Bethany sees the man she was about to attack fall to the ground and makes a half-growl half-screech as the blood sparys all over her claws. Casting a withering glance in Naridre's direction, she instead moves forward to engage the other Caster, noticing his features wither as she goes, courtesy of the handsome Warlock.
Attack Caster with Masterwork Sawtooth Sabre:
Damage:
Round 2:
Mr. Swire: 19 [atk-hit-kill]
Shandor: 16 [dead]
Merle: 15 [LIGHTNING BOLT!]
Karrin: 14 [atk-hit-kill]
Justin: 14 [Magic Missile]
Drazek: 14 [atk-hit-kill]
Ishmael: 14 [blinded-atk-miss]
Naridre: 14 [attack-miss]
Issac: 14 [pending]
Bethany: 14 [atk-miss]
Hobgobbos:13 [Atacking]
Brandal: 12 [attacking]
Ekuur: 11 [atk-miss Spiritual Weapon rd 2 miss]
Merle swings towards the hobgoblin that sliced her and gestures with her wand. Another boom and flash illuminate the temple. The hobgoblin is hurled down the side of the temple, his arms and legs twitching with massive galvanic tremors. When they cease, so does the hobgoblin.
Justin aimes an arcane bolt of magic at the final hobgoblin at Karrin. The hobgoblin screeches as the bolt of energy sears his arm.
Bethany attempts to slash at the final man on the altar. He is dressed in a black robe with a purple sunburst skull sigul just like the one the former cleric and zombie queen Toranna had worn. Bethany's slash parts the fabric of the robe but sparks against a chain suit underneath.
Ekuur's trikal and its divine magical twin both fail to connect this round.
Drakek's glowing glaive slices into the hobgoblin Justin just hit with his bolt. The arcane weapon comes out the front of the hobgoblin's chest. Drazek pulls it out and the burly goblinoid falls stone dead.
Nari decides to husband her mental energy and falls back on the tried-and-true shortbow. She targets the final human in the black robe
The arrow sings by the robed man's shoulder, breaking against the far wall.
Isaac fires at the last spellcaster with his shortbow:
... and let's loose with an inventive stream of profanity not heard in these parts since the docks were demolished.
The hobgoblin left on Ekuur, grits his fangs and tries to take the cleric to Acheron with him
The blow whicks along the flame priest's neck, slicing a painful furrow that begins to weep blood.
The withered man stares at the incarnation of the Winged Furies before him. He raises a silver and jet skull pendant and chants in a sepulchral tone
Bethany reels as a wave of blackness seems to rise from the robed man. Issac and Nari both feel a taste of the unclean energy burst. The skin crawls along their arms
With a feral grin, Swire plunges his rapier deep into the hobgoblin's back.
With a feral grin, Swire plunges his rapier deep into the hobgoblin's back.
1d20+8;1d6+1;2d6
Mr. Swire's rapier comes up against the hobgoblin's armor, the razor-sharp blade glancing off with a ringing sound.
Merle decides to take a none magic solution draws her dagger whilst approaching the hobgoblin takes aim and lets fly
I'm going to assume that Karrin doesn't know which one Brandal is (it's not like he's wearing a nametag) but she knows the name and she's certain he's in the temple somewhere. This fellow near the alter looks important, and seeing as the last remaining hobgoblin looks like he's under control, so Karrin is going to cast swift expeditious retreat to move a full 60ft on a single move. She will move to U24 and swing at the priest (which she can reach thanks to her size).
"Hey Brandal," Karrin says as she charges forward, "look up!"
Attack (non-lethal):
Damage (non-leathal):
Cold damage (leathal):
To hit
Damage
"Negative energy?!? Really! Really? That is SO Last week. POSITIVE energy is all the rage now, let me show you why!" Justin banters, flinging another mystic bolt with a sly smirk.
MM dmg: (On priestly negative energy caster)
Merle's dagger flies through the air and buries itself in the hobgoblin's left eye. The goblinoid drops, a wave of stench rising up as he voids his bowels.
