Crit,hit,miss,hit,miss,Hit
Eugeni takes a breath and then starts audibly gnashing his teeth as his shuddering form somehow continues to launch arrows towards the golem. Four of the missiles slam simultaneously into the thing's skull.
The statue falls to a knee, slamming a fist into the ground to try and steady itself, before the magic animating it fails and it falls still, eerily leering at the group with its skull-shaped face.
Rilee steps in between her two bear allies, sharing in the damage that it's taken, having been chewed on herself. "Poor, poor thing. Such a brave fighter," she says as she pats the flank of the injured bear.
"That thing's still lurking about. I don't know if it'll stop hounding us. But I have no clue how to find it." She clutches her side and pulls out her wand.
Zoli stands there staring at Eugeni.
"Wha...what happened to you? Are you OK? Was what you and Setsu were talking about, after you two snogged?"
She cocks her head at Setsuna. "Does that happen to everyone you sleep with?"
Rilee blinks, and realizes that she had been so focused on the fight and the surprise attack from the forgefiend that she missed Eugeni's strange transformation. She had looked past it, as if it were some afterimage her mind had superimposed on the archer because of the fiend's ambush.
She keeps a hand on the bears, watching intently for signs of attack while still keeping part of her attention with the conversation about Eugeni.
"What sort of healing do we have left? I hope we have some to spare for my friends," she says softly when there's a chance to interject.
Eugeni slumps onto the floor like a bowl full of jello. He lays there blinking, breathing hard. Looking first at Setsuna, then at Zoli says, "Yeah, what was that!? I've never felt so angry before. It's like there was rage in my very blood..."
Red as a ripe tomato, Setsuna administers a few charges of Infernal Healing and several doses of Cure Light Wounds.
"...I have no idea what happened," the Oracle admits quietly. "I mean, my family doesn't have a history of those... mysterial rages that some warriors enter."
She pauses and ponders further.
"Actually, it does: Mom. She enters this weird state of... tranquil fury - if that makes any sense - when in particularly heated combat. I don't think she actually benefits from it like Eugeni just did; I noticed that his arrows seemed to have more punch. It just... happens sometimes. When I was little, my sister and I were... kidnapped by some... people. When Mom rescued us, she was like a one woman army possessed."
Setsu pauses and ponders further.
"Mom said it happens when she overchannels the source of her divine power. And to be honest, I've seen similar behavior in my sister, albeit with a different emotion. Sabrina is prone to extreme states of euphoria. At their worst, she comes across as... nearly insane. While Desna tempers it in me, I think my bouts of... extreme fear happen when my powers overwhelm me. At the very least, they exaggerate those particular emotions. So, Eugeni, to answer your question, I think you might've... recently internalized some of my power, and it manifested in you as... rage."
The moment Setsuna places the demonic healing magic on Eugeni, the forgefiend steps from the wall to the north.
He then spews forth more molten slag from the larger mouth in his abdomen, all over Olympus and the wounded bear! While Olympus still stands, the heavily wounded bear falls to the new Attack despite managing to avoid the worst of the spray.
__________
Seconds after the fiend attacks, Setsuna vanishes form sight and then reappears before it. The Oracle slaps the creature across the face and sends it screaming to Hell. Then, like nothing happened, she continues to make her speech, though she applies the healing to Rilee instead of the deceased bear.
On a whim, once finished, Setsuna scans the once living statue and the boiling cauldron.
Rilee screams as the injured bear is killed by the stream of molten slag. While relieved that Setsu banishes the fiend to hell, she still becomes grief-stricken and drops to her knees beside the still form. "You poor, poor thing. Ride the Wheel and hopefully your next life will be a fat and plentiful one," she whispers softly.
She finally pulls herself away and checks the other bear as well as Olympus, noting with relief they are uninjured.
"The cauldron is magical, and I think I see the Sihedron on it. I have no idea what it is, though I say we worry about it later. We have bigger fish to fry," explains Setsuna as she reactivates her Ring of Invisibility.
Rilee tries to force away the grief she feels over the bear, and attends to the recent revelations.
She puzzles over Eugeni's transformation and Setsuna's explanation. She also eyes the cauldron warily.
"Maybe it was Setsuna, but maybe this cauldron has something to do with it. I remember Zoli mentioning this rune having something to do with the sins of Old Thassilon -- that includes Wrath, right? Or maybe it was something from your old death. That's fuzzier to me, since I don't remember so much from Riley, but I think you were savaged by a druid pack. Was that right? Or were you already dead at the time?"
