HP 76/76
AC 26/29, touch 18, flat-footed 21/24
Fort +10*, Ref +9*, Will +12*; CMD 24
Divine retribution (DC 16) 0/6; Judgments 0/3; Bane 2/9; Discern lies 0/8
cold iron arrows 0/29; elf-bane arrows 0/3; human bane arrows 0/4
Spells: 0/5 (first-level); 0/5 (second level); 1/4 (third level) Consumables: Gravity Bow ring 0/3
Effects: Heroism (+2 to attack rolls, saves, skill checks), 90 mins., courageously inspired (+2 damage [morale bonus to hit doesn't stack with heroism])
Calla's hands almost seem to blur as she continues to fire arrow after arrow from her endless quiver toward whichever of the creatures looks most injured.
Anklebiter curses in Goblin -- then chants in Draconic.
Almost immediately, the rest of the team feels a burst of exhiliration and acceleration!
Lefrik is grateful for the healing, if not for the oracle keeping him in the fight he'd down by now. The odd lack of endurance is strange, he's not sure what to make of it.
Another rotting wound, another weakening
Realizing he's getting hit no matter what he does and even this new armor is threatening to be ripped open, he rages. He's got a lot to rage about!
And renews a savage onslaught on his foe, aided by Anklebitter's spell which speeds his rage.
plus Bane
plus Bane
plus Bane
This is the first battle he's ever used a Bastard sword in, let alone a cold iron one. He's got to admit, the pain he returns to these things is gratifying.
Kel continues healing Lefrik's wounds.
Bruendor watches as his friends struggle to defeat the other demon, and he realizes that if he doesn't give the beast some reason to pay attention to him, then Lefrik will be a much more tempting target. He lashes out with his blade, trying to cause enough sting so that it focuses at him for the moment.
confirm
confirm
Lefrik tried to twist and save his armor, but the bebilith simply snatched it from him, rending it asunder in the process. In response, Lefrik roared in fury, gaining both strength and stature even as his wounds rotted. His strikes were amazingly powerful, shearing off two of the bebilith's legs and splitting its mouth with a wide gash. Lefrik could feel his wounds closing slightly as Kelendra healed him once more, keeping the barbarian going, even as the demon-spider attacked once more. The dripping maw ripped into his wounded shoulder, and Lefrik almost lost use of his left arm. Then the claws came slashing in, one rupturing his right kidney. Lefrik sagged with the pain, but managed to stay standing, somehow.
The other bebilith laughed at Bruendor's paltry attacks, and the dwarf's dagger only managed to get through its demonic hide once, and that for what was barely more than a scratch. It stopped laughing as the first of Calla's arrows bit into its flesh, though, and the laughter turn to screams of pain as another followed it. The creature lashed out at Bruendor, more because the dwarf was in front of it than because the dwarf had done any real damage. one claw dug deeply into the dwarf's left leg, but the bigger danger was the mouth and its dissolving juices. The demon spider grabbed Bruendor at the juncture of neck and shoulder, tearing away a huge bloody chunk and setting its rotting juices to work there.
Quilindra called out in a strange tongue and the bebilith fighting Bruendor froze in mid attack, trembling. The bard also trembled, pitting her will against the demon's, holding it in place.
The rot sets into Lefrik's wound and he takes 2 Con damage
Lefrik receives 28 healing
Lefrik takes 3 hits (1 crit) for 55 damage and must make a DC23 Fort save to avoid another 2 Con damage
Bruendor takes 2 hits (1 crit) for 50 damage and must make a DC23 Fort save to avoid 2 Con damage
Everyone receives +2 from Quilindra's Inspire Courage effect
The bebilith fighting Bruendor is paralyzed for now!
