quinlan moves along with Bash, but glances back at Kalem, hoping he's gonna be okay...
Bashiel and Pel, followed by some of the others, begin making their way down the western passage while Kalem forms a rear guard against the eastern passage.
Despite the armor, Bashiel manages to be particularly quiet, moving slowly and mindful of his weaponry and the cramped quarters. Pel is not so fortunately, stumbling slightly on an irregular surface.
Ahead, Bashiel and Pel can see another chamber. Rank with the stink of decay and mud, this cavern contains four straw pallet and a low table covered with plates, cups and old bits of food. Moving about the room are four robed figures. They had been having a rather animated conversation but one of them suddenly stops and turns to look towards the passage Bashiel and Pel are coming down.
"What was that!? he hisses from beneath the cowl. It seems he heard something but has not seen you.
Pel silently curses his clumsiness and bites his lip to keep himself from saying something in his frustration. If he can't trust himself to walk right, he's not about to try to bluff whoever spoke into thinking they are friendly.
Not knowing what exactly they may or may not face, Pel pulls out his crossbow again and loads it with a bolt.
Without thinking, Kalem called out (in a voice as close to that as the cultist he talked to as possible, though muffled by his sleeve incase the man was there) ”It’s just me! Calm yourself.”
Bashiel draws back a little out of the potential line of sight of the four cultists. He raises a hand towards the group behind him, showing four fingers, then points to the room ahead.
If it sounds like the group in the room is heading towards the corridor, he'll prepare to slash the first cultist that comes into range with his bardiche. If it seems like Kalem's bluff has satisfied them, he'll make a series of hand gestures to suggest that the team goes in all at once to catch them off-guard.
Assuming the cultists haven't rounded the corner by this point, Bashiel uses his hand to count down.
The remaining cultists in the chamber look towards the passage, then turn away at Kalem's response. The first just growls, "Bloody clod! All that racket, quiet down or Vreeg 'll have your head."
With that, he turns back and continues talking to the others.
"How much longer do you expect we'll be here?"
"Who knows... One minute they're screaming for more subjects, the next they're pleased with the results. I'm just tired of feeding the sewer beast."
"Quit your whining, both o' you. It's all in Her divine service. We will free this city from the shackles of its flesh and be rewarded. For the Hunger."
The other three reply in unison, "For the Hunger."
Zamanda tightened her bow string, wondering how this was going to play out.
The thought of Briget or any other child being used by these madmen as 'subjects' or food for a sewer beast fills him with fury.
Seeing Bashiel run into the room, Pel feels compelled to follow. Gripping his crossbow tightly, he moves a bit further in and releases a bolt at one of the cultists.
Kalem has barely thought his plan through. Surprised to see that it worked he was thinking of a follow up when Bashiel charged in. Lifting his hammer he joined the attack. This works too.
Quinlan runs into the room, crossbow out and ready.
Zamanda moves into the room.
Varor follows behind everyone.
==Surprise Round==
Kalem charges into the room followed closely by Bashiel, the two of them swiping at the nearest of cultists while the rest of the parties rushes into the room behind them.
Both of their blows land true and, though badly injured by the attacks, both are still are their feet.
==Round 1==
Though taken by surprise, the chamber's occupants are not so shocked as to be stunned by the assault. Closest to Bashiel, the cultist reaches into her robes and calls forth the power of Urgathoa. Radiating out from her is a black web of energy. She then takes a step back out of danger.
In the back, another casts a spell on Bashiel, giving him the urge to strike at his allies.
A third, from the back, steps up and lays his hands on the cultist savaged by Kalem's assault... the wounds vanish before your eyes.
And he, grinning at Kalem as the power of Urgathoa heals his wounds, hits a switch on his staff, prompting a scythe-like blade to emerge. He swings and slices an arc of blood across Kalem's body.
-----------------
Reeling in pain, Kalem gritted his teeth. He forced himself to stand firm.
Seeing the wounds close on his foe close, and assuming that he has no spellcasting powers, Kalem pushes his way past the man. As he does so he swings a false blow to try and force the man back...
And goes straight for the injured cultist. The man was radiating a dark aura, and Kalem knew that he would have to be put down fast. It was clear that allowing all of them to stay up would mean that they would heal each other. Kill the casters first...
His hammer erupting into flames, Kalem ignored the pain and swung...
Zamanda attacks the cultist outlined in red.
