Sabinus, feeling nervous about devils these days, whispers "I agree he may have useful information, but I'm not sure how we'd get it from him. I'm not much in the mood to try to make a deal with a devil."
"That and he's obviously insane."
Looking at the devil with the huge glaive is making Sabinus a bit nervous, so he is going to inspect all the rest of the cells with his normal senses and with detect magic.
Sabinus's inspection doesn't reveal anything new about the other cells, magical or mundane, and he suspects a more thorough search would be pointless.
Barbazus are fond of making charge attacks with their glaives, and try to maintain a 10-foot gap between themselves and their foes so they can use their signature polearms to great effect. Against a foe that has greater reach (or one able to otherwise avoid the devil's favored tactic), they drop their glaives and resort to their claws and hideous spiked beards.
At attention, bearded devils stand over 6 feet tall (though their squatting battle stances often make them appear shorter) and weigh upward of 200 pounds.
Enko peers at Sabinus, eyes flicking. "Can you tell if this one is tied to your...predicament? ...and why is he armed? perhaps a mechanism can release him...remotely. I would rather not be around when it does.". The monk makes the sword sign of Iomedae.
"Speaking of your predicament..." Ava looks over at them, joining in the conversation. "Perhaps we can pass it onto him. He's seems mad enough that he mightn't even catch on..."
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To Ava: Darling, I wouldn't cross that barrier. Nor would I offer a devil of that strength anything. A wizard capable of summoning such a fiend is a formidable opponent, indeed.
To all Let's see how crazy this creature is.
The Viscount casts a simple spell.
prestidigitation to make his eyes glow and his voice reverberate. More for the theatrics from the party than for the intimidation factor- it's unlikely the devil can't see through the simple parlor trick.
From the back of the cell, you all see the bearded Devil sudden stop his wild dancing, head whipping from side to side and nose sniffing the air. Apparently not seeing or smelling anything to help him in his cell, he growls in frustration, voice grating harshly in infernal. Despite Corneleous's commanding tone, the bearded devil doesn't appear cowed.
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Responding in infernal Minion. You are quite foolish to believe I would fall for such a ploy. You have nothing I need. Any servant of the lord who would have allowed himself to be trapped in such a weak net will likely be demoted back down to the lowest circle. I shall take my leave of you. Perhaps I shall check on you after a millennium.
With Corneleous's comment the bearded devil goes berserk in a whirl of cursing and violent thrashing, crashing his smoking glaive with great strength, but also futility, against the walls as he fails to make a scratch on them. His howling degenerates into howls and curses, switching languages and sometimes just using bestial howling as Corneleous's words appear to wound him greatly. Diplomatic relations are not going well.
"Perhaps we should leave this riddle for now..."
"Or put the wretch out of its misery."
"I agree with Enko -- we should move on," declares Sabinus nervously.
There is a closed door in the southwest corner of the room, and two exits on the east side of this depressing cellblock, both leading back to the rope bridges near the shadow portal, where you just came from.
Sabinus listens at the closed door, eager to get away from the devil, even though he is pretty certain this devil is not the one linked to his curse.
Lucon clutches his holy symbol so tight it cuts into his hand, backing well away from the howling devil and into the hallway.
Sabinus does not know what type of devil is attached to the runecurse in his possession. Only that the devil is a named one, and agreed to be a part of the curse in an agreement with the curse's creator. But usually they are of strong ilk than a bearded devil.
"Hrm." Ava stares at the devil for a short while, eventually shaking her head as if to dismiss a thought. "Alright. Let's press on, then."
She'll head through the southern-most door, making sure not to make too much noise.
"Devil or not, he shouldn't be chained up like that for eternity. No one should."
"For all we know, he is here for some other purpose, and will not remain caged for all eternity. In any event, our overall mission is too important to risk by attempting to release -- or dispatch -- that devil. And, personally, the less I can have to do with devils right now the better."
Anna pushes through the door seeing a short hallway which takes a short turn to the left after about 35'. Carefully turning the corner reveals an interesting sight.
The domed ceiling above this large chamber sags, with long mildewy strips of wood paneling hanging down from above like drooping branches. A large pool of churning muddy water fills much of the room, flowing down a trough further into the room between a pair of slippery stairs to gather in a smaller pool beyond. Dozens of bones lie scattered along the five-foot-wide ledge that surrounds the pool.
Sabinus follows Ava, about 10 feet behind. "Those bones can't be a good sign." Sabinus tries to tell what kind of bones they are, without getting closer to the ledge.
The bones are definitely humanoid, but more than that Sabinus isn't able to tell.
Having got a little closer you can tell the water is filthy, a mix of mud and rot, and smells foul. Although the water constantly flows down into the lower pool, the water level above never depletes and the water level below never overflows—another example of the Asmodean Knot’s twisted reality.
"There must be something in there, a guardian. Does anyone have some leftover food from the banquet?"
Ava looks across at Enko strangely. "Not exactly something that was on my mind at the time..."
She turns back briefly. "Lucon, want to lead the way? That big shield of yours ought to keep you safe from anything that surfaces."
You spot an exit on the east side of the room, a good 80' away.
Enko smiles as if remembering something pleasant, and pulls out several luscious fruits from the Jungle of Nectar from a pocket, then frowns. "Whatever it is, it probably isn't fond of fruit. Nevertheless, Ava, one should never be without a snack."