in bold may act
R3: calla, anklebiter, creatures, lefrik, bruendor, quilindra, kelendra
R4: calla, anklebiter, creatures, lefrik, bruendor, quilindra, kelendra
current hit point status:
anklebiter -0
bruendor -50
calla -0
kelendra -0
lefrik -93 (-4 CON)
HP 76/76
AC 26/29, touch 18, flat-footed 21/24
Fort +10*, Ref +9*, Will +12*; CMD 24
Divine retribution (DC 16) 0/6; Judgments 0/3; Bane 3/9; Discern lies 0/8
cold iron arrows 0/29; elf-bane arrows 0/3; human bane arrows 0/4
Spells: 0/5 (first-level); 0/5 (second level); 1/4 (third level) Consumables: Gravity Bow ring 0/3
Effects: Heroism (+2 to attack rolls, saves, skill checks), 90 mins., courageously inspired (+2 damage [morale bonus to hit doesn't stack with heroism])
"Good job, Quilindra" Calla calls out, switching targets to try to put down Lefrik's attacker as the more immediate threat.
Cursing under his breath, Anklebiter takes a step to the side and utters an incantation known and feared wherever adventurers gather to loot and boast about it. A bead of flame whizzes forth from his hand, passes between the two bebiliths, and erupts into a raging inferno behind them!
Lefrik hopes to finish off his foe while the other is paralyzed, fury filling him... dammit! He liked that armor. It fit nicely.
cure critical wounds
Attack 1A, haste, inspire courage
Damage 1A, inspire courage + SA
Lefrik dove at the bebilith in front of him, desperately hacking away at it in his fury. One mandible was shattered, then another. The second front leg spun off in a crack of chitin and a spray of ichor. Then came the explosion. Anklebiter's fireball tore the badly wounded demon spider apart, and severely wounded the other. Bruendor took advantage of the frozen foe's paralysis to step to its opposite side, calling for Lefrik to flank with him, which the barbarian did. Bruendor's blade hacked at the creature's abdomen, but failed to penetrate. Calla shifted her aim to the paralyzed creature, but all but one of her arrows skipped off the creature's naturally tough armor.
Lefrik receives 23 healing
The bebilith fighting Bruendor is paralyzed for now!
in bold may act
R4: calla, anklebiter, creatures, lefrik, bruendor, quilindra, kelendra
R5: calla, anklebiter, creatures, lefrik, bruendor, quilindra, kelendra
current hit point status:
anklebiter -0
bruendor -50
calla -0
kelendra -0
lefrik -70 (-4 CON)
Lefrik gives an almost beastial roar as one went down! Then turned to the other.
Even in his rage he tries to heed calls to shift so that his allies might take advantage
'That worked?' Anklebiter thinks, stunned.
Then the dead bebilith falls to the earth, and the little Wizard is galvanized. 'It worked!'
"Die, you freak! Die!" he shouts at the remaining bebilith, then chants one of his favourite incantations if it is still upright after Lefrik's brutal assault. A spray of magical darts flies forth to impact the extraplanar predator.
HP 76/76
AC 26/29, touch 18, flat-footed 21/24
Fort +10*, Ref +9*, Will +12*; CMD 24
Divine retribution (DC 16) 0/6; Judgments 0/3; Bane 3/9; Discern lies 0/8
cold iron arrows 0/29; elf-bane arrows 0/3; human bane arrows 0/4
Spells: 0/5 (first-level); 0/5 (second level); 1/4 (third level) Consumables: Gravity Bow ring 0/3
Effects: Heroism (+2 to attack rolls, saves, skill checks), 90 mins., courageously inspired (+2 damage [morale bonus to hit doesn't stack with heroism])
Calla fires three more arrows, one hitting right into the beast's gaping maw as the assault continues.
Kel continues to heal Lefrik's wounds.
coup de grace
+
Down to one foe, everyone concentrated on killing the bebilith before it could shake off Quilindra's spell. Lefrik hacked at the creature in a blind fury, sending chips of chitin and ichor flying. Calla stood back and launched another trio of arrows, to catch it in the maw and torso with two. Anklebiter's magical missiles blasted into the creature. Bruendor looked at the others, then slowly and carefully lined up his blow with the back of the demon spider's head and thrust downwards. The blade severed the creature's spine and the bebilith slammed to the ground.
