Aedalis nods as he places a hand upon the younger mans shoulder, apparently concentrating intensely, shutting his eyes and whispering. Corbius can feel something tangible yet invisible forming around him as Aedalis finishes his whispering, his voice rising in volume as he finishes what sounds like a prayer.
And may Shyka the Many watch over you.
Corbius receives +2 deflection to AC (all types, as well as CMD) and a +2 resistance bonus to saving throws, until he is either hit by an attack or fails a saving throw.
To be a little clearer, Anton is suggesting that if any of the newcomers or castaways with armor would like to use Nora's heavier chainmail and give Jask their lighter armor, then that would be an improvement for two people; otherwise Jask should have the chainmail if he wants it. In fact, if Aerys and someone with a chain shirt both want an upgrade, then the other could take Nora's chainmail, Aerys could take their chain shirt, and Jask could have her studded leather; then three people would be safer than yesterday.
To Tragershen: "Of course. I would recommend the same to either of you," gesturing at the newcomers, "if you don't have a slashing weapon. There's still one of Nora's daggers left for whoever needs it."
To Nim: "If nothing happens, how about we prepare ranged weapons while I scout ahead? Maybe we'll get lucky and it's just the creeper."
To Aedalis: "Hmm.. I would say that I'm seeking neither escape nor homesteading, though I do want to be comfortable while I'm here, looking for the rumored Azlanti ruins that I came to find. Once I've got what I came for, then I'll find a way to leave; but I'm not even looking for one yet."
"By the way, can you use either of these scrolls?" Anton shows the scrolls of bless and lesser restoration that they'd found in the wreckage of the Golden Bow. "I only learned some of Nora's practical techniques from helping her, not a lick of magic, and I don't want them to go to waste."
At Nim's words, Anton tries on the masterwork backpack that Nora inherited from Larissia.. and it doesn't work at all. The straps are too long and in the wrong places, and it's just plain too big, hitting his calves. The sight is so comical that he feels embarrassed for even trying. "Dangit," he mutters. "She had the soul of a halfling, and I still forget sometimes that she wasn't one."
Mihai's hands tighten around the haft of his club and he stilled his mind, casting a silent thought to his patron. Let fate not make us fall
Nim looks at the two rolls of parchment.I am unfamiliar with these incantations. I would need to refocus my energies when I meditate next to decipher them. Even then, my ability to complete the casting would likely be insufficient to activate the energies contained within the writings. Perhaps you could check with Mihai. I suspect he might be more in tune with this type of magic.
Nim glances at Aedalis and Anton. Everyone is here for their own reasons, and everyone has differing ideas and priorities for their future here on the island. The mission of the late Pathfinder to explore the ruins may have brought most of us here, and some of us may strive to complete that endeavour still, but most I suspect are just looking to get off the island.
Nim responds to Anton's suggestion by raising his spear. I have my ranged weapon right here.
I am not sure about you getting too far from us and too close to whatever lies within the ruins. Taking a moment to reflect he adds a warning, The creeper, being a intelligent plant in tune with the world in ways you cannot predict, may possess the ability to sense your presence without have to see or hear you. I would urge extreme caution...
You were part of a Pathfinder expedition? I may be of some assistance after all then. I was often outsourced by the Pathfinders to supplement their own scholars.
Yes. The Pathfinder, our employer, was here on the island to locate some "important lost Azlanti ruin" as she put it. I am sure that the society would still pay handsomely for any information we can gather about the existence, or non existence, of such a place here... but that is a conversation for later. We should focus on the task at hand for the moment.
Nim scans the surrounding area again. The last time we were here... things... went very badly for us...
Noticing Corbious and his dagger, Nim adds, Perhaps you should have brought one of the axes we found.
The group moves up near the entrance to the ruined building. There seems to be only one clear way in, up the stairs.
You start your summoning bringing in the giant centipede. You give it an order to move and attack and it shuffles straight forward looking around. It arches back and then seems to be fighting something inside the building...that is when a load shriek is let out and you can hear the fighting of the centipede and something else within the building.
Ruined Bldg Battle Re-do Rnd 1
initiative strings:
Order of Combat Round 1:
Nim 21a
Wic 21b
Centipede 21c
Tragershen 18
???? 17a
????? 17b
Anton 14
Corbrius 11
Aedalis 5a
Mihai 5b
Nim/Wic are up, you can't see inside the building or what the centipede is fighting but go ahead and roll its attack, last round it is here.
Nim urges Wicewakan forward as he draws his shield and moves cautiously up the stairs , veering to the left and heading for the gap in the wall. Wicewakan, just ahead of Nim sniffs the air trying to catch the scent of any threats.
At the shriek and sound of fighting, Anton clutches Nora's dagger like a ward against evil; remembering the last battle here, he's determined to take his revenge.
Tragershen will cast Mage Armor on himself and move to K14.
Mihai touches hand to his chest where the harrow cards are stored and follows Tragershen towards the ruins.
Upon hearing Nim's comments about his dagger Corbius glances at his weapon and looks back up a smile on his face. Not to worry Nim I have got a surprise with this dagger
Corbius dashes forward to a better vantage point. As he dashes forward his dagger seems to glow momentarily.
