Luther Lightblade |
Sorry to delay here, seems like a difficult situation. Being good, Luther doesn't want to harm the troglodytes.
Luther tell the others: "We heave metal at the thing until we can pass. I have a dagger and a Morningstar, so I will use the magic one we found for now. Dezco, the light hammer and grappling hook may have to go, as they are cheap and have a high metal content."
Luther will agree to sacrifice metal again. He is ready to throw his Morningstar and dagger at the device.
Luther examines any loot from the Splinters. The high metal loot from the Splinters will be the first to go.
Drusellia Malacore |
"The only metal I have is my rapier, though I'm quite willing to give it up if it should come to that."
Luther Lightblade |
"Dru, since the cost is per person, let us put all our metal on three of us and pay the sacrifice for them and get us through. When you follow with the rest carrying no metal, if you don't appease the mighty one, it may have no consequence."
Conner Luther and Dezco carry all the metal, then Symon and Dru follow with no metal??
GM Zed |
Moving things along
Returning to the room with the ‘God in the Box’, the troglodyte opens the door for you. Surveying what can be seen across the eastern face of the structure, Luther sees a pair of hand axes (not of the same design), a great sword, two heavy shields, numerous pitons, a grappling hook, two lanterns and several belt buckles - they appear to be dissimilar in their age, their design and even their size.
Luther doesn't detect any magic within the room
Luther feels the inexorable tug on the morning star that he is holding…
A voice calls from behind you, the troglodyte - "You will make your offering now? Make your sacrifice?"
Is there a priority order of things that you are going to ‘sacrifice’ – there were a few short swords that you could have salvaged from the Splinters – I am fine for someone to have gone and retrieved those (5 in total)
Dezco |
While not ascribing to normal dwarven propriety regarding objects Dezco was still rather uneasy about giving up any of his weapons from home. Nonetheless he carried his plus whatever other metal objects had been given him while taking special care of the magic bastard sword on his back and the magic belt around him to make sure the "god" didn't steal them as he moved past.
GM Zed |
As Luther, cautiously watching for a response, throws his morningstar at the hexagonal tower - a low pitched humming noise starts to reverberate through the room. The heavy weapon, rather than arcing to land at the base of the tower, deviates from it’s thrown trajectory and is, instead, pulled against the eastern vertical surface of the ‘God in the Box’ – impacting with a heavy ‘clang’.
…at the same time, Luther starts to feel a much stronger attraction pulling his armour in towards the centre of the room. Slightly unbalanced from the throw as he is, the cleric still manages to overcome the force and steadily move backwards towards the perimeter of the room.
Godbox, Combat Manoeuvre (Attract / Bull Rush) vs Luther: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11, missing
The troglodyte whispers to Luther, ”More…more…more… Skraa-orm demands more tribute”. The humming noise increases in pitch as Luther tosses the short swords into the room, each of them slamming against the tower and starting to deform on the surface of the tower alongside all of the weapons, the tools and the armour that were already there. When the fifth sword is thrown in, the humming within the room stops as abruptly as it started…
…there is a short pause, during which time the troglodyte listens intently, and then…you hear two muffled ‘click’ noises.
The troglodyte hisses excitedly, ”Your sacrifice has been accepted…. Skraa-orm shows gratitude and allows you to pass on in safety… I will show you? Yes?”
Symon |
Symon looks at the strange 'god-box' as they pass.
"There is some sort of trick there, I am sure of it...if I could just sneak a peek at the thing.."
Sneaking a peek? not sure what I would need to roll for this...just want to get a closer look at the thing, as I have no metal on me at the moment
GM Zed |
As Symon attempts to take one final look at the God-Box, he feels the magnetic pull on his armour...the studs within the leather dangerously attracted in towards the centre of the room...hopping backwards before the field can take hold, Symon steps back into safety - whatever happened was too quick for Symon to get any kind of a detailed look at the tower.
As you leave the chamber containing the 'God in the Box', the doors slide shut behind you - the white light extinguishes leaving only the dim lighting provided by the strange sconces that are placed throughout the lair. As you are escorted to the chamber to the north of the water trough, your guide points at the large bell you previously passed.
"When you want to come back through the home of Children of Thagh, you ring bell from down below... Yes? Skraa-orm shall open door for you - no need for sacrifice when you come back. Skraa-orm is a kind god"
Running a hand across the door near the bell, it retracts - in the same elegant manner as the others - into the wall. Beyond is a moderately sized room with two significant features - a tall statue of a troglodyte, standing in the same semi-religious pose as those you saw in the room containing the hexagonal tower - and, in the north east corner of the room, a section of the stone floor is cut away perfectly, revealing a staircase that descends into darkness.
Drusellia Malacore |
Drusellia hurries through, fearful that the "god" may desire another sacrifice. She heads down the stairs, peering ahead with darkvision.
GM Zed |
The ramp winding down from the troglodyte's home takes you past the chain that your guide said would be there, takes you far from the smell that was filling your noses and leads down, down, down...
Passing an Azlanti symbol etched into the spire, this one the symbol for 'four', you continue onwards - as you travel you start to notice that the air is becoming noticeably damp...a contrast to the dry and dusty tunnels and corridors you have thus far explored. In time, the ramp arrives at a set of steps that lead to a dank, low-ceilinged room. The curved surface of the Emerald Spire takes up the north-west corner, and to the east is a short staircase leading down to a dark passage from which the soft sound of lapping water emanates. A small, closed door stands in the south wall.