"What a lovely greeting," Calla grouses. "Is everyone OK? Should we expect more of those things?"
She looks around for more immediate threats, bow still in her hand.
"I think we should focus on fixing up Lefrik," Anklebiter suggests. "What a shame about the noqual armour… I can try to fix it, but I'd need a new spell. Make whole."
Bruendor rode the bebelith to the ground, placing his full weight against the blade to drive his blade up to the hilt in the demon's body. He remained there for a few moments, feeling the beast's death throes slow and eventually still. "By Torag's teats, those things were engines of death. Everyone still have all their bits?" Because I'm not sure I do, he thought.
His rage fading, the barbarian coughs "What did that thing do to me?"
"I think we should focus on fixing up Lefrik," Anklebiter suggests. "What a shame about the noqual armour… I can try to fix it, but I'd need a new spell. Make whole."
Another Cough then a nod "I would like that. It was damn good armor."
Kel heals the party's wounds, First Lefrik...
...then Bruendor.
"I can breathe again, thank you" Lefrik says to Kelendra
"Thanks, Kel," Bruendor says, dismounting from the bebelith's back. "Everyone take a minute to catch your breaths, and then we're moving on before something decides to investigate why everything went silent. Quilindra, where's the next portal? The sooner we're away from the demon wood, the better."
Lefrik tests the sword, "I really need to practice with this thing. It's a good blade against their kind." He frowns "Ah, guess I better switch back into my old armor"
"Didn't we pick up some extra stuff from the Elf tower in the horrible undead-land...?"
"We can probably expect more demons, unfortunately," Calla says. "Do we want to try to hold up somewhere and get situated -- assuming we can find a place to hide -- or head straight for our destination?"
Quilindra seems to stare at the bebiliths in horror for a bit before snapping out of it and answering Bruendor's query. "There aren't any more. This is our last stop. Thorn's end is only a handful of miles that way. It's all rough ground and swamp, but it isn't too far."
Cala listened to Brue and Quilindra with half an ear as she scanned the surrounding swamps. She saw no signs of other attackers, though swamps were known to be dangerous places in general, and one filled with demons was likely to be even worse.
"Oh, right," Bruendor replies. Truth be told, in all the chaos, he'd forgotten that this was the end of the line. "Call it wishful thinking that I'd hoped we weren't going to be crawling through a demon swamp. I can travel, but then again, I also don't use magic, so I'll defer to those that do. Kel? Calla? AB?"
"I can travel if we need," Calla says.
"I can travel as well, but my blessings have been mostly used for the day. I'm afraid I won't be able to heal our wounds if we encounter another threat like those things." Kel turns a disgusted look at the monstrous creatures. "If we could find shelter, I may be able to request a blessing that would aid our travel through the swamp?"
"Of all the days for me not to study the little house-spell... I can travel, but Kelendra is most important. On the upside, I think demons fear bebilith; they eat them for pleasure. This might be safer than other places?"
"Unless someone else comes through," Calla observes acidly. "Let's see if we can find a place to hide nearby, though."
Given the nature of the swamp you are in, and the decrepit condition of the elfgate that you came through, killing the bebiliths might have made this the safest place you could possibly be. Moving farther into the swamp might put you in some other creatures' territory, and nothing is likely to come within the territory of a bebilith.
"I think Gobbles is right. Let's set up camp nearby -- make sure we're out of sight of the gate itself in case anyone or thing else comes through -- and get started again tomorrow."
"I'll take first watch," Bruendor remarks, though it is in a tone that brooks little debate. "Get your rest, AB, and get those magics back. The sooner we move out from here, the better."
