Hearing Hrimnagel's report, Argor silently floats down the ladder shaft, taking in the mosaic as well as the rest of the chamber.
After looking around a bit, you both notice three circular stone disks stacked neatly against the east wall by the door. The stones represent a happy looking female child, a grandiose city, and a brooding devil.
After he relays the room description to the group, Hrim offers,"Do you think this is a puzzle, Argor? Devil on the bottom; city in the middle; and child on top?"
Looking over the mosaic and the discs, Argor says with a sigh, "Clearly it is intended to serve that purpose, but it is so elementary and obvious that it seems a waste of resources to have undertaken the trouble. Unless, for some reason, it is supposed to represent some form of irony, which I doubt."
Hrim offers, "If we have ten minutes, I can ask the stones to tell me which one goes where and what's been through here."
Argor shakes his head, "No need. My own assessment of the mosaic is in agreement with yours," he says as he holds up a hand and one by one wills the discs to float into place using his magic.
Once the disks are placed in the correct order, the door pops open, spitting out the three stone keys in the process. There is a spiral stair leading down further underground.
Hrim offers, "Give me another two minutes to scout." He casts Detect Magic and stealthily flies down the spiral stairs. He breathes deep enjoying the return to the comfortable underground.
Cladissa lingers a bit after the others have descended into the trap door, and observes the bound guards once they begin to awaken from her hex.
"Hello," she begins, trying to sound polite but unconsciously adding a sultry inflection, "who would like to tell me about why you are here and what you are guarding?"
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Mattera begins the count as Hrim scouts. He was always good with numbers, and it did help to have a specific and regular amount of time to be able to do things in concert with others. He fiddled with his bat while he waited, keeping an eye on everything. When Cladissa began her questioning, he made sure he paid enough attention to them to see how they really felt when the responded.
Cladissa lingers a bit after the others have descended into the trap door, and observes the bound guards once they begin to awaken from her hex.
"Hello," she begins, trying to sound polite but unconsciously adding a sultry inflection, "who would like to tell me about why you are here and what you are guarding?"
[dice=Diplomacy]1d20+7+1
The man who was wearing the helmet says, "We're mercenaries. Woman who hired us asked us to guard the place and not let anyone down below. What are you anyway...?" He looks over her body lecherously.
The dwarf is silent, he grimaces.
The woman frowns at Helmet. "What are you going to do to us?"
Hrim offers, "Give me another two minutes to scout." He casts Detect Magic and stealthily flies down the spiral stairs. He breathes deep enjoying the return to the comfortable underground.
This room is split by a long, ten-foot-wide stone walkway, extending sixty feet east to west between two spiral staircases. Two ladders rest on the north side of the walkway and two more on the south, leading down into a fifteen-foot-wide trench twenty feet below. These sub-rooms are filled with objects ranging from decrepit suits of rusted armor, to piles of rotting furs, and to various over-stuffed footlockers. The opposite spiral staircase is blocked by a lowered portcullis. There are two hulking fiends patrolling the walkway, each wielding a wicked barbed glaive. Below their toothy maws writhe hideous, twitching beards.
When Hrim returns to brief the team, "The next room is split by a long, ten-foot-wide stone walkway, extending sixty feet east to west between two spiral staircases. Two ladders rest on the north side of the walkway and two more on the south, leading down into a fifteen-foot-wide trench twenty feet below. These sub-rooms are filled with objects ranging from decrepit suits of rusted armor, to piles of rotting furs, and to various over-stuffed footlockers. The opposite spiral staircase is blocked by a lowered portcullis. There are two hulking fiends patrolling the walkway, each wielding a wicked barbed glaive. Below their toothy maws writhe hideous, twitching beards."
The man who was wearing the helmet says, "We're mercenaries. Woman who hired us asked us to guard the place and not let anyone down below. What are you anyway...?" He looks over her body lecherously.The dwarf is silent, he grimaces.
The woman frowns at Helmet. "What are you going to do to us?"
Cladissa's mouth twitches in irritation at the lustful leer and she has to consciously make an effort not to react futher. Instead, she just tosses her voluminous hair over her shoulder and says cryptically, "I'm unique." Then dismissing him, she turns her attention to the woman though speaks as she is addressing each of them. "We will do nothing to you, assuming you remain silent and do not attempt escape. In fact, once we resolve our issues with the woman who hired you, I will see to it that you are still paid your agreed-upon wage for your efforts. Again, provided you cause no further trouble. Be advised, my companions are quite deadly, so this offer is truly generous."
Hearing the creaking floorboards behind her announcing Mettera's looming presence, she checks with him to see if he believes their answer. Assuming they give no indication of planning trouble, Cladissa slips down the trap door and listens to Hrim's description of the next room and it's guardians.
Cladissa frowns. "Bearded devils. Immune to fire; resistant to acid and cold. They can see in the deepest of darkness, and have the same telepathy I've developed. They'll be able to summon more minions, if they're not summoned themselves," she cautions.
