Bolkin nearly fumbled the key as he listened to Telperion's offer to distract the statue, haphazardly twirling it around his fingers as if he had meant for it to happen. "If you think you can avoid getting killed, go for it. Just be warned that it may take me a while to get a good grip on it."
Garik quietly listens to the group's discussion on how to deal with the wooden Kassen and knowing he still feels the weakening blow from the shadow's yesterday, agrees with the plan for Bolkin to try and fit in the key on the animated statue.
"Ok Telp, be joining ye on distractin' our wooden Kassen here. Let's be drawin' its attention and Bolkin, as soon as ye see the chance then do try yer thing!"
Garik tucks his morningstar away and holds out his waraxe instead with both of his hands and gets ready to draw out the statue's attention away from Bolkin.
"And Telp, i'll be on the other side o' the oversized Kassen 'nd hope yer sneakin' just like with the beetle works as well!"
"Sounds like a plan, lads. An' if th' statue starts bangin' ye up too much, I'll stand by to channel th' blessin's o' th' Forgefather to heal ye," Drosk adds to the plan, taking up a ready position on the edge of the room's upper level.
Garik and Telperion make a controlled landing and encircle the construct. Garik intentionally makes a show of approaching the monolith, though he's able to sidestep the statue's wide, swinging shield.
AoO
With the statue's guard let down, the dwarf takes his opening, striking the statue's left calf and leaving a hefty bite mark in that leg.
The elf slips past the statue, nimbly getting behind it and seeing a chance to drive his blade into the staggered construct's right knee. Lunging forward with strength he didn't know he had, Telperion sends the blade deep into the joint. For a brief moment he panics as his sword seems stuck, but after a couple of quick tugs it comes out. Gears in his head ticking, he realizes that attacks that don't cut along the grain of the wood are likely doing less structural damage.
Though the pair has the upper hand for now, the golem is still clearly functional.
Initiative
Garik
Telperion
> Bolkin
Raven
Drosk
Statue (wounded; 8 slashing, 10 piercing)
"Alright, let's see what I can do," Bolkin told himself as he placed his flail on the ground. He quickly leaped down to where the others were, and, with the key in his mouth, attempted to grab onto the statue with both hands, feeling a slight boost in confidence from Drosk's prayers.
+5 = 1 BAB + 3 STR + 1 Competence Bonus
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Telperion saw Bolkin's attempt, and admired how the guardsman had pulled back in time as the statue had moved out of position. Alright, he'll get it. Now, I need to move here so he can have...
The statue lurched and Telperion gasped and shifted rapidly, finishing his thought out loud "...better position next time!"
Raven just shook her head. I'm sure that these theatrics are exactly what the town had in mind for us when they sent us on this errand, but now that someone's life is truly at stake, I'd imagine the response of real heroes would be to save her before it's too late, rather than waste time and energy showboating.
She considers dodging around the battle to try to get to the door beyond, but she realizes she's not likely to make it much further on her own. Instead, she loads her crossbow and takes a shot from her vantage point.
Drosk keeps a wary eye on the battle below him, ready to channel healing energies if the animated statue wounds any of his friends.
Bolkin fails to scrabble up high enough to get an appropriate grip.
Raven's crossbow bolt goes high over the golem's head.
The golem swings both arms together, side-swiping Garik and knocking him into the wall, knocking the breath out of him and leaving him reeling.
Bolkin turns as the other shield suddenly comes flying at him, turning his right side to it just in time to avoid being clocked in the face. He bites hard on the key, glad it didn't get smashed straight into his face.
Drosk calls upon Torag's strength, his bellows restoring Garik's breath and mending the smarts on Bolkin's arm.
Shield Bash
Confirm first crit
Initiative Rd 2
> Garik
Telperion
Bolkin
Raven
Drosk
Statue (wounded; 8 slashing, 10 piercing)
"Well, seems like it's still a wood after all even being animated an' all, me axe dented it quite well. Dunno thought how long me arms can keep this hackin'!"