Karrin explodes into a blur of movement, her blue axe smacking flatwise into the withered, robed man. At the same moment, Justin's arcane bolt hits him. The twin blows cast him to the ground forcefully, the front of his robes frosting with Ferissirion's icy energy. He bounces once, and lies still.
Isaac surveys the carnage in the temple and whistles softly.
"That was a right quick dust-up. Good work, cutters."
He examines the altar and carvings to see what he can figure out.
Knowledge (The Planes):
Justin cautiously enters the rest of way, blazing sword held ready. He flaps his heavy coat a few times to get some of the cooler air from the temple under it.
"Is this the guy we were looking for? He wasn't so tough." Justin says cooly, winking at Karrin.
"Is he still breathing? IF so maybe we shouldn't cast any healing on him, seeing what happened to Toranna. Personally I'd love to get a few straight 'darks' for once. I don't suppose HE happened to keep a journal as well? That might be pushing the boundaries of idiocy a bit too far, even for these folks."
Justin aids in searching the body for anything useful, including possible gate keys, then joins Isaac in examining the markings around the room.
Swire walks up to the unconscious man, pulling out Toranna's knife as he goes. "Might as well get his jink before he wakes up." He then begins thoroughly searching for any valuables.
Ishmael shakes his head and blinks his eyes, trying to regain his sight:
"And I was blinded by the light
Cut loose like a deuce another runner in the night
Blinded by the light ..."
He regains ocular functionality, and celebrates with another foul-smelling cheroot.
Issac, Swire and Justin take a looksee around the altar and the two fallen men. The gent Karrin smacked with the axe is alive, if barely. He wheezes a bit but his face is purple, and he doesn't look all that good. He wears three rings, carries a longsword still in a sheath on his belt, a Dustman faction brooch pinned to his robe, a silver and jet unholy symbol and a beltpouch with 50 assorted gold coins within. Another beltpouch holds one of those meshed blue potions, a healing tile and a potion with a purple hue. His chainmail looks to be of a superior make, what can be seen through the various rips in his robe.
Mr. Swire:
While searching the fallen foe, Mr. Swire comes across something sewn into the hem of the black robe he wears. It should be easy to slit out unnoticed ..
Issac:
The altar is draped in fine fabrics, and there is a sterling silver menorah and several silver platters and chalices on it. There is also the glowing blue globe centered in the middle. The altar is VERY chilly, the cold air seeming to come from the globe. The globe is set on a golden tripod chased in gems. Under the altar are a few select bottles of wine, some very fancy-looking, others rough vintages from Outlands vineyards
Justin:
The blue globe fascinates Justin. Inside he spies a delicate silver pattern, almost like a glowing snowflake, only hand-sized. He has heard about things like this in his studies: If he's not mistaken, this is an arcane energy micro-portal to a cold plane, possibly being utilized to generate the bubble of breatheable atmosphere around the big black rock they are crawling on. They are hard to make, and delicate. Justin has never seen one 'in the flesh' but read about their manufacture in Gleprid's seminal work, Arcane Portals And Artifices Of The Great Wheel.
Ekuur:
Abomination ... A small crackling voice whispers in his mind
Ekuur realizes that this ...Thing ... is the source of the impurity in the Flames of Reality. It must be destroyed to cleanse this sacred place of defilement.
"Seen this berk around the Hive before. Looked like he was pretty high up in the Dusties."
GM:
Mr. Swire:
Ekuur will first take care of his wound, and that of any other member of the group (such as Bethany). "Those who have been harmed, stand near me." He will go far enough away from the fallen enemy priest so that his own channel energy doesn't affect him. Once the injured have gathered around, he will grasp his obsidian symbol and unleash a burst of pleasantly-burning flame.
channel energy
DM
As Ekuur hears the command of the Sacred Flame, he will first look over the globe of blue, trying to ascertain exactly what it is. He will use his own knowledge to try and determine the best way to destroy the abomination (i.e. if a simple weapon-smack will do the trick or not).
