Wicewakan continues to snap at the creeper...
... but fails to grab hold of the thing with his teeth.
Nim glances at the puddle to his right, trying to determine if he can move safely into position opposite Wicewakan.
Nim lunges at the creeper...
...carving his scimitar deeply into the vile plant, before wrenching it violently free, spraying a cloud of foul smelling milky yellowish liquid into the air.
Anton moves as fast as he can through the bones and vines to get where he can strike the monster responsible for Nora's death, standing between it and his fallen friend.
Corbrius is in F9, so I put you in F10.
It is still difficult terrain, it's a move to get into that space that will draw an AOO, do you want to chance it?
The map at the beginning of round 5.
Battle for the Ruins Re-Do Round 4
Order of Combat Round 4:
Nim 21a
Wic 21b
Tragershen 18
Creeper 17
Anton 14
Corbrius 11
Aedalis 5a
Mihai 5b
Seeing his failure to pluck the strings of fate in Corbius' favour, Aedalis continues to sift through the many possibilities- focusing instead on the muscular scimitar wielding man known as Nim and taking a single, careful step to the north.
Corbius feels the life squeezed from his body by the creeper as he falls into unconsciousness. Suddenly he feels his body washed over by the healing energies of Mihai and is brought back from the brink of death.
Corbius suddenly realizes he is laying on his back starring up at the sky/roof and is no longer in the creatures crushing grip. Looking at Mihai Thank you brother. A darkness I would not like to see again. With a weak smile he nods his thanks.
He sees that he is still close to the fight but unsure whether he is still within reach.
Corbius realizing that if the creature strikes him again he may not come back from the brink a second time hesitates about what he should do?
Mihai's face is grim as he accepts Corbius' words. His weathered gaze alights on the creeper... watching and awaiting it's next move.
Nim slashes the creature deeply. Vines seem to gather around him as the Creeper readies to strike at this dangerous opponent.
Tragershen is up next.
Round 5.
Approaching the creeper with great caution, Tragershen unleashes a spell he hope will help turn the tide.
Step to E8 and cast Burning Hands defensively. It should hit the creeper in D9 and then flare harmlessly against the wall behind it.
Concentration check DC 17 .
Damage , reflex DC 15 save for half damage.
The Creeper takes the full force of the magic as Tragershen unleashes his flames. The Creeper, unsure of what to do lashes out at the thing next to it that hurt it deeply...Nim.
A Vine grabs Nim around the waist and gives him a painful squeeze, but he quickly severs it before it can further pin his arms to his chest and crush him like it did to Corbrius!
Round 5:
Mihai stands firm, putting one hand to his holy symbol and murmuring in supplication. A wave of warmth bursts forth and salves the wounds of those who are in pain.
Relieved to see Corbrius alive and Nim free, Anton shifts his position slightly to take advantage of the distraction provided by Nim's brave wolf. Then, Anton channels all of his anger at Nora's death into a fierce overhand blow with his long hammer.
Unfortunately, the reckless strength of Anton's attack is to no avail, as the mindless monster instinctively flinches out of the way at the last moment.
Round 5.
Approaching the creeper with great caution, Tragershen unleashes a spell he hope will help turn the tide.
Step to E8 and cast Burning Hands defensively. It should hit the creeper in D9 and then flare harmlessly against the wall behind it.
Concentration check DC 17 1d20+6.
Damage 2d4, reflex DC 15 save for half damage.
The Vine strikes out at Tragershen as he moves up to cast
Potential Crit:
The Creeper strikes out at Tragershen and lands a stinging blow to his shoulder in exchange for the flames!
Relieved to see Corbrius alive and Nim free, Anton shifts his position slightly to take advantage of the distraction provided by Nim's brave wolf. Then, Anton channels all of his anger at Nora's death into a fierce overhand blow with his long hammer.
Unfortunately, the reckless strength of Anton's attack is to no avail, as the mindless monster instinctively flinches out of the way at the last moment.
Anton, it is hard to see but there is a wall there so it would block your attack. Move you to F8 to make sure it doesn't have combat reflexes.
Aedalis to go, Map without his move.
Corbius noting that the creature is occupied with the parties assault gets to his feet gingerly still suffering from several cracked ribs. Realizing the extent of his injuries Corbius steps back next to Mihai and takes stock of the situation.
Aedalis continues to focus on Nim's future, hoping to aid him in scoring a decisive blow by sifting through the weave of time.
Wicewakan lunges once again at the creeper...
... but finds no vital part to clamp down on.
Nim sees his opportunity to move into position, the plant momentarily distracted by Tragershen moving closer to cast, and steps into the puddle of water opposite Wicewakan before slashing at the creeper with his scimitar ...
...once again finding the sickly plant's pulpy flesh, peeling off a large chunk that falls to the ground with an audible thud.
Seeing Corbius scramble away to safety, when the likes of Tragershen rush into engage the creeper in close quarters, Nim calls out Where are you going? Press on! It cannot last much longer under our assault! as his face and body drip with the creature's smelly gore.
