"Bah, you didn't really think anyone would take you up on that did you? I think you WANTED to goad us into continuing to fight, I think you WANT to die don't you?"
It's not gone yet, but it should be gone soon...
The voice within the fog responds... showing a bit of his instability. His apparent need to work out some issues momentarily outweighs the compulsion to continue a string of spells. "If it is my day to fall so be it be by any hand... If I should die today...oh ho ho I will spend my last breath whispering words which will bring the gaze of my dark mistress upon you. She will claw the vermin and the vile from this land... Oooh such delicious terrors... visions of her only came when driven into pain-numbing darkness by he who would have been my heir. Heir to nothing but my cursed blood. .. is what you stole from me... and I would like to know if she visits you when I bring darkness Yess.. bring one to me my little soldier..."
The giant ant scoops in low under Ta'de-win's shield again, and crunches around her waist. It starts to tug... trying to pull her back into the fog.
"Ha!! Ashmoors may go suckle a sow... I have broken their spirit years ago... "
The sound of the rats intensifies as they start to eagerly surround Kesten, and nip at his boots.
Despite a lack of leverage, Ta'de-win tears into the exposed side of the ant's head with her sickle. The summoned creature shrieks and releases its grasp... it dematerializes a split second before Green finishes his channeling of divine energy.
There we go! I knew it couldn't last too long.
Ah, but it did last a long time still...better not underestimate this one.
Clearly he has some power, and if he has any spells that are counted in minutes or even hours, we might be in for a fight.
Norton steps forward trying to understand where the voice comes from
[ooc]I don't know how to handle it, but basically try to swing at the invisible foe[ooc]
Furiel prepares to cast at the first target.
Ta'de-win whispers to the others. "When ready, I can drop the shroud and we move in. Agreed?"
"The Green Man stands by you lady...whenever you want, we shall strike."
Seeing ascent from the others, Ta'de-win whispers, "On three." before nodding her head once....twice....then dismisses the Fog Cloud spell.
You hear a crash of glass and whoosh of flame as Kesten throws the lantern down on the rat swarm. He steps back into the room to the west, and shuts the door behind him as the rats screech catching on fire.
Rogar backs away from the burning vermin "There you go lad! Ha!... oh oh that smells dreadful..."
The fog begins to disperse... You see a square in the middle of the room. It looks like a stone block from the floor turned on end.
You do not immediately see whoever has been speaking... and had stopped ranting just before Ta'de-win suggested dismissing the fog.
Furiel calmly waits to flare something.
There is a muddy patch in front of the 4' by 4' standing stone. (You see the "wetness" of the surface to realize it is not just dirt.. it is mud)
You also caught sight of a wolverine just as it scampered from the wall... and behind the standing stone.
"He was manipulating stone with magic. Maybe that block is him.?"
Furiel launches the flare at the stone block.
The flare lights the room briefly. You see the table to your left, and the 4' wide and 4' high stone wall. At the base - on your side, is what looks like an earthy patch roughly the same size.
You then see a furry animal climb up the wall from behind the standing stone. It scampers across the wall - defying gravity, and rounds the corner.
The flaming rat swarm slams against the steel door Kesten closed. They then peel off, and move toward Rogar.
Ta'de-win points out the mud on the ground. "There, the surface is mud, before the stone. Be cautious." She then casts Light upon a pebble and tosses it into the room, to help illuminate it.
"Running out of tricks...this is the end."
The Green Man growls low and hefts the lance he aquired from Topper Reds body.
Almost done...
The Green Man moves in, hefts the lance in both hands and atempts to impale the wicked little creature which seems so full of malice.
"At last! Something I can see!"
Norton steps forward and attacks the foe
The wolverine darts around on the wall trying to avoid the attacks... Green's lance spears its unnaturally tough hide, but it tears free. The furry wall-crawling creature then receives a gash along its back from Norton's sword.
You hear Rogar exclaim "Gah! Rats on fire coming for me!", and then you hear a few of the crates blocking the side passage tumbling as he tries to climb up and over them. "What did I do to draw your ire, vermin? That militia man Kesten set you on fire, go after him!"
Furiel sends some magical lights spinning about their enemy.
The rat swarm stops shrieking as it dematerializes from the burning oil damage. The wolverine cackles in the old man voice you have been hearing "Hee-hee Ha-ha-ha! I tear orc flesh!" It scoots along the wall to Green, and slashes once before scrunching up to evade attacks.
The wolverine misses.
"You have to do better than that old man..."
The Green Man steps back so he can get the lance in position once more, then he stabs out with care.
"A bit more like I am doing..."
Green's lance drives the wolverine back into the corner, and just barely pierces its hide. "Gah I..." He sucks in his breath in pain after trying to speak..., but remains firmly planted on the wall.
Norton steps forward and attacks.
Round 6
HP 17/25
AC 17 T12 FF13 CMD15
F/R/W 4/3/7
Storm Burst 5/7
Staff of Journeys 10/10
Pearl of Power I 0/1
Spells
0th - Create Water, Light, Purify Food and Drink, Mending
1st - Burning Disarm (cast), Frostbite (cast), Cure Light Wounds (cast), Obscuring Mist
2nd - Bull's Strength (cast), Flaming Sphere (cast), Fog Cloud (cast)
Effects
1 Strength Damage
Ta'de-win moves up with the others, sickle at the ready. "It does not have to end like this, stand down and let us talk about this."
