Dorick turns to Francoix.
"You can do it!"
"What are you doing man? Noemie's going to kill if she hears the ridiculous things you are trying to do!"
He thought furiously to himself as he attempted the craziest thing he had ever done by far.
Francoix ably scale the wall, stopping a few feet below the cobweb-choked ceiling. Turning to judge the distance, he takes a moment to prepare his muscles and steel his nerves before taking the leap.
He pushes off from the wall with the strength of both legs and, with cat-like reflexes, manages to turn in midair. He catches himself upon the edge of the great bronze prow and pulls himself up. Although the ancient chains creak and groan, and a shower of dust falls upon the feast table some ten feet below, the dead king does not rise from his throne - seemingly heedless of the intrusion in his great hall.
Hiding in the lee of the hanging prow, Francoix realizes that the massive ornament can be dislodged and caused to swing to the left or right. However, from here, it cannot reach the throne. The undead king will need to be lured from his seat and into the path of the prow before the trap can be sprung.
Mia turns to the others.
Oh, I um, may be able to help lure him. I could summon a creature to uh.. uh well get its attention? Unless... someone had another plan?
she asks as she looks around the room
Bravo, Francoix!
"I could ride in and attract its attention."
"Good show, Frankie!"
Kalig shrugs at Mia. "I kinda figured Dorick'd charge in one way or the other anyway. Up to you if you want to keep your spells or save them."
Mia looks to the ground. I... I had thought to keep you from danger, but... She doesn't finish, but looks up to Dorick and gives him a nod.
As you wish, I'll save my strength.
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Seraphina wished she could have sketched an action shot of his stupid and daring jump as her jaw hung open at his athletic maneuver.
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Soraya is a bit surprised the creature didn't hear her grinding her teeth in anxiety as Francoix made his ascent. Or her gasp as he leapt for the prow. She can't handle too much more of this.
"I've noticed Dorick gets anxious if he doesn't get into danger often enough."
He 'heard' the praise but at the same time he didnt. All he really could hear was heavy thumps of his rapidly beating heart in his chest and his deep ragged breaths. Carefully he motioned to the others that he was good to go with a thumbs up while his eyes scanned the hanging contraption looking for the best way to dislodge it.
"I can dislodge its position but its only going to the left or the right everyone, so whatever the plan is for getting him in spot let me know."
He called downwards getting out what he needed to get the trap set.
"Save your animals for if I need to distract the thing from *me*.", Dorick says with a grin.
Once he sees that Francoix is ready, Dorick gives a thumbs up, then gets Caragus to canter forward.
Once close to the appointed spot, he yells forward:
"Undead monstrosity! I am Sir Dorick Granstead, and in the name of all that is good, I will see you put to rest! Advance, and meet your fate!"
The undead tyrant stirs and rises from his throne in response to the cavalier's challenge. The sound of large, bony joints grinding against each other creates a growl that echoes through the great hall. He picks up his greataxe and drags the heavy blade across the stone as he marches, slowly, around the feast table and confronts Sir Dorick.
Meanwhile, hidden atop the hanging prow, Francoix can see a couple ways to dislodge the makeshift trap. He could attempt to strike and break the chain, he could pry the chain and its anchor loose from the ceiling, or he could attempt to remove the ancient bolts holding it in place.
He glanced at the problem before him in his mind and quickly made the decision to see if he could find a way to remove the bolts and dislodge the hanging prow. Setting down the club for a moment he pulled out his tools and went to work.
Seraphina casts grease upon the great undead’s large weapon.
Stepping forward slightly, Kalig summons a flaming sphere and rolls it into the creature's foot.
Mia digs into her bag and pulls out a vial of sparkling red liquid before throwing it at the large skeleton.
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Seraphina's spell causes magic grease to weep out from the undead cyclops's hand like sweat, causing him to drop his greataxe. A moment after, Kalig's ball of flame rolls into the skeleton tyrant's leg, causing his thick leg bones to sizzle and pop. At the same time, another gout of flame erupts upon its torso as Mia's alchemist's fire explodes against its sea green armor.