Round 6.
Knowing that they are fully committed now, Tragershen again calls on his most powerful spell, cautiously casting so close to the monstrosity.
Casting Burning Hands defensively again, DC 17 Concentration check
Damage , Reflex DC 15 save again for half damage.
No confirm for Nim...
Aedalis watches as the strands of fate unroll, the version he sees for a split second has Nim missing the Creeper. But as it actually unfolds this time Nim sweeps his attack up instead of down and the Creeper is unprepared, his patron somehow twisting fate in his favor.
It still flails around as the other's surround it and try to finish it.
The Creeper again strikes for Nim, hoping to stop the pain that he is inflicting on it...landing another blow and finally attaching to the creature and squeezes Nim!
Round 6:
Seeing Nim hurt and still sensing the pain of his companions, Mihai continues to act as a conduit for Sinishakti's divine energy. He starts quietly murmuring the lines of a psalm "Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Walker guides them by the hand.". He remains standing clear of the creeper's tendrils, lest he also become a victim...
Corbius realizes his mistake when Nim is grappled by the beast. Then a single word burns in his head "VENGEANCE". In a flash Corbius drops his dagger to the ground and rushes forward drawing his rapier as he moves. Drawing an AOO (it's gotta miss at some point:)) the edge of the blade sparkles momentarily . Corbius intones words of power and lashes out at the creature his weapon infused with crackling power Driving his rapier deep into the creatures pulpy flesh as the electricity courses into it's tissue burning the creature badly.
The creature, being busy grappling Nim, doesn't even realize the threat from Corbrius until it is too late. The blade and spell take the Creeper right in the main pod area.
The electricity is enough to make the plant creature explode like a watermelon, dropped from several stories. The entire party, other than Mihai and Aedalis are covered with the Creeper remnants.
The Creeper is vanquished.
You take stock of the group. Nim and Corbrius are still fairly injured and it is nearing night time. Other than the goo, this place seems fairly intact and is a good, defensible position. You are surprised to find that the pools in the corners are fresh. The water draining from rocks on the hillside into this pool then out the floor via some method.
You examine the building some more and Tragershen almost quivers with excitement when he dicovers some Azlanti markings on the wall. Tragershen spends some time with them while the rest of you look around.
You find that the two stair cases, one once going up to an upper floor that is long gone as well as one that might have gone down until it collasped and finally filled with dirt and rock.
Little else is in the old structure. Tragershen wrestles with the ancient symbols for several hours, coming up with the words: "magic", "knowledge", "materials", "here" for several hours of work. While he is working on that the rest of you could clear out part of the building to sleep in or sleep outside the building?
Seeing Nim wounded again by the plant creature, Wicewakan increases the ferocity of his attack...
... and rips into the creeper with his teeth.
Nim slashes at the creeper with his scimitar ...
...and hacks another chunk from the creeper with a devastating strike!
Nim wipes some of the gore from his eyes before nodding at Corbious. Nice of you to join the fight. You aren't sure but you think he might be smiling under all the goo dripping from his face.
After cleaning himself off with a few uses of create water, Nim searches the interior of the ruins along with the others. Satisfied no more threats remain, he waits for the others to finish their investigations.
I'm sure the local predators know to avoid this place, but I understand if we do not wish to make camp here tonight...
Mihai calls upon the grace of the Walker once more to flush the worst of the remaining hurt from his new companions. He then helps where he can to clear some of the ruins.
After some time he moves to Tragershen where he works upon the markings. Engaging with the elf, Mihai attempts to lend some assistance to his furrowed brow of concentration.
Nim bows in thanks for the restorative magic.
At first, Tragershen is hesitant, unsure the threat is over. But once he notices the writing and symbols, his excitement is unmistakable. He barely notices the healing waves that mend his wounds.
When Mihai joins him in examining the ruins, his speech is quick and in parts confused, as he struggles to convey the ideas flooding through his mind.
Linguistics
Aedalis watches the pair struggle with the language for a few minutes before asking politely-
Do either of you actually speak the language? Excuse me, er, Tragershen wasn't it? Allow an old man to indulge himself in the joy of reading such an archaic language, good elf... he mumbles as he makes his way to the front, squinting as though he was more used to looking over such texts with a pair of reading glasses over his eyes.
Do either of you actually speak the language? Excuse me, er, Tragershen wasn't it? Allow an old man to indulge himself in the joy of reading such an archaic language, good elf...
Aedalis actually knows Azlanti so suspect a linguistics check won't be required, or possibly the several hours of work DM described.
You do? I never had the chance to learn. Please, go on.
As the creatures pulpy flesh explodes Corbius shouts THAT WAS FOR NORA!!
Turning at Nim's words he nods. Sorry about that thought you had things in hand. Next time I will ensure I continue to carry the fight forward. Looking at the goo covering himself he smiles at Nim Do mind sharing some of that water? After cleaning himself up he helps investigate the Ruins.