Knowledge (religion)
Knowledge (planes)
Ekuur:
As for its structural strength, the orb looks like fragile glass. Ekuur wagers a good hard rap with his flaming trikal could shatter it easily enough. The only problem is what would happen afterwards ...
Ekuur grips his trikal in his hands, and looks at the blue globe, revulsion plainly visible on his face.
"Elemental ice. It must be destroyed." Ekuur turns to the other members of the group. "I am going to destroy this thing. I do not know what will happen once I do. Please, all of you gather what you need to, including this blasphemous priest, and head back to the portal . I will wait a few minutes, to give you time, then I am going to hit this with my trikal. If I am able, I will then follow."
Merle walks over to the fallen hobgoblin and removes the dagger from its eye socket cleans it on its body and put it away before turning to Ekurr.
"Are you sure? I don't think we have checked the entire place yet."
"How 'bout everybody back it up an' let me handle it. I can take it from a distance."
Merle walks over to the fallen hobgoblin and removes the dagger from its eye socket cleans it on its body and put it away before turning to Ekurr.
"Are you sure? I don't think we have checked the entire place yet."
"Aye, if that thing could be the only way this burg stays the way it is, I don't tumble to doin' the Sinker routine until we found the back door. 'Sides, those coves we bobbed don't deserve to be fried catchin' their forty."
Ekuur grips his trikal in his hands, and looks at the blue globe, revulsion plainly visible on his face.
"Elemental ice. It must be destroyed." Ekuur turns to the other members of the group. "I am going to destroy this thing. I do not know what will happen once I do. Please, all of you gather what you need to, including this blasphemous priest, and head back to the portal . I will wait a few minutes, to give you time, then I am going to hit this with my trikal. If I am able, I will then follow."
Justin looks up from his examination of the sphere, a look of undisguised panic on his face.
"Wha,..? No! Wait!" He shouts,.... when it becomes clear that Ekuur isn't going to strike the item right that moment, he relaxes a bit. A little bit. He continues hastily,
"This thing isn't your ordinary magic item. I think this is an arcane energy micro-portal to a cold plane. It's probably the source of the breathable atmosphere around the hunk of rock we're crawling across. I read about the creation of these things in a journal at the library. They are wicked difficult to make, and as fragile as they are powerful. You could probably destroy it easily enough, and maybe YOU can survive this summer wonderland we're in right now, but the rest of us would be flash-fried!"
Justin examines the globe thoughtfully, but hastily, understanding the need to find a way to satisfy Ekuur, and get everyone else out alive.
"Look, we haven't found the other portal yet, but it should be close by. I THINK I can carry this thing, if I prep it with the right spells. Ekuur, Will your Power be happy with us just getting this thing off the Plane of Fire? I know it's not as satisfying as smashing things, but if we carry it with us, and take it back to Sigil, we would be getting rid of it, and the flame can have this rock back, with my blessing, once I'm off of it!"
Justin looks up from his examination of the sphere, a look of undisguised panic on his face.
"Wha,..? No! Wait!" He shouts,.... when it becomes clear that Ekuur isn't going to strike the item right that moment, he relaxes a bit. A little bit. He continues hastily,
"This thing isn't your ordinary magic item. I think this is an arcane energy micro-portal to a cold plane. It's probably the source of the breathable atmosphere around the hunk of rock we're crawling across. I read about the creation of these things in a journal at the library. They are wicked difficult to make, and as fragile as they are powerful. You could probably destroy it easily enough, and maybe YOU can survive this summer wonderland we're in right now, but the rest of us would be flash-fried!"
Justin examines the globe thoughtfully, but hastily, understanding the need to find a way to satisfy Ekuur, and get everyone else out alive.
"Look, we haven't found the other portal yet, but it should be close by. I THINK I can carry this thing, if I prep it with the right spells. Ekuur, Will your Power be happy with us just getting this thing off the Plane of Fire? I know it's not as satisfying as smashing things, but if we carry it with us, and take it back to Sigil, we would be getting rid of it, and the flame can have this rock back, with my blessing, once I'm off of it!"
