Orik thinks for a moment. "I've made a few poor decisions lately but, sorry, I just don't think I'm cut out for honest work. Think I'll take Lyrie and hit the road, hope she snaps out of it and gains her senses that Nualia's a lost cause, more trouble than she's worth. I'm not one to be mucking around with the kind of s@$* Nualia's been working on. Thanks and have a good life." With that, Orik takes his leave, making his way to find Lyrie before fleeing Thistletop.
"Just one more thing," Seal says with a bird claw sticking out of the side of his mouth. "What has this Nualia been working on?"
"Some beast she's trying to raise up in service to her goddess. Bit too foul for me, to be honest, and I was looking for a way out anyways. Just got involved for the money but sometimes the money ain't worth it anymore, ya know?"
"We do understand and thank Desna for your common sense. Maybe it would be best if you were on your way. Farewell, Ork."
Rissi chuckles after the man leaves. "I have never *chhh* found the pursuit of coin to be a worthwhile goal in itself. At least that human is *squeak* tempering it with his interest in a woman of secrets, or at least her secret parts."
"Agreed. Let's walk you out."
As they walk out Seal asks Orik if he knows what's behind each of the doors the group hasn't been through yet and what is down the stairs that Lyrie was guarding.
Orik doesn't know what's down the stairs except Nualia. He tells you that the double doors lead to a chapel that he never frequented, Lamashtu not really being his sort of thing. The other door leads to a prison, but he tells you that it is empty as far as he knows.
The prison room does indeed seem empty. The southern wall of the room is a bank of cells with iron doors. The rest of the room is obviously a torture chamber; a rack sits against the far wall, an iron maiden stands to the north, and a fire pit smolders below a spiky cage dangling from a chain in the ceiling to the east.
Seal opens up the door in the short hallway that departs the prison.
Seal finds a small room with a dusty nest of rags, dog hides, and straw sitting in the corner. To the south, a long workbench cluttered with pliers, hooks, tongs, saws, and knives runs along the wall. Keys to the cells are scattered among the torture devices on the bench.
Seal takes the keys and opens up all the cells. He searches through them . . . just to make sure. Once the group is ready, Seal will lead them through the Great Double Doors.
Rissi draws in breath quietly, expecting trouble as the door opens.
Nope, nothing in the cells.
Seal opens the doors! Stone fonts containing frothy dark water sit to the north and south of the eastern entrance to the room, and twin banks of stone pillars run the lgenth of the long chamber. At the western end, shallow stairs rise to a platform about two feet of the ground. The walls surrounding this platform are lit by hanging braziers that emit glowing red smoke, giving the place an unnerving crimson lighting that throws the bas-relief carvings of countless monsters feasting on fleeing humans into lurid display. A black marble altar stone, its surface heaped with ashes and bone fragments, squats before a ten-foot-tall statue. The sculpture depicts a very pregnant but otherwise shapely naked woman who wields a kukri in each taloned hand and has a long reptilian tail, birdlike taloned feet, and the snarling head of a three-eyed jackal with a forked tongue. The left kukri flickers with fiery orange light while the right one glows with a cold blue radiance.
Lurking in the shadows are two lean creatures that look like jackals with smoking red eyes and black fangs!
One of the hounds flies out of the shadows to stop Seal from entering the unholy shrine of Lamashtu!
The other hound begins to howl!
----
Initiative:
1. Yeth Hounds
2. Kufieno, Rissi, Lucian, Miana, and Seal
You guys are up!
Rissi is shaken by the howling but stands her ground.
"Hsss... Yeth hounds! Silver weapons are their bane!"
She then howls back at the closest hound.
plus (DC 16 Fort halves damage and no daze)
Kufieno tries to dart past the hound and move into a flanking position.
Once there, he stabs with his shortsword.
Not wishing to seem cowardly when a certain someone is watching, Lucian tries his best to hold his ground.
Rissi's howl doesn't seem to hurt the Yeth Hound too much. Miana moves in and stabs but misses. Kufenio, however, jumps over the hound and stabs his shortsword into its back! Unfortunately his sword doesn't do as much damage against these creatures. Lucian readies to protect Seal.
"No! Not Yeth Hounds! Their howl. I remember their howl that night."
Seal drops his dorn and begins to turn and run away . . .
Lucian's calming words keep Seal at bay, for now.
The dogs leap into flank around Kufieno!
[oco]You guys are up![/ooc]
"No, 'eno!
Seal picks up his dorn, 5' steps through the doorway. Leaving the gap open for Miana, Seal closes the distance between him and the second Yeth Hound. The dwarf swings his dorn in hopes of dropping the flanking dog.
Lucian touches Miana's shoulder, thus granting her guidance from the gods.
Kufieno cries out as he is bitten twice and dragged to the ground. Why do I always get myself in these predictaments...?
Casting a spell defensively, Kufieno reaches out and touches a yeth hound, then fall unconscious.
Seal hits one of the dogs over the head as Lucian guides Miana's next hit. Kufieno shocks one of the hounds and then falls over unconscious with the effort. Miana stabs but the hound leaps out of the way.
Rissi pulls a wand and summons the illusion of a lightly armored human running around the corner and tumbling past the hounds, menacing them on the other side.
Rissi creates the image of another warrior for the hounds to contend with! One of the hounds turns to bite the newcomer!
The hound sees through the illusion! The other goes after Seal!
The hound bites onto Seal's new armor, but doesn't damage him. He shortens up his dorn and moves where Kufieno is passed out.
"Sorry, friend."
He then tries to quickly kill off the first hound now that he's in a vulnerable position.
If possible, Lucian will try to reach Sealman's back and heal him with the wand.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Rissi pulls another wand, after sheathing the first, and unleashes another bolt of force against the closer of the two dogs.
"Vile *squeak* creatures"
Seal takes down the first yeth hound and Rissi smacks the other with a force missile! The remaining dog keeps going for the dwarf!
Seal is wounded again for nearly as much damage that was healed by Lucian the round before. On the ground, Seal turtles up and calls for for his furry companion.
"Thunderpuss, attack!
Through the double doors, Thunderpuss, battle cat of the ages, arrives to clash with his mortal foe, the yeth hound. Thunderpuss lets out a roar and tries to bite and bring down the yeth hound.
Lucian frantically taps Sealman with the wand, aware that the dwarf is the last barrier between life and death.
-Posted with Wayfinder
*zzzwink*
What is the sound of one bolt of force? Rissi explores the variations on the theme as she fires another one.
Rissi's missile takes a chunk out of the hound as the rest of the party tries to recover around the tussle.
Rissi's missile takes a chunk out of the hound as the rest of the party tries to recover around the tussle.
The hound goes after the prone and bloodied dwarf!
It's all just a dream....
Seeing her companions fall, Rissi discards the trivial magic for more powerful dweomers.
Yethi shakes off Rissi's spell!