Kel is grateful for the decision to rest and volunteers for the second watch. As the party makes camp, she pulls forth her dark, dotted cloth. "What questions should we ask of the stars?" she consults the party and begins studying the patterns.
Star Chart (Ex): Your copious notes contain a working model of the night sky expressed in artistic scribbles and arcane mathematical formulae. Once per day, you may spend 10 minutes contemplating your star chart to gain the benefit of the spell commune
Commune: You contact your deity—or agents thereof—and ask questions that can be answered by a simple yes or no. (A cleric of no particular deity contacts a philosophically allied deity.) You are allowed one such question per caster level. The answers given are correct within the limits of the entity's knowledge. "Unclear" is a legitimate answer, because powerful beings of the Outer Planes are not necessarily omniscient. In cases where a one-word answer would be misleading or contrary to the deity's interests, a short phrase (five words or less) may be given as an answer instead.
The spell, at best, provides information to aid character decisions. The entities contacted structure their answers to further their own purposes. If you lag, discuss the answers, or go off to do anything else, the spell ends.
1. does Quilindra intend us harm?
2. is Thorn's End within 5 miles?
3. is the direction of Thorn's End aligned with Quilindra's directions?
4. are the key members of the Winter Council at Thorn's End?
5. is anyone waiting to ambush us in the swamp?
6. is anyone waiting to ambush us in Thorn's End?
7. is there danger nearby?
8. is there valuable treasure nearby?
9. in order to maintain air-speed velocity, a swallow needs to beat its wings forty-three times every second, right?
1. Good question (though I don't know how you're going to convey that you plan to ask this with Quilindra there.
2. Not sure we need this question. Does it get us any actionable information?
3. Maybe something more like "Does Quilindra plan to lead us directly to Thorn's End?
4-6. Yes.
7. I think this one's going to be too obvious a yes.
8. Also not sure what this can bring us.
9. African or European?
Some other possible questions to replace 2, 7 and 8:
2. Is any longlasting alliance possible with any of the Winter Council?
7. Can we rest here this evening without interruption?
8. Um ... I'm stumped. Can't think of anything else we can ask that will get us useful information.
8. If we proceed directly towards Thorn's End, will we run afoul of any of the denizens of the swamp?
Rationale: We know there will most likely be baddies at our destination, so we want to maximize our first chance to strike. As a result, we'd like to be as fresh as possible when that happens. If there's another bebelith lair or something else horrible waiting for us en route, it might behoove us to take a slightly longer route, and save our strengths for the fights we can't avoid.
"I will rest," Anklebiter agrees, "but I am still full of spells. If you like, I can cast a few spells, make it easier for us to camp here. I can cast an extended Invisibility sphere, and an extended Communal protection against fire. That way, even if I am not standing guard with you all, I will be helping those who are... for a bit."
Can we reach Thorn's End in one day, or do we need to camp out in the swamp?
Are there many spellcasters at Thorn's End?
Is Thorn's End protected by magic?
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Kel studies the star chart until the answers are clear to her.
1. does Quilindra intend us harm?
2. If we proceed directly towards Thorn's End, will we run afoul of any of the denizens of the swamp?
3. Does Quilindra plan to lead us directly to Thorn's End?
4. are the key members of the Winter Council at Thorn's End?
5. is anyone waiting to ambush us in the swamp?
6. is anyone waiting to ambush us in Thorn's End?
7. Is any long lasting alliance possible with any of the Winter Council?
8. Can we rest here safely this evening?
9. Can we reach Thorn's End in one day, or do we need to camp out in the swamp?
After consulting with her companions, Kelendra finally had the list of questions she wished to ask the stars. Knowing the limitations of the spell, she hoped to at least gain some guidance from the Void.
In her mind she focused her thoughts clearly on each question, listening for the answer that she knew would come.
1. no
2. likely
3. yes
4. yes
5. unclear
6. no
7. yes
8. unclear
9. yes