[D&D 5e] Princes of the Apocalypse DM Asmodeus (Inactive)

Game Master bwatford

Molok dashes down the corridor towards the sounds of fighting.

Ember dashes after Molok and Narnel.

Keaton runs after the stone man, being sure to grab his summoned pillow on the way.

Location: Tomb of Moving Stones
Map of Current Area

Molok, Ember and Keaton dashed toward the sound of fighting coming from Kenna's direction.

Seeing the creature that was once a woman heal up damage in front of their eyes one of the Bringers of Woe called out to the half-orc "We need some assistance with this thing in here!"

The four remaining men in front of Kenna all dropped their crossbows and now pulled out scimitars and began to hack at the fearsome creature before them. All four men finding purchase against the hide of the creature and began hacking wounds deeply into her.

As the men were dealing out the Woe on Kenna the half-orc answered their call if a bit cowardly. The creature drew his heavy crossbow from his back and moved around to the edge of the large stone bolder to get a clear shot, his allies being engaged and distracting Kenna gave him an edge put the shot was still off its mark and harmlessly bounced off the bear's hide without penetrating.

Round 3 Initiative
Keaton
Bringers of Woe
Half-Orc
Kenna
Narnel
Molok
Ember

* Characters in shaded text have already went this round.

Kenna continues her onslaught, magic running through her veins mitigating the wounds.

Ember continues to run towards the sounds of battle.

Narnel, almost as if floating on air, runs through the first door, past Kenna, now in bear form, and through the second door, all the way to the Half-Orc, where he proceeds to bring his Staff down with a mighty blow.

Location: Tomb of Moving Stones
Map of Current Area

Kenna continues her onslaught, magic running through her veins mitigating her wounds. Her claws struck out at the wounded man ripping him to shreds as he fell, she followed with a great big bear bite to another that literally snapped the man in half. With both men down Kenna moved far south against the wall to try and shield herself from the half-orcs bow.

Narnel, almost as if floating on air, runs through the first door, past Kenna, now in bear form, and through the second door, all the way to the Half-Orc, where he proceeds to bring his Staff down with a mighty blow. Striking the creature across his chest soundly as the air expelled from his lungs but the creature did not fall.

Round 3 Initiative
Keaton
Bringers of Woe
Half-Orc
Kenna
Narnel
Molok
Ember

* Characters in shaded text have already went this round.

Molok lumbers forward and removes a javelin from its holder and, when he reaches the doorway, hurls it at one of the enemy.

Keaton keeps pace with Molok all the while digging in his bag for the wand of magic missile. When the stone man stops abruptly at the door Keaton almost collides with him unprepared for the sudden stop. He manages to pull the wand out when he comes to a halt.

Need to clean this bag.

Move action stay behind the fighter, standard action get the wand of magic missiles out.

my goodness I need to lighten my load! Getting tired of this 20ft speed :D

Ember keeps moving down the hall, hoping she makes it in time to help Kenna.

Location: Tomb of Moving Stones
Map of Current Area

Molok lumbers forward and removes a javelin from its holder and, when he reaches the doorway, hurls it at one of the enemy. The javelin struck the Woe Bringer that was closest to the wall, its point driving deep.

Burdened by her equipment Ember continues forward down the hall as fast as her feet will carry her.

Keaton keeps pace with Molok all the while digging in his bag for the wand of magic missile. When the stone man stops abruptly at the door Keaton almost collides with him unprepared for the sudden stop. He manages to pull the wand out when he comes to a halt.

The two remaining men continued to slash against Kenna's hide, one of them connecting and delivering another wound to her side.

The half-orc yells to Narnel "You can't be here. You have to go!" as he drops his heavy crossbow and pulls forth a rather nasty looking mace "But since you are here!" he says as he brings the mace down in repeated blows. Narnel side steps the first swing and blocks the second with his staff.

Round 4 Initiative
Keaton
Bringers of Woe
Half-Orc
Kenna
Narnel
Molok
Ember

* Characters in shaded text have already went this round.

Kenna's claw swipes at the man now to her left followed up by a snapping teeth.

Narnel swings his staff down upon the forehead of the Half-Orc, after the successful block, and then he lashes out with his foot into the Half-Orc's kneecap.

Location: Tomb of Moving Stones
Map of Current Area

Kenna strikes out at the man that Molok wounded, finishing the job of bringing the man down, she then bites at the next but the man is able to fend off the attack.