Red as a ripe tomato, Setsuna administers a few charges of Infernal Healing and several doses of Cure Light Wounds.
[dice=CLW x3 and Infernal Healing x1 on Eugeni]3d8+3+10
[dice=CLW x3 and Infernal Healing x1 on Zoli]3d8+3+10
[dice=CLW x3 and Infernal Healing x1 on the Bear]3d8+3+10
"...I have no idea what happened," the Oracle admits quietly. "I mean, my family doesn't have a history of those... mysterial rages that some warriors enter."
She pauses and ponders further.
"Actually, it does: Mom. She enters this weird state of... tranquil fury - if that makes any sense - when in particularly heated combat. I don't think she actually benefits from it like Eugeni just did; I noticed that his arrows seemed to have more punch. It just... happens sometimes. When I was little, my sister and I were... kidnapped by some... people. When Mom rescued us, she was like a one woman army possessed."
Setsu pauses and ponders further.
"Mom said it happens when she overchannels the source of her divine power. And to be honest, I've seen similar behavior in my sister, albeit with a different emotion. Sabrina is prone to extreme states of euphoria. At their worst, she comes across as... nearly insane. While Desna tempers it in me, I think my bouts of... extreme fear happen when my powers overwhelm me. At the very least, they exaggerate those particular emotions. So, Eugeni, to answer your question, I think you might've... recently internalized some of my power, and it manifested in you as... rage."
"Oh...." Eugeni says quietly, then has more important things to worry about for a brief moment with the forgefiend reappearing. Once it's dealt with Eugeni turns back to the others. "Yeah, when I had those druids kill me, you told me that you saw them tear my body apart and devour it. I didn't think much of it at the time, it was just a hunk of meat to me, but I guess that may have affected my soul somehow..." Eugeni considers sharing that he and Setsuna had just become fully intimate for the first time, but finds it too private and embarrassing. "Maybe that and Setsu's mojo have both rubbed off on me. All I know is I felt strong just then...I mean, really strong. I was in control though, all the anger was focused on that golem thing..."
"OK. I'm glad it didn't...hurt or anything."
Satisfied that Eugeni is OK, Zoli turns her attention to the cool, creepy cauldron. "Huh, this kind of reminds me of that Thassilonian runewell we found under the Glassworks. Setsu, did we ever show you that? If not, I can describe what I remember...I know you do a bunch of reading too."
"While I can't decipher much about its magical properties, I think I know something about this cauldron..."
A runeslave cauldron has the ability to infuse the body of a freshly slain giant, reviving it and transforming it into a runeslave.
Once the cauldron is filled with broth, one need only sacrifice a giant (the method of killing the giant is incidental) and then place the giant’s corpse wholly or partially within the cauldron’s bubbling contents. One hour later, the sacrificed giant rises from the cauldron as if true resurrection had been cast on it. In addition, the newly revived giant gains the runeslave template.
"This cauldron is called a runeslave cauldron; it has the ability to infuse ancient Thassilonian power into the body of a freshly slain giant, reviving it as a runeslave. Once the cauldron is filled with broth, you sacrifice a giant (doesn't matter how) and then place the giant’s remains wholly or partially within the bubbling exlixir. After an hour, the sacrificed giant rises from the cauldron via some process similar to the True Resurrection spell as a runeslave," Setsuna explains as she recalls some random tidbit that Lord Azathoth probably stuffed into her head. "...I have absolutely no idea what we should do with it or why it is here. Maybe Mokmurian plans to make a runeslave army. I say we keep pressing forward; we can worry about it later."
As you move on toward the next passage, the remaining bear seems reluctant to continue on.
Rilee gives the cauldron a wide berth as they begin to move on, eyeing it with extreme distaste after Setsu's description. When the bear shows reluctance, she pats him reassuringly.
"Hold on a moment," she tells everyone.
Rilee's form shifts and grows until she matches the bear's shape. She growls at him while taking note of the scents her bear shape can detect.
::Friend mountain-forager! What is the danger? We go forward to reach sky-land!::
The moment you shift into bear form, your nose picks up the accentuated scent of rot and decay. The bear chuffs and tosses its head, turning back towards the passage back up to the previous level. ::Bad smell. Go back to cave. Sleep in cold time anyway.::
Rilee shifts back, rubbing her nose. "Ugh. Bad smell up ahead. Rot, death and decay. Steel yourself."