AC 18+2=20
HP 16
Arcane Pool 3/4
Enhanced blade until round 11
Just Aedalis to post to close out the round.
Aedalis quietly casts a spell on himself and moves to K15, Tilsini walking beside his feet all the way, the tiny dinosaur looking around nervously.
The spell cast was Mage Armour.
Snake plant Zombie conversion (Viper): 3d8+5HP=18hp 1d6 attack at +2, AC:15
Order of Combat Round 2:
Nim 21a
Wic 21b
Centipede 21c
Tragershen 18
???? 17a
????? 17b
Anton 14
Corbrius 11
Aedalis 5a
Mihai 5b
You are in a vine covered corridor, just ahead of you is some type of open chamber in which the roof must be open. Unfortunately, none of you can see into the building or room yet as the walls are intact enough to block the view until you move down the corridor either way. The centipede still seems to be fighting something.
Battle for the ruins: Re-do Round 2
No peaking until you move into the building please.
The scene in this chamber is nightmarish. You see bones, both animal and human littering the room making it hard to move around in this chamber . Two pools of water feed the plants within this room. 15 feet ahead of you, F10, is another plant zombie. This used to be a snake before the Creeper took it. To the east another once humanoid looking plant zombie fights with the centipede.
What really draws your eyes though is the Creeper itself. A bloated, dripping mass of vines with some type of central...pod? It pulsates and quivers, making it obvious that it not a natural thing as the vines around it jerk with slight movements giving it the appearance of a mound of snakes!
Map with creatures Rnd 2
Anton re-packs his gear several times, his small backpack overflowing, and scowls. Then he looks around, brightening when he spots your gear. The overly-equipped halfling approaches, smiling. "Say, I see that you have a lantern. I have some oil and sunrods that I don't need any more -- since I'm using Larissia's wayfinder -- and I don't have room for it all anyway. They're yours if you want them. Please!" He shows you four flasks of oil and three sunrods, all in good condition.
"Oh!" He starts as if remembering something suddenly, then pulls out four tindertwigs from his pockets. "That's right, I also have these, in case I ever needed to light up a swarm of stinging bugs or biting rats or something. They go with the oil."
Tragershen will delay, letting some of those ahead of him get further along.
Aedalis shrugs and seems to scowl for a moment at the Wayfinder before regaining his composure, the middle aged man looking suddenly tired and displaying little of his initial vigor.
I have oil enough for this particular lantern, thank you; it doesn't use oil as fuel. I will however, gladly take the sunrods off your hands. I wasn't exactly brawny even in my youth and I try to travel light, you understand.
Round 2 Action-
Aedalis concentrates intensely, sifting almost blindly through the flow of time and fate with his minds eye, seeking out the dozens if not hundreds of different outcomes that might come of Corbius' next few seconds in the ruins- and attempting to bring into reality the most positive outcome he can muster. He maintains his focus on his attempt to bestow good fortune on Corbius as he steps a little closer to the front lines.
Nim continue towards the gap in the wall, hoping to catch a glimpse of the interior of the ruins. As he reaches the opening Nim calls out to the others, Another zombie here plus the creeper in the far back corner! Nim orders Wic to attack... ...before hurtling his spear at the nearest zombie.
Wicewakan responds my rushing into the ruins and biting at the zombie, trying to pull it down...
The summoned centipede continues to struggle with the zombie before it.
Hearing that the creeper itself in there, and watching Wicewakan rush past where he could see, Anton hustles past Nim into the ruins.
The once snake lashes out at Wic as it moves up to attack
As Nim watches the battle unfold he doesn't notice a small vine rears up near him...a small puff of pollen sprays in his face...
DC 14 Willpower save or entranced. Each round you will move your normal movement to the creeper if you fail.
The other humanoid Zombie strikes at the centipede
Round 2:
Mihai follows the rest of the party into the ruins, pausing in the corridor to call upon his patron "Sinashakti, unfurl the threads of fate" gesturing at Anton as he speaks.
Seeing Nim hurl his spear at something inside the ruins Corbius rushes to assist.
Just Tragershen to go.
The centipede having done what it was summoned to do, in the time it was allotted, burrows back into the earth whence it came...
Nim draws his scimitar as he picks his way through the debris to join Wicewakan in battle swinging his sword in a deadly arc at the zombie snake...
...landing a solid blow!
Realizing it cannot hope to trip a snake, Wicewakan bites once more trying to rip a piece of it free...
...and succeeds in pulling off a hunk of... flesh?
Tragershen will double move to I11, racing after his bold companions.
Edit: Just realized the difficult terrain doesn't apply to the outside area, so he could make it to H8.
As the rest of the group moves up, Nim and his wolf team up to devastate the once snake...it drops to the ground in a squelching mess.
Another vine reaches out and tries to again spray Nim in the face...and catches him directly in the face!
Due to the 20, the DC on the save is at +2 for a 16 DC willpower save.
The Creeper lets out an odd shriek and the other plant Zombie moves to F11, causing an AOO from Nim.