Narnel brings his staff down on the half-orc once again, this time hitting the creature in his shoulder with a loud crunch of bone and following it up with a well placed kick to his kneecap which again solicited a cracking sound from the bone. The man howled with the pain inflicted upon him but did not go down so easily.

Round 4 Initiative
Keaton
Bringers of Woe
Half-Orc
Kenna
Narnel
Molok
Ember

* Characters in shaded text have already went this round.

Keaton will continue to follow Molok into the room. If he sees an enemy he will fire a ray of frost.

Location: Tomb of Moving Stones
Map of Current Area

Molok moves further into the room and draws another javelin, this time hurling it at the remaining man that is in front of Kenna. the javelin sails true and strikes the man in the middle of the chest, knocking him backwards and to the ground as his life slips from his grasp.

Ember rushes as fast as she can into the room and takes up a position behind Molok.

Keaton rushes to Molok's side ready for an enemy but he sees no other enemies in the room, that are alive at least.

The half-orc howls in pain from his injuries bringing his mace forward with all his might. The first blow struck Narnel in the stomach as the air was expelled from his lungs as the follow up blow struck him directly on the chin in an uppercut motion sending the man flipping over backwards as he slipped from consciousness when he hit the hard stone floor.

Round 5 Initiative
Keaton
Half-Orc
Kenna
Narnel - Unconscious
Molok
Ember

* Characters in shaded text have already went this round.

Kenna's monstrous form drops to all fours and runs after the half-orc, coming to a sliding halt between him and the door behind him, growling.

Location: Tomb of Moving Stones
Map of Current Area

Kenna, taking to all fours quickly dashes into the room and moving around the large stone and the half-orc blocks the door that would be his exit. She spies the young boy laying on the floor next to the boulder that was covered in heavy stones, the boy moved his arms and groaned slightly. He was still alive! They could save him!

Narnel's body lay calmly on the floor were he had fallen, the right side of his face a mass of torn flesh and bruises from where the mace had hit him and he had hit the stone floor.

Molok entered the chamber with the half-orc and moved south, drawing another javelin from his back and hurled in in the half-orc's direction. The javelin struck the creature in his back the javelin coming out the man's chest impaling him as he fell to the ground.

Round 5 Initiative
Keaton
Kenna
Narnel - Unconscious
Molok
Ember

* Characters in shaded text have already went this round.

Ember races into the room and seeing Narnel on the ground she hurries to his side.

" Narnel! "

Next round

Ember kneels and places a hand on Narnels head

" Lathander reducam te in lucem vitae "

As healing light washes over Narnel, Ember smiles. " Please Narnel, you have to be more careful. "

Narnel regains 10 Hp

Location: Tomb of Moving Stones
Map of Current Area

Ember rushes into the room to give aid to Narnel. Calling on her diety to provide healing assistance as some of the mans wounds stitch themselves closed and his eyes open once again.

I am going to rehash the description of the two rooms below.

Room 7
This fifty-foot-square chamber is hewn out of rock. The floor is rough but flat, the walls show the chisel-marks of the original builders, and the ceiling is about ten feet high. Identical stone doors with iron pull-ring handles stand in the middle of the east, north, and west walls.

In the center of the room stands a life-sized and lifelike statue of a dwarf warrior wearing a chain shirt, helm, and big boots. He carries a shield on his left arm and a battleaxe in his right hand. The statue has clearly been broken into, roughly, the head and upper torso, lower torso, and legs. These pieces have been reassembled and held together and upright in a stout wooden frame. A dagger along with several coins and gems lie on the floor in front of the statue, surrounded by an ring of fine gravel.

Room 4
This big, square chamber has been hewn out of the rock. In the center of the chamber’s west wall is a stone door that has a narrow viewing slit. Beside the door is a set of iron bars bolted into the wall about three feet above the floor. Ten oiled chains are secured to the bars, leading up to a hole bored in the ceiling. Another solid stone door is in the middle of the east wall.

An eight-foot-tall rectangular stone stands upright in the room’s center. The stone has an inscription on it that’s hard to read from a distance. At the foot of the standing stone, a small human is pinned, face down, by rocks placed atop his arms, legs, and back. He is barefoot and wears ragged clothes.

Thank you...Ember...for your blessing...

