Odebie of the North Tribe |
Recoiling in disgust, Odebie takes a wild swing at the corpse-thing with the pointy end of his hammer.
Fiordelise |
Fi attacks the offensive blob, her sword glowing with heat.
Attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15 dmg: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5 (including 1 fire from Scorching weapons)
Spirit: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12 dmg: 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5
Byron Cheme |
Uh-oh, someone knows my weak save :D
Will: 1d20 ⇒ 11
It's only after Byron has mixed and thrown a bomb that it occurs to him that his action really makes no sense at all.
Bomb: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18
Damage: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (5, 2) + 4 = 11
Osric Humbled |
"Umm...Byron?
If the blob is still twitching, Osric will attack it.
Otherwise, he'll hold his attack until a torch comes into range.
ToHit: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10
Dmg: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
Byron Cheme |
Byron shakes his head slightly and goes over what just happened.
"Something is using mind-affecting magic," he reports clinically as he watches the results of his bomb.
Miner Cotren |
Round 6 Results
Everyone in the party (except Byron) combines their attacks against the offensive thing - Ky La even draws a flaming long sword and slashes with some degree of proficiency.
Under the assault, the thing is punctured in several places, leaking more ichor on the floor. With one final heaving shudder, the pulsing tissue stops moving, and seems to deflate. As it does so, noxious fumes begin burning your eyes and throat.
Everyone EXCEPT Byron: Fort Save DC 12 vs nauseated condition for 1 round (round 7)
The torches flare brightly for a moment as Byron's bomb cascades fire upon them. Suddenly, they flow downward to v'Manco's body, as if drawn into a vortex. A crackling, sparking sheet of flame fills the area between the disembodied arms and legs.
The limbs twitch and flex in a gross parody of life, and clumsily rise on unsteady, rotting legs. The roar of the fire seems to speak: "Fffi-helpp-lufff"
With stunning speed, the burning body seems to fly more than run toward Fi. It wraps her in an embrace that reeks of putrid flesh and singed hair. "Beee-wiff-meee"
Fi, you are grappled. Take 12 fire damage (apply your resistances on your own so I don't get them wrong)
Odebie of the North Tribe |
"Fi! Damn it!" Holding his breath, Odebie reverses his grip and sweeps his hammer up at Corazon's - or at least his body's - knees.
Attack: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (10) + 9 = 19 Damage: 1d12 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8
Osric Humbled |
Fort: 1d20 ⇒ 3
Osric stumbles around a bit before vomiting on the throne.
Byron Cheme |
"Whatever this spirit truly is it is remarkably persistant," Byron comments as he reloads and fires his crossbow.
Crossbow: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26
Damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8
Crit threat: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13
Crit damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7
Fiordelise |
Fiordelise attempts to force the thing that was v'Manco off her as his fire begins to comsume her. But caught off guard as she is, here struggles are somewhat feeble
Fort: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13
Escape Grapple: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7
Miner Cotren |
Under the assault of magical weaponry, the shambling creature staggers and reels. It lets go of Fiordelise and drops to one knee. Struggling to rise, the thing seems to dry out and solidify before your very eyes. The decaying flesh and flaming body both slowly take on a texture of reddish-clay.
The creature wails as it legs and arms cease to move. The stone line creeps up its neck. As the flames sputter out, it is v'Manco's twisted face that appears once more. There is a strangled gasp as the face turns to clay: "Help-!"
The ifrit, or whatever he eventually became, is completely still. He is now simply one more naked statue caught in a moment of perversion and shame.
His cry echoes in the throne room, lingering longer than seems natural.
"Help"
"help"
"help"
Byron Cheme |
Any knowledges to figure out what in the world is happening here?
Fiordelise |
Fiordelise steps back her chest heaving barely above panic, song forgotten. "Is this the last gasp of the dying Efreet, or is it merely playing with us?" she looks the others standing there, hoping someone can shed some insight.
Osric Humbled |
Osric wipes his face off and tries to hide the existential dread this place imbues. "My suspicion is that whatever malignancy haunts this locale eventually consumes those it seduces. That wouldn't explain why it waited for us to do it, though. Whatever unknown power is behind all this, this place is holy to it. Intellectual curiosity aside, I suggest we do what we can to desecrate the place, potentially severing the connection."