"Ok Telp! Be hackin' again to give yer sneakin' a help!"
"Ok then ye give the same help to Bolkin after yer sneakin'! Let's be doin' the same dance as long as we can!"
Bolkin braced himself for the blow, though it still hurt quite a bit. Oddly enough, the pain in his arm disappeared almost as quickly as it came. He gave a quick gesture of approval to Drosk before focusing on the construct. "Ahhrgh, ess imss er reahh," he mumbled, the key in his mouth inhibiting his speech by no small amount.
With the statue's back exposed, he quickly jumped up and attempted to wrap his arms around its arm and neck, keeping the key in his mouth until he's sure it stuck. He prayed the statue was sufficiently distracted for the task.
+4 = 1 BAB + 3 STR (+2 flank for a total of +6 if applicable)
Garik's axe lashes out as the statue brings its arm around, the blade cutting naught but air.
Telperion gives the construct a matching wound just below its other knee, now prepared for the necessary hard tug required to get his deeply-buried blade back out of the golem.
Bolkin, ready to make his own distraction, slips past the elf and makes his lunge for the statue's neck. Seeing the movement, Kassen's left elbow slams into the side of his head, bringing tears to his eyes and exploding stars to his vision. After a moment, he realizes his lunge was successful; the guardsman is hanging off the statue's shoulder, looking over it at a lump of flesh, beard and metal that his blurry vision assumes is Drosk.
Seeing Bolkin battered yet again by the animated statue, Drosk calls upon the blessings of the Forgefather to heal the guardsman's wounds.
Raven rolls her eyes as she watches Garik and Bolkin get battered for no reason. She wonders if that girl is still alive, and whether it'd be faster to try to get to her or just go back to village and get some of the more experienced adventurers.
She takes one of the torches and jumps down to join the fray. Though without oil, she only hopes to distract the golem to help Garik hit it easier. Unfortunately, the swing doesn't attract enough attention from the golem to unsettle its defense.
Raven makes her way down the wall and makes a swipe at the golem, missing widely.
The wooden statue makes quite a show of attempting to throw Bolkin, but the guardsman's renewed vigor from Drosk's invocation lets him hold on.
Initiative Rd 2
> Garik
Telperion
Bolkin
Raven
Drosk
Statue (wounded; 8 slashing, 10 piercing)
Smacked and shaken, Bolkin had a very hard time keeping on the statue's back. A particularly nasty swing dislodged his arms, which caused him to quickly wrap his legs around the statue's waist as a last resort. Working desperately to establish a handhold, he also focused on retrieving the key from his mouth (while making sure not to choke on it).
Grasping the key with all his might, Bolkin let out a loud yell as he plunged the key downward in the direction of the keyhole, hoping his grip wouldn't fail before he could get it in.
+13 = 1 BAB + 3 STR + 5 Circumstance + 2 Flank + 2 Aid
Bolkin struggles to keep his grip and simultaneously get the key thrust into the hole. Seeing the fighter about to lose his grip, Telperion lunges forward and strikes the golem about the knee again, causing it to lean forward and give Bolkin the purchase he needs to guide the key in.
With a flick of the wrist, the key turns. Kassen almost immediately drops to one knee, the shields coming to rest held straight up to either side. After a moment's breather, Bolkin realizes the rodeo is over.
The door is locked, but the key from the fire pit opens it easily.
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Telperion quickly checked the southern door, and then turned happily back to the group. His smile faded a bit when he saw Raven's rolling eyes and disapproving looks. He glanced back and forth between her and battered Bolkin, and felt a bit less exuberant. He wanted to apologize, but he wasn't sure what to say.
With the statue "defeated" as it were, Bolkin allowed himself to slide off and land squarely on his back as the chains that composed his armor broke his fall in a dull clatter. His head was pounding and his vision blurred slightly, but that was probably the most fun he'd had since they left Kassen.
