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"Ugh! This room needs an airing!" Selfi says her anger at things like stone rooms and hordes of monsters building.
She kicks her heal against the bottom of her huge sword's leather sheath with enough force to pop the heavy blade into the air over her head where she jumps up grabs it with both hands and brings it down over her head upon the troglodyte warrior.
Frustrated at the near miss Selfi pulls up the blade using it as shield for a brief moment before yanking it at an angle up off the floor, and over her head, hoping to clip the lizard man.
"RRRAAAH!"
Two of the trogs go down quickly! Arindel checks to make certain nothing comes down the stairwell to catch the team unaware. The remaining troglodyte unleashes a flurry of attacks on Dolgarth with club, claw, and tooth, yet nothing he does penetrates the warrior's defenses
Round 2 (cont.)
Arindel
***Round 3***
Selfi
Avasir
Hob
Dolgarth
Iladora
Trogs
Arindel
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Avasir takes a step over by Iladora for a straighter shot. He puts away his crossbow and pulls out his dagger to conserve crossbow bolts. Besides, he thinks, we're doing pretty decent here, holding our own. Maybe I should have stepped out of the academic life sooner....
The dagger misses and makes a metallic "clang" of the wall before returning to his hand.
"Arindel, do you have any inspirational songs to ward off sickness?"
Avasir's dagger flies wide. The scaled warrior leaps back from Dolgarth's attack, which unwittingly takes it just out of range of the enraged elf. Sparks burst up from the stone floor as her sword leaves a gash empty of blood.
Round 2 (cont.) Bold may post
Arindel
***Round 3*** (cont.)
Selfi Sickened
Avasir Sickened
Hob Sickened
Dolgarth Sickened
Iladora
Trog
Arindel
Iladora cuts down the final trog, affording him a gruesome death.
A brazier of glowing coals sits in the center of this room, its acrid smoke mixing with the ever-present troglodyte stench. A few knives, pokers, and other metal implements lie atop a rusty iron box nearby. Facing the door is the largest troglodyte you have encountered. He stares at Hob with a smile on his face. "Me am going to suck the marrow from your bones, then me will kill you."
Initiative
***Round 1***
Arindel
Selfi
Iladora
Hob
Avasir
Dolgarth
Tulok
The bard wraps around the corner. His bow snaps off a quick shot, sinking an arrow into the reptilian chest. Sensing the evilness of the soul before him. Hob calls upon the righteousness of his faith to empower his blade. The emboldened paladin races in, headless of the danger. His thrust easily slides through the beast's abdomen, piercing his lung and heart. Tulok begins to laugh at the halfing's resolve, "MWA HA HA! You come here with your tiny weapon and..and expect Tulok ...to ...be scared? Me now kil-!" The rest of the massive troglodyte's threat dies on his lips, right along with him.
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Gods, this one smells even worse! Iladora tries not to wretch as she charges forward-- but Hob darts under her and skewers the thing, and Arindel feathers it, before she ever gets there. It falls dead right as her axe slices through the air it had just occupied. "I'm glad you're on my side, little priest," she admits.
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Dolgarth readies himself for combat, but is suddenly distracted and when he comes back to his senses, the troglodyte is dead. "Good job, everyone," he chuckles as he enters the room, before doubling over at the stench. Once fully recovered, he searches the room for anything of interest, then the door leading beyond.
Even in his compromised state, Dolgarth hears what can be described as muffled moans from beyond the door.
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Avasir follows his party members into the room, after the chaos, observing only the aftermath. "So... I take it this one didn't give you too much trouble?"
He takes stock of the room (as best he can in his sickness) and starts to look around for important details, and possibly the captured Pathfinder.
"I don't suppose we're getting close to the captured agent?"
Searching the troglodyte's room, you find a rusty iron chest holding a suit of masterwork studded leather armor {medium sized}, a masterwork buckler, a masterwork rapier, a shortbow with 15 arrows, a scroll of cure moderate wounds, a scroll of invisibility, and a wayfinder.