KnowReligion: 1d20 + 1d6 + 9 ⇒ (18) + (6) + 9 = 33 (To determine what might be the most effective way to desecrate the place. The only ideas that spring to my mind are spreading feces and smashing things. Hopefully Osric can come up with a more elegant solution.)
Miner Cotren |
Byron: Spellcraft to get a feel for lingering magic in the area AND Knowledge Arcana to take a guess at the effects you've seen
Fi: Knowledge History to help with Osric's plan
Osric: As your mind ruminates, your eyes wander back to the altar. Upon closer inspection, the front of the altar is carved with faint lines of runes, in a language you have never seen before. (I'll give you more concerning your religion check after Byron and Fi post)
Byron Cheme |
Spellcraft: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (16) + 11 = 27
Arcana: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (15) + 16 = 31
Oh, look! Actual good rolls! :D
Osric Humbled |
Upon seeing the unknown runes, Osric will quaff his comprehend languages extract.
Miner Cotren |
Spellcraft
In terms of ongoing effects,
1) The statue of v'Manco seems utterly inert.
2) As you observed earlier, there is a decay in all the enchantments that are holding this place together.
3) You still sense a small thread of magic coming from the bloody mass of tissue on the floor, but it is so faint you would be surprised if it could even light a torch.
4) The throne and the altar are obviously magical, but without further assistance (like a spell or an extract) it is not possible to ascertain their exact nature.
Arcana
Osric's guess is a good one - you are fairly confident that the strange occurrence with the statue was simply the consequences of v'Manco bonding with the efreet spirit and the ruby. His soul is likely trapped inside the statue.
Based on the sequence of events, it was likely Fiordelise that attracted the thing's attention again. It is difficult to tell if it was v'Manco or the efreet (or both) who held such an obsession with her, but it seems logical that her presence prompted the thing to action.
As for the thing on the floor, you surmise that that is the corporeal form of the efreet - at least, as much of a corporeal form as it was able to muster after being severed from its host (v'Manco) and losing much of its spiritual energy (in the ruby).
The runes, which seem to be a logographic language, whisper their meanings to your mind. The upturned smile, which appears quite often, is the name of a god you have never heard of. The physical manifestation of this god does not come through to you; the only thing you know is that it is not Volcano, Forest, River, Sky, or Dark. Even the name itself is nearly unpronounceable - the closest you get to a translation is "LN".
Roughly speaking, the main message of the altar is this:
The efreets dedicated this altar to LN, and were planning some kind of ritual to become servants of this god, rather than servants of Volcano.
However, there are several runes which are still incomprehensible - the ideas they are attempting to portray show up as dizzying blurs of color or migraine-bright lights behind your eyelids. ?SN OC LF ST GL VL DR? You are certain this message, and the event it describes, predates the Dark.
Osric Humbled |
Is the pain caused by the extract not being able to render the runes into literal meaning, or from the runes resisting being comprehended? That is, is the writing enchanted, or simply in a format that does not have a literal meaning that an Elen mind can comprehend?
Odebie of the North Tribe |
"Hm." While the others are busy inspecting the altar, Odebie takes a moment to collect his breath then goes to retrieve that staff.
Byron Cheme |
Byron looks everything over carefully, his intellect working furiously to figure out what's going on. Finally he turns to the others and says, "The throne and altar still have magic and surprisingly the body has a faint aura still in spite of everything it would appear that efreet spirits if that's what it truly is are quite resilient though speaking of spirits it seems likely that v'Manco's is trapped within that statue as a side effect of bonding with the efreet."
Fiordelise |
History: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21
She watches the bloody mass carefully while thinking "Do we need to seal that away too, since things don't seem to want to stay properly dead."
Osric Humbled |
"I'd rather destroy it than seal it away, if possible. Sealing it away is what got us here in the first place. Let's try freezing it first, if possible, and if it's still twitching, perhaps a pool of acid."
Fiordelise |
"As long as we make sure it doesn't come back again"
Miner Cotren |
As you take the staff in hand, there is an enormously loud sound, somewhere between a cracking boulder and a creaking tree. A...yawn?
