Johund finds a section of exposed troll flesh and stabs with both blades.
Johund finds a section of exposed troll flesh and stabs with both blades.
Amadeen stops moving, grinning at the troll in between hearty cackling, staring at it.
For his part, Eluvias found it somewhat hard to land a blow on the troll, given how it was flailing around. It wouldn't stop moving! Everything he did seemed to be a glancing blow, at best.
Impasha continues attacking.
Ungainly and unlucky as it's attacks are one of its jaws clamps down on Impasha's shoulder.
Johund
Amadeen
Eluvias
Impasha
Trolls -97 Misfortune
Seeing Eluvias having trouble landing a solid blow, Amadeen continues to stare at the troll, cackling all the while.
Johund growls in frustration as the troll remains standing. Where does this thing keep its vital organs? He takes a guess, stabbing at its midsection.
The queen’s powers coupled with Impasha holding it’s attention made all the difference. Eluvias tore into the beast without mercy or hesitation.
Johund growls in frustration as the troll remains standing. Where does this thing keep its vital organs? He takes a guess, stabbing at its midsection.
The troll stumbles backwards and hits the ground with a massive thud.
Stormlure
Amadeen goes quiet, then walks over to the newly-deceased troll.
"Bloody trolls."
She removes the necklace around its neck, examines it, and grins.
"Anyone want a stormlure? Protects against ranged attacks and spells, and can flare up with lightning to hit enemies near you?"
”No, I am fine without it.” Eluvias said, as he prestidigitated himself clean. ”That is an expensive trinket for a troll. Let us explore this place, see what clues we can uncover regarding their master.”
"That is a fine idea, Impasha. South it is!"
The rough tunnel widens into a thirty-foot-high natural cavern hung with dripping stalagmites. Gnawed bones litter the floor, while the northern portion of the room holds a collection of severed, humanoid heads arranged around a large circle drawn on the floor with dried blood.
You spot the trolls hidden treasure in a niche in the northwest corner of the cavern. The stash consists of 902 sp, 388 gp, and a
dusty rose prism ioun stone.
Amadeen stops and points.
"There. Stash of loot. We clear it out."
"After that...north and to the west."
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Impasha comes into the room warily, but when she sees that there is no immediate threat, she puts away her sword and shield for the moment. She comes over to the circle of blood and the severed heads. She spots the head of a young man, who couldn't have been more than 20 years, reduced now to this grisly detritus. She kneels beside it and runs two fingers through its once fair hair.
”The man is dead.” Eluvias said, bluntly. ”Don’t waste resources trying to save him. Focus on killing whomever is responsible.” Then, as an afterthought he added ”And keep your blade out. You never know what is hiding in places like this.”
"I can understand a public head on a stake to warn off outlaws, to scare the hell out of them. But this? This is vile stuff and I won't tolerate it. Cultist, troll, demon, dragon, no matter. They all get to die so that people stay safe."
"Hells..." Johund whispers, momentarily speechless. "What kinda worship is this?"
”A good point. This is buried so deep that it fails to act as an effective warning. Worshiping evil outsiders seems so pointless. So distasteful, for what? As much power as a good deity could offer, only with a worse afterlife.” He lamented. ”I can’t say that I see the draw.”
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"There seems to be little sophistication or purpose to this. I'd guess these wicked creatures made this display to amuse themselves. Or the two-headed one was playing at being something more than he was. This loot hoard of his suggests he might have been a lieutenant for the trolls. But he's clearly not the leader" says Impasha.
After Eluvias speaks, Impasha offers a small shrug. "Cynicism is the path to evil for most men. They come to despise goodness so much that evil seems only sensible. After that, it's only a matter of which flavor of evil they decide to drown themselves in."
"But these creatures-- I'm not sure they ever had a choice. Some things are just born with dark hearts and a hunger for cruelty. And yes, they need to be wiped out."
The ceiling of this cavern arches thirty feet overhead. A wagon with its wheels removed sits against the eastern wall, heaped with smelly furs, and a single barrel stands in the southwest corner. Against the northern wall, a crude throne carved from a giant tree stump sits atop a makeshift dais made of boulders, with a large bearskin spread on the floor before it.
A large troll staggers to his feet to bellow in outrage. "You come before me unannounced mayflies? You seek your doom and you have found it. This is my Kingdom and you are not welcome here." The way the troll enunciates it words is considered and not slurred. The troll is wearing hide armour and hefts a fine morningstar with a darkwood haft that crackles with electricity as he waves it about.
Impasha
Johund
Eluvias
Amadeen
Troll King?
