Harsk rushes quickly to the end of font in an effort to aid Kurth.
Harsk runs around the pool!
red: grappled by web
Milloy decides to use Force Missile!
"Oof, you've got to try harder than that," Kurth says, slashing at the trapped grioth with his flaming sword.
Milloy hits the grioth with a missile and then Kurth easily takes it down!
And now all that awaits you is the long dark tunnel leading to the dragon's cave....
Interesting... Harsk, perhaps we could use this scroll to ask our newly-dead friends a couple of questions about any surprises that might be in store for us down this path? Milloy hands him the scroll of speak with dead.
"Well, at least that little whelp wasn't able to make off and give us away now!" Harsk wipes some of the sweat from his brow. "Still, that little jog took a bit outta me."
He takes the scrolls, "Yeah, let's see what these little birds will sing." He reads the first scroll and smacks the grioth ( the one that tried to run) across the cheek to get its attention.
"Well now, where were you running off to in such a hurry? What's down that tunnel there, Sonny-boy?"
The dead grioth doesn't respond.
So much for that idea.
Hard to say. I'd really like to see if we are up against a dragon or not. Or at least what type, exactly.
The tunnel leads 750 feet on until you finally see sunlight reflecting from the east where a large open-air cavern lies ahead. A passage also leads to the north.
"Kicking down doors and hitting anything that moves has worked pretty well so far, but we might want to switch things up this time and make a plan," Kurth suggests. "I've got this nice sword of dragon-killing, but I'm worried the dragon won't just sit still when I start poking it. Have we got any way for me to fly after it, or of making it stay in one place? I can run around on the walls but I'm not sure that will be enough."
Harsk scratches at his beard in thought. "You've got the right of it, Kurth. Some coordination and planning would Well, I've known wizards that are able to make creatures fly. Ya got anythin' on that, Milloy?"
"I've got some protective spells that should keep us safe - protect us from whatever elemental breath this dragon may have - though I think we figured it was green, and so it spews acid." Harsk twists his head to crack his neck.
"At any rate, I've got a offensive spells to try as well. I've been developed my ability to better bypass spell resistance - so hopefully I can be useful at that."
The cleric stands up and walks over to the fountain.
"Ecch, got some of that grioth's blood on me, gonna wash it off."
[ooc]So do you have a game plan? By the way, straight ahead the tunnel comes out on the same level as the 'lair' but the tunnel to the north leads to an area that is raised 20 feet above the lair (you can see the stairs on the map-I've revealed a bit more).
Fly? No. I do not dabble in those types of magic. I might be able to do a few things to keep it in place, however.
Harsk casts shield other on Kurth.
"Alice and Milloy should head north, I can go with Kurth down to the meet the dragon head on. Alice - you pelt the bastard with arrows, Kurth - you swing away with that sword. Milloy - try and keep that dragon pinned down. I'll keep Kurth standing and try to do some harm Scangi myself as well."
In order to ensure that the spell will still be in effect, Harsk will wait until the last possible moment to cast protection from energy - communal on the party.
"Sounds like a plan," Kurth says, readying several potions to drink just before the group heads in.
"You could try sneakin' if you like, Alice. My protection blessing that I can offer won't last but 10 minutes - and I gotta be close enough to touch you for you to get the protection. I could bless you now but then the clock is running."
Harsk takes a knee, holding his holy symbol tightly in his hands. "Blessed Torag, Hammer of the Gods, we thank thee at this time for your continuous blessings. More than once has your divine hammer kept death away. Please watch over and protect us in our struggle against this dragon most foul. Protect us from the poison that he spews from his mouth. Though he has flown high upon his haughty wings, we ask that you help us to bring him low unto the ground, even unto death. Glory be yours. EXCELSIOR!"
"Go on, Alice - try and sneak to see what you can find, but don't dally. Scream if you need help"
With that, Harsk touches each of his companions to give them protection.
He pauses a little longer as he grasps Kurth's shoulder. "Torag, grant Kurth with the stones of a raging bull. Give him that strength."
The praying over, Harsk takes up his warhammer and twirls it in his hand. "Time for us to kill a dragon."
Kurth will give Alice and Milloy a few rounds to get in position, then gulp down his remaining potion of expeditious retreat, followed by a potion of divine favor just before he and Harsk advance.
bull's strength, protection from acid, shield other, expeditious retreat, divine favor
Effects:
Ignore first 70 points of acid damage
Move 60' (for 9 rounds)
+1 AC
+2 to hit (drops to +1 after 10 rounds)
+2 to damage (drops to +1 after 10 rounds)
Milloy will cast Fly on himself in an effort to be more sneaky by eliminating footfalls.
Alice and Milloy are able to sneak up to the north without the dragon noticing!
Milloy will cast Black Tentacles over the creature! for
Harsk moves forward, then breaks into a run as he moves around the corner.
Milloy leaps out from his hiding space as he casts a spell and summons a swath of rubbery tentacles to grab at the dragon! Unfortunately, they are too weak to hold the mighty Aeteperax to the ground!
"Here's goes nothing," Kurth says, drawing his sword and running into the massive cavern.
Kurth moves in while Alice fires off two arrows, one of them striking true!
The dragon Aeteperax lets out a roar and spews a blast of acid, hitting Kurth with the foul liquid!
The then takes off into the air, clumsily rising 20 feet off the ground.
17 dmg
Milloy will now cast Fireball using his maximize metamagic rod!
