"This altar gives me the creeps. It serves no holy purpose."
"Doesn't surprise me. Fell deeds done here. Be on your guard when I open the door." He glances back at the other two arcanists. "Anything more you two know?"
|
“Guiding Hand save us!” Ioxeia bursts out as her concentration clarifies what the altar contains, and she quickly tries to dash the water out of the basin. She looks down in disgust as she shakes the foul stuff off her fingers.
Turning back to Thorfinn, she explains, “The water’s been given an unholy blessing – from the looks of it, according to the rites of Lamashtu. It’s poisonous to drink at best, but if one were to drink enough of it it would also twist the mind before starting to work on the body.”
“I remember Tsuto’s journal mentioned his lover was a worshipper, but I think it said she’s at Thistletop, or whatever it was called. If whatever’s down here shares her faith, though, I can see why Tsuto hoped they could make an alliance. I think we’re getting close.”
Gabriel thinks to himself Where does Ioxeia even hear about these foul things?
"Told you it was foul. Get ready." The dwarf opens the double doors and immediately drops into a fighting stance.
Gabriel falls into place behind Thorfinn and levels his crossbow over the dwarf's shoulder.
Opening the door slowly it lets out a noisy creaking sound. This huge room looks like nothing more than an immense underground cathedral. Stone doors stand ajar 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 under a domed 20 ft ceiling, 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.
Near the pulpit you see a tiny winged creature with miniature ram horns that curl back from its twisted head, and its body is thin and wiry. It wears a black silk gown and has a tiny tiara atop its head. Hearing the door she sees you all and shrieks at you "How dare you intrude upon the Mother’s sanctum!" She flitters over to the odd triangular pool while pulling out a small dagger and slashes her hand, letting the blood drip into the pool. The pool begins to churn and bubble more violently as something begins to take shape from the water and the light of the pool diminishes a bit. Moments later another Sinspawn crawls out of the pool and glares at you all hungrily.
Gabriel will begin casting sleep.
Thorfinn advances carefully into the room, ready to strike if anything comes within reach.
Gallus and Thorfinn move into the room while Chim and Gabriel stay out casting spells. The missles slam into the creature injuring it, but it seems as though the injury doesn't bother it much. It flies up and over the center pool making sure to keep out of range as much as possible of the others and beings casting a spell.
|
|
Ioxeia enters the room and breaks right. Seeing the small monster is trying to keep out of reach to cast a spell, Ioxeia hurls her spear at it. What is it? she wonders.
She hesitates, though, as to whether she should draw her sword and engage the sinspawn, or try to bring the flying thing down with arrows…
Before the creature begins to fly up the sinspawn comes over to attack Gallus.
It misses horribly, but Gallus takes the opportunity to strike back.
Not having much luck himself. As the creature flies away he swings at her as well.
Still not able to connect. As Ioxeia moves in and lobs her spear it connects but doesn't appear to do any damage.
A typical quasit stands a foot and a half tall, and weighs only 8 pounds. Alone among the demonic horde, quasits do not form from the dead souls of evil mortals. Instead, they form from living souls—when a spellcaster seeks out a quasit to serve him as a familiar, his soul brushes against the Abyss and it reacts, carving from itself a quasit linked to that spellcaster's soul and forming a powerful bond between the two. Newly created quasits are birthed directly into the Material Plane, where they become familiars, and while bonded to their masters' wills, all quasits hate and loathe their lieges, as they can feel the pulse of their lords' souls and know that they could have been more. A quasit serves, yet it watches and waits for mistakes that might cost its master's life, or even better, an error that might let the quasit turn against its master.
When a quasit's master dies, the quasit can attempt to follow the master's soul into the Great Beyond. Rarely, a quasit elects to ignore its master's death and instead remains on the Material Plane to seek other ways to entertain itself — usually settling in an urban area where there are plenty of folk to torment.