Eluvias pointed his scimitar at the troll, and almost immediately three scimitars materialized around it. All three blades attacked at once, and as they did so Eluvias moved in, getting closer to that he might meet it head on.
A little slower off the mark than usual, Amadeen jogs forward, staring down the troll...and ominously quiet thus far.
This is a mind-affecting effect. At 8th level the penalty increases to –4.
"Good. I'm glad we're clear of pleasantries." In practically one motion, she throws down her visor, hefts her shield before her, and begins charging toward the vile troll. "Iomedae's curse upon your evil soul! Despair and die miscreant!"
Johund moves forward his knife leaving a cut only in the trolls armour.
Eluvias pointed his scimitar at the troll, and almost immediately three scimitars materialized around it. All three blades attacked at once, and as they did so Eluvias moved in, getting closer to that he might meet it head on.
A little slower off the mark than usual, Amadeen jogs forward, staring down the troll...and ominously quiet thus far.
The troll leader hefts his morningstar and brings it down on Eluvias. "Evil soul? You're fishing for a theological and philosophical argument you are ill equipped to win!"
Impasha
Johund
Eluvias
Amadeen
Troll King? -39
"Obviously yer operatin' with both 'o them brains. Look, I ain't much of a crusader. But collectin' heads? 'S just weird!" Johund jams both of his blades into the troll's knee.
Amadeen steps closer to Eluvias...
...her wand slides into her hand and she taps Eluvias!
Then 23 charges remaining
...Amadeen makes bizarre gestures, then begins cackling anew!
Does not compute.
Eluvias’ eyes went wide as he saw death approaching. He realized that he wasn’t going to be able to dodge in time. Due to his curse, he calmly watched as his life was coming to a close. He still tried to dodge out of the way, despite the futility...and that was when Impasha appeared in front of him, taking the hit and saving his life.
He blinked in surprise, before regaining his sense and rejoining the attack.
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After Impasha delivered a slashing backhand swing, the troll had charged his weapon with lightning and begun a crushing overhand blow ... directed toward the unguarded head of Eluvias.
"No! Iomedae, let it be me!" she pleads skyward even as the weapon arced toward its victim and she raised her shield.
And Iomedae heard her cry, and the blow was drawn onto her shield, accompanied by the cracking sound of her arm bones and the sinister sizzling of the electricity hissing over her armor and skin, leaving her skin reddened and smoking inside her armor.
"Ugnh..." she grunts feebly, and nearly drops to one knee as dizziness washes over her. Her arm could no longer support the weight of her shield, but the metal of her armor exoskeleton could just manage it. Gritting her teeth, she lifts herself again and readies to continue the attack.
After Impasha delivered a slashing backhand swing, the troll had charged his weapon with lightning and begun a crushing overhand blow ... directed toward the unguarded head of Eluvias.
"No! Iomedae, let it be me!" she pleads skyward even as the weapon arced toward its victim and she raised her shield.
And Iomedae heard her cry, and the blow was drawn onto her shield, accompanied by the cracking sound of her arm bones and the sinister sizzling of the electricity hissing over her armor and skin, leaving her skin reddened and smoking inside her armor.
"Ugnh..." she grunts feebly, and nearly drops to one knee as dizziness washes over her. Her arm could no longer support the weight of her shield, but the metal of her armor exoskeleton could just manage it. Gritting her teeth, she lifts herself again and readies to continue the attack.
"Obviously yer operatin' with both 'o them brains. Look, I ain't much of a crusader. But collectin' heads? 'S just weird!" Johund jams both of his blades into the troll's knee.
Eluvias’ eyes went wide as he saw death approaching. He realized that he wasn’t going to be able to dodge in time. Due to his curse, he calmly watched as his life was coming to a close. He still tried to dodge out of the way, despite the futility...and that was when Impasha appeared in front of him, taking the hit and saving his life.
He blinked in surprise, before regaining his sense and rejoining the attack.
The troll's eyes roll back into the back of it's head before it hits the floor with a loud thud.
Necklace of fireballs (1 8d6 fireball, 2 4d6 fireballs,3 2d6 fireballs)
Mwk Hide Armour
Shocking darkwood morningstar
Rusty key (wedged inside a skull on his bracelet)
Amadeen looks at Impasha, clearly impressed.
"You're one driven crusader, Impasha! Which I suppose is the point. I'll work out those whallops.", she says, taking a wand out of her backpack.
As she approaches the dead troll on the way to Impasha, she notes:
"Oooh, I like that necklace!"
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Amadeen looks at Impasha, clearly impressed.
