After warning the others about the other trapped doors, Rutter moves to open the south one. Upon opening the door, the group sees that the room is filled with a number of crates. A particularly large one has ben dragged into the chamber's center, around which stand four mismatched chairs and stools. Everyone can easily see the leg and arm of someone just west of the door, but only Feldivar is responive enough to act on it before ther is a flurry of movement.
Feldivarxon, assuming the extremities belong to a hostile, but not knowing for certain, casts a spell meant to make things harder for the fellow. Aware that Rutter is standing immediately in front of the door, he pushes the target of his spell into the room to avoid including the talented halfling.
With an arcane phrase and a delighted giggle, the room explodes in a shower of sparkles, coating everything (and everyone), and causing them to wipe mica dust from their eyes.
As the door opens, Feldivar sees signs of limbs from someone that looks to be hiding. Heading off the conflict of fighting unseen enemies off at the pass, he casts a spell as the room bursts into a flash of dazzling golden glitter. Suddenly cries go out, "I can't see!", "Ahh, it's in my eyes!", and "Move, you're in the way!"
There is activity in the room as one of the physicians, now readily visible from being encased in glitter, rubs feverishly at his eyes. He looks around, blinking as he manages to clear his vision. Meanwhile, the one visible from the corner of the door wanders away from it, also trying to clear his vision. He just cant seem to shake the effect. As he does, there's activity on either side of the door. Secondary physicians swing their cudgels at Rutter, as the only available target in the doorway. The first swing is wide, as he still struggles to get past his blind wandering ally. The other swing comes pretty close, but due to Rutter's training, and a little help from the door frame, it just misses him.
Rutter draws his second kukri as he pushes into the room, seeking the blinded physicians like the wounded prey they are.
He swings a kukri at the first blinded physician he reaches.
Neva moved to the door and shot at one of the physicians as best she could in the confined space.
Vyshael starts to mutter the words to fling a fireball , stopping when sees Rutter rush in. Guess we'll do it the hard way, he thinks, tapping himself with the wand of shield before rushing in with his blade.
Raliscar hustles forward, throwing his shoulder into the door frame as he rolls his back up against the wall. Readying his crossbow, he leans around the corner and let's a bolt fly.
HP: 55/64
AC: 20 (13 T / 17 FF)
CMD: 20
F/R/W: +9/+10/+5
Ranger's Focus (+4/+4): [X] [ ]
Level 1 spells prepared (1+1): gravity bow [X] [X]
Necklace of Fireballs: 6d6 [X] // 4d6 [X] [ ] // 2d6 [X] [ ]
-Ongoing Effects-
Favored Terrain (underground/dungeon): +2 to Initiative, Perception, Stealth, & Survival for ALL party members
Rutter nimbly dashes between the two men standing guard on either side of the door, taking advantage of their recovery from their earlier failed swings at him. He rushes right at the physician scratching at the eyes on his plague mask, and levels a deep cut with his kukri, right across the mans lower right side. The man screams in pain, as the blade cuts deep into the vitals.
Vyshael draws a wand out, and speaks the command word to have it quickly expel a glimmering disc of force before him, before the image fades.
Neva fires through the small gap into the room, targeting the man bleeding profusely from a large gash. Her shot flies past the others to strike the man in the upper chest. The pain from the additional hit is enough to drop him, silent and bloody.
Raliscar moves forward to balance himself against the wall just outside the door. With the steadying surface beside him, he fires in an impressive display of marksmanship. The bolt flies past everyone in the room, to hit the man standing alone in the far corner, the hard punch an unwelcome surprise after so recently regaining his sight.
Feldivarxon casts silent image, creating a likeness of a dog like Esmeralda, that he has charge into the fray and snap at the men on either side of the door, hoping to draw one or more AoO attempts to allow Vyshael to enter more safely.
Feldivar conjures up another dog from out of nothing, to send it padding silently forward into the room between the two men around the doorway. Each of the men take a swing at the thing, both weapons having no effect. The physician on the right side of the door stops, signals the other, before turning his attention to Rutter. The other one seems to ignore him.
The one shot by Raliscar, his vision recently returned, turns and steps toward the halfling with his cudgel raised. His vision is still clearing, as he tries to blink away the spots and golden glow, his cudgel crashes hard into the wall well above Rutter's head. As the physician on the floor continues to bleed out from his injuries, the one to the left of the door tries once more to hit the elusive dog in the doorway, bothered by his inability to affect it. The one to the right, tries to signal again, but then waves the other off to step to the other side of Rutter. Using his ally to his advantage, he attacks the halfling, but even with the help he can't seem to connect.
