Thunder rumbles in the distance.
Bitey hungrily gobbles his food and then looks at the cultists. "Maybe give Bitey more food?"
"Let's meet with Faxon below, first. Come."
Balthasar will lead the group to the stairs down so they can meet with Faxon.
With a faintly amused look, Serena followed along, wondering if she should try magically changing the lights to give the group a spooky and ominous appearance. It probably wouldn't hurt, and it might even be funny.
While following Balthasar, Thrall thinks - too late - about the scale and its aptitude to let him change appearance.
"Darn, I forgot about it..."
You descend the stairs into a semicircular room that is empty except for a few bookshelves against the walls and a single desk and chair that sit in one corner. A huge set of wood and metal double doors stands in the south wall.
At tree desk is an obvious teifling. His skin is crimson, he has yellow eyes, four backswept horns, and leather armor on his arms. His muscular chest and abdomen is bare save for a large tattoo of Baphomet's holy symbol.
He stands and forgoes introductions, perhaps assuming you're cultists. Report. he commands.
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Arianna walked forward towards the one she guessed was Faxon. "We come bearing bad news. The hideout has fallen and Hosilla is dead." she said trying to get closer while attempting to secretly draw a dagger.
"Oh and we are here to bring you to justice." Sensing a chance she'd quickly flick her wrist around to throw the dagger at his chest.
Ariana buries a dagger in Faxon's chest! He screams in agony and pain
and the room goes dark!
One of these days, I am going to learn to counter spells like this. What kind of light sorcerer can't beat a bloody darkness spell!?
As a human, Serena did not have Darkvision - but she did snap her fingers to summon Dancing Lights and see if those would work here.
"Ah, fer feck's fake..."
Thrall once more regrets not having inherited the special sight of his orcish parent, and tries to do the more sensible thing given the situation: he moves to where he remembers the exit was, trying to block it or at least notice of someone tries to walk out.
Iolaire, crouched on a rafter above, hears the scream from downstairs. [i]If I heard it - then others did too![/ooc]
Scrambling down the wall on her vines she calls out in her best 'gruff' voice. "Paladin's of the Inheritor! Forward! Cleanse this evil!"
She takes position at the top of the stairs, Radiance ready in hand.
Once they entered the room, Balthasar remained near the door in case they needed to seal the exit.
Plunged into darkness, Balthasar shouts, "For Mendev! For Kenabres! For the Inheritor!" He remains near the door, sword and shield out.
Ignoring the darkness, Bitey charges...
... and trips in his haste tumbling forward before coming to a rest in front of his target.
Three is a step in the dark, an incantation, then a burst of flame who's light the darkness devours, preventing you from locating your foe accurately!
Upstairs, the men hear the scream and draw pole arms!
Then Iolaire attempts to bluff them into not joining the fight. Her voice can't quite do it though, and they look over to her at the top of the stairs! They charge!
One goes high and the other low! Radiance comes above in her hand and she manages to hold them both off!
"Ow ow ow ow!" Blinded as she was, there wasn't a lot she could do to foes.
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Arianna scanned around as the lights go out all around her. When she felt the heat she only had a moment to react dropping back just in time to allow it to pass harmlessly by her.
She closed her eyes running through the scenario in her mind again. He likely had a way to dee through this darkness as it was doubtful someone would blind themselves in a fight.
Hearing his footstepa she began to follow cautiously putting a hand on her own scale to shift into a drow form once again, hoping to be able to see in the dark.
Balthasar hunkers behind his shield, able to us it to absorb the worst of the flames. He then attempted to listen to see if he could hear Faxon's footsteps.
There isn't one, really. The room is a roughly 30' diameter circle. Faxton was last seen in the center.
Thrall receives critical burns, but stands firm. He invokes the power of Iomedae and maintains his position impeding anyone to walk out.
Bitey shakes himself off and attempts to make another go of getting his teeth sunk into his target.
Arianna's change let's her see Faxon again. He looks at her as the others stumble around and try to snatch him without success and says, Your friend upstairs may need help. with a magical tingle in his voice.
"Thrall, your scale - use it to give yourself the ability to see in the darkness! Everyone, keep pressing the attack!"
Then the universe is reminded that Bitey is a vile goblin and the little pest latches itself onto the teifling like the world's most stubborn tick!
Faxon send just as surprised by this as anyone and he screens in pain as Bitey starts turning his half-demon flesh into half-demon hamburger.
Bitey continues his attempt to make the half-fiends life as difficult as possible.
adding pinned.
Serena, unable to see in the darkness, grit her teeth and kept a few Magic Missiles at the ready to hurl at any foe she might catch sight of.
Realising what Balthasar means, Thrall produces his scale and uses it to adopt the form of a full orc, as much as he despises it.
Thrall can now see the target. It's being fully occupied by Bitey currently.
The remaining cultist's glaive comes within inches of Iolaire, but fails to connect.
Iolaire continues to hold her ground, falling back slowly to gain the room to swing her glaive with lethal precision.
Iolaire successfully murders the second guard!
Ariana stabs him good again, but he refuses to die! He's close. There's lots of blood going everywhere! But still, Faxon hangs on!
Balthasar remains where he is, trapped in the supernatural darkness and unable to see what's happening, his shield up and in a defensive posture.
Bitey starts waving off his friends with his left foot while he continues to attempt to hold his foes arms back. His teeth clenched deep into the man's back and knee wedged firmly against his hamstring.
continuing to hold pinned.
Non-lethal.
Thrall finally locates his objective. He lifts his sword high, steps forward and lets it fall upon the vile Faxon...
Thrall's blow and Bitey's hold finally overcome Flaxon. He goes limp.
But his breathing is even in spite of the dramatic blood loss.
The darkness fades, bringing the whole grisly scene into full color. Bitey and the ground around him is mostly red as are Ariana and Thrall's blades... and the stairs? What on earth has Iolaire been up to?
"No NO NO NO NO NO, NOT KILL WHEN BITEY HOLD. BITEY HOLD SO CAN KEEP LIVE.... FOR JUSTICE THINGS AND LEARNS THE STUFF!!!"
Bitey huffs and stamps his foot ineffectually, not realizing his quarry is alive.
"Bitey, calm down!" Serena said as she took stock of the situation. Their group... well, it hadn't been decimated in the darkness. That was a good sign. "...Is everyone alright?"
Advancing cautiously over the bodies Iolaire proceeds downstairs and, finding only one door onwards, knocks with Radiance.
Balthasar breathes a sigh of relief as the darkness fades, and he takes stock of the situation. Everyone appeared to be in mostly good shape - a little burned, but otherwise alright. Bitey was upset about the body of Faxon, having tried to take him...alive, apparently? Well, the goblin was definitely outside the norm for his species. He even wanted to seem him face proper justice, and interrogated. Most interesting.
Balthasar moved to comfort Bitey, then heard Iolaire's knock at the door. Turning, he eyed it before saying, "Who's there?"
Tee four creaks open.
This semicircular room has been outfitted with numerous demonic decorations. The green glass lanterns hanging on the walls give the room an eerie glow. A brazen minotaur head hangs from one wall above an altar covered with wavy-bladed knives and curved bulls' horns, while star-shaped symbols in red decorate other walls. A large wooden chest sits near the west wall. The entire room makes one feel uneasy.
"What happened down there? I face two cultists on the stairs - did you get the commander?" Iolaire asks, craning to look around her companions legs and into the room.