Thorfinn closes with the sinspawn on Gallus, but misses the creature completely.
Gabriel finishes up casting sleep on the flying beastie. [ooc]Will Save DC 16[/dice]
Gabriel will then move in and take a shot at the flying beastie if its still up, otherwise he will shoot at the sinspawn.
|
|
General aspect and demeanor demonic. By the stature and frame, most likely a quasit. So that’s what they look like. As she sifts through the lore in her head, Ioxeia quickly draws the magic sword the party took from the mutant goblin and ducks under the flying demon, bolstering her weapon’s magic with her own power. Thorfinn’s new axe would be wonderful here, but I doubt our foe is foolish enough to get within reach. We probably also don’t want to let it know we have something it’s vulnerable to. Note: teach Thorfinn Elven, or learn Dwarven myself. “Chimaeryus,” she calls out in Elven, “focus on the flyer: it will resist our elemental spells! Let Gallus handle the sinspawn!”
Chim launches another missle, this time at the Sinspawn and it manages to penetrate the creatures natural defenses to magic. Thorfinn moves up to get in a better position to assist Gallus with the Sinspawn.
Gabriel finishes casting his spell. It doesn't appear to have any effect on the creature. Though his bolt does manage to pierce it. Oddly though the wounds appear to heal up.
As the creature finishes casting her spell something appears next to Gabriel to attack him. This new creature, a roiling wave of flesh gushes forward. Amid the fatty surge wriggle half-formed limbs and a dripping tumorous face.
The thing rips into Gabriel with its claws. The flying creature smirks at her new companions work and tosses a dagger at Gabriel.
The dagger misses however, but then flies back into her grasp.
Ioxeia moves closer while casting a spell and colors shoot forth from her hands washing over the creature.
While it seems stunned its innate ability to fly keeps it hovering where it was.
Gabriel will inspire courage in his allies while drawing his dagger.
+1s!
"Good job Ioxeia!"
Buoyed by Gabriel's performance, Thorfinn chops a chunk out of the sinspawn.
Gabriel will step and reload his heavy crossbow, while maintaining inspire courage.
Gabriel moves away from the creature summoned near him and begin to sing an inspiring song for his allies. Throfinn uses his position to take advantage of the Sinspawn cutting into the creature but not quite putting it down. Gallus drops his Glaive and pulls out a short spear jabbing it at the creature.
Sadly even with Thorfinns help he is not able to hit the thing.
Chim launches another missle at the quasit which hits her. While it does damage you notice her wounds are continuing to slowly heal. She looks at Chim and glares, as she beings doing something that looks like a hex.
The other creature steps up and begins to try and tear into Gabriel.
One of the claws connect ripping away some flesh.
|
|
Ioxeia shakes her head as she realizes that for the moment she can't force the flying demon to engage. She moves to support Gabriel and slashes at the summoned blob, trying to identify it as well. Trying to keep track of too many things at once blocks her memory and throws off her aim, but Ioxeia still casts a glance to where Thorfinn and Gallus are keeping the sinspawn busy. If we can hold until they finish that off, or else...
Ioxeia moves to attack the summoned creature but doesn't have any success.
"Maybe this will help."
Gabriel continues to Inspire Courage and casts glitterdust on the flying critter. WIll DC 16
Thorfinn attempts to take another chunk out of the foe. "Get down and help the others, Gallus! I've got this one."
Gabriel casts a spell as glitter rains down over the area the flying creature is in. While it covers the creature in glitter, there is little other effect on it. Thorfinn slices into the sinspawn with his axe putting it down for good as Gallus picks up his glaive and moves to help the others. Chim launches some acid at the flying thing but it goes wide completely missing her.
The fleshy creature moves to attack Ioxeia as she posses a more direct threat.
One of the claws finds its mark, scrapeing into Ioxeia but not too badly. The flying creature still extremely irritated with Darpan lets out a horrifing scream as it puffs itself up to look more intimidating.