"Could someone...could someone kick me my flail from up there?" Bolkin muttered in a daze to whoever was still at the top of the stairs. He got up a little to look at the others gathering near the door and waved at them, "I think Garik should lead for a bit. I'm just gonna lie down for a bit and join you in a sec." With that said, his head dropped back to the floor as he spend the next several seconds staring at the ceiling.
Drosk picks up Bolkin's flail from where he dropped it and makes his way carefully down one of the ramps that used to be stairs to the room's lower level. While his companions examine the southern door, the dwarven priest moves to tend to the wounded guardsman.
"Here, lad. Drink this," Drosk says, passing a vial of liquid to Bolkin. "It's one o' them curative potions Roldare gave us. Should fix ye up right quick."
"Listen. Somebody's life may be at stake, and her time may be fleeting. I say 'may', because it may already be too late. If she's to have any hope, we need to get to her quick, and get there in one piece ourselves, if we're to face whatever's taken her. We've wasted a day so far playing hero with these fake traps. It's time we started acting like heroes, as well, and put her safety first... starting with a plan 'B'. We need to send Grukk back to town to tell them what happened here. Some of the more experienced adventurers in town, like my family and Holgast and some of the guardsmen, can come out here, in case we don't make it to Roldare's sister, and in case she's still alive by the time they get here. But if we act smart and get lucky, maybe instead they'll be just in time to see us emerge from this hole with the girl safe and sound."
Even if no one else consents, Raven will go back herself to tell Grukk to go get help. She'll then try to catch up with the party further in the dungeon. If Grukk refuses to go back to town, she'll go herself.
Bolkin started sitting up just as Drosk handed him his weapon and a vial to drink. He blankly at the vial before removing the top and downing it in a swift motion. Though he still felt fairly battered after the potion ran its course, it certainly helped him regain his strength. He quickly lept to his feet and began to stretch as he made his way to the door.
It was at around this time that Raven began to voice her concerns, at which he wordlessly listened in. Around the time she finished, he crossed his arms and remarked, "All of our lives are at stake here, Raven. First rule of saving anyone is that it's hard to do when you're dead. We take one wrong step and none of us are going to be heroes. As for help, I assume they'll come on their own once they realize something's wrong, but even if we send someone to speed that up, it could be dangerous to travel alone. We had enough trouble getting here as it was."
That said, all he could do was shrug and add, "But if you think it's something you have to do, I'm not going to stop you. Just don't do anything reckless. There's a time to hurry and a time to watch your step." As Raven took off, Bolkin could only look back to the group and speak up, "She'll probably be fine. For now, what do you suppose is behind this door? A quick look-and-listen probably won't hurt too much."
Raven looks at Bolkin perplexedly. "Are you drunk?! You're the one who's being reckless! We could have set that thing on fire from 10 feet out of it's reach and moved on without a scratch, but instead you wanted to see if you could wrestle it to submission!" She points at Drosk. "He had to heal you twice. And give you a potion. We might've needed that later."
She storms off back to talk to Grukk and Roldare, glad to see Telp follow her. She'll try to convince Roldare to accompany Grukk back to the village, and will give his crossbow back to him.
"Roldare, we're even having trouble with the stupid traps you all set. We're going to keep trying, but do you really think this bunch of children can save your sister? Go back with Grukk. Maybe you can convince the real adventurers in Kassen to come out here and take this threat seriously. Take your crossbow and bolts. I brought what I needed."
She doesn't wait to see whether they go. She leaves the crossbow, whether Roldare wants it or not, and returns to the group, satisfied that she's properly delegated the responsibility of Dmira's life back to Grukk and Roldare.
Grukk and Roldare both seem a bit surprised at Raven's heated instruction. The cobbler's eyes go wide at the suggestion he return home without his sister, though he's too distracted by the crossbow thrust at him to work out an intelligible reply.
Grukk shrugs. "It'll be days getting there and back, but I don't think I'd mind getting out of this place. Maybe if they start out with horses we'll be back before they're done munching on your bones."