The man who was wearing the helmet says, "We're mercenaries. Woman who hired us asked us to guard the place and not let anyone down below. What are you anyway...?" He looks over her body lecherously.The dwarf is silent, he grimaces.
The woman frowns at Helmet. "What are you going to do to us?"
Cladissa's mouth twitches in irritation at the lustful leer and she has to consciously make an effort not to react futher. Instead, she just tosses her voluminous hair over her shoulder and says cryptically, "I'm unique." Then dismissing him, she turns her attention to the woman though speaks as she is addressing each of them. "We will do nothing to you, assuming you remain silent and do not attempt escape. In fact, once we resolve our issues with the woman who hired you, I will see to it that you are still paid your agreed-upon wage for your efforts. Again, provided you cause no further trouble. Be advised, my companions are quite deadly, so this offer is truly generous."
Hearing the creaking floorboards behind her announcing Mettera's looming presence, she checks with him to see if he believes their answer. Assuming they give no indication of planning trouble, Cladissa slips down the trap door and listens to Hrim's description of the next room and it's guardians.
[dice=Knowledge (planes)]1d20+11
Cladissa frowns. "Bearded devils. Immune to fire; resistant to acid and cold. They can see in the deepest of darkness, and have the same telepathy I've developed. They'll be able to summon more minions, if they're not summoned themselves," she cautions.
Beard (Ex)
If a bearded devil hits a single opponent with both claw attacks, it also lashes at the same target with its spiky, filthy beard. The victim takes 1d8+2 points of damage and must succeed on a DC 17 Fortitude save or contract devil chills. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Devil Chills: Disease—injury; save Fort DC 17; onset 1d4 days; frequency 1/day; effect 1d4 Str damage; cure 3 consecutive saves.
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 12th)
At will—greater teleport (self plus 50 lbs. of objects only)
1/day—summon (level 3, 1 bearded devil or 6 lemures, 50%)
[dice=Knowledge (Planes), Aid from Rutai]1d20 + 11 + 2
Fort +9, Ref +7, Will +3
DR 5/good or silver; Immune fire, poison; Resist acid 10, cold 10; SR 16
Infernal Wound (Su)
The damage a bearded devil deals with its glaive inflicts persistent wounds that cause 2 points of bleed damage. Bleed caused from an infernal wound is particularly difficult to stanch—a DC 17 Heal check stops the damage, and any attempt to heal a creature suffering from an infernal wound must succeed on a DC 16 caster level check or the spell does not function. Success indicates the healing works normally and stops all bleed effects on the victim. The infernal wounds caused by a bearded devil are a supernatural ability of the devil, not of the weapon.
"Beyond that, they are quite resilient, and capable of inflicting deadly wounds with their glaives, typically finding ways to sever arteries in their victims that bleed profusely and are difficult to heal," Argor comments.
"If they aren't summoned, they are likely bound or been bargained with, and as such, diplomacy is also likely not an option. I suggest our fighters rush them and try to dispatch them quickly, but with caution."
Cladissa touches her hand to her chin as she thinks. "I'm not so sure rushing them is wise. They can also spread a nasty disease with their animate beards -- a weakening affliction called devil chills. The problem is, they can also teleport unerringly, so if we don't finish them off, we may add more enemies to our roster."
"A disease can be dealt with once this endeavor is concluded, assuming we survive. And rush them or no, they always have the option of teleportation escape if they are able," Argor says flatly.
Cladissa eyes Argor coldly. "Well, at least our warriors are informed of what you are sending them into."
"I shall lend support by conjuring up an ally on the Devils' flanks, don't insinuate that I do not intend to provide my own assistance," Argor chides.
Her black and red eyes narrow. "I wouldn't dream of it." She then offers Argor a tight smile. "Try to disrupt their summons, if they attempt that. We could be facing twice their number, or a veritable horde of lesser devils should they succeed."
She then switches to her telepathy. ::I would suggest this as a tactic: Nyug, use your reach to hinder their spellcasting and stay safe from their diseases and glaives. Hrim, your usual accuracy with the bow should soften them up and allow Mettera to deal the final blows. My hexes and Argor's summons will hopefully keep us safe::
Nyugusk--still not used to Cladissa's telepathy--nods.
He chugs a mutagen that smells of urine, musk, and vanilla custard. As usual, he grows wings, flippers, bulging muscles, and a piglike nose. Wiping his lips on his sleeve of many garments, he says "I'm ready."
::As long as I don't have another dizzy spell::
::Crap! Did you hear that, Cladissa? It's fine. Really::
The Transmogrifying Lotus looks at Cladissa nervously.
Behind a shadow, Hrim shakes his head at the exchange between Cladissa and Argor, "I'll meet you down there and get behind them."
He stealthily flies to the opposite side of the room along the wall/ceiling corner.
Cladissa falls in behind Nyugusk's knobby form and looks up at him with concern. ::All right. I'll be right behind you::
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Mattera kept his mouth shut at the storm of hypocrisy that just paraded in front of him. Perhaps a conversation at a different time would be useful, but most likely it would not. There was one particular thing that needed to be addressed, but it could at least wait until they were outside the earshot of the enemy.