These three efforts combine to slow the creature's approach, causing him to pause at a critical moment. As it recoils and reacts, Francoix removes the second bolt securing the chain's anchor, and the prow's weight pulls it free from the ceiling.
The bronze prow turns as it swings, and it strikes the undead king with its wedge-like face. Just as the ship that bore the prow may have rammed ships in long forgotten days, it strikes the skeleton with incredible force. It nearly sheers the enemy's left arm from its body, and the only thing holding it in place is its armor.
Francoix is jarred by the sudden momentum, finding himself riding on this impromptu battering ram. Fortunately, he has sacrificed none of his nimbleness, and he jumps off and safely rolls along the feast table just before the moment of impact.
Dorick cheers as the unliving monstrosity is struck true by the mass, and then begins his charge!
"FOR HAVEN!", he yells as he and Caragus race towards the foe, lance point forward!
Knowing it won't likely do much damage, but feeling like she wants to contribute, Soraya fires her crossbow at the skeleton.
Dorick's lance and Soraya's bolt both clatter off the undead cyclops' armor, made from some kind of beast's scales. Dorick also tries to jab the enemy as he bends down to pick up his weapon, but also to no effect.
The greased haft slips from the enemy's grasp again, and the bony monster simply swings its claw-like hand at Dorick in frustration, striking the cavalier with deathless strength. Despite the blow, the cavalier manages to stay in the saddle.
Mia visibly shakes, but manages to push through the fear and pulls out another vial, this one glowing green and tosses it at the skeleton.
In a swift motion, Dorick draws his bardiche and starts slashing at the thing in front of him!
It worked! He couldnt believe it had actually worked...He even managed to keep his feet as he rolled away from the carnage. He spun about almost cheering the cocky happy smirk faltered when he realized the damnable thing still stood. He even watched it swipe at Sir Dorick.
"Whats it gonna take to put it down!?!"
He called out in frustration moving torwards the crashed prow looking for his club.
Dorick's bardiche scratches at the steely hide armor upon the foe without damaging the bones beneath.
Francoix finds a large, dented iron goblet upon the feast table that would serve well as a bludgeon, despite or perhaps because of its heft.
Kalig slowly moves toward the monster, while directing the sphere to move and strike the creature again.
Left literally disjointed by the swinging prow, the undead tyrant is not nimble enough to evade the rolling ball of fire. It strikes his ancient bones again, the heat causing them to crack and splinter.
Seraphina starts to inspire her allies once more.
Soraya loads another bolt and fires.
Encouraged by both Francoix's successful escapades and Seraphina's exhortation, Soraya manages to land her shot beneath the foe's armor. The bolt grates against the thick bones.
As the undead king reaches down to again try to pick up his greataxe, Dorick and Francoix take opportunistic swings at the large enemy. Francoix's impromptu cudgel only clatters against the scaly armor, but Dorick's bardiche finds purchase and cracks through one of the enemy's hip bones.
Enraged as the greataxe again slips from its grasp, the cyclopean skeleton lashes out and claws at Francoix, injuring the lightly armored man.
He yelped as the large skeleton swung around and slashed into him with its wicked old claws. The high pitch gasp of pain certainly didnt sound like the sound a warrior would make. He lashed out at the creature with the oversized goblet. His fear of getting too close made the effort pointless.
Doing his best to follow up his successful strike and to distract the undead monarch from the injured Francoix, Dorick lashes out again!
Kalig carefully steps forward (), instructing her flaming sphere to once again move to strike the monster -- even as she swings her own flail to make greater the cracks in its leg-bones.
Seraphina, continues to aid her allies to defeating the giant cyclopian beast. She then moves slightly forward and points her finger at the monstrosity. A small globe of acid streams through the sky towards its target.
Soraya loads and fires off another shot. Ugh, I need to learn some offensive magic.
Dorick scores another strong chopping blow upon the eleven-foot tall skeleton, but its armor defies the rest of the party's attacks, and it manages to avoid the latest swerve of Kalig's Flaming Sphere.
