." Grey said, genuinely concerned for his fellows.
"I would prefer us to be at strength the next time we must be ready to face Shade."
Grezzor |
Ok, so I double checked and since the last time we rested Grezzor has spent 2xFlaming Spheres and 1xBurning Hands. This means he has left:
2nd — mirror image
1st — color spray (DC 15), grease, Enlarge Person
0 — detect magic, mage hand, message, ray of frost
So from my part we can press on for a tad more, but I am not against resting.
Brok Nunnelnoggin |
"Cough .... cough ... cough"
"Whatever everyone else wants..."
"I'll check poo river to the east..."
Brok scampers down the hall to the east, staying out of the remnants of the filth stream by climbing down the wall if he has to.
He'll go far enough to look south where the passage/stream turns.
perception: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (10) + 13 = 23 (+2 for traps)
stealth: 1d20 + 12 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 12 + 2 = 17