Tess hears Pollux's cries echoing up through the lower chamber, clutching in her hands are two potions she pulled off of the fallen cultists. She makes it as far as the hole.
Karthak steps forward, axe held high, he feints to his right and then slashes left aiming for the mongrelman's head.
Karthak's axe manages to pass through the creature's guard and hit home with some force. Would it be enough to down this insidious opponent?
Peering out of the darkness into the room beyond, and rapidly reviewing the state of his companions' health, Jokum comes to a decision. Moving suddenly, he sheathes his sword and lunges forward.
Grabbing the surprised mongrelwoman in a bear hug, Jokum bellows, "Karthak! Pollux! Someone! Get the damn door closed!"
She screams as Jokum grabs her and desperately tries to break free!
She struggles valiantly but cant break the grip.
The Tiefling steps back from her, clearly uninterested in helping her.
The crusader rushes into sight, her glaive glowing from its enchantment. "Flee from us fool, for you know not the power of whom you face!" Her words carry a heavy weight, and Jokem feels their magic directed at him.
The others seem content to wait to see what happens.
Stalking forward Ce-Eshna simply drops into the hole. As she falls she gauges the targets. Hmm that one has a bow, archer is still up? She must be dangerous. Witnessing the demonworshippers spell she changes her mind. THAT ONE! Before she even hits the ground her mind is made up and the arrow leaves her bow.
The arrow just narrowly misses as the sylph lands gracefully but she scowls a little Need to work on that
Tess continues toward the fray, her hands shaking in fear and... truth be told, excitement. Sorua yips fretfully from his sack.
Xaivan will shoot the archer (if still up) or the person beyond that if she is down.
for
Karthak calls down the power of the father of creation again then steps near the mongrelman intent on finishing her!
As the caster's words resound in his skull, Jokum's mind suddenly blanks, and, dropping the woman he'd grappled, he bolts across the room, coming up short only when he finds himself against the opposite wall. Blinking, he turns back, eyes wide.
"'Ware the woman with the glaive!" he calls. "Her demons have given her power to toy with the minds of men. Fill the gap!"
Dammit, I should have been able to withstand that! Now they'll come pouring in...
Hearing that Ce-Eshna lets an arrow fly at the woman bearing the glaive but curses as it sails wide.
Wenduag
Released from Jokum's hold she leaps back into the room. Loosing an arrow at the tenacious dwarf.
Mongelman
Teh two mongrel men, maintain their ready posture. Standing ready should the door be breaches he keeps his club high ready to strike at any enemies that should get too close.
Hosilla
As Wenduag steps back into the room she whips a slender steal wand through the air. A translucent glaive materializes swinging at Jokum.
Uziel
The tiefling rushes into the room, and slashes at the nearby dwarf.
Xaivan fires at the one called Uziel!
for
Seeing Karthak drop Ce-Eshna snaps an arrow at the caster again a look of worry on her face.
The arrow bites deep catching her in the throat, a look of satisfaction on the sylphs face as the demon worshipper feels her sting.
Jokum grunts in pain as the glaive bites into his shoulder, releasing a torrent of blood. He smiles grimly as he circles away from it, around the cavern, and watches Ce-Eshna plant an arrow into the woman who summoned it.
Karthak's down, though. Got to get the door closed...got to keep them safe...
"Come," he booms toward the tiefling, looming up to him out of the darkness, "Meet a real demon! Sarkori zelenou! Sarkori zmizel! Sarkori, roste znovuuuu!" The greatsword flashes and catches the tiefling's shoulder with a sickening thunk.
"Damn!"
Wenduag
As she sees the dwarf go down she lets out a cry of triumph and steadies her aim at the halfling.
Her arrow flies true but gets caught up in the barricade.
Mongelman
One of them moves forward to take the place of the fallen Tiefling. Swinging his club with all his might he fials to make contact with the half-celestial
The other man maintians his position beyond the door.
Hosilla
Clearly injured but unrelenting she waves her wand again as the first glaive fades for view another appears behind Ce-Eshna. This time it sweeps far too high over the nimble woman.
Uziel
Jokum smiles coldly. "Yes...come one at a time, demonspawn...Sarkori roste znovu!"
With a dexterous twist, he slips the blade past the mongrel's guard and into its ribs.
Infuriated she jumps forward out of reach and fires again.
The second arrow finds its place in the arm wielding the wand and Ce-Eshna draws another arrow watching to see her foes next move.
Xaivan aims his next arrow at the mongrelman (or the enemy behind him if he is now down).
for
The combination of sword and arrow put an end to the fearless guard that stepped forward. Ce-Eshna's arrow fails to land, blocked by one of the many interposing objects. "Let them come and see who the gods shall protect!" They step back from view of the door weapons ready.