"Don't presume to know how this will end young lady... I will be sure, at least, to scar that pure face of yours." The wolverine turns up one paw, and a sickly green substance bubbles and sizzles on the surface.
Norton's sword thunks harmlessly against the creature, and Ta'de-win's sickle swings far wide.
Kesten returns to the main hallway and approaches to assist.
Rogar decides he is almost there - why go around, and continues to clambor up the crates and wade through what tumbles. "I distinctly heard a maniacal laugh this direction. Finally a proper foe to battle?" His face falls when he finally clears through enough debris to see the foe.
"The stag lord was a man of malice no doubt, but you, you're a work of art...
We'll be doing nature a service when we end you."
Furiel attempts to defensively aid Green.
"I got your back my friend."
The mortar around the stone block floor begins to crack and crumble under Green's weight.The wolverine scoots up the wall near the ceiling, turns and tosses a glob of green goo at Ta'de-win. It splashes against the edge of her shield and across the back of her arm.
The Green Man, knowing full well that he should focus on ending the evil little creature still can't help but taunt it instead.
"Any wound you can inflict I can heal!"
He boasts loudly as he lays a hand on Ta'de-Win.
Norton's blade cuts under the wolverine's forepaw - causing it to reflexively lose grip on the wall as Norton continues his swing. The creature falls to the ground, and quickly morphs into a old pockmarked man in rags and bandages. He grips his bleeding side, and growls before he goes limp.
"So ends a life that must have been miserable seeing as he was so full of malice."
"Any more rat swarms?"
"I am hoping not, the last one...ugh..."
Panting a bit, The Green Man lets the lance clatter to the ground before kneeling by the former wolverine and checking for a pulse.
"I know we are not particularly bloodthirsty, but this one shouldn't be saved, too much evil and malice."
If he finds a pulse, The Green Man will crush the neck of the old man, feeling a twinge of regret at doing it, but determined and confident he is right.
"We have the law on our side, to deal justice as we see fit, and this one, this one is truly unrepentant."
Ta'de-win looks sad as performs the task, but doesn't stop him. "It is sad when life is lost in such meaningless violence. But he was repeatedly offered a chance. We should still send him off properly, otherwise his spirit may yet linger."
She then turns to the others, "Our resources are depleted and we all have suffered wounds. Perhaps it's best we reqroup with the others and assess the condition of our pack. If another comes to join battle, we are ill equipped to meet the challenge."
Furiel smiles: "In this fortified camp, we have a great defensive position. We should be able to hold this easily till morning when we will be able to replenish our magic. After we solidify this position, we can make this an alternate base from Oleg's. Kesten can hold this position with ease."
Furiel finds the gnomes and has them supervise seriously tightening the defenses.
"Well done. Gnomish ingenuity triumphs again!"
"I like that idea, this place has stood as a monument of oppression and wickedness, but under our care we can rebuild it and turn it into a fortress of justice, security...and whatever other virtue we want to stand for."
The Green Man then proceeds to pat down the old man for anything worthwhile, and also go through the room’s bit by bit, taking inventory of what resources and valuables that has been liberated.
It is interesting, I am a good judge of characters, but I have been wrong about two people, and they are both here. Kressle turned out to be much more reliable than I suspected, and Rogar...much more arrogant and condescending than I like.
The mud solidifies soon after his death, and the stone when knocked back in place - though it no longer fits perfectly - will fit well enough for now.
Exploring the rest of the cellar... In the northwest room you find a large grated pipe coming out from the wall opposite the entrance... dripping sludge. Ten feet from the door, the floor drops down a little over 5 feet... the bottom is filled with slimy water which slowly seeps out a clogged drain.. There are torn bolts at floor level which suggest there used to be a grate there as well.
It looks like is was a way to get fresh water in the cellar. The lower portion of the floor was just for the run-off. The handle for the thing to open the valve is missing. It may have gotten nasty from neglecting maintenance.
As you move the expired bard, the remaining crates in leaning stacks fall... tearing down much of the web, and revealing a small door.
The southwest room looks and smells like an owlbear crib. There is a trapdoor in the ceiling with a rolled up rope ladder attached along the hinges.
One bag is full of jewelry ... has to be worth over 1000 gold, a pouch.. it looks like a spell component pouch for a large creature, and a tobacco tin with 21 platinum pieces.
The second bag contains three scroll tubes, a small sack of gems, a short metal tipped rod, and 5 large books filled with sketches, music, and writings.
The old man has nothing but rags. The desk is filled with charcoal nubs. There is one spot on the wall with a circle drawn and filled in charcoal - no other mad scribblings. Other than that, all he has in his little corner are the furs laid out as bedding.
In the crates throughout the keep and cellar, you find mostly trade goods - though some of significant quality. There is iron, bronze, leather goods, pelts, decent quality weapons and armor, miscellaneous tools and gear... and there is a lot of it... definitely in the thousands of gp worth.
Furiel examines the magic find.
His natural affinity for magical things on alert.