A booming voice calls in Oread,
"And whoooo is this? Hmm...Ah, Tribe of Kings! Good, good! We shall talk more tonight. I must rest more...
None of your companions have reacted to any of this; you realize the voice must have been in your head.
Fi and Osric, between the two of you, you have come up with a basic plan for trying to disrupt the energies of this place. Since efreets are traditionally seen as 'betrayers' of Volcano, enacting a rite for Volcano is a good place to start.
--In a triangle formation, place silver dust, a piece of iron, and a masterwork dagger. (Byron has silver dust, and Ky La has the other two)
--Osric will aid Ky La with the placement of the items
--Since Fi's Song has had such a strong effect in this place, singing a hymn to Volcano will be the start of the rite.
--As you discuss this, Ky La mentions having a scroll of consecrate on his person. He recommends putting the bloody thing on the throne, and he will cast the spell there once the other parts of the rite are prepared.
--Byron and Odebie can stand watch for any attacks that may happen during the rite
Odebie of the North Tribe |
Wat? Wie is jy? Odebie thinks in stunned silence, his mouth frozen open. The strange staff not deigning to answer, he shakes his head to clear the cobwebs and stows the staff to inspect later.
Fiordelise |
Fi formulates a plan with Osric and Ky La, "Byron, Odebie, keep us safe, I don't think screwing up this ritual will make anything worse, but I'd rather not risk it."
Byron Cheme |
Byron's response is a curt nod.
Fiordelise |
Perform: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (1) + 11 = 12 Seriously?
Byron Cheme |
Perception: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (20) - 1 = 19
Odebie of the North Tribe |
Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11
Osric Humbled |
Knowledge Religion: 1d20 + 1d6 + 9 ⇒ (9) + (3) + 9 = 21
Also, I'm back now.
Miner Cotren |
Osric, you set the three items in a triangle around the throne. Upon the silvery filigree chair lies a cold, congealed mass of sinew and tubes. On the northern point--the point of honor--you place the jagged iron piece. You nearly place the silver dust next, but Ky La stays your hand and gives you the fine dagger, to place at the eastern point. Finally, the inquisitor tosses the dusty gray pouch to you. As you pour silver dust over the western point, Ky La makes a deep hum in the back of his throat. This is the prelude to the hymn Fi will sing.
As this occurs, Odebie seems distracted, staring off at nothing rather than keeping lookout.
Odebie, another perception check
Fiordelise hears the cue to start. She closes her eyes to concentrate. But at just the wrong moment, one last whiny whisper echoes behind her ear, like a tiny v'Manco mosquito: "help"
Instead of a note, a squeak of surprise eeks out.
Fi, Will Save DC 17 (this is a fear effect)
If you succeed, give me another perform check
Byron, you notice that Fi's sour note disrupts one of the lingering maintainance spells in the room. The statue nearest to you develops a huge vertical fracture, which quickly propagates and splits the perverse shape into two pieces. The ruined pieces fall heavily away from each other, like sleepy children.
Underneath where the the fallen statue had been standing, you are surprised to see a sizable hole in the floor. You are still more surprised to note...something...moving down there. Slithering, in fact.
Byron, Knowledge Arcana DC 30
That is a darkspawn. You are 100% sure.
Osric, you can have a perception check DC 17 to notice the creature and react. You can try out the DC 30 knowledge check too.
All: see Map for approximate setup.
The creature is right under the statue in green.
Byron Cheme |
Know (Arcana)+Inspiration: 1d20 + 16 + 1d6 ⇒ (20) + 16 + (6) = 42
XD Okay, didn't need the inspiration
Fiordelise |
Will: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7 Well, the dice gods are not with me... On the upside even with Remove Fear and Grim Optimism it wouldn't have tipped me over to a success so I don't have to feel guilty about forgetting them.
Miner Cotren |
As mentioned in the other spoiler, you are certain that is a darkspawn. You are also sure it is an infector - a type of spawn that poisons elen and turns them into darkspawn as well.
Whatever action you decide to take (you still have a full round to react to this thing) will have some kind of a bous due to the high check.
Byron Cheme |
Byron had, of course, packed his small sample of white obsidian with him, just on the off chance that they would meet a darkspawn in this place.
