The Abyssal runes have been strangely enchanted; under scrutiny, they seem almost to move, changing their shape the longer they are stared at, obfuscating something not meant to be seen. But Drisquar's knowledge of True speech allows him to ignore this, and, with focus, he sees the letters as the writers intended them, carefully naming giving the name, in Infernal, of each rune over the telepathic lines of communication Zhu Da tusha and Anaxian have provided.
The inscription, carved into the stone a very long time ago, seems to read, "This is the prison and tomb of the Black Prophet J'ndarr. LEAVE."
Do we have reason to think our prize is inside this 'prophet's' cell?
Our spell that points the way to the prize points towards the cell.
As for the drow over here... Are you sure you want to kill her? People don't lock up worthless things under this much spelly-stuff. Must be worth something to someone.
Our spell that points the way to the prize points towards the cell.
As for the drow over here... Are you sure you want to kill her? People don't lock up worthless things under this much spelly-stuff. Must be worth something to someone.
"Either she is powerful or she is intended to suffer. There's only one way to find out for sure. However, if there's no purpose in killing her I say leave it be. "
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Of course I want to kill her. Someone who the Drow would go through this kind of trouble to incarcerate is not someone I want to trifle with. I don't particularly care who she is. If I come down with a sudden case of curiosity I can always ask her who she is and why she is locked up after she is safely dead.
::"Shall I see what is on the other side of this door, or wait till the rest of you join me. Be warned, there is a massive chasm over here, and I am unsure if there is a way across if you can't fly."::
Knowledge checks on "The Black Prophet J'ndarr"
The name rings a bit of a bell, but not much. You may have heard a passing tale of the "Black Prophet of the Darklands" or seen a passing reference in a very old tome. A lich of ancient times, the legend goes, he clad himself in the garb of a traveling holy man, and lured trusting travelers to the dark places under the earth to turn them into his undead servants.
You may have heard a passing tale of the "Black Prophet of the Darklands" or seen a passing reference in a very old tome. A lich of ancient times, the legend goes, he clad himself in the garb of a traveling holy man, and lured trusting travelers to the dark places under the earth to turn them into his undead servants.
J'ndarr is a name you may have seen among a roster of semi-legendary liches from the first or second millennia AR, many of which were destroyed by Aroden during his early days as a more active deity. The Black Prophet's machinations seem to have been mostly limited to the Darklands, and he is said to have been no friend to the Drow.
You may have heard a passing tale of the "Black Prophet of the Darklands" or seen a passing reference in a very old tome. A lich of ancient times, the legend goes, he clad himself in the garb of a traveling holy man, and lured trusting travelers to the dark places under the earth to turn them into his undead servants.
Among others, the name J'ndarr is one mentioned in hushed tones as having connections to the Whispering Way, an ancient sect of necromancers tied to the Plane of Shadow. It is said that J'ndarr somehow provoked the anger of a demonic patron of the Abyss, by whose might he was imprisoned in a forgotten place.
Dris flies to the bridge, reforms, and focuses his senses on any potential mystical energies around the door to the prisoner's room.
Drisquar detects an Arcane Lock on the door, as well as an Illusion spell obscuring the inscription, but no other spells are visible from this side. He also notices a similarly warded door, with the same inscription, at the end of the bridge on which he is now standing—as though there were once two similar bridges, before one of them crumbled.
After first deciding to leave the bebilith alone, Zhu Da tusha pauses and re-thinks his strategy. He opens the door once again to bestow upon the creature a task. On Second thought bebilith, you will tear down a door for me. This is the cost of your peace.
At Da tusha's suggestion, the second Bebilith enters the room, moves past the party, and begins to tear into the eight-foot-wide door. It is a heavy stone door, crossed with iron deadbolts, and the sound in the room is loud and resonant as the demon's massive claws, each the size of a horse, slam into it.
After twenty seconds of shattering hits, the creature realized the futility of its focused attacks, and instead begins to do what it does best, slashing at the iron and stone of the door with its magically-sharp claws, gouging ridges into the stone and peeling aside bits of the iron.
It takes ten more mighty strikes, but finally, the door snaps down the middle, and the Bebilith gives one final shove, tearing the lock mechanism out of the wall. Half of the reinforced door dangles, sideways, on its hinges, and the other half falls forward, tumbling into the chasm below with a resounding, echoing series of crashes.
* * *
The noise of the whole ordeal is tremendous. As the dust settles, the Bebilith returns to its former spot, guarding what may very well be its nest.
There are now two holes in the fortress wall overlooking the chasm. Either one would have worked equally well for flying across the chasm, but now you have made a second one. It is likely that there is a third, reasonably safe door leading to the bridge that actually crosses the chasm, should you not wish to cross through a hole torn out of the wall.
After a bit of time, you begin to hear a soft, scratching sound from the chasm that this room now overlooks, as though the noise just generated may have very well alerted something far below to your presence.
After a bit of time, you begin to hear a soft, scratching sound from the chasm that this room now overlooks, as though the noise just generated may have very well alerted something far below to your presence.
With a bit more listening, the noise sounds a bit more like scrabbling—it's very likely the sound of a creature, or several of them, crawling up the walls below you.
After a bit of time, you begin to hear a soft, scratching sound from the chasm that this room now overlooks, as though the noise just generated may have very well alerted something far below to your presence.
With a bit more listening, the noise sounds a bit more like scrabbling—it's very likely the sound of a creature, or several of them, crawling up the walls below you. As you focus on listening—and maybe glance over the edge—you hear the sounds of at least half a dozen distinct climbers, each moving quickly and carefully, at a speed that will allow them to come into view in less than a minute. Whatever they are, they produce a sound of large claws scratching and scrambling over stone.
