As the door opens a large dwarf appears through. He dresses ragged leathers and all around his body he has rotten food and other detritus, including a necklace made of humanoid skulls. Around his mouth and beard, there are the rests of waste. On his hands he carries a large falchion as oversized as himself he waves towards you.
On a lazy Common he shouts at you "What is going on? It is not the turn change yet"
He seems a bit confused and not recognising you yet, giving you the opportunity for a surprise.
This is a dwarf. Wait, a large dwarf?
Roll Perception.
You have never seen a dwarf like that
Kikinnin stares daggers at the abomination of a dwarf.
"Oye. Who are you?" The black-beard doesn't slip into Dwarven, keeping in line with the language the man just used. If he senses no evil about the man, he remains where he is.
AC = 18, Shield up
HP = 25/25
Weapon Equipped = Dwarven Greataxe
Condition(s) = None, Unfortunately
Kikinnin wants the overgrown dwarf to be evil. He tenses his forearm muscles, and lets his vision sift over the giant, hoping for even a single waver of black to touch the man. Anything that will confirm that this dwarf is not Malachite Man, and he launches at the intruder. He's only disappointed that the grandwarf is not carrying the Urgosh.
As the group parley with the elemental, Maxim questions the creature on how they can gain its service:
"א געטרייַ קנעכט איר זענט. צו די לבנה און קאַמאַנדער ביידע. אויב איינער פון אונדז האלט די ורגראָש דעמאָלט ספּייק וועט אכטונג דיין ווערטער?"
A loyal servant you are. To hold and commander both. If one of us holds the Urgosh then will Spike heed our words?
As the giant dwarf-wretch lumbers into view, the gun-mage bids the others come closer to him as he retrieves from the Bag of Holding two items - a potion and bag of dust;
"The potion renders the imbiber invisible... The dust means they can take the form of a hoch-jeblin... Hobgoblin... One slips past Spike, the other brings past prisoners yes?"
Spike nods to Maxim with his earthy head "די קאַרליק מיט די ורגראָש איך וועט נאָכפאָלגן. באַשיצן די מאַלאַטשיטע פעסטונג איך מוזן."
"The dwarf with the Urgosh I shall follow. Protect the Malachite fortress I must."
As the door opens Maxim draws a bag of dust, just drawing a potion as the oversized dwarf appears at the other side of the room. He offers them to the party in an attempt to find a solution.
You do not detect evilness in the dwarf.
The dwarf is odd anyhow. If a disguise it is a very good disguise, but something on him does not fit anyhow.
Kikinnin takes the 'dwarf's' words for complicity in the occupation of Malachite. He does take the attack.
JJ stands ready, but not too sure what exactly is going on here.
Kikinnin takes the dwarf by surprise and opens a big gash on the large creature's left arm.
The attack gives an opportunity to the group to develop their plan.
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"Drop your weapon, Mongo, and we'll take you prisoner, instead of your life."
Best you listen to the man, Haystacks. Those two hobgoblins didn't and they ain't ever making it back home. Ruben says, guessing that all hopes of pretence are now out of the window and it was going to come down to either making him back off or bleed.
Does the large dwarf have an Urgosh ?
Ruben places a word of heroics in the air before the plan develops, pushing Kikinnin's axe with an extra strength.
Surprise Round - 1 standard action Ryan cast guidance on himself in preparation for who/whatever is coming through the eastern door.
Round 1 Moving forward to place himself between the threats and those less armored than him self, Ryan matches his rhythm calling out encouragement to JJ who appears at odds with what is happening and unsure of how to proceed. "Stand tall Surabar! We shall weather this storm as we have the others" Inspiring word - JJ - +2 attack
/skill/ability/saving for 1 rd - at Ruben and Maxim "Sorry gents but Kikinnin just ended what ever plan we may have been hatching, protect yourselves."
standard actiontotal defense keeping Spike from getting through the doorway and reaching the others. AC - 22
Drop it, ugly. Ruben growls at the big Dwarf before pointnig forcefully at the thing's falchion which suddenly becomes slick with magical grease from it's hilt to it's tip.
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Success
[ooc]Okay, trying to make the 'plan' work.
surprise
JJ takes the dust of illusion and becomes a hobgoblin.
Round 1"
The newly minted hobgoblin then charges across to the big dwarf, makes a single strike.
Marigold nods as the translations continue, though she unconsciously begins to inch her way back into the elevator room as the sound of someone approaching grows louder.
How do we get in there to find this Urgosh in the first place?
Fidgeting anxiously, she waits to see what Maxim has in mind as he begins digging into his pack...