Protective magic in place, Vyshael steps into the doorway, next to Raliscar, then calls over his shoulder, "Your blasted summoned dog is blocking my way!" He then tumbles through the open door, past the dwarf, tucking himself safely into the corner to will his magic into the blade before swinging it at the masked figure that attacked Rutter.
Rutter swings both kukri at the enemies surrounding him, starting with the one that was already injured.
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Neva sends another bolt through the press even as she urges Rutter to take care. "Be careful!"
----
Raliscar steps into the door and fires upon the nearest remaining attacker with a grunt. "How many more o' you mudsucking lunatics are there?!"
HP: 55/64
AC: 20 (13 T / 17 FF)
CMD: 20
F/R/W: +9/+10/+5
Ranger's Focus (+4/+4): [X] [ ]
Level 1 spells prepared (1+1): gravity bow [X] [X]
Necklace of Fireballs: 6d6 [X] // 4d6 [X] [ ] // 2d6 [X] [ ]
-Ongoing Effects-
Favored Terrain (underground/dungeon): +2 to Initiative, Perception, Stealth, & Survival for ALL party members
Deadly Aim: -2/+4
Rutter turns on the man that had rushed up after his blindness cleared, lashing out with both blades, stabbing hard in the man. The first kukri jabbed into the man's thigh, and as he slumped on the injured leg, Rutter thrust his other blade into the man's stomach. Pulling it out, the man followed the downward stroke, to fall atop his companion. The two of them bleeding out in a heap.
Vyshael moves up, dancing around the dog that now stands blocking the doorway. Slipping to the side, he swings his sword around to hack into the physician that tried to surround Rutter. He cuts a dark red line across the man's side, the stain of blood quickly seeping into his armor and clothing.
Neva fires her shot into the fray, the only clear target still standing inside the doorway dealing with the sudden dog that appeared at Feldivar's behest. The shot isn't bad, but aiming past the doorframe causes it to glance just off of the man's armor.
Raliscar chooses instead to stand right up in the man's face, using the man's own cover to block himself as well. His first shot is a surprise punch right into the man's gut, with a grunt of pain breathed out to be heard just beyond the mask he wears. As Raliscar deftly renocks a bolt into the weapon, the man flattens himself up against the wall just in time for Raliscar's bolt to zip past into the stone wall beyond.
Feldivarxon maintains the silent image and casts ghost sound, giving the dog a voice as it growls and prepares to spring onto the man still convinced of its realism.
As Feldivar adds to the believability of his illusory hound, the man decides that he can no longer waste time with the mostly harmless dog. The halfling is the greater threat that needs to be dealt with. He stands over top the pile of bodies that are his allies, to take a swing at the little man. While one ally's wounds stop bleeding, the other's are a little more grevious. Focusing on Rutter, with the other physician opposite him, he brings his cudgel around hard into Rutter's right knee. As he twists from the pain, the other one smacks down hard into the middle of the halfling's back.
"Aagh!" Rutter staggers toward the door from the pair of attacks.
He clumsily swings both kukri at the physician still in reach.
Neva let out a grunt of sympathetic pain as Rutter staggered back. Still unable to reach him she tried to take down the foes.
Raliscar lets another pair of bolts fly into the fray, nodding silently in approval at Neva's attempt to try and bring one of the remaining scoundrels down. "That's th' spirit, lass! Keep pepperin' 'em!" Vysh, Rutter, don't let up with those blades o' yours. These scum ain't hurtin' anyone else!"
HP: 55/64
AC: 20 (13 T / 17 FF)
CMD: 20
F/R/W: +9/+10/+5
Ranger's Focus (+4/+4): [X] [ ]
Level 1 spells prepared (1+1): gravity bow [X] [X]
Necklace of Fireballs: 6d6 [X] // 4d6 [X] [ ] // 2d6 [X] [ ]
-Ongoing Effects-
Favored Terrain (underground/dungeon): +2 to Initiative, Perception, Stealth, & Survival for ALL party members
Deadly Aim: -2/+4
Rutter shifts over to put his back against the wall, and try to make himself a harder target. He lashes out weakly at the man nearest him, the hit to his spine dull his movements, but not enough. He manages to regain enough feeling by his second swing that he catches the man across the stomach.
Vyshael continues his assault on the man he hit last time, but the physician easily sidesteps the swing, even with his focus still on Rutter
Neva tries to fire into the fray, but with all the moving parts standing in her line of fire, her concern over Rutter's injuries pulls her shot too far to the left to hit her target.
Raliscar, lined up for a good clear shot, punches a bolt into the man's shoulder that knocks him into the wall. The hasty reload and refire in such a short range proves too much, and he can't get his shot to its mark.