In addition to whatever you hear (spoilers above), you are able to see the shapes of three large creatures scrambling up the rocks below, still sixty feet below the fortress, moving slowly but carefully. The creatures are nearly three times as tall as a normal human, with two pairs of long arms, and their climbing appears to be highly practiced, as though part of a hunting routine.
Pulling out his bow, Dris readies himself to attack the first creature to appear ::"I believe we're about to have some guests join us from below"::
Zhu Da tusha successfully identifies the creatures as Gugs, and relays this warning to the rest of the group. Gugs are monstrous creatures with split geometries that sometimes lurk in the deepest vaults of the Darklands. They are reasonably intelligent, extremely vicious, and have a surprising taste for the flesh of the undead.
Drisquar is able to pick out a few dim shapes as they climb the wall, and begins to silently fire after calling out a telepathic warning.
Perception:
Mal
Kobo
Podo
One of the Imps ears perk up after the dust settles. He leans out over the side of the chasm to investigate then quickly pulls himself back.
;;Um...There's three big things crawling up the wall. They look like they're pack hunters of some kind. They don't look in the mood to talk.;;
Illia will go ahead and stand, shield drawn, in one of the holes, and ready an action to entangle whichever one approaches her first.
As soon as they are 30ft from reaching the the doorway Zhu Da tusha peers down at them from, he centers a psionic blast on them, forcing all to make a will save DC 20 or be stunned for rounds.
Drisquar carefully fires six arrows at one of the Gugs before it reaches the top of the wall.
The creature's hide is tough, and Drisquar's arrows barely seem to wound it, although three hit hard enough to draw a quiet growl from the creature. The sixth and final arrow, fired as the Gug nears the top of the wall, manages to hit a nerve in one of its four hands—the creature shudders, pulls back from the stone and, losing its footing, tumbles back into the chasm.
Another Gug reaches out to catch it, but narrowly misses its arms, and it falls, disappearing from sight. Five seconds later, there is a sickening crunch from far below, followed by a series of four or five howls from different points below you.
As the first Gug tumbles, Illia- steps forward to block the opening, throwing her enchanted rope, and Zhu Da tusha fires a psychic blast from behind her.
Illia-'s rope succesfully entangles one of the Gugs, who keeps climbing up the wall, albeit shaking its arms awkwardly as it does. Both seem unfazed by Da tusha's mental assault, however.
One Gug stands at the doorway, clutching and grabbing the ragged edges, while the other, still entangled, hangs just below, holding onto the lip of the dungeon floor, its body contorting in strange and unexpected ways.
You hear a sound of scuttling far below; this may be just the first wave.
Combat rules reminder: I give everyone at least a day per round to act, longer if I've got a busy work schedule, and am okay with actions being described in advance or slightly retroactively.
::"Seems like there's more down below. This is likely an advance scouting party."::
The creature now face-to-face with Illia- stands almost fifteen feet tall, and resembles a furry giant split down the middle in horrifying fashion. A seam opens in its face, which splits side-to-side, revealing a gigantic sideways mouth filled with sharp teeth, while its single pair of upper arms splits geometrically into two pairs of rubbery, grasping claws. It gives a shout of surprise or joy on seeing its prey face-to-face, but this is a simple groaning cry, with no words behind it.
Calling upon his dark patrons Dris imbues his attacks with unholy might then fires a pair of arrows at the gug looming in front of Illia.
Mal charges the one by Illi, Holy Morning Star in one hand large steel shield in the other.
Suns edge (Holy morning star B/P)
Anaxian exhaled a terrible crackling line of dark energy that left a burned after image hanging in the air for a moment.
Zhu Da tusha overchannels mind thrust, targeting the least injured gug.
The Summoner's Ghost waves, and calls forth three shimmering Dire Bats, creatures that can fly, smite, and see in complete darkness. They attack the closest Gug from a flanking position, but do not use their smite, as it's already rather injured.
But the creature manages to dodge the Bats' attacks.
The Gug at the top of the door howls in pain, taking damage from more sources than it can see, and shudders for a second before lunging forward.
Steadying itself, it attempts to knock back the enemy who just charged it.
Mal is sent flying ten feet through the air, taking 14 damage, and the Gug follows after him, squeezing through the small opening past Illia-.
But the creature, once again, manages to dodge the Bats' attacks.
The second Gug, still entangled, takes a small step up into the doorway, and lashes out against Illia-, who has not yet had time to shift into a defensive stance.
And the creature lands several surprisingly lucky hits against Illia-, dealing 20 damage through her damage reduction.
Through the sounds of battle, you can still distinctly make out the sounds of more of the creatures shuffling around far below.
Through the sounds of battle, you can still distinctly make out the sounds of more of the creatures shuffling around far below. There seem to be four or five others, and they're currently about 200 feet below you.
* * *
* * *
"Drisquar, Myce, we have these ones. Harry their approach. Make their climb a Sisyphean task! Shimsil, as they come closer, join them."
Anaxian stays in his hiding spot and slowly opens his jaws. A spectral image of his own skull pulls itself forward and clear, hovering near him.
The creature can move through an area as small as one-quarter its space without squeezing or one-eighth its space when squeezing.
And the Gug, having taken 119 damage, reels in place, barely standing.
Dris, noting that his allies have the other two gugs well in hand, awaits the arrival of those from below.