"Darkspawn infector!" he shouts as a brief warning to the others as he digs out the small, white ball and hurls it at the creature.
Throw: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9
Oh, no! XD
Osric Humbled |
Technically, you don't need to spend inspiration until the results of the roll are revealed. You're allowed to roll your the d20 first, so I would have recommended not using inspiration on that roll (unless you get it for free on knowledge checks too).
knowledge Arcana: 1d20 + 1d6 + 8 ⇒ (20) + (1) + 8 = 29
perception: 1d20 + 1d6 + 11 ⇒ (12) + (2) + 11 = 25
Osric's eye bulge at the hidden nightmare before them. "How did that get here? This curse is worse than we could've imagined."
Osric didn't expect to encounter darkspawn today and didn't bring anything that might be considered effective in combating it. I guess he'll spend his action trying to calm down Fi so she can finish the ritual.
Odebie of the North Tribe |
Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (15) + 9 = 24
O, pa van die bos red ons... Whirling around, Odebie readies his hammer and moves quickly to cover the hole while calling on the Grey Father's blessing to help him.
Attack: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (12) + 11 = 23 Damage: 1d12 + 16 ⇒ (6) + 16 = 22
Miner Cotren |
Fi, you have the horrid sensation of this throne room...noticing you. For a moment - you are overcome by the memory of finding Enzo in the gruesome scene at the v'Ricci mansion. You see, hear, even smell parts of that night over again.
Fi, another Will Save, this time DC 16. Still fear-based. Also, have a +4 from Osric.
If you succeed, do another perform check.
Byron's marble of white obsidian does not strike the creature directly. However, as it bounces within proximity of the spawn, it freezes in mid-air and emits a piercing white light. The sludge-like beast seems to solidify under this light, like cracked mud.
As the spawn tries to crawl away from this light, Odebie strikes it with a brutal hammer blow. There is a thud as he connects with the brittle, cracked center of the writhing mass of tentacles. Almost immediately, the spawn fractures, and slowly crumbles into dust.
Byron, you would officially call that a successful field experiment.
Fiordelise |
"Volc Enzo, enough visions of your perversions", it's a weak joke and she doesn't really feel it, but it makes her feel a little better. +2 vs fear for 1d4 ⇒ 3 rounds
will: 1d20 + 3 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 3 + 4 + 2 = 22
pushing down her anxiety Fi clears her throat and begins afresh
Perform: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (14) + 11 = 25
Byron Cheme |
"That was even more successful than I'd anticipated though now we are left with the question of why a darkspawn was here on top of all the other mysteries of this place," Byron rambles as he watches to see what his white obsidian does now.
Osric Humbled |
For once, Osric will remain silent and look to Ky La, beckoning him to answer.
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 1d6 + 11 ⇒ (15) + (6) + 11 = 32
Perception: 1d20 + 1d6 + 11 ⇒ (5) + (2) + 11 = 18
These are to try to get an idea of what Ky La may or may not know about darkspawn in hearth
Miner Cotren |
Ky La looks at you seriously behind his glasses. Stroking his silver goatee, he says, "Osric, that is a very good question...hmm..." He is obviously, transparently stalling.
Fiordelise's song bursts into the throne room, seemingly from the walls themselves. It is painfully loud, causing everyone's ear drums to ring 2 sonic damage to everyone except Fi You hear the bestial howls of rage that follow her song like sniffing bloodhounds follow a scent. Though it is recognizably a hymn to Volcano in its keys and progressions, Fi takes the slow, staid tune and jolts life, speed and fury into it, releasing it into the world.
In response, the iron, steel, and silver erupt into flames of crimson, indigo, and ivory. The heart upon the throne emits a piercing shriek that lasts but a second before being utterly consumed.
Miner Cotren |
Byron, the white obsidian lasts only the one round, so it tinks to the ground. You are not sure if it is spent or not - it is trivial to retrieve, so you can put it back in your inventory
Everyone but Fi is deafened for 1 round
Ky La turns his head this way and that, gaping around as everyone's ears are ringing. If you follow his gaze, you notice the walls and statues are beginning to decay more quickly. He runs for the exit and motions all of you to do the same.
everyone: your choice of an appropriate skill check to get out of the throne room, and one more to get up the stairs