"As I already stated, I will wait until you, and everyone else, has a chance to exit before I destroy it. That includes taking those two men we knocked unconscious, if you desire. But we will not take it with us; I will not allow it to survive in any form. If you desire to explore the remainder of this temple, that is fine. I will stand here and guard it, to ensure it is not recovered by these heretics. Should you need my healing, simply call out and I will come."
"Alright. Just don't expect us to come back to get your bones if you get written into the dead book."
...
DM- Hoping that I could use prestidigitation to cast a basic protection/heat spell making it safe to carry in my sleeping blanket?
"
Justin:
Swire:
Isaac nods with Ekuur's pronouncement.
"That's a deal, cutter. I ain't about to stand in yer way servin' yer Power, 'specially when you been so loverly 'bout sharin' the divine wealth. Just want to keep every berk breathin' what's still that way, ya ken it?"
"Now, I seen a piece o' right intimeratin' statuary down the way. An' since I spent more o' my Peak hours runnin' the road to bein' a Power rather than lanning me the Chant on the ones already out there, you cutters are more liable to have the dark of what it's supposed to be."
I'm in a real quandry here.,...
"So where to now anyway?" Merle asks
Bethany is about to swing at the Black-Robed man before her when Karrin comes charging in and lays him low. She looks down at the body and shrugs her wings, before turning around to look at the Blue Sphere with interest.
She is soon joined by Justin and together they set about looking it over, before being interrupted by Ekuur. She scowls at him and opens her mouth, but before she can say anything Justin pipes up and goes into one of his long winded explainations. She finds herself nodding along with his reasoning, but she can already see the fanaticism in Ekuur's eyes and she shakes her head sadly.
She notices some of the others going over the body and comes over to offer her services, singing a quick tune that some of you may recognise. She takes the Blue Potion and adds it to the others she has in her Pack. She also eyes the rings hungrily, asking for a look and attempting to see what she can tell about them.
Appraise Check on the Rings:
Appraise Check on the Rings:
1d20 + 4
1d20 + 4
1d20 + 4
The rings look fairly common to the eye ..
"So where to now anyway?" Merle asks
Justin looks up from his examination of the orb with Bethany. he also notices the fire in Ekuur's eyes, and gives a small sigh of,... Frustration? Resignation?
"Look, this isn't a ball for playing tenpins, this is an item on par with some artifacts as far as power goes. It's fragile, yes, it can be smashed, yes, but I'm NOT sure I can move it,... safely, while it's active. And if I'm right, and I usually am, for better or worse, this thing is the only reason that we're alive here! Unless your Power actually allows you to breathe fire, your smashing this thing is a one way ticket into the surrounding inferno. And whatever Isaac saw waiting out there."
He slaps his hand on his face and pulls down, obviously exasperated.
"This thing is powerful enough, and rare enough, to get us ALL lifetime memberships into any arcane club in Sigil. Maybe all of them. Personally, I'd like to keep it, even if I don't get to claim it as personal property, just the opportunity to study how it works is worth more than,... well, more money than I'VE ever seen in one place before!"
"This is all moot anyway, this golden stand it's on, Worth a NOT small fortune on it's own, is probably enchanted to keep it from being moved, accidentally or on purpose. And it probably provides some protection for the sphere itself. Before ANYone gets too serious, about smashing or keeping, we have to find the exit."
"Then I will accompany you to find that exit and see you through, since you believe it cannot be moved. But once that exit is found, this globe WILL be destroyed. I am sorry about your 'arcane clubs', and I care not one bit about the item's worth, but I will not allow it to survive. I hope that the powers here will spare me after its destruction, but if not, so be it."
"So where to now anyway?" Merle asks
Isaac bends to rifle through the pockets, pouches and belongings of the guy with the exploded brain, shortly moving on to any other murderized hobbos not claimed by the others.