Narnel searches the body of the Half-Orc that nearly finished him.

Location: Tomb of Moving Stones
Map of Current Area

Nanrel searches the body of the deceased half-orc. He finds the creature has a mace, A heavy crossbow with 7 bolts remaining and wears leather armor. None of the equipment is in good enough shape to sell for coin but it might be useful if someone needed to use it.

Kenna begins carefully pushing the rocks off the boy's limbs.

Keaton seeing the bear, was taken back at first, shocked even; then the mighty bear charged their apparent mutual enemy. He slowly and cautiously followed the others into the room, keeping an unsure eye on the bear.

So we are not going to talk about the bear in the room...

Yelling at Narnel.

There is a person here! Sift through his pockets later!

He runs over to the side of the person under the stacked rocks. A look of discontent takes over his face when he notices it is a kid.

We are going to get you out of this. After we do you are to hide under your mother's skirt until you can fend for yourself, or I will drag you back down here by your ear and put you back under these rocks.

Looking at the more physically able stone man.

Could you please take these rocks off of it?

Under his breath.

I hate kids.

Narnel, startled by Keaton, rushes to his aid in releasing the child.

Ember moves over to the child as well.

" Don't worry about that man, he sounds mean but he means well. We'll get you out. "

She starts lifting the rocks off him, if the boy responds she continues to talk.

" How did you get into this mess? Did that Half-Orc put you under these rocks? "

Shocked!

Whoa! Oh, no no no no no! Don't you dare sass me! Clearly it cannot fend for itself and it should be surgically stiched to its mother's leg until it physically cannot fit under her dress anymore!

Big voice.

I have a thread!

And when did I become the bad guy!? The stone man is the one carrying around a sack with a head in it.

Glares at Molok.

Let us get finished with this place. I am VERY interested in talking to the elders. You want to be angry with someone be angry at the elders that send these kids down here. Tell you what let's bring those elders down here and pile rocks on them, we are muder hobos afterall! Or we can feed them to the bear! When the HELL did we get a bear!? Going on a limb here, Kenna is that you!? For the love of all the gods we have dived into a sinkhole and wandered around wrecklessly looking for something evil.

Calming down a little.

Let us get this done. I promise you let me take us out on the ocean, lose those land legs, it is peaceful, so peaceful.

Takes a deep breath as trying to calm down.

Location: Tomb of Moving Stones
Map of Current Area

Kenna comes over and starts knocking some rocks free with her paws, the boy look frightened of the bear and starts to try and kick and squirm as best as possible. Keaton's threat even made the child more panicked. Narnel comes over and begins removing more stones from the frightened child. Ember then moves over and gives assistance with the heavy stones and begins to try to comfort and sooth the child.

Once the child is free he cowers away from Keaton and Kenna, he looks frail, dirty and scared. He is battered and bruised from the stones but nothing looks damaged or broken. After a few moments he finally speaks to Ember in a low raspy voice "Food and Water" after getting a few drinks of water he tries and respond to Ember's questions "The Believers put me here as punishment for being disobedient. I failed to deliver a message from my father, Rotharr Hatherhand. to Ilmeth Waelvur. It was a slip of paper but I didn't read it." he then feebly points to the half-orc laying on the ground "Grund wasn't really a Believer, but the Believers take care of him, so he did what they told him to do. Why did you kill him, I deserved my punishment."

Kenna shrinks back to her regular size, the giant wolf beast turning back into the petite half-elf. She staggers back to her feet.

"What do these believers believe in?"

The whole world stops for Keaton as he watches her transform. His ranting stops, his bickering stops, his ill will toward the monstrous child stops; he stands there fascinated by what his eyes just beheld.

Location: Tomb of Moving Stones
Map of Current Area

The young boy is fixated as the bear changes form and becomes the half-elf before him. "What are you?" he stammers as she approaches. Holding his hands up to protect himself from her. As she ask her question about what the 'Believers' are he quickly stutters forth some kind of response. "The Believers... are a secret group... made up of some of the most important people in town... They guard the moving stones,... and make sure no one disturbs... the Delvers,... who are entombed here... The Believers watch the moving stones carefully,... because it's a bad sign when they move,... and they have to figure out what it means... to avert danger..."

Ember is shocked as Kenna transforms but keeps her focus on the boy.

" No one deserves this as a punishment. " Ember says frowning.