Xaivan moves forward, finding an angle that he can see the enemy with the bow and fires again!
for
Seeing an opportunity, Jokum leaps forward and grabs the door, slamming it shut and putting his back to it.
"Someone help me hold this shut!" he bellows into the room. As he does so, he grunts in pain, blood continuing to trickle down his shoulder. "Urgh...and I could use some healing...if we've any left..."
There is some commotion from the other side of the door but the two of you manage to hold it shut.
Xaivan will see if he can help the fallen dwarf (if he still needs it.) Someone heal Jokum! Do it while we can!
If Karthak does not need aid, Xaivan will reposition himself across from the doorway but behind the barricade (if its not too tall).
Jokum scans the room as he keeps his back to the door, wincing as the blood oozes onto his chain shirt. "All right. We need to come up with a plan, now that we've got a moment to breathe. Can we patch ourselves up sufficiently to take down the three demon-worshipers behind this door? If so, we should do so quickly. If not...we can always turn around. Climb up the rope, I'll go last and you can pull me up if I'm being pursued. Then the rope comes up with us. The caverns probably connect through at some other point, but even assuming they do, it will take those three time to get around to our position."
If the cloud of darkness persists, Jokum adds irritably, "And we need some lights. Tess? Do you have your spells ready?"
Tess blinks as light returns to the room, frustrated by the weaker magic of her cantrip. The bloody wound on Jokum leaps out at her eyes, and she scurries over with her head ducked, apologetic at her uselessness. "That was quite a brave show," she mumbles hesitantly to Jokum as she digs the vials out of her bag.
|
"Oh stop it." Pollux says to Jokum, "You've taken your wounds. If anything I should be the last one up. I can keep them at bay with my spear far easier than you can with your sword."
He looks down at Karthak and says, "You could also carry him up. I do not think we should use any healing items on him until we've put ourselves in a better position."
Jokum gasps as the potion burns through his throat, closing the wound on his shoulder in an instant. He frowns down at Pollux.
"I may not have the reach your spear does, but if they rush whoever is left, I can take more blows than you can." He smiles grimly. "I've got a lot more body...more places they can poke holes in without hitting anything too crucial."
He hesitates when he looks over to Karthak, though. "I don't know, though...is there anyone else capable of getting Karthak up that hole?"
Tess collects the empty vials from Jokum thoughtfully, glancing between Karthak and the ceiling. "Perhaps we could use rope and a simple mechanism to better use our force-- a pulley of some kind?"
"Alternately, we have my scale of levitating clouds... But I'm unsure as to the extent of its abilities."
Jokum drains off the second potion Tess hands him and shakes himself, feeling refreshed. He frowns at Pollux's suggestion, retracing events slowly in his mind.
"There are three of them left behind that door...the mongrelman, who I think was carrying a club, the mongrelwoman, who seems to prefer her bow, and the woman with the glaive. But she appears to be some sort of spellcaster...I'm not sure that letting them rush in would work. More to the point, I'm not sure that they would rush in."
He holds up a hand for silence for a moment, then whispers, "Let me see what I can make out--we might be able to take them if we get the drop on them." Keeping his weight pressed to the door, he leans down and puts his ear up to it, trying to slow his breathing so as to listen better.
Karthak raises to his feet, a little dizzy but otherwise functional:"Seems like we are in a pinch... do we retreat or do we make our last stand here?"
Thinking rapidly, the effects of the potion still tingling in his blood, Jokum murmurs, "They seem to also be uncertain...at least, they're planning what to do if we advance. We could, perhaps, rush them--there are only three. An enemy dead is better than one alive, I say."
He strains his ears, trying to hear any details of their plan...
As Jokum tries to listen more closely the room goes conspicuously quiet.
"Bad. They've stopped. I hear nothing." Jokum murmurs to the others. "Regrouping? Or a trap?"
Ce-Eshna nocks and arrow and readies her bow, aiming at the door "Let's just deal with them already, send their souls back to the Abyss where they belong..."
Open the door, Cy and I will fill the room with arrows and then you can charge.
Jokum nods, draws his sword, and, once he's ensured that everyone in the room has weapons drawn and arrows or spells prepared, kicks the door open forcefully, stepping to the side as he does so to avoid being in the line of fire.
As the door swings open your meet with a view of an empty room.
Three copper bowls filled with glowing coals hang from the ceiling of this long, natural cavern. The braziers fill the chamber with warmth and soft orange light. In the center of the chamber stands a block of stone that serves as a table, lined with wooden chairs. An enormous bloodstain, maybe a week old, darkens the stone's surface. Three doors, one to the north and one to the south and the door your standing in to the east, exit this chamber.