Zoli shudders: visions of being paralyzed by ghouls. Brrrrrrr!
"Well, I don't love hearing that, but I guess it shouldn't stop us.
"Thanks for the warning."
"...I'll go scout ahead," says the invisible Setsuna as she casts Protection from Evil on herself.
The chill in this room isn’t quite enough to frost the floors and walls, but it’s certainly enough to frost the breath. The room itself contains several large suits of armor mounted on what appear to be frozen or preserved ogres, trolls, and hill giants, all staged as if rallying for war, one of which is missing a head, it's neck ending in a raw, ragged stump.
Setsuna promptly turns around and returns to the group.
"I think we're about to walk into a crypt of undead. I can't think of any other reason why Mokmurian would randomly leave several dead bodies in suits of armor laying around."
"Sounds like it. Well, my new friend doesn't want to go, and pushing him on in will probably tax the limits of the spell on him. Besides, he probably won't attack them anyway." Then she pats the side of Olympus' head. "My old friend, however, should be able to tear up a bunch of undead. I'm interested in seeing this new amulet at work."
She lets the bear wander back to his den, while readying for the likely battle ahead.
"When everyone is ready, if we are actually dealing undead, I'll cast Blessing of Fervor," says Setsuna as she casts Abundant Ammo on one of Eugeni's quivers.
Noticing the chill in the room even though it doesn't touch her storm-born flesh, Rilee taps her chin in thought, then snaps her fingers.
She goes through the brief ritual to summon an ally, sacrificing her spell that could warp metal. Once the spell is complete, a small humanoid with leathery wings appears with a burst of heat and tufts of flame. Looking ill-tempered, the strange creature snorts and glances up at her.
Pointing to the room, she says, "That room there is far too cold. Heat it up, please?"
With a mischievous grin, the fire mephit flies into the room and picks three of the closest suits of armor and casts heat metal on them.
The mephitic casts his magic to heat the breastplates of three of the statues nearest it, and for the moment, nothing more seems to happen...
__________
Just then, the headless "statue" strides forward and let's loose an eerie roar from where it's head should be, and those in the room entrance are overwhelmed with a wave of fear. The heroes stand their ground, though shaken to their core, but the mephitic flees in terror! As it retreats, the nearest armored hill giant body lurches to,life and slams it, wounding it heavily and drawing a further high pitched scream from it as it flies away as fast as it can!
__________
Zoli whips her snazzy blue scarf with panache, emboldening herself to reach these giants despite her reduced stature.
The ghastly howl shakes Zoli, but she steels her will and hustles toward the headless monstrosity, swinging her scimitar. She tumbles to throw off their attacks, while wondering what exactly these things are.
_______________
Should anyone try to attack Zoli, the ermine beside her gives her a guiding chitter and nudge, helping her to avoid getting squashed.
AC 37 for first 3 attacks, then 35 (29+2 reduced(DEX+size)+4 barkskin; +2 bodyguard for first three attacks)
HP 82/83
Luck 18/20
Panache 3/5
Charmed Life 2/4
Luck o’ the Scene 1/1
Lessons of Chaldira 1/1
False Life 1/1
Wand o' Darkvision 46/50
Grettela’s HP 33/37
Active effects
Luck +2 to hit, damage, saves
Reach (round 2/10)
Barkskin (110 min duration, since just after fighting giant in weird carnival room)
Darkvision (3 hrs duration, since entering caverns)
Shield other: will divide damage aimed at Zoli with Grettela (familiar)
Reduce Person (duration: ???)
During the surprise round, as she said she would, Setsuna casts Blessing of Fervor on the party.
During the first full round of combat, she does not immediately do anything.
Rilee whistles and sends Olympus in to attack the zombified giants. He rakes at the hill giant with his talons with a fierce screech.
Eugeni moves over to Setsuna's side and then snaps off a single double-arrow at the headless giant.
...I'm such a nitwit.
Setsuna uses the Blessing of Fervor to cast Extended Bless on the party.
The zombie in Olympus' clutches reaches and grabs the raptor's talon and forces it free, then wraps the bird up in his arms, taking control of the situation for the moment! Three more of the "taxidermied statues" shamble to life and move towards the group!
The headless monster crosses its twin hatchets in front of it, steps away, and then slides them apart in a flash of sparks as their icy metal takes across each other. Suddenly, a small army of zombies appears through various portals throughout the room, intermixed with the group, as well as behind them! They immediately begin to try and tear into the group, namely Rilee, Eugeni, Zoli, and even Grettela. Everyone is able to evade them save Rilee, who takes a nasty punch to her right shoulder blade!