He takes a breath as if to give a lengthy explanation, then looks at Caladius and reconsiders, and says, "I will go first, and alone. I am the fastest and hardest to hit. Thereafter you can follow and we can hit anything from two sides."
"Well, if you're certain...?" Lucon shrugs, not one to argue. He'll follow Enko through the river, shield at the ready.
Caladius shrugs in response to Enko's suggestion, then watches him wordlessly until he turns away to the pool.
"Alright, then." Ava says, holstering her hammer. "We'll cover you as you scout ahead. Take care."
The dwarf draws her shortbow and readies an arrow, watching Enko as he goes.
In a sudden explosion of water, four watery undead burst from the depths of the river, sunken eyes boring into you and bloated tongues lolling about in insane hunger. A particularly large one rises from the south east, his foul stench visible in the air around him, a pirates hat still upon his head. "Comon' boys," the large one gurgles, "Ol' Jabe'll be feasting well tonight!"
INIT:
Lucon
Enko
Corneleous
Ava
Caladius
Sabinus
Lacedons
- Corneleous
- Enko
- Sabinus
- Ava
- Lucon
- Caladius
- Lacedon1
- Lacedon2
- Lacedon3
- Jabe (?)
Caladius' bow snaps into his hands in a flash. A moment later, his eyes flash as 3 afterimages, each bigger than the one previous, flicker in and out of view around his bow.
Caladius draws back and looses a pair of arrows at the nearest lacedon not engaged in melee.
Lucon stands, slack-jawed as the horrors lurch from the depths.
"Looks like your hunch was right." Ava grunts, before taking a quick shot at the nearest creature.
Ava pulls another arrow out and fires it at the same target.
Those close to Sabinus hear him mutter, "Ugh, undead again!" While usually his cackling has a mocking tone, there is more of an edge of nervousness than usual this time.
"I sincerely hope this pool is not connected to the privies," says Enko. He takes a 5' step towards the nearest ghoul.
Enko takes a defensive posture and unleashes a blindingly fast kick, then a sweep of the leg, at the aquatic ghoul, giving it a sternum-cracking open palm move to the solar plexus as it attempts to rise.
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What's the delay? What are you all gawking at..... oh.
What's the rule for fiendish/celestial summons. The Viscount is neutral, and trained under demon summoners, so fiendish was always going to be his choice - but could he summon celestial animals as well? I don't know if it's like the heal/harm evil/good distinction for priests. I see the Viscount as being a bit more bi-aligned.
Regardless, summon [hopefully celestial] eagle with summon I, full action. He'd put the eagle behind the npcs for a flanking advantage (5' step back, so they wouldn't get a free swing).
The Lacedons burst from the pool, looking hungry and full of undead focus.
Caladius' bow snaps into his hands in a flash. A moment later, his eyes flash as 3 afterimages, each bigger than the one previous, flicker in and out of view around his bow.
"Looks like your hunch was right." Ava grunts, before taking a quick shot at the nearest creature, but misses.
Sabinus targets the Lacedon close to Enko with misfortune, the hex hitting it solidly.
"I sincerely hope this pool is not connected to the privies," says Enko. He takes a 5' step towards the nearest ghoul, ending up just northwest of it.
The others can only gawk in the brief flurry of action.
Corneleous launches into a complicated weaving of spell and word, one that many of you now recognize as the start of a summoning.
Enko takes a defensive posture and unleashes a blindingly fast kick which connects to the creatures ribs, then a sweep of the leg at the aquatic ghoul and it topples over, ready to give it a sternum-cracking open palm move to the solar plexus should it attempt to rise.
Sabinus takes a five foot step forwards, cackles at the previously misfortuned lacedon, and targets "Jabe" with a new misfortune hex.
Ava pulls another arrow out and fires it at the same target, the one nearest Lucon at the moment, and her arrow slams through it's shoulder, clearly harming it greatly.
Lucon will squeeze past Caladius as he lets his arrows fly, holding the breach south of Caladius and readying his hammer should a lacedon get too close.
Caladius draws back and looses a pair of arrows at the nearest lacedon not engaged in melee, which happens to be the one just east of him and Lucon which is already damaged by Ava's arrow. The arrow finishes what Ava started, impaling the creature through the spine and it falls back into the water, out of the fight. His second arrow flies at the northeastern Lacedon, and completely blasts it through what's left of it's brain and it too falls a final time back into the water, never to emerge again.
Lacedon1, next to Enko, does indeed start to rise, ready to reach out and paralyze the monk, but Enko is ready and delivers the blow to the sternum, and smashes his fist all the way through it, and out the spine, his entire arm through the ghoul. The ghoul reaches for the monk, but it's unholy power sustaining it cannot function under the damage, and it slides grotesquely from his arm.
Jabe, the last lacedon remaining, doesn't moves towards Lucon, but instead skims the water and ends up next to Caladius. The stench of wet, rotting death is overwhelming to those standing too close, and threatens to sicken some of you. Jabe smiles a bony smiles at the Tiefling, and jerks his head in to try and take a bite, but its teeth scrape off his armor.
- Corneleous
- Enko
- Sabinus
- Ava
- Lucon
- Caladius
- Lacedon1 dead
- Lacedon2 dead
- Lacedon3 dead
- Jabe (?)
Ava steps back as the nauseating stench hits her. It's not enough to make her ill, but it's distraction enough for her to fire her arrow prematurely, sending it uselessly skimming across the surface of the water.
Caladius shuffles back a quick step, his back to the wall, then snaps off another two thunderous arrows at the grinning monstrosity.