"You're one driven crusader, Impasha! Which I suppose is the point. I'll work out those whallops.", she says, taking a wand out of her backpack.
Now that the fight is over, Impasha drops to one knee and lets the shield slide from her shattered arm. From inside her visored helm comes the sound of labored breath. With her good hand, she moves to lift the visor, but her gauntleted hand trembles and she has a hard time putting it in the right place.
"Thank you." she manages to say in a tight voice. She fumbles with her visor for a few more seconds then gives up. "Could I have some water please?" she adds.
”I thank you, crusader. But for you I would be dead right now.” Eluvias said, with certainty. He handed over his flask of water, wishing that he had the power to do more to show his thanks for, or to help.
Johund casts create water on his water skin before passing it to Impasha.
He'd thought to tell her how brave it was, how selfless, to throw herself into harm"s way. How it inspires him to maybe want to be better, and to put queen and country before his own wants.
But it feels empty to say it now, as Impasha's labored breathing and beating heart says it all.
Hells, is this what happens when you adventure with paladins?
"Don't mind th'sand," he mumbles. "It's Hanspur's way."
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Impasha lays her hands upon the breastplate of her armor and murmurs a quiet prayer. There is a shimmer of bluish-white light that plays over body and then her breathing eases and she pulls away her helmet with an easy, if still weary motion.
She reaches out and takes the water skin from Eluvias. "Well, we can't have you dying, this kingdom still needs you." she says with a thin smile, followed by a long drink. She hands it back to him. "I told you I knew my duty." she adds with a slight twinkle to her eye.
Then she takes Johund's offered water skin and douses it over her head, after which she whips her head about, lashing the air with her blonde hair. "A little sand is at the heart of every pearl." she says, handing back the skin and standing up now.
"What do you suppose that key opens?"
Amadeen strolls over and finishes the job, tapping Impasha as many times as needed.
49
52
57
59
61
66
The wand fizzles out. Amadeen shrugs and lobs it over her shoulder. A fresher wand slides into her hand from his wrist sheath and she continues.
70
72
"That's you sorted! Now, Eluvias! How neither of us thought to take care of your wounds previously..."
Amadeen's jovial tone masks a lot more concern than she is happy to let on.
7 wounds left
2 wounds left
0 wounds left
"Now, not a scratch left on anyone! Let's finish clearing this hole and move on!"
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"Thank you, I feel good as new." says Impasha once the healing is finished." Although her outward attitude seems much as it usually does, a change seems to have taken place with her. There is a faint golden mist that seems to rise from her pauldrons, which then coalesces into small whirls of golden dust that tumble slowly to the ground like the lightest of snowflakes of pure light, where they instantly melt away. She seems unaware of this transfiguration.
"Actually, if no one minds..." she says, lifting up and hefting the dark wood morningstar of the troll king. "...I would like to claim this weapon as a trophy. A solid bludgeoning weapon with good heft, and ensorcled with electricity -- it would be a good complement to my longsword."
The air in this cavern seems somewhat cooler than that of the rest of complex, but the stench of decaying flesh hangs heavy in the air. Along the walls are stacked the carcasses of dozens of beasts, from foxes and wolves to deer and elk, as well as a couple of horses and what appears to be a skinned bear. The southern portion of the room holds a grislier collection of corpses: the bodies of several humanoids, from gnomes and halflings to humans and elves. Most of the cadavers seem to have been decapitated.
A troll a little larger than most you've encountered stands amidst the cadavers with it's skin made of earth with a few gems in it.
Amadeen
Stone Troll
Johund
Impasha
Eluvias
Amadeen nods at Impasha and says:
"After that display, I say aye!"
*********************
Amadeen takes one look at the troll and laughs heartily.
Amadeen takes one look at the troll and laughs heartily.
The troll moves forward and is very frustrated when it fails to bite Johund.
Johund
Impasha
Eluvias
Amadeen
Stone Troll
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"Let's see how this thing works." says Impasha as she draws out the dark wood morningstar. She lifts it before her, waving at the strange rock troll's eyes. "Recognize this? We pried it from the cold dead hands of your king. While you sat here glorying in this gore and depravity, lounging about in your evil, we ended his miserable life! And now by all that's good and holy, you're going down too! Iomedae guide my hand!"
She muscles up for a ferocious roundhouse swing.
Johund slips under the troll's jaws and rolls forward. He comes to rest on one knee, one blade jammed up into the troll's abdomen while the other seeks vital arteries in its leg.
Fresh off of a near death experience, Eluvias launched himself into battle without hesitation.