-
Back in Kassen's golem's chamber, Bolkin and the dwarves await the return of the other two.
The note's handwriting is familiar, broad strokes and immaculate lettering.
"Bolkin. That old ball and chain of yours isn't suited for one of my most skilled students. You should find this one better suited to your size and better weighted. Don't let that keep you from doing your drills!
If any of the guards could get past the statue of old Kassen without smashing it into one piece, it's you. And you better not have, or it's coming out of your pay. ~ Gregor Wisslo"
The note's handwriting is a bit of a scrawl and clearly that of Uncle Braggar. A bit of soot stains the paper lightly in places where he rested his hand.
"The pride I feel in both of you is something I cannot put into words. The axe is my own creation, a gift to the young dwarf who came to me from the wilderness all those years ago. I suspect you might be leaving Kassen soon. If so, I hope this serves you well.
To my nephew, I made the hammer as well, but for another; my brother, your father. It was a gift for the day he was ordained, and he wants it to be an heirloom. Hopefully you will not have need of it, but it is an admirable weapon if you must wield it in Torag's name.
~ Braggar Ironhame"
The note is in the longhand scrawl of your mentor.
"Having fun, Telperion? Perhaps the rigors of this place are naught for your intellect, but a body as young as yours should be put to the test on occasion as well. I know you've yet to fully pick up the knack of the art, so I've left a little distilled magic for you.
One is a potion of invisibility should you encounter something nasty on your way back. The other is an oil of magic weapon, in case it's especially nasty, or if you find a ghost there! Ho ho ho.
~Holgast"
The book is unlabeled, and flipping through it it mostly seems to be all arcane writing.
"Your father seems to have forgotten you don't read Ignan. I had Baker translate it and it made less sense, but the gist of it is as follows:
Your father hopes you will have an adventuring life at least half so exciting as his own. He reminds you that there is a lot of competition (I assume from your siblings), and hopes that these items give you an edge. It does not say what they actually do; I hope you can figure that out yourself.
Love, Nanny G."
Below that in plain, hard print, is another note.
Wand: magic missile, 10 charges, scroll: scorching ray.
In case you get in a tight spot. Be careful. - Baker
"Young adventurers of Kassen, I admire that you have made it this far. You do our town a great service; though it is but a gesture, it warms our hearts in these hard winter months, and the success of our youth is always cause to rejoice.
Drosk, your service to the people of Kassen is particularly admirable and I am always glad for your assistance. Please, take this wand of cure light wounds and scroll of lesser restoration and mend any hurts you or your companions may incur.
Autumnal Blessings; Father Prasst
Bolkin had nothing to say at Raven's retort. It's true that their plan didn't go as smoothly as he had liked, but part of him was convinced that her plan of setting a magical statue alight might have had some complications of its own.
His mood lifted significantly when he finally peeked through the door to find the various bits of treasure. Perhaps this was the stash that was left for us to find, he thought to himself. He almost instantly guessed which of the items was for him as he examined the superbly-crafted flail laying on the table. He was so quick to pick it up and test it out, noting the subtle yet important differences in weight and length, that it took him a few seconds to notice the parchment addressed to him.
Reading the note from his master gave him a newfound sense of pride; Bolkin always figured he was the best of the captain's studends, but having those suspicions confirmed by the man himself gave him a strong rush of joy that almost made him forget they were still in a dusty crypt surrounded by unearthly horrors. After reading the last part of the note about his pay being docked if anything happened to the Kassen statue, he began to cast an accusatory glare at the girl who, moments before, had berated him for not burning it to the ground.
It didn't take long, however, for him to simply shake his head and discard that train of thought. Curious, he went about the room, checking out whatever gifts and notes the rest of the group were willing to share with each other. Once everyone had finished going over what they had found, Bolkin finally spoke up, "Alright, I think we've got a hero's arsenal here, so how about we go out there and make the folks back home proud?" As he spoke, he punctuated his statement with the same silly outstretched flail gesture he had made back in Kassen.
