GM Kiora |
Yeah, you in fact have to have a spell prepared for the day (though it can be expended) to use arcane surge :3 But it still can't have any metamagic attached to it.
Audit: Switching those saves to will saves, makes the saves 11, 12, and 17 respectively, no actual change in outcome :o
Isilme |
"Now! Finish it while it's restrained," Isilme calls to the others.
Knocking an arrow again, Isilme takes aim on the remaining demon infant, ignoring the risk of it knocking down the cauldron for the moment. She focuses on it and lets go, the arrow again taking on the shimmering aura of the bow's enchantment as it flies towards the creature.
Attack(Inspire Courage, Arcane Pool): 1d20 + 6 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 6 + 2 + 1 = 25
Damage(Inspire Courage, Arcane Pool): 1d6 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 2 + 1 = 4
After letting it fly, she backs up, moving up a couple steps to the previous landing just in case the infant succeds.
Std Act: Attack Free Act: Maintain Inspire Courage (2nd rnd) Mv Act: Head back up stairs 5'
Valaria Alazario |
"Don't have to tell me twice." Two more knives are out and flying through the air in the time it takes to blink.
Attack (Inspired, Range): 1d20 + 10 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (18) + 10 + 2 - 2 = 28
Second Attack (Inspired, Range): 1d20 + 5 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (19) + 5 + 2 - 2 = 24
Confirm First (Inspired, Range): 1d20 + 10 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (7) + 10 + 2 - 2 = 17
Confirm Second (Inspired, Range): 1d20 + 5 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (18) + 5 + 2 - 2 = 23
First Damage (Inspired): 1d4 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 7 + 2 = 13
Second Damage (Inspired): 1d4 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 7 + 2 = 12
Hinagiku |
Hinagiku stand, feeling completely useless while the others throw spells, arrows and daggers at it. All the same, she keeps alert, looking every so often in the back to make sure that Valais is safe.
Keeping full defense
GM Kiora |
Valaria fires off a pair of daggers and watches as they land precisely where she wanted them to: deep inside the monster's torso.
Isilme Gallant Inspiration: 2d4 ⇒ (1, 1) = 2
Valaria crit damage (inspired): 1d4 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 1 + 2 = 4
-2 AC duration: 1d4 ⇒ 1
Book keeping: Valaria deals a total of 29 damage to Monstrosity #1, leaving it disabled and in critical condition. Her critical leaves it with 2 less AC for 1 round. Hinagiku maintains full defense.
Ehren is up!
Ehren Ferron |
"Here's your knife back. Well, one of them," Ehren says, offering the small blade to Valaria. He glances at the monster across the room, knowing that while he was fully capable of finishing it off, all of his means would be overkill.
Instead he taps himself with his wand again, healing away more of the nasty burns.
CMW: 2d8 + 3 ⇒ (8, 1) + 3 = 12
Ary Bishop |
Ary purses her lips as literally no one listens to her but Valais - including the person who had suggested it. Though that was understandable, as she was doing the same thing as Ary.
She sighs softly and calmly sheathes Radiance and Faith.
Xanderghul |
Xanderghul snatches a cold iron bolt out of the quiver attached to his belt and sets it in place in the crossbow's place. He winds the crossbow's winch back as far as it will go, and squints at the remaining demonic baby. He sets the crossbow on his shoulder, takes aim, and fires.
Crossbow vs. Baby (Inspired, Surge): 1d20 + 6 + 2 + 1d6 ⇒ (2) + 6 + 2 + (6) = 16
Damage (Inspired): 1d8 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 1 + 2 = 4
As completely frustrated as he is by his own lack of martial training, Xanderghul imbues the crossbow with a bit of his mythic power to ensure that the bolt is guided properly into place in the baby's abdomen.
GM Kiora |
Xanderghul's shot ends up nowhere near the ensnared creature - though it is badly wounded and held nearly immobile, it is still a small target nearly thirty-five feet away. The creature finally breaks free of its binds and slowly flies over to the cauldron, landing to perch on the rim of the cauldron, bleeding everywhere from its many wounds as it goes. It gasps, its breath ragged, and turns to leer at the heroes.
Monstrosity #1 is on the cauldron, making it level with the heroes on the platform.
Isilme is up!
Isilme |
Mv Act: Move 10' to right. Std Act: Fire Arrow
Moving back down the steps to get a clear shot, Isilme knocks another arrow, aiming at the remaining abomination and loosing it when she sees an opening. "Be freed from your torment, child!" she calls out as the arrow sails towards the demonic creature.
