"Hhhnnggg!"
Felgarr groans as the lizard cuts him. He watches Strang try to gut the assassin, and decides to attack that foe, leaving the deadly reptile for last.
Terion keeps on hammering away at the fighter on the floor - "Die already!!" - he shouts, even though he knows his voice cannot be heard.
AC: 20
HP: 11/20
Shield of Faith (16/20)
Strang fails to connect. Terion strikes a massive blow, and the fighter is severely injured. Felgarr fails to trip the trog and Bizzlemont has trouble lining up a shot.
The fighter tries to swing from the ground. He narrowly misses, hitting shield.
The assassin tries to hit Felgarr again, missing badly.
The trog tries to connect again.
The forces of evil fail again to connect.
Left alone behind enemy lines, Strang prepares to act.
Cursing, Strang tried once again to dispatch the assassin.
Status hp 19 AC 17
Shaman reads his scroll a black energy coats his hands.
He touches the paladin.
Nasty evil courses through his body.
Terion attacks the fighter again, tryng to put him down once and for all.
Terion slips a powerful blow past the armored man's defenses. He will not be rising again!
With the fighter down and bleeding, the shaman out of spells and scrolls, thinks look desperate for the forces of evil.
The shaman tries desperately to confuse Terion.
The trog attacks Felgar and scores a devastating blow. It is he is done for as massive blood oozes from a massive cut in his side.
With the opening granted, the assassin nimbly withdraws and drinks a potion. He begins to turn into a cloud of gas.
The assassin deftly avoids Strang and drinks his potion.
The elderly wizard remarks: "The old potion of gaseous form."
"The evil assassin told the trogs he would tell the Queen they drank well beer. My hearing isn't quite so good. Maybe they said something close to that."
With the assassin escaping but his comrades still in danger, Strang strikes at the trog who'd killed Felgarr.
Snarling,
Status hp 19, AC 17
Terion seems suddenly lost regarding what his aim was here, his eyes looking dull and confused...
The trog fighter is cut by Strang, bleeding profusely.
The shaman scrambles through his packs, but no scrolls does he find.
The shaman shouts: "Let us go, and we run far away."
"Oh, yeah? Well, maybe - but you're going to tell us everything you know about what's going on around here. And I mean 'everything'...!" he growled menacingly, brandishing his shortsword.
The trog throws down his sword.
"Very well. We show you."
After the confusion fades, Terion shakes his head.
"Damned HARD fight that was... These bastards are entrenched like ticks!" - he roars as he approaches the surrendered ones to tie them and strip them of their possessions.
"Oh you will show us alright"
"Alright, just what's going on here? Kidnappings and cults, why?"
The lizards did not seem to think being restrained was part of the deal. "No you don't!
The shaman looks on as the warrior trog attempts to attack Terion, pulling a dagger. A desperate flurry of claws and bites fails to score a hit as Terion was cautious with the warrior.
"Terion, YOU IDIOT! Stand down, IMMEDIATELY!"
With a snarl to Strang, Terion does back down, but nods to the lizards - "Please, try that again..."
The troglodyte says in his hissing accent:
"I will not be a slave again. I show you the way to the basement."
"Aye, and after that you're free to go: my word on it," proclaimed Strang, taking the initiative to get to the bottom of all this.
The troglodyte shows you a secret door you missed, a very clever door.
It opens to a ten foot by ten foot alcove with a boat in it on a lake of water.
"Follow this to the far shore and get out. Take the path to the left and you will find stairs down. Your stuff is there. Are we even?"
"Almost; you still haven't answered the questions of why all of this is going on and who's behind it," says Strang. "Tell us that, and where a safe place to rest is, and I'll you're go free."
"There are regular patrols, but this is the bosses room. I would think you can rest here if that poison wielder doesn't bring anyone back. As for who is behind it, the big bosses are on the second level, I haven't been there."
You do notice this room is richly furnished. Very comfortable area for four to sleep, live and study. A large wooden desk has two scrolls of hold person.
"You've met my terms, so you're free to go."
When they leave, Strang closes and locks the door behind him if there is a lock. With a long, slow sigh, he slips down to sit on the floor in nervous exhaustion.
Eyes closed, he addresses the worn and battle-stained remainder of the group, "We've lost two of our number in the last fight alone. Are we beaten, or shall we continue to the bitter end and make whoever's behind this pay for all the blood they've spilled? I can't tell, for myself...."