Bashiel's stance caves for a moment as he endures the unholy force that tears at him. He steadies himself in time for the spell, and his anger and determination allow him to shake it off before it forces him to do something truly awful. He winces and shakes his head to clear it.
Stepping forward, he brings the bardiche down in an arc towards the injured cultist. The attack is accompanied by an angered grunt.
After the attack, Bashiel calls upon Osiris again for protection and healing, touching a hand to his forehead. Afterwards, he holds his weapon at the ready, daring the cultists to approach his allies.
Quinlan steps to the side to have a straight shot to red and fires.
Moving past everyone he can Varor takes a swing at the nearest cultist,-
-missing completely.
|
Ilsa skirts the side of the room, looking for an opportunity to strike. The lump in her throat seems so large...it's all she can do to keep herself from vomiting.
The dark shapes around her grasp at her, and around these evil cultists, she can almost feel the breath on the back of her neck. The one that nearly scares her to death is here...so close.
In her nervousness, her attack is clumsy and doesn't come anywhere near the foe.
Pel takes the full force of the negative energy attack, causing him to stumble for a moment. Had he been... injured? It's something he's never experienced before. As a Chelaxian, pain in general is a foreign concept to him.
Still, a moment after the the wave of energy hits, Pel grits his teeth and moves to strike back at one of the cultists. He utters a few words before twirling his hands in an intricate pattern and unleashing a pair of missiles at the target near Ilsa.
Kalem: Hit (20)
Zamanda: Miss
Bash: Miss
Quin: Miss
Varor: Miss
Ilsa: Miss (plus demoralize, painful stare)
Pel: Magic Missile (7)
Kalem's attempt to weave through the cultists is thwarted by the old straw mats, a table and generally confined quarters. As he stumbles about, the cultist slashes at him again but misses wildly. Kalem's blow, however, strikes true and practically destroys one of the man's arms. From the back, Pel fires off a magic missile and the force projectiles slash into one of the cultists priests. The rest of the party's attacks go wild and fail to connect.
The cultists respond with unholy ferocity. Locked in a mortal struggle with Kalem, the scythe wielding cultist lands another deadly blow, slashing a wicked gash in Kalem's thigh.
Next to Ilsa, the cultist seems shaken but not broken. He carefully watches her movements and manages to get a spell off; his hand is overlaid with the ghostly shape of a ghoul's claws which he swipes at Ilsa's form.
In back, one of the cultists channels the unholy power of Urgathoa once more, cackling, "We shall feast on your corpses!"
The last of them casts a defensive spell, triggers his scythe, and begins a careful approach, mindful of Bashiel's reach.
- miss
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Ilsa's nightmares become all too real as the cultists grasps at her with the ghoulish claws. Her heart skips a beat and she is very nearly paralyzed in fear. She takes the full brunt of the wave of negative energy, unable to raise any resistance to it.
But something stirs inside the woman.
I am not leaving here without finding out what happened to Briget! Never!
She rallies, and abruptly her eyes are black orbs glowing with necromatic energy. She stares at the cultist that had attacked her and wills him to run away.
She rallies, and abruptly her eyes are black orbs glowing with necromatic energy.
[dice=fort save vs. paralysis]1d20+3
Zamanda realizes if they don't take these guys down soon, this negative energy damage is going to overwhelm them (or at least her), so instead of staying back and using her bow, she walks forward and casts burning hands.
(fire damage, will set flammable things on fire, DC 14 for half damage)
The wave of energy washed over Kalem once again. Perhaps it was his tainted blood, but it was doing less damage to him than it should. But the scythe though? That was hurting, and he was losing blood fast. ”To me! Flank this one.”
- passed
Bashiel wilts under the assault of necrotic energies. He takes a long, raspy breath that quickly turns to a wet cough. Blood dribbles out of his mouth as he grimly readies to take another swing with the bardiche.
Bashiel swings his bardiche down on the badly weakened cultist, hoping to end him before he can summon some other terrible magic.
Bashiel turns the bardiche towards the cultist responsible for calling upon Urgathoa's blight and tries to sunder his holy symbol.
Bashiel strikes out at the cultist channeling Urgathoa's blight, aiming to bring that cultist down before he can overwhelm them.
After his attack, Bashiel steps aside to bring his weapon to bear against the injured cultist to the west. The suddenly looming polearm distracts the foe long enough for Kalem to get in there.
Varor figures that there is enough pressure on the other side that he can go over and help Kalem with his fight.