Attack(Inspire Courage,Arcane Pool): 1d20 + 6 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 6 + 2 + 1 = 22
Damage(Inspire Courage, Arcane Pool): 1d6 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 2 + 1 = 8
Ehren Ferron |
Ehren watches with a frown as the second monstrosity falls, signaling the end of the battle. The creatures had ultimately proven themselves to be more disturbing than dangerous. The druid briefly inspects the partially healed burns on his arms, and then the wand itself, before deciding to stow the implement on his belt. From the look of it, he would be needing a new one rather soon.
"We should keep moving," he suggests, saying nothing of the abominations. And yet, he could not quite say he had regretted provoking them.
Isilme |
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Isilme looks at the corpses of the infants, wondering who they might have been if they had been given a chance in life. Surely they were better off now, freed from this nightmare that had been inflicted upon them, she thinks to herself. The loss of potential, however, hurt her most, a lifetime of stories for each--many of which might have been passed down within their families or among their friends--gone for some horrific experiment. They didn't even have the choice to persevere that Valais did.
She takes one last look and turns to walk towards the metal doors at the opposite end of the room. "We should find someplace to give them a proper burial when we are done here. Also I would like to see if we can find their parents. While it is best that they never find out what was done to them, perhaps knowing they have passed away will bring them peace eventually," she says when the others make their way down.
Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (15) + 9 = 24
Turning to the right of the two doors, bottom-most Isilme inspects it, first checking it for any signs of traps before listening to make sure there isn't something trapped behind the door waiting to be released.
Hinagiku |
Hinagiku relaxes visibly when the last of the monstrosities falls to the ground dead. The battle clearly over, she takes a moment to takes a few breaths in to calm herself, to push any feelings of hatred or disgust for the creator of these things.
She then looks to Isilme, nodding to her comment on finding a grave and the parents.
"Yes, that would be for the best." she says, calm.
As Isilme walks towards the door, Hinagiku leans over the bubbling cauldron, trying to see whether it still contained some sort of taint withing itself
Detect evil
Once she is done investigating, she finally turns toward the corridor, giving a comforting look at Valais, as if saying that everything was safe and that the pathfinder could come and join them back into the room.
GM Kiora |
Valais slowly creeps out of the hallway and back onto the platform, gravitating towards Hinagiku's side. She still seems unsettled by the whole affair. "O-okay. Shouldn't we get moving? I don't like this place. There are still rooms left to explore."
Hinagiku |
"Yes." Hinagiku softly answers, walking down the stairs to find herself in the lower part of the room, only a few feet behind Isilme.
There, she notices that Ehren has put away his wand, but still burnt. So she approaches him.
"Mr. Ehren, no need to endure the pain. If you so desire I could use my own magic to heal you." she suggests, looking at the burnt on his arm. Waiting for an answer, she lifts her head and look at the young man's eyes, trying to assess if maybe his decision comes from having a new body... who knew how people reacted when reborn so quickly with their memories intact.
Ehren Ferron |
"I will be fine," Ehren replies a little too quickly, betraying his frustration. Between the many unsettling things they had witnessed and his apparent loss of his power, the druid was growing increasingly weary. When he catches the look in Hinagiku's eyes however, he quickly reconsiders. "Actually... I'd appreciate any healing you can offer. There is no telling what else might await us down here."
Valaria Alazario |
"If it's more creatures like those, we're going to have a rough time going through here," Val mutters, quickly going around the room to collect her knives. "This place is giving me the creeps even more now."
GM Kiora |
Hinagiku, go ahead and roll for healing Ehren, but I'm moving forwards. If y'all enter combat before you get a chance to post, I'll roll it for you.
Isilme opens the door to a large study. Maps of varying sizes drawn on paper, papyrus, and parchment of dozens of styles cover the walls of this chamber. Most of these bear sketched annotations of some form or another, and bare, rectangular spaces in the cartographic wallpaper attest to maps that have been hastily removed. An enormous parchment map of the Worldwound dominates the opposite wall above a solidly built wooden desk covered in a haphazard array of books and papers. Scores of charcoal symbols and indicators dot this map, pointing out sites of interest that are named less often than not. A hand-sized statue of a glabrezu stands on top of the desk.
Valaria Alazario |
Knowledge Geography: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19
Val heads into the study just behind Isilme. "Interesting. This must be our mad scientist's study. I wonder if he left anything useful behind." She begins to take a look around, though her eyes are drawn back to the massive map on the table. She examines it very thoroughly and frowns. "These seem to be marks around Drezen... but that was ages ago. I wonder if they're planning something."