Nim this looks like a very defensible position. Although it needs to be cleaned should we not consider moving our camp here? It is sheltered, walled and with a little work would be a good campsite. Even if we do not move our main camp maybe we could use it as a forward base for future exploration.
Corbius then goes over to see what has gotten so much of Tragershen's attention.
Oh gross! Wait. It's just plant matter. Anton licks his lips, his usual reaction to slain prey -- "Oh gross!" -- and immediately begins trying to spit the horrible taste out and wash it off. Later, after retrieving Nora's dagger and inspecting the ruins for traps, Anton joins in the conversation with Nim and Corbius.
"From Larissia's sketch, it looks to me like this would be a better location to explore the Shiv from. However, if we're ever going to investigate that little spot in the bay that captured Nim's attention, then I'd rather get it out of the way first instead of trudging a long way back later."
Tragershen excited has not been a common sight, but Tragershen deferring to someone else is really unusual. When Aedalis interjects himself in Tragershen and Mihai's examinations of the ruins, Anton drifts over too, curious about what is going on.
Aedalis is intrigued by the markings. This appears to be an old dialect, even for Azlanti! Due to the differences, it still takes you a little time to decipher the words. The marking lead you to believe that this was a house of magic, or at least a house where magic was being preformed.
As Anton searches the area for traps, the little man's incredibly sharp eyes detect something.
In the floor is a small worn crease. All of you look at it and it looks just like a seam in the floor but Anton seems to see something more. It nags at him for a while before he finally starts using his dagger to create an outline. There appears to be a VERY well hidden trap door in the floor.
Anton examines the trap door thoroughly (take a 20) and notices a strange symbol on the edges of the trap door. It take little time between his observations and a quick detect magic from the group to determine that there is a magical trap of some kind on the stone square.
Lets start by identifying the aura shall we gentlemen- Aedalis suggests, excited by the potential for discovery.
Knowledge (Arcana) to identify type and strength of aura.
After Anton has discovered the trapdoor and Aedalis begins his inspection, Mihai removes himself a short distance and clears a place before him on the stone. In silence he begins a harrow reading, the motions of the shuffle and lay coming with practiced smoothness. In his mind, he focuses upon the trapdoor... and what might lay beneath...
Lets start by identifying the aura shall we gentlemen- Aedalis suggests, excited by the potential for discovery.
1d20+10 Knowledge (Arcana) to identify type and strength of aura.
Aedalis looks over it for some time before coming to the conclusion that is has an evocation on it, of minor-moderate strength. Also with that check I will give you a little more info. You think that this could be a Glyph of some kind.
Mihai lays out the cards before him. He studies them for some time.
Two cards stand out and are aligned correctly...The Fiend: Many losses in a calamity. You think it may point to the trap. The Vision: Arcane knowledge, there is magical knowledge below?
Feel free to add any flavor you wish to the reading. I can't say I will give you this kind of detail every time, but let's make it interesting when we can! BTW on the Augury, you know if it is a true reading so you can go ahead and roll and I will give you results.
After Anton has discovered the trapdoor and Aedalis begins his inspection, Mihai removes himself a short distance and clears a place before him on the stone. In silence he begins a harrow reading, the motions of the shuffle and lay coming with practiced smoothness. In his mind, he focuses upon the trapdoor... and what might lay beneath...
After a few minutes of careful, visual study Aedalis concludes-
Some kind of symbol or glyph. Most likely a Blast Glyph or a Glyph of Warding I would speculate. Could be a stored spell, or simply damaging force. Evocation magic is flashy, creates something out of nothing- I believe I can safely conclude that triggering this Glyph will not be a pleasant experience for whoever does so. Before anyone thinks to tamper with it, ensure everyone else is well clear of the room; I will stay and provide aid to anyone who does wish to tackle it, though.
The older man looks up at the younger folk, waiting for a volunteer.
Mihai gathers his cards and puts them reverently back into their wooden case. Speaking aloud to all and no-one in particular he adds "The cards portend both weal and woe await below. A potential for great loss, but a flicker of magical potential also. As with Aedalis, I can try to see that Sinishakti sees favorably on any attempt to risk it's wrath."
One more thing- Glyphs are known for being notoriously hard to disable. Don't even attempt it if you are merely an amateur... Aedalis warns gravely.
Nim nods his head in agreement. It would seem a fine location to move our camp to. Fresh water. A bit of shelter and protection... and nicely located for our next exploration phase.
Nim looks at Anton quizzically, To what are you referring to? The grey island? It is some distance across the water from this end of the Shiv. I do not think that we can safely reach it from here. Not all of us for certain.
Perhaps I can provide a solution. I could summon a mite to open the trapdoor. It will go easier if someone here speaks undercommon and can teach me a word or two quickly. Or perhaps we can write the instruction upon the trap door. "Open me" or something similar. Nim adds with a smile.