Then everything begins going haywire as the sound of combat erupts from just around the corner out of eyesight of the halfling. Marigold instantly feels the strange barrier in her mind go up and she swears silently, Maxim's continued speech now unintelligible as he pulls out a potion and the dust from earlier.
For lack of a better option, she reaches out and manages to infuse JJ with a small bit of divine(?) guidance as he snatches the dust from Maxim and begins to morph...
Despite the very real risk of inciting Spike's defense protocols, Marigold moves up behind Ryan so she can at least see what's happening. Her eyes widen at the sight of Kikinnin and Hob-JJ fighting against a...
That's a huge dwarf! ...Wait...
Not entirely sure of what's going on, she huddles into a defensive stance as she tries to figure out who is what and whether or not they're going to need to flee from Spike.
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Not knowing exactly what is going on, Marigold touches JJ to guide him while Ryan gives him truly inspiring words.
As the dust falls all over JJ, his skin becomes darker with a green tone, while his head seems to become wider and hair to appear in his hands, his eyes smaller, without the white.
As his dust takes effect on JJ, Maxim addresses the elemental in Terran with a speech on how the hobgoblin JJ has captured these humans and halfling and Spike should honor his word to Kazmojen and look to other way as they walk in.
Spike looks at the hobgoblin as he charges through the chamber. Then to Maxim, to Ryan and Ruben as they close by and ultimately to the large dwarf he do not like. The earth elemental decides looking to other side is within his orders in this case. The hobgoblin is taking prisoners to the fortress as they have done in the past, and anyway he likes more this dwarf than the large one or the half one. He turns his face to the west and looks to the floor, becoming once again an old statue of the hall, a forgotten defense of the dwarven fortress.
JJ finishes his charge on the flat-footed dwarf, striking on his chest, but despite the power of the inertia and finding a spot in the armor, the skin of the dwarf results to be astonishingly thick, leaving no wound on him.
Ryan comes closer finding the large dwarf and setting himself to the defensive, still unsure of the elemental intentions.
Meanwhile Ruben does similarly move after the "slaver" JJ, carefully casting a grease spell on the dwarf weapon.
The large falchion of the dwarf suddenly becomes slick. He has some difficult time grasping the weapon still surprised by the attack and hits at it once and twice as it slides out of his hands finally dropping to the floor!!
The dwarf looks angry at the group and to his loved sword now on the floor, looking surprised a hobgoblin attacks him. In a desperate move, he attempts to pick Kikinnin's own weapon.
Strongly grasping the dwarven waraxe he starts shouting in Common "You gonna die all! Xukasus gonna kill you and then eat your bones! Traitors and more traitors!" he points at the hobgoblin JJ.
Marigold does not see anything special about the dwarf other than he is large.
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AC = 18
HP = 25/25
Weapon Equipped = Shield Bash
Condition(s) = Absolutely Fuming
Kikinnin debates grabbing back his own axe, but shuffles around the pillar to swing his shield into the damnably strong not-dwarf from flank.
Kikinnin looks down on the hobgoblin at his side, pretending to attack the not-dwarf.
Xukasus is just too fast for the dwarf and avoids Kikinnin's attack, grasping the axe and making it his.
Angry as never, Kikinnin answers hitting the large dwarf with his shield, causing an ugly bruise to appear on his left side.
JJ swallows. There is something odd about a dwarf that is twice as tall as a human.
Then he puts the lessons of the dark creeper to work, plying first his cold iron heritage blade, and then his trusty old one in tandem, trying to take down the huge creature that has taken up residence in the fortress.
The Blade of Surabar strikes truly, if not as deeply as JJ hoped.
Ruben dashes forward, sword low. In his right mind he would give this thing a wide berth, but he hopes the presence of another Dwarf will enrage it more than he and draw the giant's ire.
As he reaches his target he brings his blade up diagonally, slashing the big dwarf across the belly.
JJ's sword spinning around Xakasus ends with one sword stabbed close to the dwarf's heart.
Ruben moves around the elemental, Spike ignoring him, and strikes Xakasus with another slash on his neck. Odd enough he does not find the aorta, but still the bleeding is huge.
The badly injured large dwarf holds tight to the axe ready to keep fighting, his anger reckless.