Hinagiku |
Hinagiku nods in understanding and puts at calming hand on Ehren's forearm before taking her wand out and using its power to heal the druid.
clw: 2d8 + 2 ⇒ (2, 7) + 2 = 11
When the others open the door to the next room, she approaches its frame, peers inside for a moment detect evil. Strange, how would anyone remove these maps in a hurry? Could they have known that we were coming? If so, they are probably still here she thinks, before heading back to the cauldron room to guard the rear.
"Do you think there is still someone within the complex? Or have they fled?" she asks to the others from the other room.
Ehren Ferron |
"Thank you," Ehren says to Hinagiku, patting her hand with his own.
Upon entering the room, he moves to examine the map alongside Valaria, nodding slowly as she relays her thoughts.
Knowledge (geography) {negative level}: 1d20 + 10 - 1 ⇒ (18) + 10 - 1 = 27
"Just before the Second Crusade. But how long has this all been here?"
Isilme |
Int: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5
Linguistics: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21
Isilme rummages through the books in the study, trying to see if there's anything of interest as the others file in. When Val points out the map, Isilme takes a look at it as well, recognizing it immediately as being of Drezen. "You're right Val, it does appear to be so," she says, noting the various locations marked upon it. "I wonder what these locations he marked refer to?" she asks rhetorically.
Turning back to the various tomes, she continues digging through them until she comes upon one that catches her eye, titled The Grimoire of the Beast. She spends a while flipping through its pages, poring over the abyssal writings trying to make sense of them. After a while she closes it and holds it aloft, showing it to the others. "This will be of great use to us," she starts saying as she opens it up again. "This discusses the worship of Baphomet in great detail, down to the secret signs used by worshippers to recognize each other. With this we will be able to pass ourselves off successfully should we ever need to infiltrate their ranks, and also be able to keep an eye out for signs that might give away people as followers of Baphomet, since these sorts of signs are likely to include ones meant for use out in the open."
She flips through the pages some more, pointing out repeated instances of a name as she goes. "Also it appears that he learned from someone named Karsos, or he at least considers this person a mentor. Perhaps digging into that name will yield valuable information." Satisfied, she stows the book in her backpack, planning on going over the gestures in detail later to memorize them.
Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22
With the book put away, Isilme takes some time to search through the desk and room thoroughly, looking for anything hidden that might be of value.
Valaria Alazario |
"I wonder if this is just that old or if there's some new threat brewing in Drezen that we have yet to learn of..." Val mutters, clearly a bit worried. She turns to see Isilme going through the papers while they were pouring over the map. "More Baphomet huh? I'm really wondering if this guy is just a cultist or if there's a connection we're still missing." She quickly joins Isilme in scouring the room for more clues.
Perception Aid: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (2) + 10 = 12
GM Kiora |
Isilme browses the The Grimoire of the Beast when suddenly the glabrezu statue's carved mouth begins to move, speaking in a deep male voice...
"Ahhhh... our esteemed Sword-Knight. I send this message in swiftness, hoping it reaches you in time. Our mutual overlords have informed me that they move to strike Mendev in a war to eclipse any before. Your efforts in Nerosyan have not gone unnoticed and I think it time you leave the shackles of your post. I shall dispatch a runner to follow this message, and he will lead you to me in the Citadel Drezen. I look forward to finally meeting you face to face, so that we might better plan our next move. There are plans in motion that go far beyond our original compact, and I wish to make you a part of them."
In addition Isilme finds the following things scattered among the vivisectionist's papers and scattered throughout the desk's drawers...
- Scroll 1 Read Magic or DC 23 Spellcraft:Scroll of heroism
- Scroll 2 Read Magic or DC 25 Spellcraft:Scroll of break enchantment
- Scroll 3 Read Magic or DC 25 Spellcraft:Scroll of cloudkill
- Two pouches containing some sort of glittering golden powdery substance. Detect Magic AND DC 16 Spellcraft:
Valais stares at the glabrezu open mouthed, then looks around fearfully. "Something doesn't feel right."
Isilme |
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Spellcraft: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (19) + 11 = 30
Linguistics: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (5) + 10 = 15
Spellcraft: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (19) + 11 = 30
5 short on Linguistics! Some aid would be wonderful!
Isilme says to the others when the statue finishes, "Apparently a magic mouth spell. she says matter-of-factly. Isilme takes a moment to dig out her journal, ink and quill, and jots down the message to Jorsal while it is still fresh in her memory. When she finishes she turns to the others and says, "So apparently Ser Jorsal was summoned to Drezen."