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Telperion looked uncomfortable as Raven spoke to Roldare and Grukk. As she finished and walked away, he added briefly, "I don’t know if we can save your sister, Roldare, but we’ll certainly try. Raven’s plan is good, though, so we need you to go back to town. Hopefully we’ll meet you on the road."
Telperion then ran to catch up with Raven and rejoin the others.
Entering the room after Bolkin, he looked over the items and examined the ones left for him. He finished reading the note as Bolkin made his flourishing gesture. He smiled warmly at the guardsman, but didn’t laugh or join in...out of respect for Raven's discomfort.
Raven discreetly sheathed the wand and scroll, hoping no one recognized the arcane tools that were left for her, before catching herself. That's silly. They're going to see me use them, anyway. Besides, they should all have figured out already that I'm not a witch.
Catching Bolkin's glare, Raven figured it out when the note for all of them was passed to her in turn. "Well, how was I supposed to know they left all these healing supplies for Drosk here? Roldare could've helped us out if he'd told us where they left it."
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Telperion noted Raven's defensiveness and felt a surge of compassion. How many times had he felt awkward and wanted to explain himself. He decided to say something nice, and perhaps break the tension between her and Bolkin.
"It's alright Raven, you couldn't have known, and besides...." His voice trailed off. "Is there any direction left to go but through the round room with the arrow trap? There is a door on the south wall of that room, but I can't think of any other direction."
At this he began a mental review of where they'd gone so far, turning to face different directions and using his hands in the air in front of his face to help draw a mental map. Completely engrossed, he forgot about what he was saying.
At this point Bolkin was tired enough of arguing that he merely acknowledged Raven's words with a slight nod. What could have happened wasn't as pressing to him at the moment as what they were going to do now that they were properly equipped.
"Yeah..." Bolkin thought to himself out loud at Telperion's deduction, "Seems like we're going to have to figure out what to do with that arrow trap." As he spoke, he remembered something he had thought of the previous night before falling asleep, "Maybe... If one of us took something to block with, like Drosk's shield, we could cover Telperion as he checks the south door for locks or traps."
"Yeah. I meant to ask, Telp: do you think it resets? It seems like it'd run out of arrows, unless it has a way to conjure them magically.... in which case, the blunted arrows the villagers loaded it with may have run out, and been replaced by pointed ones. We'll need to be careful.
Do you think you can disable it? Or maybe it takes a while to reset - we could trigger it and let it run its course and then run through while it resets. Did it trigger by the door opening or was the trigger further in? Bolkin, if we have to use shields, we might be able to borrow the ones from the wood golem."
Drosk reverently takes up the finely-crafted warhammer left for him by his uncle, marveling at the weapon's exquisite craftsmanship. Humbled by the knowledge that the weapon had been forged for his father, the dwarf priest silently offers thanks to his uncle as he places the warhammer on his belt.
Drosk is also honored by Father Prasst's gesture, and stores the scroll in his pack and the wand on his belt where it will be within easy reach in an emergency.
"Right, then," Drosk says, agreeing with his companions' assessment. "Seems we've searched ev'ry other place up here fer a stairway down to th' lower level, an' th' arrow trap room is th' only one with a door we haven't checked yet. Raven's got a good idea - let's see if ol' Kassen's willin' to loan us his shields." With those words, Drosk moves over to the inert statue to inspect the shields and see if they're removable.
"Yer right on, Raven, usin' the shield! And Bolkin, I'll be glad to take point!'
Garik stows away his present weapon and uses the magnificent waraxe his mentor unexpectedly gave him. The young dwarf barbarian is quite overwhelmed with the smith's gesture as being vouched for the quest was honor enough for the dwarf and realizing that the gift is not just a plain weapon but a masterwork overcomes the dwarf with unexpected warm emotions that seem to make him feel something is in his throat!
