If Holg notices the blood over him he does not seem to give it any importance. The Kellid smiles when the troll releases him from the autograpnel, but immediately shouts in pain when he is hit by Helskarg "You will taste Gorum's destruction, the only true God in Iron!!!" and he steps by the side and looks at Kaska and Fireday, readying to attack once they step into flanking position.
But he entangles himself with the nerves and almost cuts his own leg, leaving him in a very bad position.
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"Stand fast, Holg!" Fireday cries as he rushes around Kaska. He says another prayer to Iomedae, begging her to grant him the power to keep Holg alive, as the power to paralyze a man was useless against a monster like this.
Kaska curses from the pain of the bite. She pulls away from it and swivels to strike at the troll again.
Coen errs on the side of dependability.
While Holg and Kaska miss, Viv's aim is true as she blasts the troll. Coen's magic missiles burn into Helskarg's chest, and she groans and falls to the ground! Still, her wounds are slowly regenerating....
If there is no interruption from outside, not without some hesitation, Coen will engulf her with summoned meteors in an act of deliberate killing.
The flames finish the troll off, leaving her a smoldering wreck.
"Grroaaar!" Holg is fighting the troll when Coen missiles makes it fall, then the meteors cauterize the wounds stopping the regeneration. The holy warrior smiles "Mighty Coen, you are going to make us leave this place soon with this power of yours"
"Thanks for the healing Fireday, I was too taken by the battle to realize of the extent of my wounds" Holg laughs then picks his holy symbol and channels to heal both himself and Kaska.
The Kellid picks up the autograpnel and checks for any other belongings in the troll "We better go inside the base and take the surprise while it is with us"
Kaska had been fumbling in her pack for the oil she carries, but stops after Coen's spell puts the troll down for good. Instead she wraps up the nasty troll bite.
"Yeah, there's no reason to leave now."
"How much more healing does everyone need?! Iomedae smiles on valor, but if we're not prepared for a full-on assault we could be charging to our deaths!" Fireday asks hurriedly as they regather after killing Helskarg. He grimaces at charred remains. "Well, this will certainly send Hellion a message."
Besides the troll's autograpnel , the troll only has her spiked leather armor and a gray access card.
You approach the entrance to the squat metal tower that the wooden stage extends from. It's obviously part of a different, much older structure. Stairs wind up around the tower until coming to a set of large double doors. A glass screen is mounted above the door, and as you approach, it hisses with static before the image of a wrathful demonic face manifests.
*VISITORS. HOW UNUSUAL. KNOW, APES, THAT YOU NOW STAND IN HELLION'S DOMAIN. YOU MUST BOW BEFORE YOUR NEW GOD--ME. ACCEPT ME AND KNEEL, AND I SHALL SUFFER YOUR PRESENCE. DENY ME THE OBEDIENCE I DESERVE, AND YOU SHALL BE PUNISHED.*
"You deserve no such reverence!" Fireday declares, pointing at the image defiantly. "You have attacked Torch, the home of my companions, and we, the Torchbearers, have come to ensure you never will again. In the name of Iomedae, true Inheritor of divinity, your blasphemies will end by our hand, Hellion!"
*INSOLENT MORTAL! IF YOU WILL NOT SUBMIT, THEN YOU WILL FEEL MY WRATH!*
A burst of greasy darkness suddenly engulfs all of you, tendrils of evil energy clawing at your souls!
The shock of Hellion's dark assault almost buckles Kaska's knees. As she stumbles she wonders The Torchbearers? When did we start calling ourselves that?
Fireday closes his eyes and his circuitry tattoos ignite, steeling his resolve as he stands firm against Hellion's attack.
"You have no power over us!" he declares.
Holg suffers under the strong surge "Aaaah!"
The man instinctively kneels as requested, if nothing else than by the pain, he crosses his fingers behind his back "Yes, I see now. Your power I see, yes. Just open so we can fully open our eyes and learn from you all the truth"
Fireday keeps silent at Holg's words, figuring his faith in Gorum was too strong for his grovelling before Hellion to be sincere.
*AT LEAST ONE OF YOU CURIOUSLY SENTIENT APES SEES REASON. ONLY BELIEVERS ARE PERMITTED BELOW. FLEE NOW, APES, LEST THE TRUE FAITHFUL RISE UP TO FLENSE THE SKIN FROM YOUR BONES. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.*
The image disappears and the monitor darkens.
"Owww!"
Viv seems very unhappy about the blight and pouts, taking on a sulking aspect.
"So, do we retreat to recover or press the attack now?" Fireday asks, not even looking away. "Both are tactically sound: either we begin our siege of Hellion's inner sanctum bringing our full power to bear, or we take Hellion by surprise before he realizes we slew Helskarg and have a key to his gate and don't need his permission to enter."
Coen staggers and kneels as the energy overwhelms him and drives him to the edge of unconsciousness.
Seeing Coen's state, Fireday immediately drops down and calls on Iomedae's fervor to keep him alive, then does the same for Kaska and Viv.
Thank you Fireday. This thing's powers are no lie."
Fireday begins helping Coen to his feet.
"Power it may have, but we have power too. We have a greater power than Hellion, in fact! Hellion and those who have thrown their lot in with it may preach that might makes right, but they are wrong: RIGHT makes MIGHT."
Seeing the terrible state of the group Holg channels energy to heal them "Look, Hellion is showing us the way!"
The Kellid pushes open the door, using the new access card if necessary "Let's see how far we can get"
Fireday frowns.
"Holg, all of us are injured. As much as I'd like to make good on my threat to Hellion, I suspect the others will wish to regroup and recover."
