Alexei's breathing comes a bit ragged, as he faces combat again. Hunting is different, as the prey rarely shoots back, but havign slain a fair share of goblins, he realizes his skill is enough to keep him alive.
Nocking an arrow to his bow, he nods "I am ready to go into the cave." realizing he sounds readier than he actually feels.
Despite his bravado and pathological exuberance, Viro stares into the cave with some trepidation.
"I've never been underground," he says to nobody in particular.
Then maybe ye should light a torch... Beromar grumbles.
"I was promised light spells!" Viro folds his arms petulantly.
"I think Beromar can make it so you see stars," quips Alexei from the back of the pack.
|
Loges smiles weakly at the cave entrance.
He peers into the darkness from the back of the group.
Does seem rather dark, don't it?
Reaching into his backpack, Loges pulls out a torch.
He waves his fingers over the top, producing flame from his finger tip and sparking the torch.
He then passes his hand down over his clothing,
changing the color to black.
Are we ready?
Alexei raises his eyebrows at the magic from the wizard. "Neat trick," he says impressed.
"Ah, yes, good idea," Beromar says before casting a light spell on the end of his own crossbow.
You step past the cave entrance, with lights from Bruin and Loges illuminating your path. After about 40 or 50 feet the tunnel forks, and you hear snarling, guttural noises coming from the western path.
You see a hairless humanoid, lurched over on back-bent, dog-like legs. Its hideous mouth is flanked by tiny arms with three-fingered hands.
Loges: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26
Creature: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24
Bruin: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21
Viroleth: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20
Beromar: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17
Alexei: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14
Round 1
Loges, unable to recognize the alien creature, fires a ray of disrupting energy at the creature. He hits it, but the ray doesn't have any noticeable effect. It then draws a wicked-looking ranseur and drives the point into Beromar.
Viro creeps quietly along the caves, the rogues footfalls no louder than that of a mouse. Unfortunately his stealthy approach drops as he sees the weird creature.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING?!" shrieks Viro.
Bruin blanches at the monstrosity before them.
"Go get him, Viro!"
He taps Viroleth on the shoulder. Granting the rogue a bit of his Lady's luck.
Bruin then backs away to make room for Alexei.
Alexei's first response to the creature is revulsion, then terror, then slowly dawning awakening as he recognized it from a story told by an itinerant friar he met on the road. But those were just boogeymen stories, he had assumed, until now.
The Varisian hunter, bow at the ready, now waits for his new teammates to give him a good line-of-sight to the target which is he already sizing up.
"Thanks Bruin! Who knew Gods could come in so handy?"
Eyeing the strange mouth-part creature, Viro suck in a breath and tries to be brave once more, diving through its legs to come up in a flank.
He slides along the floor on his back and then nips up before stabbing out neatly.
"Whatever this is I hope it dies fast!"
Alexei tells the group, in a hurry. "I heard a story about these creatures once from a wandering priest of Desna. They were called sinspawn, living embodiment of sin, a corrupted product of magic from a bygone age. As it was told by the priest, they could smell the sin on your soul, and could even infect the innocent with it. They are resistant to magic, so perhaps our wizard should stand back."
The hunter steps forward, angling his shot around Beromar aiming for the mouth of the ravening beast. His first shot is flawless, the shaft driving straight down the throat of the sinspawn.
Beromar takes the hit in stride and quickly gets into position to line up a pair of swift kicks.
Flurry Damage
Flurry Damage
Beromar down-slashes the sinspawn with his axe, but takes a heavy hit in return. With the close quarters, the dwarf pumps his powerful legs in a series of kicks that land like explosions.
Bruin channels Luck into the Viroleth, who deftly rolls past the sinspawn and lands a blow with his sword. This leaves room for Alexei to place an arrow in the monster's eye.
The sinspawn gurgles pathetically before falling over dead.
Bruin shudders in revulsion.
"Sweet Starsong, that thing was unholy. We need to be on our guard. Beromar, let me heal you."
Viro cleans off his shortsword and prods the sinspawn with his toe.
"A sinspawn? What the hell kind of sin did this thing embody? I'm quite certain it's not lust. I thought sin was supposed to be appealing!"
Beromar looks at the vicious cut inflicted by the beast and it's decaying corpse.
That's what ye get fer messin wit da wrong Dwarf!
The sinspawn was carrying a ranseur.
The original purpose of this chamber is unclear, but large mounds of rubble lie strewn on its floor. The wall to the west has been torn down to reveal a tunnel leading to the west.
The tunnel widens here into what appears to have once been a small shrine, for to the northeast, steps lead up to a platform of gray stone. Sitting atop the platform is an ancient altar, little more than a jagged block of black marble with a shallow concavity on top of it. This basin is filled with what appears to be filthy water.
"Another shrine to Lamashtu," Bruin said with disgust. "When we're done we should bury this whole place in rubble."
He then scanned the slater itself for sign of magic. He detects something, but can't quite make it out.
I could hack it to pieces now if ye likes...
Beromar offers as he hoists his axe.
Alexei makes the sign to ward the evil eye and spits over his shoulder. "While that altar is vile, and the water, as you say, is noxious, I wouldn't want the wrath of... whatever goddess this is honoring...upon me. Those sinspawn are bad enough, I would not destroy that altar if I were you, Beromar."
