"We can cover this room with those smelly things put some on the dark tunnel and go down the brighter one, that's where the three headed troll went, I think that's the smartest of them all so he knows the way. They could get confused with the smell going the same path that they already went." Jarad proposes to the others, showing some anguish in his face as he can't come up with other ideas. His god wanted him to face this maze on his own and he'll do it.
Cappy, nothing else is hidden here - the only secret to this area was the hidey-room that Jarad discovered.
Zim'wa, even without the spirit's warning you would feel uneasy. Be on the lookout for trollish ambush - their incredibly long, gangly arms could reach out of the darkness and grab an unwary traveler before they even knew what was happening, and their senses are sharp, very sharp.
"A confused foe is easy prey, you speak wisdom, Father Jarad." Qadir considers the father's suggestion a moment longer, "I think we must first decide which way to go. Backtracking along their path may be wise, though it may lead to their lair."{/b] The lanky man grins wickedly, his painted helmet with it's bright plumage making the grin savage, [b]"Perhaps they would not enjoy an ambush themselves."
Still grinning, he shrugs, "The hunt aside, we have business to be about. Simply losing them is the best way. If we can mislead them and then slip away in their confusion, that may be best. And your jacket, deceptive one, is likely gone. It would be best to make peace with this."
"I say we should go this way...and maybe divide into pieces these smelly bags and while we walk, throw them over the walls to confuse them" Jarad faces towards Cappy,
"We'll buy you a new jacket, with the best fabric and all, if we can get out of here..."
Xha shakes his head and whispers.
They know we are nearby. They know the paths and ambushes of the maze. You do not fight horsemen on the plains and you do not fight elves in the forest. We need to leave their ground.
Besides we do not have the fire needed to kill them fighting them is a short road to death.
The paths of this maze might be closed to us but the sky is not. We can climb onto the broad walls and walk. Even if the trolls follow us up we will be able to see them coming and we will also be able to see the correct path to the castle.
"That seems like a good plan Xha, I'll need help getting up there..." Jarad looks up at the walls and remembers he should exercise more.
The walls of the pillars nearby are steep and tall, but very rough, and there are even some crude fingerholes and toeholes gouged in the rocks periodically.
.... crude fingerholes and toeholes (Did you mean fingerholds and toeholds?)gouged in the rocks periodically.
Xha falls silent. His dark eyes watching the pillars and the spaces between.
The handholds (thank you) look old and worn. They might be slippery in places, but it's undoubtedly better than smooth stone.
... Does that make sense?[/ooc]
}
Xha begins to speak quickly and softly. "Look at the two pillars to the left. There are scoring marks that would make good handholds. See the same all along the walls? I can be on the top of the wall quickly. Qudir and Galadin, you look like quick climbers as well. If we tie ourselves in pairs then no one will fall and if they do they will not fall alone. Even if the trolls are nearby we should have time to get out of reach then if we have to fight we will have the high ground and they can try their luck against Qadir's spear. Are we agreed?"
"Sounds like a plan" Jarad begins to pull his rope from his backpack
"No objections here," Zim'wa murmurs as he follows suit.
As the party works to secure ropes around their waists and to each other, you hear terrified screams of protest followed by a dull roar and a crash not too far away. It's impossible to tell in this labryinth exactly where it came from, but it sounded loud and close.
The Father musters all his strenght and pulls himself up with some aid of <Insert character name>. Once up there he looks around.
Let's see those Defy Danger rolls - ....
Xha hurles himself at the wall. More leaping than climbing he manages to scramble up.
Heh heh...will explain what happens as a result of that soon. <3 barbarians, so many GM intrusions.
Galadin nods at the party and starts his climb. He's worn his armor enough that it feels like a second skin, and doesn't impair his movement at all.
Attempting to aid Cappy in his scaling, he tugs on the rope.
Alas, too sure of himself, Galadin overestimates his usefulness.
Ensuring his rope is securely tied, and his staff and other gear equally so, Zim'wa starts up after the others.
Nodding, Qadir accepts his end of the rope and lashes himself to his chosen companion. Slinging his spear on his back, he climbs nimbly up the rock face. His hands seem to naturally find a hold with minimal effort.
Cappy is an experienced second story burglar and is up and over pillar with ease, grumbling about his lost coat.
The handholds and footholds make the job easier, and Agent Kerrigan's adventuring party scales the pillars easily. Galadin reaches out, thinking to aid Cappy in his climb, and the grumpy halfling simply climbs over the paladin's arm and body, stepping on his face on the way up.