He casts his eyes down a bit, as he realizes his zealous defiance could have gotten the others killed.
Kaska is torn. On one hand they can open the door for sure right now, and preparations against them probably haven't been arranged. On the other the group has little ability to recover if they suffer badly in a fight right now.
She decides to defer to the group's majority opinion.
"Do not be hesitate now Fireday! Most of Gorum's healings are still on my back. Let's go! Let's do it!" Holg makes a sign pointing through the door and closing his fist "Let's see what this Hellion is made of!"
"Who has the card?"
The card opens the door. The dull gray metal walls of this H-shaped chamber are adorned here and there with rectangular panels of flickering glass mounted at head height. Bits of garbage and rotten food lie strewn across the floor, and the air is thick with the rank stench of unwashed bodies.
A flight of stairs leads down, but lurking in nearby alcoves are a pair of filthy ogres with collars around their necks. They howl with rage and heft huge clubs as they move to attack!
When she sees the narrow hallway between the ogres and themselves Kaska has an idea. "Hold them at the end of the hall, they're too big to move freely there, or get side-by-side in front of us."
She hurries forward to block their exit into the room and readies an attack with her falx against the first ogre within reach.
"Ah! You are just so clever Kaska!" Holg smiles wide in satisfaction "Let's do it! Let's fight!" the Kellid runs after the Red Talon woman, stopping side by side with her "We are the wall that will protect our friends!" and readies himself to attack any approaching enemy.
Fireday takes one of his pila and throws it over Kaska and Holg's heads at one of the ogres down the hall.
Viv follows up with a blast of her own!
Her telekinetically-accelerated shard blasts into one of the ogres with ferocious power!
Delaying until just before the ogres can act, Coen pulls out some lightning burned bark and evokes a ball of lightning directly in the path of the lead ogre.
As Holg and Kaska stand ready, Viv blasts the first ogre, the shard burying itself into his gut. Coen conjures a ball of lightning directly in front of it.
Whether driven by feral rage or plain stupidity, the wounded ogre rushes forward, eager for vengeance! He shouts and jerks in pain as the electricity zaps it, then Kaska cuts it down with a sweep of her falx!
His companion follows along the same tack, Coen's spell shocking the second ogre and sending him staggering forward to meet Holg's blade. The second giant collapses on top of the body of the first.
Coen stands in the hallway awkwardly as if he was expecting some trick or something....more?
Eventually he relaxes as he realizes that really was all of it, and he lets out the breath he was holding. Stowing the bark and willing the lightning cloud out of existence.
Holg cleans the blood from his blade while he turns to the group "You saw that!?" he smiles cheerful to Kaska "Those were great tactics! You have the makings of a General! Have you ever considered that Kaska?" the man checks the ogres for items of interest.
Avoiding the dangerous electrical ball conjured by Coen, the Kellid approaches the next door "This one should be ok" he let's others check the traitorous doors before opening them.
The doors open onto stairs leading down to the next level of the complex. This large room is lit by tracks of glowing panels of light set in the ceiling, ten feet above. To the west, the room ends in a ragged wall of rubble, rock, and twisted metal, while to the east, a ten-foot-diameter circular platform sits on the ground before a pair of large doors. Rectangular panels of glass adorn the walls between crude paintings of a mechanical talon.
A large welcoming committee is on hand to greet you. Eight acolytes of Hellion stand ready to fight, lead by a half-orc cleric who must be the Lord of Rust Nalakai. He raises his spiked gauntlet and shouts to his followers, "There are the heathens! Slay them, in the name of Hellion!"
Coen casts Glitterdust on the front of the group of Hellions catching six of them in the area of effect.
Four of the six acolytes succumb to Coen's spell!
"Ah! You are there!" Holg jumps into combat bringing down his greatsword on the first of the acolytes, trying to finish first one of the enemies not blinded by Coen "Let's test if that Hellion can hold before Gorum!"
"Hellion is a lie!" Fireday cries, shaking his weapon over his head.
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Blood flies as Holg cuts down the first of Hellion's acolytes with a powerful slice of his sword.
The majority of the acolytes hang back and call upon Hellion to ward themselves with shields of faith. The blind man near Holg desperately punches out with his spiked gauntlet, but doesn't hit. One of the acolytes recovers from her blindness.
"Rejoice, for you are in the presence of the Iron God!" Nalakai declares, casting his own spell of warding.
The glass panels flicker to life and fill with Hellion's demonic face. At the same time, the circular platform glows as a flickering image of the so-called god appears, looming above his minions. *THE TEST IS UPON YOU, LOYAL FOLLOWERS. DESTROY THE INTERLOPERS! PROVE YOUR SCRAP-WORTH!* He unleashes an explosion of multicolored leaping, ricocheting energy in your midst!
Kaska snorts in amusement at the idea of herself as a general.
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"Well, I'd meant to avoid this sort of thing when I suggested opening the door and coming in."
She rushes an acolyte, whipping her falx across him when she comes within arms reach.
Kaska's falx opens up the man's throat. He gurgles on blood as he falls!
Holg is clearly chaotic, and thus just laugh at the hammer spell "Ah! Gorum protects me from your lies!" the Kellid swings back at the blinded acolyte in front of him, placing less strength in order to make his attack more accurate.
"You honor a false god. Praise the God in Iron!" if the acolyte falls he moves forward positioning himself in a proper place to attack those acolytes that attempt to cast in front of him.
"SSssssoooO siiick of thiiiiis!" says Viv in a comically slowed voice.
She flings one shard, slowly, at Nalakai.
Kaska steps over the dead cultist, swinging at the next.
Coen hangs back and readies an action to hit the nearest cultist with several magic missiles.