Molok continues to act as guard as the others go about freeing the young human.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14

Rolling his eyes in a "I have had enough of this manor"

Hey creepy kid, yeah you with the cultist overtones. Without reciting the lessons that have no doubtfully been ground into your brain, come again?

Patronizingly

Use your own words this time around. Now from the top...

What kind of danger do these stones show?

Location: Tomb of Moving Stones
Map of Current Area

As Ember tells the boy that no one deserves such punishment the boy responds "I am not angry with my father or the Believers. This sort of punishment is normal." he says as he point to the inscription on the giant rock. The inscription on the standing stone reads, in Common: “Displease not the Delvers.”

"I am just worried my father might find out the punishment ended before it was supposed to. I have only been pinned here for two days, it was supposed to be four."

The boy is kind of startled at the barage of questions that Keaton begins to spit at him but he tries his best to answer.

"Well let's see Rotharr is one of the Believers. Other Believers I know are Baragustas Harbuckler, Marlandro Gaelkur, and Ilmeth Waelvur. The chamber of moving stones and the buried Delvers are to the east, beyond three more stone doors. That's all I know, honest."

"Can I go now?"

Ember gasps as the boy says the punishment was meant to last four days.

" Yes, you can go. " She pushes a few days rations into the boys hands and her water skin. " Go hide somewhere safe, so your father doesn't know. "

She stands and looks to the door that leads towards the 'Chamber of moving stones' " Let's go bring some justice against these 'Believers' " she says with a hard look in her eyes.

Sarcastically to the boy.
Would you like us to put you back under the stones? For safe keeping.

After the boy leaves, Keaton will inspect that pile of loot near the statue. He will inspect the statue for any runes, eengravings, or unusual things before disturbing the gravel or loot. He is trying to determine if the statue was broken apart so something inside could be removed, if so what.

You want to add heads to that duffle of yours Molok? Not being sarcastic, if this is a big organization that has means to cover up what is going on down here they could easily stash some nodies. Besides nothing screams evidence like a severed head.

"Those moving stones and Delvers must be related to the elemental node we seek."

That is what I like you Narnel, back from the dead not even a minute and back in the saddle.

Location: Tomb of Moving Stones
Map of Current Area

The young boy nods agreement and takes the offered rations and waterskin and heads down the hall back toward the big cave.

Keaton returns to the previous room with the statue and begins to look over it as best he can. In the center of the room stands a life-sized and lifelike statue of a dwarf warrior wearing a chain shirt, helm, and big boots. He carries a shield on his left arm and a battleaxe in his right hand. The statue has clearly been broken into, roughly, the head and upper torso, lower torso, and legs. These pieces have been reassembled and held together and upright in a stout wooden frame.

Looking over the are Keaton finds an inscription on the frame holding it together, a small, neat inscription reads:

Petrified Ironstar (?) dwarf, found 1459 DR in Red Larch West Quarry in broken condition.

Looking at the items piled before the statue in what looks to be offerings left here by the Believers include 440 cp, 253 sp, and 97 gp. Six small green agates (worth 5 gp each) and two polished moonstones (worth 50 gp each) are among the coins.

There is also a dagger decorated with star motifs and a grip of night-blue leather. Dried blood still coats the dagger. The name “Reszur” is graven on the dagger’s pommel.

Keaton will place the treasure in his bag, declaring what he has found to the party.

So this statue use to be a real dwarf. Ugh, I know there is magics to undo this condition but I think he is better off this way. Check out West Quarry later?

Keaton gets quiet a moment and tries to listen down the hallway briefly. Did we just send that kid down the hall to those big rats?

He seems to wait for either a wee scream or the party to dash into action.

Keaton waited but no scream came.....

There can be no rest for the weary, friend Keaton. Is there anything else we need to investigate here, or shall we proceed to the east and the moving stones beyond the three stone doors?

Maybe they carved out his stone heart?

He snuck in as a macabre joke.

I think we can go through all those eastern doors. Seeing that this complex is run by deranged cultists has renewed my vigor to get to the bottom of this. Please after you my nimble friend.

Keaton keeps the wand at the ready and will follow at the end of the group.

If all are ready, Molok will move to the closed door and open it. If he sees nothing, he will continue down the corridor.

Ember moves to Kenna's side as the group moves to the eastern door.

" That's quite a power you've got... Is it, are you in control... When you're changed? "