"Aherm! Me heart yearns to use this axe to whoever's messin' with our crypt but if Kassen's shield is what's needed in the arrow room then so be it!'
Garik will follow Drosk's action but if it's possible he'll try to hold both the waraxe and the over-sized shield in the arrow room but if not then he'll stow away first the axe and use the shield on both hands.
The statue still 'grasps' the shields, but with a little work and elbow grease Drosk can slide them right off.
The tower shields are more form than function; Medium creatures can wield them (in one hand), but they weigh 60 pounds and you're flat footed while doing so. They would make excellent cover against arrows, though.
Telperion's certain the trap couldn't be reloaded short of intelligent creatures doing so manually. Having slept by the room, you heard nothing so the trap has certainly been dealt with already.
.
"Good. If the arrow trap won't reset, we probably won't need the shields." While considering the shortcut to the arrow room, Raven considers the statues in the alcoves. "The way some of those have leather wrapped around the blades make me think they're more constructs we'd have to fight through. Unless Telp can find a way to disable them, I think we should save our energy for the real threats, and go around."
"Yeah," Bolkin agreed with Raven's suggestion. Though normally he wouldn't necessarily oppose the idea of more fights, he couldn't help but wonder just how much property damage he would be held accountable for after reading the captain's note. "At any rate we know the other route like the back of our hands by now. What's one more roundabout trip?"
"As for the shields," he continued, "There might still be a use for one if a couple of you in back want to lug it around. Can't say for sure we've seen the last of those arrow traps."
"Raven an' Bolkin have got th' right o' it. I don't mind takin' th' long way 'round - least we know there's no nasty surprises along that way. 'Specially since we need to conserve our resources as we're likely to run into more nasties down on th' lower level."
"An' I don't mind carryin' one o' th' shields. It won't make me any slower than I already am," Drosk adds.
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Telperion figured that folks should just dodge the arrows, but he managed to close his mouth and not say this out loud.
Instead, he focused on Bolkin's wounds. "Drosk, perhaps you can use your new wand on Bolkin. He is a bit battered after the fight with the statue."
He smiled at his long-time sparring partner and led the way back to the circular room , prepared to ensure the trap was not reset when they arrived.
The group makes their way back around the crypt. At the entrance, they catch sight of Grukk, apparently half-leading half-dragging a sullen-looking Roldare by the hand. The half-orc waves and then starts back off towards Kassen.
Telperion briefly takes the lead as they reach the room with the arrow pillar. Now knowing what to listen for, he holds the door open. A faint clicking of gears starts the mechanism going, and the pillar begins to rotate, a quiet set of mechanical clicks echoing around the room every few seconds as the trap grinds on heedless of its lack of ammo.
Telperion gives the southern door a good check before grabbing the handle and pushing it open. Garik steps through and checks the opposite side - this dor, at least, isn't one-way. As the party shuffles through the narrow entrance, the room widens out in a triangular shape. Faded murals of mourners, funeral rites, and other such macabre scenes line the walls. Four pillars support the ceiling, and two niches on the south wall contain statues of Pharasma. It's plain to see that the artwork in this room predates Kassen. Four pillars support the middle of the room.
Most importantly, a staircase down sits between the two Pharasman statues. A low, keening moan emanates from the depths.
As the companions leave the room with the wooden statue and make their way to the arrow-trap chamber, Drosk tries out the healing wand on Bolkin.
Bearing the wooden tower shield in preparation of deflecting arrows fired from the trapped pillar, Drosk breathes a welcome sigh of relief at finding the arrow-trap pillar empty of missiles.
Still bearing the large shield, the dwarf priest follows his companions through the southern door into the chamber beyond. As Telperion listens at the stairway, Drosk moves behind him to inspect the Pharasman statues.
Bolkin remained quiet as the others searched the room, not wanting to get the attention of whatever was making that sound. He crept closer to the stairs to get a better listen along with Telperion.
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