Milloy knows that, of course, green dragons are attuned to acid and thus are immune to acid and can breath it out. They are also hurt more by magical weapons and are immune to paralysis and sleep. They resist spells and have spellcasting abilities.
---
Milloy blasts the dragon with a ball of fire!
59 dmg
Harsk keeps moving forward. He raises a fist in the air and cries out, "Torag! Bring down your Hammer of the Gods to smite
Suddenly, a Spiritual Hammer appears next to the dragon.
The hammer strikes at the dragon.
Kurth dodges out of the way of the worst of the dragon's acidic breath, with the remainder absorbed by Harsk's spell.
"Nice try, Scangi. Now you better get down here and fight me, or I'm gonna piss all over your treasure pile. How'd you like that, Scangi, you big dumb lizard?" Kurth says, trying to sound more confident than he feels.
bull's strength, protection from acid, shield other, expeditious retreat, divine favor
Effects:
Ignore first 56 points of acid damage
Move 60' (for 7 rounds)
+1 AC
+2 to hit (drops to +1 after 8 rounds)
+2 to damage (drops to +1 after 8 rounds)
Harsk's hammer is not able to penetrate the dragon's defenses but the recitation of his name by the party seems to have visibly rattled the dragon. He roars and curses in Draconic. Kurth taunts away and readies his sword as Alice puts another two arrows into the dragon's side.
In his rage, the dragon takes on a frightful presence.
He then charges down at Kurth!
As the dragon nearly bites Kurth's arm off, Kurth sticks his sword into the side of the dragon's jaw, leaving the dragon formerly known as Aeteperax bloodied and fataly wounded.
123 dmg
The bite isn't half as bad as it looks - Harsk's magic rings transfer a share of the damage to the dwarf - but the sight of the dragon's fangs slicing into his flesh is more than enough to shake Kurth's resolve. Jabbing his sword into the dragon's snout in a panic, he pulls it loose and considers trying to find a dark hole to hide in.
"Gods, why didn't I stay in Oppara," he whispers, almost frozen. But then the face of the dear, departed drunk Shao-Sing comes to mind and Kurth grits his teeth and swallows his fear.
"Whores have better breath
than you, you gods-damned lizard!
So die now, Scangi!"
Kurth screams out the measured syllables as he slashes and thrusts wildly at the dragon's thick scales.
Milloy now tries Lightning Bolt!
Kurth's swings miss but the dragon nonetheless seems staggered by the use of his real name. As the dragon reels back at the sound of his name, Milloy uses the opportunity to shoot a bolt of lightning through the dragon! He lets out a last mighty roar as he falls back; the ground gives a mighty tremble and rumble as his body hits the ground and his last breath wheezes from his lungs!
Firstly, you notice that the dragon was carrying a staff of illusion with 2 charges remaining.
Searching the back caverns, you find a bedraggled woman with long black hair claiming to be Rima Kell, wife of Azmur. She gifts you the +2 mithral dagger she was able to steal from the hoard if you promise to take her back to her husband safely.
The furs upon which she rests are finely-preserved chimera furs worth 900 gp.
Aeteperax also keeps a large collection of books here, many recently looted from the monastery's various libraries, in a six 5-foot-wide wooden lockers. The hundreds of books in these chests (all with names like Codex of the Ebon Dephts, Grimoire of Impossible Secrets, Kargeth's Blackest Encyclopaedia, and so on) are worth a total of 12 000 gp. Each chest weighs 250 lbs when full of books.
Five smaller chests hold the bulk of Aeteperax's more valuable treasures, including 8 940 cp, 5 100 sp, 2 300 gp, 93 pp, a small silver cauldron with carvings of wolverines on the wside worth 120 gp, a gold scarab engraved with the symbol of Nethys worth 75 gp, a silver hand mirror with a darkwood frame worth 120 gp, a silver bowl worth 75 gp with six tiny jade statuettes of panthers inside (each worth 20 gp), a platinum holy symbol of Abadar worth 500 gp, a masterwork darkwood flute worth 300 gp, a painting of Queen Abrogail II on black velvet worth 1 500 gp, a pouch of a dozen flawed garmets worth 20 gp, each a 6-lb lump of voidglass worth 600 gp, a potion of good hope, a potion of water breathing, a scroll of chaos hammer, a suit of masterwork leather armor, a +1 light fortification buckler, a +1 returning starknife, a masterwork rapier, a +1 flaming burst hand crossbow, a +2 light mace, a pouch containing six screaming bolts, a wand of longstrider (44 charges), a wand of remove paralysis (38 charges), a ring of animal friendship, a belt of physical might +2 (Strength and Constitution), a cape of the mountebank, a pair of winged boots, and a circlet of persuasion.
Someone tend to the woman. Milloy distractedly states as he flies down to examine the books and treasures that the dragon had horded. I would say we have completed our mission.
"We're rich all right, and still miles away from a pair of clean britches and a keg of cold beer, " Kurth says. " Let's pack this up so I can go see my favorite barmaid."
"Well, for all his bluster - he was just a little pup of a thing, eh?" Harsk smiles a toothy grin at his friends.
"Well, that's quite a haul! Great work everyone!"
When you return to Belhaim in triumph, the townsfolk lavish you with adulation, especially for having saved the Kells in the process. Lady Origena, as promised, knights you and elevates you into the aristocracy of Taldor by granting you titles of Lady and Sir.
As word of your success as dragonslayers spreads, you might find your fame opens new doors throughout the Inner Sea....