Viro nods eagerly over to Alexei. "Let's incur a wrath of a goddess after lunch."
Viro then makes his way over to the double doors by the altar and listens.
"Of a more practical concern, there might be other defenses in place that we cannot see. Best to leave the altar alone for now. Afterwards I can come back with Father Zantus and we can perform a ceremony to cut off the shrine's power. I've aided in such rituals before, although I'm strong enough to perform it myself."
When Viroleth puts his ear to the door he can hear what sounds like chanting in a language that he sounds alien and chaotic. With a little work, he can identify the language as Abyssal - the language of demons. He can't understand the language itself, although he thinks he recognizes the name Lamashtu.
Viro holds up a finger, and whispers urgently.
"I remember back in Magnimar there was a weirdo trying to start a cult; I was savvy to his schtick but got a few kids involved. Spoke the same language - abyssal or demon-tongue he called it. Either way, someone is in there speaking that tongue and I heard the name Lamashtu. Ain't a friend whoever it is."
Then it's time we kicks in the door and shows what ye gets from worshippin demons ey?
"Eh. I mean, yes. This could be what we're looking for."
Bruin took a moment to cast a spell on Viroleth.
"I'll save the rest of my spells for inside. Everyone ready?"
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Alright on three! the Dwarf whispers just as he is about to get a boot to the door he reconsiders.
Hmm me's been thinkin...perhaps it's locked... Viroleth ye should give it a look.
Viro quickly inspects the door for traps and locks.
Viroleth doesn't spot any traps. And the door appears unlocked. So with a dramatic kick from Beromar, the door goes flying open.
This huge room looks like nothing more than an immense underground cathedral. Stone doors stand to either side of the main entrance, but beyond this, the walls are carved with strange, spiky runes. In the center of the room is a large pool, with a ring of polished human skulls balanced on stone spikes arranged in a circle around the deeper midsection . At the far end of the room, a pair of stone stairways leads up to a pulpit on which sits a second pool, this one triangular and filled with churning, bubbling water that looks almost like translucent lava . Yet while wisps of what look like heat and steam rise from the strange orange liquid, the room itself is deathly cold.
And flying 5 feet above the pool, there is a tiny horned, winged creature that Loges immediately identifies as a quasit. It sees the heroes and begins angrily shrieking in its vile tongue.
Alexei: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20
Loges: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20
Viroleth: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18
Beromar: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16
Bruin: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10
Erylium: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9
Viro, having decided he is an expert on abyssal, stares incredulously at the quasit, listening. His eyes widen in horror.
"What? MY MOTHER WAS A SAINT!"
Seeing that the quasit is flying and thus a royal pain to get to, he sheathes his swords and while running, draws his short bow and nocks an arrow.
|
|
Loges reaches into his belt pouch, producing a scroll.
He immediately reads it and reaches out to touch Beromar's axe.
Only magic will prove useful!
School transmutation; Level antipaladin 1, cleric/oracle 1, inquisitor 1, magus 1, paladin 1, sorcerer/wizard 1; Domain war 1
CASTING
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, DF
EFFECT
Range touch
Target weapon touched
Duration 1 min./level
Saving Throw Will negates (harmless, object); Spell Resistance yes (harmless, object)
By the way...
This spell also affects siege engines and siege engine ammunition.
Source Skull & Shackles Player's Guide
DESCRIPTION
Magic weapon gives a weapon a +1 enhancement bonus on attack and damage rolls. An enhancement bonus does not stack with a masterwork weapon's +1 bonus on attack rolls.
You can't cast this spell on a natural weapon, such as an unarmed strike (instead, see magic fang). A monk's unarmed strike is considered a weapon, and thus it can be enhanced by this spell.
Boy is you ever ugly! Bermoar curses as he closes with his might axe and takes a swing.
"Didn;t someone say there was a demon or something down here. Is that ugly thing it? It's not very big."
Alexei fires a cold iron arrow at the flying quasit while entering the room and sliding to the left.
"Didn't someone say there was a demon or something down here. Is that ugly thing it? It's not very big."
"We never said it was a big demon!" Bruin said as he moved and began chanting a spell.
Loges enhances Bero's axe with magic just as the dwarf tries to slam his axe into the tiny, flying demon. The quasit just barely manages to scoot aside as the axe comes down.
But its celebration would be short lived as Alexei's incredible aim, pierces a small piece of the tiny demon's wing with an arrow. The demon hisses in pain from the sting of cold iron.
The demons deftly flies out of Beromar's reach. She then cuts her hand with the ceremonial dagger she had in her hands when the heroes busted in. leaving some of her blood to spill in the water.
"You dare to intrude into the mother's sanctum," she says in broken Taldan.
The glow from the well diminishes noticeably, as in a flash of red light a sinspawn suddenly appears from the water. It howls in rage and looks ready to kill.
Alexei: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20
Loges: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20
Viroleth: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18
Beromar: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16
Sinspawn: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15
Bruin: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10
Erylium: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9
Get in ere quick boy and we takes it out together.
Beromar wades into the pool and aims a series of kicks at the undead.
Flurry Damage
Flurry Damage
Crit Damage
"Alexei, stay focused on the demon. Don't let her summon anymore of those things."
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