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Maxim addresses the elemental guardian in Terran, his words clear and concise as the others rush forward to engage their giant sized foe:
"איצט ספּייק געטרייַ. איר בלייַבן סטעאַדפאַסט צו די מאַלאַטשיטע מיסיע. איר כּבֿוד דיין וואָרט צו די העלפט-האָדעווען וואס האלט-דעם-ורגראָש. די האָבגאָבלין ברענגט מער פּרייזאַז צו דער טיף. זיי זענען זייַן פּריסאָנערס - לאָזן זיי פאָרן. דעם זון פון דער ערד וועט געדענקען דיין אַקשאַנז דעם טאָג."
Most loyal Spike. You stay steadfast to the Malachite Fort. You honour your word to the half breed who-holds-the-urgosh. A hobgoblin brings more prizes to the deep. They are his prisoners - let them pass. This son of the earth will remember your actions this day.
Scowling at the impetuous nature of his companions, the gun-mage hustles toward the combat drawing his dagger as he goes but mindful of their huge foes potential reach.
Though she's still not sure of what anyone else is saying, the fact that Spike suddenly seems willing to turn a blind eye to the current ruckus can only mean good things for them. But there's still the matter of the freakishly huge dwarf to deal with.
Preferring to let the others finish dealing with him, Marigold reaches out and imbues Ryan with a small burst of guidance before timidly scooting by Spike and moving closer to the fray.
A noticeable relaxation is seen in a Ryan's shoulders as the creature turns away from the combat in response to what Maxim has said. Nodding towards Maxim he turns towards the other moving to assist in their fightpausing momentarily to thank Marigold as her magic flows over him and then moving forward to stand shoulder to shoulder with Kikinnin
As Ruben approaches scoring his brutal hit, the dwarf clumsily attempts to stop him with the axe, but his lack of training makes him slash just to the air.
Maxim approaches drawing his dagger while Marigold casts guidance and then approaches too, touching Ryan on the way.
When Ryan approaches, the dwarf is just too busy and cannot react to him.
With brutal force Xukasus brings the waraxe down, which seems a small toy on his large hands, but JJ steps easily to the side avoiding the blade that strikes soundingly on the ground causing sparks.
"You hobgoblin stupid, what are these ones paying you for the treason?! You want to king over our business?! You will pay for it, you and your mercenaries!" shouts the clumsy dwarf very angrily.
Stepping up beside Kikinnin, Ryan rushes his attack on the huge dwarf, sadly swinging wide.
AC = 18, Shield up
HP = 25/25
Weapon Equipped = Sap
Condition(s) = Inspired
Kikinnin wrings his empty hand, hugely disappointed that his own weapon is now being leveled at his companions. He's reduced to odd grunts and bleats, as he tries to down the not-dwarf. As his hand reaches subconsciously for something, it comes up with his new sap, and he continues his attack with force, albeit non-lethal. His hand grabs the wrong part of the sap, and he ends up smacking the dwarf ineffectually with grip-part.
JJ sneers at the clumsy attack from the oversized dwarf.
"What are you?" he jeers, as he tries to find room to ply his blade.s
Again, the family blade strikes true!
But it is only a scratch.
"A joke. You're a joke."
Ryan hits Xukasus with his mace finding his hips, but the skin of the dwarf is so much unnaturally strong that the metallic head of the weapon is deflected without leaving a mark.
Kikinnin keeps fighting reckless, this time drawing his sap, but the movement is too fast and misses the large dwarf.
JJ on the other side attacks once and again with his swords, his fine family one finding a spot on Xakasus skin causing him to bleed again. The large dwarf seems terribly wounded!
Although most of the group now has the giant dwarf well and truly surrounded, Marigold does spot a tiny gap that she can maneuver into. Moving up, she waves her morningstar threateningly in an attempt to distract the creature and provide an opening for Ruben to strike.
But being so close to the huge, ugly dwarf is extremely intimidating, even with her companions all so close by and she nearly drops her weapon due to the trembling in her hand.
Cornered and badly injured, the creature goes for a retreating stand, first attempting a desperate attack against the traitor hobgoblin piercing him once and again.
Xukasus crashes Kikinnin's axe over JJ's skull.
The attack is mighty and precise over JJ's head, the time seems to freeze as Ruben and Maxim attempt to avoid the fatal end.
JJ Bleeds. So does his brains. Brain Bleeding.
JJ looks at the interesting perspective as his head rolls across the floor. He feels quite dizzy for a moment or two, and then ...feels nothing at all.
Ruben sees the axe raised and about to fall like a guillotine.
He does his beat to thrust his longsword into the dwarf's armpit as it becomes exposed and keep JJ from ending up a head shorter
Shrewd eyes following the ebb and flow of the combat, Maxim stands poised with his knife cradled in his calloused palm.