__________
"GaaaahhH!!" Zoli yelps as she--and everyone else--is surrounded by a sea of undead.
"Grettela, focus on keeping yourself safe!! Setsuna, thanks for this burst of speed--I think I'm going to need it!"
With that, Zoli whirls into motion, making three quick cuts against the zombies before her.
___________
AC 35 (29+2 reduced(DEX+size)+4 barkskin)
HP 82/83
Luck 16/20
Panache 3/5 (-1 if attacked, +1 for any foe with 5+HD dropped)
Charmed Life 2/4
Luck o’ the Scene 1/1
Lessons of Chaldira 1/1
False Life 1/1
Wand o' Darkvision 46/50
Grettela’s HP 33/37
Active effects
Luck +2 to hit, damage, saves
Reach (round 3/10)
Barkskin (110 min duration, since just after fighting giant in weird carnival room)
Darkvision (3 hrs duration, since entering caverns)
Shield other: will divide damage aimed at Zoli with Grettela (familiar)
Reduce Person (duration: ???)
Setsuna pulls out Eugeni's Wand of Shield of Faith and taps the archer with it.
Olympus tears into the zombie grappling him, ripping and clawing at the undead flesh and using his own natural instincts to regain control of the grapple.
Meanwhile, Rilee staggers under the blow. "Oww! This isn't right!" she shouts, realizing she's surrounded. Deciding to go on the offensive, her form flows faster than it's ever done before into that of a fierce panther. She immediately launches into an assault on the zombie between her and Olympus.
Seeing himself surrounded by dead giants, Eugeni spins rapidly in a circle, sending two arrows into each of the monsters.
+15/+15/+15/+15/+10/+10/+5
Orange:22 for 20, 31 for 19
Blue:31 for 19, 28 for 22
Red:20 for 19, Miss, Crit (17 to confirm) for 18
The giant grappling Olympus loses his grip during the bird's counter attack, and the apex predator is free once again! The remaining zombie giants maneuver to attack Zoli, moving with a fluidity and using positioning that is normally beyond their reasoning.
The headless one steps forward as well, his axes beginning to shed an eerie purple light from glowing runes on their blades, and begins hacking into the diminutive swashbuckler. Two hits strike true, opening mighty gashes on her, and causing her body to ache as negative energy washes over her!
Two mighty axes cut into Zoli, and she barely keeps from collapsing as her blood splatters out across the stone floor.
"Yikes! I could use an assist in here!" She hollers back. "The little guys aren't much but headless here packs a couple a mean axes...and the other giants aren't slouches either."
Zoli looks left and right, considering retreating...but decides there's no great option. OK then, time to trust in Chaldira and take these corpses down or die trying!
She brushes her lucky sihedron amulet and steps forward. She strikes twice at the giant corpse she'd just parried, slicing tendons and sending it crumbling to the floor, then she whirls and manages--with the blessed speed that Setsuna has granted her--to slice into the headless giant that wounded her.
______________
Should anyone try to attack Zoli, the ermine beside her gives her a guiding chitter and nudge, helping her to avoid getting squashed.
She will also try to parry headless' 1st and 2nd attacks
(+6 DEX +5 enhancement +4 w.training +2 w.spec; +10 precise)
AC 40 vs 1st 3 attacks, then 38 (29+2 reduced(DEX+size)+4 barkskin+3 defensive)
HP 27/83 +11 THP
Luck 15/20
Panache 5/5 (-2 if attacked, +1 if crit confirms on riposte)
Charmed Life 2/4
Luck o’ the Scene 1/1
Lessons of Chaldira 1/1
False Life 0/1
Wand o' Darkvision 46/50
Grettela’s HP 33/37
Active effects
Bless +1 to hit
Luck +2 to hit, damage, saves
Reach (round 4/10)
Barkskin (110 min duration, since just after fighting giant in weird carnival room)
Darkvision (3 hrs duration, since entering caverns)
Shield other: will divide damage equally btw Zoli & Grettela (familiar)
Reduce Person (duration: ???)
Rilee jumps into a full attack at the zombie giant that had been tangling with Olympus, hoping to free the roc to go help Zoli.
Regardless of how the giant fares, she growls a command to Olympus, who flies over the two zombies on his flank and drops over top of Zoli and Grettela, raking at the headless zombie.