Inside the room is a human who has been tied, gagged and obviously beaten. Initially he shrinks back from the door, but as soon as it becomes apparent that you are not troglodytes here to deliver another lesson, he excitedly shouts into his gag. "Oh, thank you, thank you. You would not believe the cruelty these beasts showed me. My name is Balenar Forsend, and I am forever in your debt. Once we get back to Absalom, the first round is on me. Ah, I see the smell has gotten to you. Yes well, in my time here, I still am not used to it. Well, we can discuss that on our way home. I don't suppose you found my things?"
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"The 'first round'? The first round what? Whatever round thing it is it could not be too big looking at you. Even a wagon wheel would crush you. Your 'things'? The wayfinder and the bits of parchment with the word symbols tattooed upon them, you mean? That armor was yours? It looked to have been made for a very small woman--perhaps my niece. She is but a girl of 72."
"Well of course I'm a Pathfinder! Isn't that why you were sent here? I'm certain Dreng is worried sick and sent the best to assist me. As to the troglodytes, from what you tell me, it sounds as if only the leader is left. I have never seen him, but I know he stays to the top of the tower. The only other thing on this floor is a giant frog. It's like he wants to assemble his own menagerie. Well, I am only too happy to rob him of this human. With luck, he hasn't realized you've come for me. We can be halfway home before he even knows were gone."
Looking to Selfi, "Well, your niece must be a very robust woman. I am certain she turns all the heads...of every half orc in town if your looks run in the family."
"Oh no! I will not stand idly by while my fellow Pathfinders put themselves into danger, even if they feel the need to try and resort to blatant thievery. I say Miss, are you trying to extort some payment from me? We are both members of the same Society. Why are you donning my armor?
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Iladora considers pointing out that since the man's equipment had been taken from him, his right to it had been forfeited. But she decides to say nothing, in case her allies would disagree. "We're taking over this tower, not running home. If you want your revenge, now is the time. Is there anything else you may have heard about this leader?"
"To be honest, I usually spend most of my time feeling too queasy to care about too much else."
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"Just let him have his things and quit playing around. We've still got a tower to clear." comes the exasperated voice of the overly serious halfling.
Facing Balenar he says, "You said he has a giant frog on this level? I suppose we could deal with that later, after the trog leader is taken care of..." then turning to the group,"...unless someone thinks otherwise...?"
Balenar shudders, "It's really big, like swallow a brave halfling whole big. I think it can wait."
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"What a tiny little bow." Selfi says plucking at Forsend's shortbow string and giggling.
"Just let him have his things and quit playing around. We've still got a tower to clear." comes the exasperated voice of the overly serious halfling.
"But Cot-On-Leaf are they not the big-smelly-lizard-person-who-eats-other-people-and-lives-deep-underground?" She says pointing to the dead troglodyte warrior. "Did not the big-smelly-lizard-person-who-eats-other-people-and-lives-deep-underground take these from Bale-Narf-Oar's-End and therefore are spoils of war like all of the other 'loot', as I believe it is called?"
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After a quick sigh, Hob responds curtly, "If he was dead. He isn't. I would give you back your own things if I rescued you." then with an even sharper edge of finality to his tone, "I am passed discussing this. Give him his things."
As Hob goes up the stairs, he readies his own weapon, ready to open the door for Avasir once his crossbow is loaded.
He then throws open the door...
While Selfi takes a couple of minutes to change into the disputed armor, Balenar goes about claiming the rest of his gear to prevent any other theft of his items.
The four wings of the tower are completely open on this level, forming one great, cross-shaped chamber with arched ceilings. The decayed remnants of a carpet run from the doorways at the end of each wing, meeting in the center, where a spiral staircase drops out of sight below. A large, throne-like chair stands in the middle of the eastern wing next to a big chest.
As Dolgarth crests the top of the stair, he hears a low throaty roar from a pure white, albino cave crocodile. The troglodyte standing behind the throne responds, "What issss that Ssssnapjaw? Sssomeone comesss?" The troglodyte priest turns to see the Pathfinders entering into his throne room. "You no belong here! But you make nicccce sssacrificcce."
Initiative
****FINAL FIGHT~ Round 1*****
Hob
Tasskar
Iladora
Balenar
Arindel
Snapjaw
Avasir
Dolgarth
Selfi