Perception:
"Let's not us all get wrapped up in splittin' singed hairs, eh? We'll turn over their case and see what we come up with; mayhap these berks got the Dark o' that ice thing penned somewheres and ye ken both walk out o' this grinnin' like a lot o' Takers on tax-day, right?"
"I can't believe that worked," Karrin says as she looks down at the priest she just laid out.
"Right," Karrin says turning to the others, "we need to find this exit soon, I won't be a$$ kicking size forever!"
Karrin moves to check out the other hallway she passed on her way in.
Isaac bends to rifle through the pockets, pouches and belongings of the guy with the exploded brain, shortly moving on to any other murderized hobbos not claimed by the others.
Issac:
The short berk with the drippy brainbox problem has a large leather scroll case arranged to sling over his back. It contains four scrolls. He also has a wand and a large ring inset with a cabochon sapphire. His robe is rich samite, and it is all he is wearing, save for an ornate leather belt with a dagger sheathed on it. The belt has a beltpouch which, besides a few coins mentioned above, holds a healing tile.
Karrin moves to check out the other pathway she passed on her way in.
Karrin:
Isaac bends to rifle through the pockets, pouches and belongings of the guy with the exploded brain, shortly moving on to any other murderized hobbos not claimed by the others.
Issac:
** spoiler omitted **
Isaac methodically strips the corpses of their possessions, putting them into party loot sacks tied and balanced across his back. He hesitates for a second, looking over the mostly undamaged samite robe on the caster with the exploded brainbox. He shrugs.
"Well, sorry berk, but you ain't gonna need this anymore..."
He pulls everything off the caster's corpse, belt, dagger, pouch, scrollcase and all.
"We ken split the take when we get back to Sigil; got a wand here and four scrolls, a ring, dagger and these top-shelf robes. Reckon they need a good wash, though, 'fore hittin' the town.."
He sets off after Karrin.
"Hey wait up." Merle calls as she to follows Karrin.
Seeing Isaac doing the rounds and wary but satisfied that for now Ekuur has been placated, she takes off across the room and lands next to Isaac and Merle, eager to continue their exploration and leave this Gods forsaken rock.
As they ready to leave and Issac strips the dead bodies, Swire and Ish take a look at the door in the side of the temple. It is unlocked and untrapped, and when they open it, it is filled with all sorts of cheap theater props of a celestial theme. Fake angels on wires, white robes and curly white beards, colored cut glass-studded crowns of brass, and the like are all stored in here.
Merle, Bethany and Issac all follow Karrin. Ish and Nari follow suit. Nari has been awfully quiet, looking very downcast after the incident with the short caster. Karrin is paused on the pathway, listening to something above the roar. She motions for the others to be silent.
The outside air hits them like a warm dry slap in the face. The sides of the crater are close to the narrow pathway, obstructing the view, but the party can hear voices from the landing below.
The party hears several human voices, seeming to come nearer. One rings out:
"Right! Time to hit the entry portal an' find out where that new barmy's gotten to we was 'sposed to get! On yer toes men, I don't like when routine's been interrupted!"
Peeking down, the party sees the whole landing, with the big ugly black stone statue on it. There are five humans marching towards the pathway they are on, and a set of double doors where presumably they came from. There is another pathway as well, leading off the landing and curving down out of sight
Justin gives the room of angelic props a derisive sniff.
"Amateurs. Still, not without imagination. And the show can't be proven as fake by a simple detect magic. I wonder what they went to all the trouble for? Not just for entertainment of those stationed on this rock?"
He follows the others outside, reviewing his roll of scrolls one more time, only to collide with the back of Isaac as he pulls up short at Karrin's wave.
Justin backs up as the voices get closer.
"Quick! Back into the temple! Let them pass us and we can take them from behind when they see the bodies we left!" he hisses as he hastily backs up to the temple doors. "That way we black their escape. We don't want them to be able to run back the way they came and warn others!"
"Wiz's got a point. Hide, then stab them in the back." Swire takes the moment to reload his hand crossbow.