The undead tyrant has given up trying to reclaim his greataxe and instead focuses on tearing at the cavalier with its bony, claw-like fingers. Dorick raises his shield and stands fast against the strong attack, even if just barely.
Despite the deathless strength behind the mighty swings of the enemy's bony limbs, its skeletal frame is losing cohesion. Its joins are weakened, fractured ribs can be seen poking against its armor, its femurs and radius have splintered, and many cracks mark its skull.
Guys..we have to do this for not just us but for our town. This giant if come near us we would surely lose. Keep going!!
Glad the monster turned its attention back to Dorick, Francoix took a deep breath, adjusted his grip on the iron goblet and once more tried to smash it into the bone monsters knee.
Seraphina's acid burns away most of the undead creature's jaw, and Francoix reduces much of its knee joint to shards and dust, leaving the tall foe bent down and within easier reach of the rest of the party.
"Same song, fourth verse, a little bit louder, a little bit worse!"
Again with the flaming sphere:
The intense flames of Kalig's spell finally cause the large skeleton's greater bones to splinter apart, and as the foe struggles to maintain cohesion and stay up, she smashes her flail into the yawning eye socket before her - crushing the ancient skull like an egg.
The bones clatter to the stone floor, inert and returned to death. The undead foe is defeated, and the battle is won.
Dorick begins to swing his weapon - then stops, seeing Kalig's ruination of the foe.
"VICTORY!", he yells, holding his bardiche high.
Mia gives a small smile and a large sigh of relief. She glances around at the others before speaking,
you were all so amazing, I.. I hope I wasn't holding any of you back.. Do...do you think whatever is in here was worth the effort? Is...is this what you came here to do?
She says taking a more careful look around the room, now that the hulking horror was not demanding her attention.
"We came here upon request of the local centaurs. And yes, I think peace with them is worth it." Kalig gives the skull an extra smash for good measure.
She levels a hard look at Mia. "What did you think we were here for?"
I didn't know.. er, that is, I wasn't sure... I.. don't like this place, it un nerves me.. I'm sorry. Mia back pedals a bit.
He slid off the prow onto his feet tossing the dented iron chalice into the air before catching it, then sliding his pack off and stowing it into the pack. Clearly he intended to keep it. As he was rummaging through the prow for the club he spoke back mostly to Mia.
"Request's a fancy word for it I think. You did what you could and thats alright miss Mia. That's what matters. Im glad Kalig and Sir Dorick were here to deal with the threat."
He finished finding the club and went to the time honored tradition of looting ancient ruins.
With the skeleton down, Soraya moves over to help Francoix with his wounds.
"Anyone else hurt?"
The most obvious treasures of this undead cyclopean king are his crown, armor, and weapon. The crown is made of brass and set with bloodstones. His suit of hide armor, upon closer examination, is clearly made of dragon scales, although the sea green color makes it hard to determine what kind. Lastly, his greataxe - which he never got to properly wield against you, thanks to Seraphina's magic - has already been identified as magic.
Similarly, the old iron arrows formerly embedded in your defeated foe, 11 in all, showed auras of magic. The cyclops' etched brass armbands are another obvious piece of ancient treasure, albeit ones that would not fit any among you.
The bronze ship's prow, having played its own role in defeating the undead king, could also be considered valuable - either as a historical artifact or at least a source of workable metal. Of course, removing such a large, heavy object from the great hall would require a bit of effort.
The right-hand wing of the great hall holds a circular depression in the floor, likely the remnant of a large firepit. The rusted hulk of an old iron cauldron still sits toppled within. Niches in the walls likely once held food and utensils, but they are long gone.
On the left-hand side is the stone frame of the king's bed. Indentations in the walls and ceiling indicate where curtains may have once been anchored. Items like bedding and clothing decayed ages ago, but a number of rusted iron accessories still sit on stone ledges or lay upon the floor - grooming tools, candle holders, oil lamps, and the like. A heaped pile of dust and detritus sits at the foot of the large bed, and the glint of several coins peaks out from within.