As the brute reels in a pained rage he sees an opening and lets fly with his knife;
:
:
:
:
Ruben attempts to cut Xukasus hand as the axe drops, but he misses to hit it. At the same time Maxim throws his dagger stabbing it just in the right eye of the dwarf but Xukasus completes his mighty movement anyhow crushing JJ's skull with Kikinnin's axe.
When everything seems lost for the young man, a heavenly light suddenly flashes blasting back the axe before it can cut him by two. JJ falls to the floor unconscious with his head half-open. You can hardly believe he is still alive.
Surprise by the light blast, Xukasus jumps back and attempts to retreat through the door, squeezing through the medium sized frame.
Xukasus stands at the other side of the door, breathing with difficultly and bleeding everywhere. The large dwarf readies to defend his last stand in the room.
Kikinnin can't believe his poor luck, as he advances on the not-dwarf, clumsily swinging the sap. His foot slips in the blood of the boy, and his swing hits nothing but doorway.
Ryan swings for the creature trying to escape through the doorway, however the flash of light has made it hard to tell if he hit the giant or the doorframe.
Marigold utters a high-pitched, unintelligible shriek of dismay as JJ is felled by what appears to be a fatal wound. Dismay and, surprisingly, a sudden flash of anger and hatred. Without thinking, she swings her morningstar at the dwarf just as a sudden flash of light prompts him to try and flee...
She then notices that despite the horrific wound, her friend is miraculously still breathing. No longer worried about the retreating dwarf, she quickly darts around Ruben and kneels next to JJ as she digs for the healing wand.
"કોઈ કોઈ કોઈ તમે મૃત્યુ પામે છે નથી કરી શકો છો તમે વગર આ સમાપ્ત કરવા માટે અમને છોડીને ન કરી શકો છો-!" she babbles as she frantically searches through her pack.
"No no no you can't die you can't leave us to finish this without you-!"
Kikinnin, Ryan and Marigold attempt to hit the large dwarf as he retreats but they are still distracted by their companion on the floor head open.
Kikinnin throws himself against the retreating Xukasus, the large dwarf willing to attempt hit it as he approach, but the door frame preventing him to do so. The ratcacher hits on the same frame door that protected him.
Marigold moves closer to JJ attempting to help him.
Not so fast you big, ugly bugger!
Ruben tries to slash the giant dwarf across the back as it flees, feeling no guilt at all for having done so. But he curses most foully when his blade swipes nothing but air.
Round 4
Moving back around the column so as not to interfere with the others, Ryan moves to the prone form of JJ, grasping the key in one and and laying the other on the ranger's shoulder. "Grant me healing for this fallen companion."
Maxim silently curses the onrush of his companions, which in turn limit his options...
Reaching into the magical Bag of Holding the grim-faced gun-mage first produces a Light Crossbow the group earlier recovered, then a couple of bolts to go with it .
"Uh-Huh. Time to get primitive I reckon..."
Without hesitation, Ruben steps after the oversized dwarf and continues attacking, assuming the others have JJ's situation in hand and if they don't... well this thing needed to pay.
Round 5
After seeing to JJ and leaving him in Marigold's capable hands, "Take care of him we'll return soon, hopefully no worse for wear than when we left." Ryan cast guidance on his self and then moves after giant dwarf that tried to do JJ in but good.
Ryan heals JJ taking him very close to consciousness.
Maxim prepares a crossbow and some bolts while Ruben follows the dwarf to the doorstep. He slashes with his longsword cutting the dwarf's right hand.
Abundantly bleeding and cornered, Xukasus finally falls to the floor, defeated.
A closer analysis of the body is able to tell you this is probably not a real dwarf even if it appears so. Something in his bone structure tells you this has been another creature before, but there is no trace of illusion and the body does not change at all after time.
There is a strong transmutation aura around the fallen body of Xukasus.
large leather armor
large falchion
iron key to the fire beetle cages
iron key to unknown place
A putrid stench fills this room. The rectangular chamber beyond is splattered wall-to-wall with filth, bile, bones, and other disgusting remains. Although the room contains no furnishings per se, some of the
older refuse has hardened into a crude chair, and an iron chest rests half-buried in a small mound of dung in the southeast corner.
You wonder what kind of creature is able to live in what seems no other than the fortress waste processing chamber.
A close inspection to the chest tells you there are no traps in there, but it is carefully locked. Fortunately the unknown iron key you found in Xukasus corpse is able to open this chest.
5,990 cp
2,248 sp
two deep green spinels, 100 gp each
a dried fungi flask containing a potion Maxim identifies as cure moderate wounds