When she finishes searching through the desk she finds three scrolls and takes a moment to identify them with read magic. "Looks like a scroll of heroism, break enchantment and cloudkill," she says as she puts them away. Then she takes a moment to go over the golden dust she'd found in pouches. "This appears to be designed to allow you to use magic items that would normally not respond to you. This might be useful to a cultist desiring to make use of items that would require him to be good in nature."
Isilme turns to Valais after she expresses her concern, saying "What is it that's bothering you, Valais, do you have any idea what feels wrong?"
Valaria Alazario |
Linguistics: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18 Okay, that's a +2
Val frowns. "His voice sounded... not familiar exactly. There's something about how he talks..." Her frown deepens and a look of frustration crosses her face.
"Does anyone else find it suspicious that that went off at exactly the right moment that we walked in here. Actually... isn't magic mouth a recording, not a message delivery system? I think a sending would be the spell used to deliver a summons."
Ehren Ferron |
As the others search the room, Ehren continues to stare at the map of Drezen with a furrowed brow, trying to make sense of the markings. Just as he recalls something Irabeth once told them about the fortress however, the statue speaks, breaking him out of his reverie. He looks to the small glabrezu, half-expecting it to come to life and attack them.
"So was the statue smuggled here all the way from Drezen?" he asks no one in particular, frowning at the prospect. All things considered, he did not doubt that the Templars were capable of such a thing.
GM Kiora |
On the bare wall in-between the two iron doors, dripping red handwriting appears - "You should not be here"
Suddenly, the walls begin to tremble and shake. Dust falls from the ceiling. Valais shakes her head, covering it with her hands and cowering next to Hinagiku. The papers on the desk begin to supernaturally curl and rot, and the vermin that have been omnipresent as the heroes travelled through the complex begin to scatter from the room in droves.
"We should leave...something bad is happening."
Time is progressing in rounds. Once two agree on a course of action, it happens.
Ehren Ferron |
Picking up on the urgency of the situation, Ehren quickly casts a spell on himself to enhance his speed. And then, without a second though, he grabs the glabrezu statue, one of the few tangible pieces of evidence they had, with or without the magic.
"Right. Let's go."
Ehren casts longstrider, duration 5 hours.
Valaria Alazario |
"You don't have to tell me twice," Val says. "Isilme, make sure you hang on to that book tight. I have a feeling that we're going to need it."
Is it possible to roll the map up and carry it off too?
Xanderghul |
Linguistics (DC 20): 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (14) + 12 = 26
"Whomever delivered the message was a dwarf," contributes Xanderghul, during the discussion about the strange glabrezu statue.
When the message warning them to leave triggers, Xanderghul would run with the rest of the party.
GM Kiora |
Book keeping: 4 rounds have passed.
Book keeping: Isilme picks up the The Grimoire of the Beast, a scroll of heroism, a scroll of break enchantment and a scroll of cloudkill. Ehren picks up the small glabrezu statue (4 lbs). Valaria rolls up the map of the Worldwound and picks it up. Ehren casts longstrider on himself (duration 5 hrs)
Valais looks terrified, but she sticks close to Hinagiku, who makes her feel safe. At the urging of Isilme and Ehren, the group moves out of the study, moving quickly back through the room with the enormous suspended cauldron, and into the hall of larvae as the complex trembles and shakes around them. They find that the larvae have retreated to the far ends of their enclosures, staring in the direction of the study with faces contorted into rictuses of terror. Inside the abyssal library ink seeps from the books’ pages as if they were bleeding or crying. The water in the flooded hallway churns and froths as great crumbling chunks of rock fall from the ceiling and into the roiling water below.
Finally the heroes return to the room with the incubation vats. Valaria, Isilme, and Ehren turn the corner to see into the room and find that the monsters in the vat have broken free, leaving shattered glass all over the floor. The creatures snarl inhumanly, turning to address the heroes…each monster a stitched abomination nearly 8 feet tall. The monster farther from the door is stitched together from the body of a succubus and the puny arms of a dretch with a visage completely made of a hundred stitched together quasit faces. The closer monster has the lower serpentine body of a marilith patched together with the upper body of a wormlike vermlek, with four arms identifiable as coming from a nabasu demon.
Initiative!
Vermlek-Marilith-Nabasu Monster: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (8) - 1 = 7
Quasitfaces Monster: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (3) - 1 = 2
Xanderghul: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17
Valaria: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9
Hinagiku: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21
Ehren: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8
Ary: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23
Isilme: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10
Initiative Order!