"Hup! Hoo! Hee! Ha! Ha-ha!" Xha reaches the top of the pillar first, raising both arms triumphantly over his head. Then, after the moment of triumph passes, he realizes he dropped his weapon in his haste to reach the top! THAT'S BAD! However, just as you're looking around yourself in a concerned manner, Qadir the Dancer reaches the top of the pillar, your weapon in hand. It's a good thing you were climbing more surely, skirmisher. The barbarian would have had to make a very undignified climb down to retrieve his weapon.
Qadir, gain a new Bond with Xha from that event as a result of your double-6s. You can phrase it however best suits you, just make sure it's something that could be resolved or changed somehow, like all Bonds.
Jarad feels like he is doing his God right as he climbs up and looks around. The (illusory, for they were still inside a building) sunlight shone down upon them from above and warmed his balding pate. Jarad, you notice movement at the base of one of the plinths - the trolls! They must have doubled back, and are now gazing stupidly around and sniffing the air. It's the three-headed boss troll and his singleton lackey. The lackey looks up at you, right where you were looking Jarad. You duck down just in time, and when you check again, the troll is occupying itself by wearing Cappy's coat like a yarmulke and giggling.
"'Ere.." "What are you..." "laughing at?" the three-headed troll murmurs quietly, each head speaking part of the sentence. The singleton troll is consumed with giggle fits and doesn't reply. With a quiet growl of frustration the three headed troll reaches out and grabs the singleton by the head! Holding the stupid lackey up at 3-faces height, the troll boss bares his teeth in fury and tears off his lackey's arm!
The lackey screams in agony, but as you watch, horrified, the troll boss muffles him with one enormous hand. "Quiet!" the leftmost head hisses. "I" "smell something, I know," the middle head continues.
The third head merely draws in a deep breath through the nostrils. "Man-flesh..." he mutters in a growl tinged with lust and hunger. The lackey troll whimpers in the boss troll's merciless grasp, a wiggling stump already forming and growing larger where its arm once was.
You can try to hide or try to cross the flat-topped mesas that form the maze to get closer to the castle. The castle's much closer now, within an hour's walk, you estimate, if you cross the top of the maze and avoid all the obstacles.
"The bossy troll just tore the small troll arm, seems like they got our scent. We have to hurry..." Jarad tells the others lowering his voice.
Xha bows sheepishly to Qadir. Thank you. he mouths silently as he firmly secures his sword.
Xha waves to the others silently directing them to head towards the castle. The barbarian indicates he will take rear guard.
I forgot to mention, but you gain a bond with Qadir also, Xha.
More to come later on today. :)
Cappy wastes just a moment lamenting the fate of his coat but is soon hopping across the top of the maze toward the castle.
Nodding at Xha, Galadin moves towards the front. In a whisper he says,
I'm not pretending to lead this pack, only to protect it...
You seem to have eluded the trolls, for now. There's no sign of further pursuit below you. Now that you're on top of the maze it's far easier to keep your bearings and you make good time toward the castle.
You're almost to the castle when you find the source of the screaming you heard earlier. The two-headed troll you saw earlier is making short work of another group of adventurers that you see running through the maze below you. There's only two left; bodies are strewn all about, dead or unconscious. A female elf warrior in heavy armor and a steel helmet raises her faceplate and screams defiance as she swings her two-handed battleaxe at the troll's faces.
Laughing, the troll leans away from the swing, then lashes out with a surprise kick. The elf-woman takes the hit to the gut and is knocked backward against the pillar you stand upon. Her halfling ally, who appears to be a holy man of some kind, races to her and helps her to her feet, magic infusing his touch.
The elf-woman snarls and gestures at her battle-axe, knocked away during the troll's attack. The battle-axe dissolves into liquid and flows across the battlefield floor, reforming in her grasp and glittering.
The two-headed troll roars and advances on them down below. The end of the maze is less than 100 feet away, and the castle gate scarcely a mile beyond that. You can see tents with waving flags at the gate from here. What do you do?
"They are in trouble, we have to help them!" Jarad signals the others.
Xha shouts a war cry as he leaps from the wall,
And engages the troll.
Nodding to the barbarian with raised eyebrow, Qadir returns the berserker's blade without further vocal commentary. Always in a rush this one, no time for a patient hunt or the slow trickle of blood as you dance around a foe. Pfah! Keeping a cool grip on his spear, Qadir jogs along with the group lightly, eyes constantly scanning around him.
The screaming from nearby sends him instantly into a defensive position, even as he recognizes the voice is not one from his party. Looking below, he sees the struggling battle between woman, halfling and troll. "It would be best if we contin-" Qadir's thought is cut off as Xha leaps from the wall. Groaning, Qadir stands at the edge and waits a moment before acting.
Jarad will pull out his rope again and set it up so he can help when they want to climb up or maybe he will climb down.