Feldivarxon moves to get visibility on the 'doctor' that attacked Rutter.
he concentrates on the silent image to lunge at the man even as the gnome casts once more.
Feldivar moves to a better angle and continues to have his 'dog' harass the one man that seems to still believe in it. As the dog silently nips at the man, Feldivar uses the distraction to try and cause the man's weapon to slip from his grasp, and he is successful.
Injured, weaponless, and standing on the blood and bodies of his allies, the physician tries to make his getaway through everyone blocking the door. He manages to get the first step off, but once he tries to dance past the dog and through Raliscar, he fails to make it through.
The remaining physician steels himself, and swings his cudgel at Vyshael, He barely even gets close to the man, and decides that he won't be left by himself in the room. Unlike his ally, He knows the dog isn't real, and manages to get just past Raliscar, but to do so he leaves himself open to hits.
As the first crony bounces off of Raliscar's chest and stumbles back a step, the dwarf chortles, "Oh? And jus' where do you think you're going? Ha!" The second he watches slip by, but only barely. "An' I suppose you think you're gettin' out o' here too? Well, yer welcome to try." He punctuates the offer by slipping a bolt into the cradle of his massive crossbow.
If either of the faux-physicians survive long enough to try and flee again, Raliscar waits for them to get a few steps away before drilling them between the shoulder blades.
HP: 55/64
AC: 20 (13 T / 17 FF)
CMD: 20
F/R/W: +9/+10/+5
Ranger's Focus (+4/+4): [X] [ ]
Level 1 spells prepared (1+1): gravity bow [X] [X]
Necklace of Fireballs: 6d6 [X] // 4d6 [X] [ ] // 2d6 [X] [ ]
-Ongoing Effects-
Favored Terrain (underground/dungeon): +2 to Initiative, Perception, Stealth, & Survival for ALL party members
Deadly Aim: -2/+4
Rutter swung a kukri out at the physician as he tries to escape.
Feldivarxon holds the reins tightly as Esmeralda lunges at the physician, trying to grab his leg as he passes.
Vyshael swings the heavy blade at the physician trying to get past him.
for
Rutter cuts down the first physician trying to escape, leaving him to bleed out right in front of Raliscar. Vyshael, though, is able to hack into the one fighting him, as he tries to pass through Raliscar blocking the doorway. Depite the hit putting the last physician off balance, Feldivar's dog is unable to bite hard enough to find purchase on the man's leg.
Rutter chases the last physician back into the first room, stopping opposite Feldivarxon's dog. He uses the moment of the physician's distracted glance to the dog to try to aim for a crucial weakness.
Vyshael steps into the doorway then dodges the remaining physician's attacks as he sets himself up next to Rutter (), giving himself room to swing his heavy blade.
Rutter follows the man out of the room, easily avoiding a clumsy and hasty blow from the target, then turning and cutting a horrendous gash in the back of the man's thigh. The injury drops the man to the ground, bleeding heavily.
The gnome claps excitedly as his illusory dog disappears, "Bravo! Well-fought, my friends! I wonder if these miscreants have any healing available for the damage they inflicted in their losing effort..."
Dismounting from the (really real) dog, he leads her to the pile of dying physicians to begin searching them for potions and other useful items, piling anything he finds next to the bodies for identification after he's done.
The physicians have nothing more useful on them than did their fellows above. Cudgel, armor, plaguedoctor's mask, and healer's kits are all they each carry.
"Miserable rats." Raliscar shoulders his crossbow and kicks one of the downed surgeons with a huff, the effort rolling the body over to its back. "How many more o' these mud-suckers are we goin' ta have ta' deal with down here?!" This time he kicks the wall in frustration.
Vyshael says, "That was unpleasant. Still, the healing kits would be useful."
Feldivarxon stands amid the crates looking at the walls. "Four men, stationed here for a while - note the 'table' and chairs - but not having more than what they were carrying on them. Not a barracks, most like a guard room." He looks at the others, "If so, what were they guarding? Something in one of these crates? Or," he turns back to look at the walls again, "a passage we haven't found?"
Reaching into his shirt, he draws forth a tiny scorpion. Apparently speaking to it, he says, "Look for hide-holes in walls. Show me hide-holes."
As Feldivar and his scorpion search the room for secret doors, Rutter picks up one of the blades from one of the doctors. He uses the blade to begin prying open crates to see what treasures are held within. "Hey, Vyshael and Raliscar, will y'all start looking at those skeletons and the doors, to see if you can figure out how it works?
I'm going to see what's in these crates. Hey, don't try to open those doors yet, even if you figure them out."