He could easily sense the unease in Nyug, and that softened his attitude a bit. Obviously the group understood their longtime companion more than their new one, it perhaps would take time before they dealt with him in a similar pattern. Addressing the casters, he sighed with a slight amount of impatience. "If you're done with your strategy session, I'll head on down and hit them terribly hard with this weapon, hopefully before I am hit with anything that could inflict a disease. But it still would be much better for them to be attacking me than you lot. That's why I'm here. So I'd appreciate it if there wasn't any more running on ahead and making yourself an easy target, hmm?"
After giving Cladissa a pointed glance, he turned and went down after Hrim. He was beginning to wonder if women were worth the trouble.
Initiative:
Party 13
Devils 12.5
Seeing as subtlety is no longer an option, Argor wills four glowing orbs of red energy to appear within the chamber below to allow his companions a better view of the fighting.
__________
Hrim takes a deep breath and exhales, then rapidly shoots two silver tipped arrows into the second devil in the back. Then, he shifts into his own shadows.
Cladissa eyes the nearest devil and targets it with her Misfortune hex, moving into the room to stand behind Mettera if the closest one drops.
Move: cackle (if the first one still stands)
Nyugusk steps forward, letting his too-many-jointed left arm unfold and grasp the nearest devil in his pincers. He reels the devil in and mauls him with his other three pincered limbs.
With a look of consternation, he realizes that his pincers aren't having nearly the effect he'd expect them to. Hrumph! Well, at least it's doing something...
_______________
Seeing as subtlety is no longer an option, Argor wills four glowing orbs of red energy to appear within the chamber below to allow his companions a better view of the fighting.
Mattera moves in a pose of preparation until the lights go on. Once they do, the Tian moves ahead, drawing their attention while moving into position, attacking with a devastating overhead swing.
Hrim takes a deep breath and exhales, then rapidly shoots two silver tipped arrows into the second devil in the back. Then, he shifts into his own shadows.
Cladissa eyes the nearest devil and targets it with her Misfortune hex. Then begins cackling madly.
Nyugusk steps forward, letting his too-many-jointed left arm unfold and grasp the nearest devil in his pincers. He reels the devil in and mauls him with his other three pincered limbs. With a look of consternation, he realizes that his pincers aren't having nearly the effect he'd expect them to. Hrumph! Well, at least it's doing something...
The devils react slowly to the unexpected intrusion and assault. The one nearest the entrance to the room struggles for a moment in Nyugusk's grasp, then starts clawing at him as it roars angrily. Nyugusk is tempted to laugh at the fiend's feeble scratching.
The second devil whirls, and looks for the sniper who just filled his back with silver. He sees Hrim, but also that he can't reach the gnome. With no better option he lowers his glaive and charges Mattera. His infernal weapon pierces the iron warrior's chest, leaving a nastily bleeding wound.
_________________________________________
and
Nyugusk smiles as he sees the devil struggling.
He calls out, "Cladissa, it seems this hell-spawn is all befuddled up thanks to your enchantments!"--and then shifts to the left in order to trap the devil between himself and Mattera as he continues to try to rend and crush it.
Argor wills the orbs to surround and fully illuminate the devil that wounded Mettera as he himself hovers into the room and towards a corner of the ceiling.
Noting how well his companions seem to be handling these extra-planar warriors, however, Argor elects to conserve his arcane potential to see if the front-line combatants can finish them off quickly on their own...
__________
Hrim smiles to himself and closes on his target devil. Then, he lets loose a third silver-tipped arrow. Mr. Black can finish the devil off.
Getting stuck happens in battle, and the silver blood started to pour without much of a flinch from the Tian as it's happened plenty of times before. He was definitely more interested in giving back a fair bit more than he got, and smashed back with a couple solid hits.
[dice=Power Attack]1d20+18
[dice=Power Attack]1d20+13
[dice=Damage]1d20+28
[dice=Damage]1d20+28
The boys quickly finish off the devils before they can do anything else.
Once the threat has been dealt with, Argor hovers about the room, looking for anything of interest or clues as to their quarry.
__________
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Mattera finished his swings, splattering demon against the wall. When the heightened focus of battle faded from his mind, he noticed his wound was still bleeding. He put pressure on it with his hand, trying to get it to stop, but it kept on going. "Well, this is a problem." he spoke rather nonchalantly. No use in increasing his heart rate now, he'd just die faster that way.
Argor and Rutai hover over to Mettera. "Move your hand aside."
He studies the nasty wound and looks to Rutai, "Give me your tunic."
Rutai takes off his shirt, grumbling as he does so. Meanwhile, Argor small dagger from beneath his tunic and slices a portion of his own sleeve away. He balls up Rutai's shirt and presses it against the wound. "Rutai, hold this here firmly."
As the imp does so, Argor ties it into place with his torn sleeve. Soon, the bleeding ceases.Rutai produces one of the healing wands from his wand-sized quiver and utters the command word, causing the wound to heal a decent amount.