Nim's sword swings out in a powerful back stroke as the other zombie tries to move past...
...slashing it across the chest.
Nim is rewarded for his effort with another blast of pollen in the face...
Anton considers all of his options. Hard to hit with Nim in the way.. Hard to hit at this distance with Wice in the way.. Would take awhile to load the sling staff, and then someone would be dancing around with the creeper.. Moving directly past Wice would take me too close to the zombie, possibly leaving me open to attack -- and without getting it or the creeper closer to dead.. @#$% it, I'll just do what I can.
Anton drops Nora's dagger to the ground with a muttered curse and draws his long hammer/spear while shifting away from Nim to Wicewakan, then pivots and throws all of his strength into a single strike against the remaining plant zombie.
Aedalis maintains his focus on his abilities while moving closer to the battle in a relaxed, meandering fashion.
Corbius spurred on by Nim's words moves forward to attack the creeper hoping that Nim and wic can handle the other zombie. Moving forward Corbius intones words of power under his breath as the crackle of electricity seems to buzz around him and he lashes out at the creeper with his dagger.
Round 3:
Mihai moves closer to the conflict, eyes widening slightly with what he sees. His left hand cradling his holy symbol, he calls upon the Walker to guide the actions of his fellows.
Anton addresses the castaways. "Okay! We're going for another excursion, and I want for you to be safer. I have some oil and tindertwigs, for in case a bunch of biting ants or something like that comes out of the jungle, where stabbing or clubbing them wouldn't be very effective."
"If that happens, you can just pour the oil out on them, and then light them up with a tindertwig. I hate to even mention it, but better you be aware of the possibility and have what you don't need than the opposite. We'll be back as soon as we can!" He smiles and mingles with the castaways, handing out tindertwigs and flasks of oil, miming how to use them if necessary -- but he only has four of each, and doesn't even consider giving any to Gelik unless he asks.
Nim's sword swings out in a powerful back stroke as the other zombie tries to move past...
1d20+5 1d6+4
...slashing it across the chest.Nim is rewarded for his effort with another blast of pollen in the face..
** spoiler omitted **
That is a hit.
The creeper, seeing in its own way an enemy approaching, lashes out with a vine at Corbrius:
The vine then tries to wrap around Corbrius, and add him to its horrible collection.
The creature, wraps itself around Corbrius, crushing him in hex F9. Corbrius attempts to break out of the creatures grasp...but to no avail!
Nim watches as Corbius is stopped dead in his tracks by the creeper's strangle hold.
Nim growls as he spins and brings his scimitar around to strike the zombie again, hoping to bring it low...
...dealing it another tremendous wound before moving off to engage the creeper while it is distracted with Corbious.
Wicewakan follows his master's lead and moves to circle around the creeper and attack...
Order of Combat Round 3:
Nim 21a *gone*
Wic 21b *gone*
Tragershen 18 *delaying*
Creeper 17a *gone*
Plant Zombies 17b *gone*
Anton 14 *gone*
Corbrius 11 *gone but might retcon*
Aedalis 5a *gone*
Mihai 5b *gone*
Going to wait on Tragershen until later tonight and Corbrius to see if he wants to Recton before moving into Round 4.
So he did, he posted at the exact same time I did, wondered how I missed his post.
Order of Combat Round 4:
Nim 21a
Wic 21b
Centipede 21c
Tragershen 18
Creeper 17
Anton 14
Corbrius 11
Aedalis 5a
Mihai 5b
Nim succeeds in finishing the Plant Zombie with a spear through the head and moves up while Wic moves up attacks the creatures main area, ripping out a chunk of Creeper. There doesn't seem to be anything it can fall over on though and it pulls on the Creeper to no effect.
Tragershen is up then the Creeper.
Tragershen will move to E8 and cast Burning Hands on the creeper. With the creeper having Corbrius in F9, I think I can do that without hitting any allies.
Damage . Reflex DC 15 save for half damage.
Edit: Changed the move from E7 to E8 if the DM is okay with that. If not, he'll throw his rapier for damage.
Corbius staggers as the vine wraps around him grunting in pain as flashes of the last fight against these creatures race through his mind as he battles to stay conscious yet again.
Tragershen will move to E8 and cast Burning Hands on the creeper. With the creeper having Corbrius in F9, I think I can do that without hitting any allies.
Damage 2d4. Reflex DC 15 save for half damage.
Edit: Changed the move from E7 to E8 if the DM is okay with that. If not, he'll throw his rapier for 1d6 damage.
Updated map is at home...will get it up tonight after work...
The Vine attempts to crush Corbrius some more...
and crushes him for a few more seconds until it feels Corbrius go limp in its grasp. It immediately releases him to pursue other living targets...
Anton is up.
Round 4:
Mihai sees Corbius fall before him and almost instantly moves forward to salve his wounds. Kneeling by the fallen companion Mihai draws upon the strength of Sinashakti "You will not fall today brother."
Anton moves as fast as he can through the bones and vines to get where he can strike the monster responsible for Nora's death, standing between it and his fallen friend.