Pel once again takes the full force of the negative energy wave. He can't help but think, I've felt better.
The fact that the cultist had the audacity to say he and his fellow cultists are going to feast on Pel and his companions is more than a little off-putting. Pel can't help but grind his teeth for a brief moment before taking a deep breath and resolving to end the cultists.
The evil bastards had done who knows what with Ilsa's niece and want to eat them. The cultists' existence needs to be ended. And now.
Drawing most of what remained of his inner reservoir, Pel channels it into one of his two remaining spells, unleashing it at one of the cultists.
Ilsa: Cast Cause Fear
Zamanda: Cast Burning Hands
Kalem: Attack - hit
Bash: Attack priest at SW - hit
Varor: ATTACK (poke)
Pel: Magic Missile
Quin (bot): Ranged attack and hit
Ilsa fires off a spell at the cultist who has squared off against her and he cackles madly as he shrugs off the magic. "You'll be consumed by the Hunger!" He looks like he's about to leap back to attack Ilsa when Zamanda steps forward and incinerates him. He collapses to the ground, screaming as the stink of burned flesh mixes with the already foul odors in the air.
Kalem slams his weapon into the scythe-wielding cultist, ending him as his chest deflates under the hammer blow. Varor steps up into the empty space and slashes at the energy-channeling priest just as a trio of magic missiles come arcing in from Pel and Bashiel's bardiche cuts into the man. Despite the assault, he is still standing.
The two remaining cultists look less confident in victory as two of their number are dropped and they are themselves at death's door, but their desperation only increases their ferocity and they fight to the death.
The priest takes a careful step back before lifting his unholy symbol in defiance and calling forth another blast of negative energy. The badly burned but surviving cultist then moves to protect the priest and swings at Bashiel.
Save vs. Cause Fear done above
- fail 10 fire
- pass 5 fire
Having finished off one scythe wielding cultist, Kalem makes his way to the second. Gritting his teeth through the pain, he resists his body’s desperate calls to lie down and die. Instead he brings his hammer down at the cultist and says ”I’ve got this one! Stop him before he blasts us again!”
Quinlan downs a potion to heal his wounds, being at death's door himself.
Bashiel barely hangs on through the assault, coughing up blood and worse as his body is wracked by the negative energy. The subsequent scythe blow sends him reeling backward, and only a quick placement of his bardiche behind him keeps him on his feet.
He steps back, making one last swing of his weapon against the scythe wielding cultist before collapsing from his wounds.
Despite being unconscious, uncannily intelligible whispers escape Bashiel's mouth.
"Օսիրիսը փրկություն է բերում այս բարի եւ հզոր աշակերտի վրա: Թող նա դեռ անցնի ձեր գիրկը, քանի որ նրա փորձությունները հենց հիմա սկսվում են: Մենք կոչ ենք անում ձեզ ոչ ողորմության համար, այլ քաջալերանքի համար, ձեր սուրբ զորության մի մասը բաժանելիս, որպեսզի գայթակղվող հոգու հոգիները կարողանան դատել..."
Zamanda collapses to the ground, unconscious from the overwhelming negative energy.
|
|
Cultist's save vs. Cause Fear: 1d20 + 6 - 2 ⇒ (19) + 6 - 2 = 23 - passed Urgathoa be praised!
Almost forgot...Cultist's save vs. Cause Fear: 1d20 + 6 - 2 ⇒ (19) + 6 - 2 = 23 Praised indeed!
Ilsa stands stunned for a moment, reeling under the weight of the negative energy. Her nightmares were made manifest here in these catacombs, with things happening here beyond her greatest fears.
Whatever 'magic' she had utilized before failed her in her moment of greatest need. For a moment, the glowing orbs overlaying her eyes flicker and dim, and she appears frightened as her companions stagger and fall around her.
NO! No...not like this...
Summoning the last of her reserves and the last of her hope, she draws her sap and, while the last cultist is distracted by Kalem, brings it down with fury on the back of his head.
Ilsa steps up and with a reservoir of energy she didn't know she had, brings the sap down squarely on the back of the cultist's head. He drops to the ground like a sack of potatoes.
Over the sounds of your panting and weapons and the slow flicker and pop of some hay burning in the corner, you hear commotion from deeper in the warren. It doesn't sound like it's coming towards you, but you've definitely been heard.
Bashiel's uncanny whispering continues, but at least it looks like he's not bleeding to death on the floor.