Bravely, Xha the Barbarian leaps off the top of the mesa. he shouts, and there is a collective gasp from your viewers. The troll, however, snorts from one of its two noses, unimpressed.
The barbarian hurtles down toward the ground at great speed, but the troll simply sidesteps him and the barbarian lands flat on his face.
Undaunted, the barbarian leaps to his feet again! Cappy's dagger strikes home in the troll's face, sticking it in the left head's cheek and sticking there! The troll roars in pain and begins bleeding freely from the face. Snarling, Xha leaps in to attack, but the troll catches his weapon in his palm.
Bleeding from the hand now, the troll yanks on Xha's weapon, hard. The barbarian is jerked off his feet and thrown through the air at Cappy!
Cappy, roll Dex to dodge the screaming human missile. Xha, roll +strength to keep ahold of your weapon when the troll throws you!
Jarad and Qadir both took the more measured approach of getting down. Working together, the cleric is able to fashion a sling for the skirmisher and lower him down safely without sacrificing too much speed. Qadir, you reach the bottom just as the troll hurls Xha away. You note the stranger halfling behind you, quietly trying to get the elf warrior to her feet and lead her away while the troll's distracted.
[dice=Fling!]1d6+1d6+2[/dice]
Jarad points at the halfling and yells at him,
"Don't try to run, there are other bigger trolls out there, help us defeat this one and we'll live to get outside this maze"
The Father readies his hammer and swings at the troll,
The troll hurls the barbarian by the axe, tossing him at the mesa upon which Cappy stands. Stone from the lip of the edge is broken away by the impact of Xha's body, leaving him bloodied and scraped. Take 1d8 damage. The troll howls and roars with both voices in answer at the barbarian and the crowd ooohs in sympathy to the barbarian's pain. The wild-eyed and tattooed man, his weapon still clutched in his grip, slides down the rough wall of the mesa to ground level once again, right next to where Qadir is standing.
One of the troll's heads looks downward mid-howl when he's interrupted. Jarad, his weapon shining, swings his hammer and impacts it on the troll's ankle. The troll sniffs and chuckles. "You sting like puny flea!" he roars, and picks the old cleric up! Jarad, you're being held by both troll hands and squeezed, he's trying to squeeze you until your head pops off like the cap from a tube of toothpaste! What do you do?
Cappy, you no longer need to dodge the barbarian's body, but you still need to defy danger...when he impacted on the stone, he broke loose the stone you're standing on, and it's in danger of sliding down into the maze!
The troll hurls the barbarian by the axe...
Sliding down the wall next to Qudir the Barbarian makes it look almost but really not very much at all like he meant to do that. "Come Qadir! It is a good day for someone to die!"
Showing strength that belies his years, Jarad manages to break the troll's grip just enough to get his arms free and swing his hammer! It clocks the troll right in the face where Cappy's dagger stuck in, and drives the dagger upward like a chisel into the troll's cheekbone! Roaring in pain, the troll drops the cleric to the ground and stumbles backward! One of its faces, the undamaged one, is staring at the damaged face of his other half in shock, whereas the ruined face that Cappy and now Jarad have injured wails in pain and clutches itself.
Jarad, you land on your hammer when the troll drops you - do your class damage to yourself.
Xha climbs somewhat unsteadily to his feet and his proclamation seems to incite the crowd watching you. As the cleric rises to his feet and the troll howls in pain, you hear the crowd roaring from the green-colored magic spell that Agent Kerrigan cast on you. "HELP THEM! HELP THEM! HELP THEM! HELP THEM!" the crowd yells.
Overhead, a blazing-white seam opens in midair. Kerrigan's face and upper body appears from the portal, holding a brown leather bag about the size of a backpack. He holds it aloft, and the crowd cheers!
As he drops it, the troll climbs to his feet as well, and bellows! From deeper in the maze, bellowing can be heard in answer.
Suddenly there's a gasp from the crowd! The elf warrior with the strange fluidic axe from before leaps out from where she was hiding in the shadows! Nursing some lingering wounds from her earlier pummeling by the troll, she makes for the leather bag! What do you do?
- 1 Armor = 1
"Uhhf...Everyone, ¡¡Get that bag!!" Jarad commands after seeing Kerrigan's image and starts running towards the bag.
Jarad, you reach the bag right as it hits the ground. As you pick it up, the elf warrior grabs the other side of the bag and attempts to yank it out of your hands! What do you do?
"¡¡Get that bag!!" Jarad commands
Galadin, who up to this point has remained reserved and out of the way, aims to help the cleric. He points his sword towards the elf's neck, emphasizing that I am the law!
Relinquish the pack, friend, or become an enemy and perish!
"Nice timming, Galadin!"