The troglodytes see that they are actually allowed to go free. Strang hears a knock on the door two minutes after they leave.
He opens the door and sees the two troglodytes. The shaman hands Strang a belt of red leather.
The warrior speaks: "Take boat straight across water. Crocodiles will not attack you. Show this to troglodytes and tell them the human snake worshippers have no honor. Ask them to give you your things and flee back to our home--even the little pet we like. Good luck downstairs."
"I have to say I do NOT like to deal with these stinking lizards... But they ARE giving us a fighting chance, so we have to grab it and that's the gist of it."
"So for now we barricade here as best as we can, and take a rest - tomorrow we get the rest of the stuff and get this sorted - I won't leave this place untile either I die here or clean up this place once and for all" - Terion roars, pacing furiously around the room, vociferating against nothing in particular.
"Alive is my preference, to, and to make that happen can you please quit your belly-aching so we can plan this out? We all need to rest, so we should set up two shifts of two of us each in case someone or something comes along to go 'bump' in the night. I think me and Bizzle," he said with a nod to the gnome, "and the Ama and Terion. Ama, don't you have prayers or something to do to, at some point? What about you, Bizzle - do you have a spellbook you need to study?"
Ama's channeling provides a slight balm. The two shifts are set for the night.
Ramne brings out a scroll coated in dried blood written in dark black ink.
"Tomorrow will challenge all of us. I have a scroll of the dark arts which can heal, but it drains life force from the user. Is anyone hurt?"
Bizzlemont nods at Strang. "Yes, yes. I need to study to prepare my spells. Though I'm eager to find Razzle too. Hopefully the lizards are telling the truth. But I'll stand watch with you." The little gnome tries to feel for the presence of his weasel familiar.
The evening is punctuated by a few screams, but other than that, you find you are well rested.
Upon waking you make your way to the boat and follow the directions across. The trip is only 30 feet to the other side, and the lights of what you were told are 8 crocodile eyes casually note your passage. Upon reaching the far shore, you find two troglodytes that have been brutally dismembered. Two more blood trails lead to the steps below which lead down to a muddy dungeon.
Strang notes the corpses were cut by a shortsword or two. Just like the assassin that escaped.
The evening is punctuated by a few screams, but other than that, you find you are well rested.
Upon waking you make your way to the boat and follow the directions across. The trip is only 30 feet to the other side, and the lights of what you were told are 8 crocodile eyes casually note your passage. Upon reaching the far shore, you find two troglodytes that have been brutally dismembered. Two more blood trails lead to the steps below which lead down to a muddy dungeon.
Strang notes the corpses were cut by a shortsword or two. Just like the ones of the assassin that escaped.
"The assassin did this," Strang husked, pointing out the butchered troglodytesm while trying to hold in his gorge at the brutal sight and smells.
"Let's get going," he choked off before making to descend the stairs and get away from the carnage.
You venture downstairs and find a mud covered cavern. All mud is difficult to move in (difficult terrain).
Whiskers sniffs off to the side and finds a troglodyte's body. Turning him over is a large sack he protected with his body and covered in the mud.
Opening the sack you find a note penned in the troglodytes own blood using a page from a spellbook.
'I protected these so you might avenge us'. In the sack are the familiar, bonded items, and spellbooks that have been so far missing.
Wrapped in another note penned in blood: 'For the lady'
is a scroll case with
Terion searches the troglodytes corpses for any valuables, surprised that the stench seems more intense when they alive than when they are dead.
"Let us stick to the left hand side, maybe it will allow us to get our bearings in this place - come" - Terion points to the tunnel on the left, as he begins moving, longspear leading the way.
"Razzle!" Bizzlemont shouts as the little weasel climbs out of the bag. He seemed dehydrated, but was ok for the most part otherwise. He cradles the little creature in his arms for a moment and then gently slips him into an inside pocket.
The gnome rifles through the items quickly finding his spell book. He looks wistfully at Elgoron's ring, knowing the elf would have wanted it. he slips it on his finger as a reminder of him, but knows it won't do any good to him.
The passage right leads to a dead end chamber that is quite muddy with some loose dirt at the end.
'This room appears empty, and is noteworthy only for the fact that the timbers at the far end have collapsed leaving a pile of loose earth against the wall'