Above the gentle lapping of water, the noise of clacking claws fills the air...at least twenty toad-sized crabs are scuttling around in this room...
Luther Lightblade |
"Do you need your barkskin now? It would probably make sense since you are first in and last out Dezco."
Luther gives Dezco skin of bark to help protect him.
Remember your buffs! This is the first of many.
Conner Kordson |
Still contemplating the 'Godbox' Conner follows along after the others.
Squatting at the edge of the steps they just came down, he stares at the crabs. Lost in thought.
"Ya know, that God thingy had slots with attachments about the height o the doors in the Trog's nest. Wondering if it can be covered or blocked somehow. Would hate to have to 'pay' every time we go through there......just sayin "
GM Zed |
Whilst starting to gather the crabs, you have time to examine the door to the south - the first thing you notice is that, in contrast to the wooden doors on the first three levels of the spire, this door is iron with a 1 foot square grate in the lower half of the door...
GM Zed |
All is quiet for a moment or two, the scuttling of the crabs and the gentle water waves the only noise... and then a voice calls out...a strange tongue, full of rounded vowels and booming noises...
"Kembali cara anda datang ... tempat ini tergolong dalam Undine sekarang ... tempat air dan tertanya-tanya bagi kita untuk belajar; kehadiran anda di sini adalah satu gangguan yang tidak diingini...pulih dan tidak akan menimpa anda"
...the voice falls silent, seemingly awaiting a response...
Dezco |
Perception: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (18) + 12 = 30
Hearing whatever it was communicate to them by trying to, well, communicate rather than just attack Dezco holds his palms facing forward in what he hopes is a defusing manner. "Um. We... no speaky... crab?"
Then without turning his head he says as an aside to Luther, "It's not alone."
Drusellia Malacore |
"Did anyone understand that?"
Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10
Luther Lightblade |
"Water is not good for us right now. We have lost surprise. We can continue through the south door where we hope it is dry."
Luther indicates the south door.
"Symon, how about you get this door open?"
Symon |
"Ummm...ok. Do crabs really have their own language?"
Symon tentatively moves towards the door and examines it before he tries anything.
Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26
GM Zed |
After Symon is satisfied the door is neither trapped nor guarded, he gently opens it - and discovers nothing more exciting than a small cupboard with two empty barrels within it.
...and as Dezco tries to defuse the situation with the voice with the strange tongue, the voice calls out again...heavily accented but in a language that you understand...
"Surface dwellers!!! Go back the way you came...this place belongs to the Undine now...a place of water and wonder for us to study; your presence here is an unwanted distraction...turn around and no harm will come to you."
Drusellia Malacore |
"Don't mind us," Dru calls out. "We're just passing through. We don't want a fight."
GM Zed |
"One final warning. No-one is permitted to pass through here, turn around and seek another way through"
As the voice leaves his words hanging, there is a brief flash of electric blue light from within the tunnel... and, almost immediately, the small number of crabs that were at the steps where the room descends into the corridor start to scuttle into the room - clacking in agitation and definitely moving away from the corridor...
The corridor to the east leads down ten feet into an unlit passageway filled with murky water - the water is too cloudy and dank to determine to what depth. There are two hallways to the south (as far as you are able to tell, the voice comes from the farther of the two) and, off to the east, the passageway narrows before turning south...
Drusellia Malacore |
Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16
"We do not wish to fight. Perhaps we can bargain our way through?" Dru calls to the nameless voice in the darkness.
GM Zed |
”That is not our problem Air Breather…there will be no bargain, no negotiations, no discussions…if you wish to go lower, if you have business with the Numerian or with the Circle of Viskk-Thar, then you must find another way down – this place belongs to the Undine”
There is a sudden flash of movement from the farthest of the southern-leading hallways… a small blue-skinned figure swimming at speed towards the eastern end of the corridor – diving in and out of the water as it moves, almost dolphin like. As it reaches the farthest point of the corridor, it slows then stops… bobbing up and down in the water looking back at you.
Symon – the movement within the water is at the western end of the corridor…near the steps where the party are assembled.
GM Zed |
Symon |
"Maybe we should listen to the...what was it...Undine?"
He calls out to the figure bobbing in the water.
"Do you know of any other path lower? This is the only one we have found, and while we do not wish to intrude, we do have a quest to fulfill."
He keeps his eyes on the movement he saw before, and points it out to the others.
Luther Lightblade |
Luther gives Dezco the strength of a bull for the upcoming fight.
"I am all proud of my plate armor, Dez, but don't let me drown in it."
"We wish to pass without a fight and respect your beatific environment."
diplomacy : 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20
Bulls strength on Dezco
GM Zed |
As Drusellia makes her ultimatum, the creature bobbing up and down in the water makes what sounds suspiciously like a 'raspberry' sound and, thrusting it's hand out before it, fires a stream of fluorescent acid down the corridor towards you...it splashes against Dezco and starts to burn through his armour...
Water Mephit, Acid Arrow vs Dezco (Touch): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16, hitting for 2d4 ⇒ (1, 4) = 5
Initiative for Party and Enemy
Symon, Initiative: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13
Luther, Initiative: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16
Conner, Initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 = 13
Dezco, Initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10
Drusellia, Initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15
Water Mephit, Initiative: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19
Creature in the Water, Initiative: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15
Initiative Order
Luther then
Water Mephit / Creature in the Water then
Drusellia, Symon, Conner and Dezco
Luther, you may take your turn now