1. Ary
2. Hinagiku
3. Xanderghul
4. Isilme
5. Valaria
6. Ehren
7. Vermlek-Marilith-Nabasu Monster
8. Quasitfaces Monster
Battlemap should be up-to-date. The transparent blue area represents shattered glass. Treat these as caltrops. The lighting in the actual room is low, though I’m assuming Ary put her bow away and drew Radiance once more, providing light once she enters the room. The hallway is dark, illuminated by Radiance
Moving up the entirety of the staircase takes two full rounds at a normal 30' speed.
If I’m moving too fast.. let me know what you want to do as you flee...and it'll be resolved before combat starts.
Ary is up... though Ehren/Valaria/Isilme need to post to inform the people in the back of the hallway what is going on.
Valaria Alazario |
Knowledge Arcana: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19
"Nope!" Val calls out. "Nope, nope, nope. Flesh golems up ahead. Large demonic flesh golems. Back the way we came now. We need to get away from here right now!"
Ehren Ferron |
"Unless there is another way out of here, we're going to have to get past them somehow," Ehren says with some urgency, his eye flicking back and forth between the two abominations.
Isilme |
Bardic Knowledge(Arcana) - Loremaster: 20 + 9 + 2d4 ⇒ 20 + 9 + (1, 3) = 33
"They're definitely flesh golems," Isilme says, backing up Val's take on the creatures. "They are immune to magic, and electrical attacks empower them. Our best bet is to slow them with cold or fire and flee, given that the roof might be coming down at any moment," she says to the others. "The marilith-bodied one is especially slow, though both of them will have no trouble squeezing through passages to follow us."
"Ehren, do you have stone shape? Perhaps we could close off the passage behind us as we flee, it might confuse them, especially if we can slow them first and close the passage around a corner out of sight of them."
Ehren Ferron |
"I always keep it prepared, just in case," Ehren replies with a nod.
Hinagiku |
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The letters forming on the wall behind Hinagiku leave the woman with a sense of urgency. But before she can warn the others, the tremors start, warning them in her stead. Only once all the others leave the map room does the monk follow suit, making sure that Valais is always one step ahead of her. She would not leave the woman behind. Nor any of the others she thought has she followed them.
Hearing about the other monstrosities being now release, Hinagiku quickly thinks of plans... but they are awfully similar to those that lead to this forced reincarnation. With time running out, all she could do is use her body to protect the others. She would do it if need be but would prefer to live through the day.
She looks at the others, particularly Xanderghul, Isilme, and Ehren, searching their faces for any hints that they might have come up with a plan.
"Little time. Do you need me to go first to slow them?" she asks, trying to keep her mind from going back on the fight with the Ezrous.
Xanderghul |
Xanderghul thinks. He hadn't prepared enough magic to really help here, but he's sure that he can help a couple of them escape. "I can render one of you invisible, and I have a mirror image spell prepared, so I'm confident in my ability to escape them myself. Unfortunately I don't have any elemental magic, due to its uselessness against the demonic host."
"I'd advise against engaging them in combat on purpose." he says, and prepares to cast an invisibility spell on the first person who asks for it.
When Xander's turn comes around, he'll cast invisibility on somebody. If you want it, speak up! First come first served.
Ary Bishop |
Ary would have taken the emulation since I think no one else did. And takes the statue since I'm pretty sure Ehren wants her to.
At the mention of fleeing, Ary nods and casts her Longstrider, before heading up the stairs along with everyone else. Once it's mentioned that they don't really have a way to otherwise move forward, Ary pushes past the others and moves into a position to cover their movements. Through seemed the safest, with the fewest unknowns.
Edit: A full round action at 30 feet puts Ary on top of Val. So she can't make it into the room. I guess hold action... then move. Yes, she'd have swapped back, weaponwise.
GM Kiora |
Ary - Isilme grabbed the dust of emulation, I forgot to note it, but I did update the loot document accordingly.
Audit: Ary: With longstrider your speed is 40'. Let me know if you wanna move ahead with that knowledge.
Book keeping: Ary casts Longstrider (duration: 2 hrs). For her turn, she holds her action to prepare to move.
Hinagiku is up!
Hinagiku |
Hinagiku looks at Xanderghul in appreciation; at least they could get a few people out. However, she still hoped someone would suggest a more potent solution. Inspite of all this, Hinagiku apparently remains serene, and waits for the others to suggest a plan.
Delay action until spells are in place and its time to flee!