thunder damage
Feeling on the verge of unconsciousness, Pietro casts a spell to heal himself.
The blue golem gets a fist full of thunderface!
Halsere fires a bolt of fire at the blue golem, but misses!
Another punch comes toward Pietro!
,
Pietro evades the blow!
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Grunting while stunned, "hugggghh, Ai'll get chu"
Spidre, realizing he is not a wizard and cannot spell his way out of this, moves in with sword and dagger drawn, hacking at the most damaged-looking golem.
,
,
,
Halsere manipulates the gem closer via the invisible servant and tosses fire at the blue one.
for .
Jolted by the electricity, Thyra powers through it, dropping her battleaxe, she'll try and lift the portcullis enough for Mirrel to crawl out.
Spidre changes his mind and continues being a wizard!
,
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Thyra heaves the portcullis back up again, but Mirrel just kind of lies there...
Spidre launches another projectile of magical thunder, and the red golem collapses!
Yellow takes another swing at Pietro!
,
Wham!
Pietro tries to take out the yellow golem with a blast of divine fire.
radiant damage (DC 16 Ref)
Halsere calls the diamond now to his hand via the unseen servant and throws a bolt of file at the blue.
for
Upon punching Pietro, the yellow golem is blasted to the ground!
As the diamond floats across the room toward Halsere, he and Pietro assault the remaining blue golem with spells!
It shields itself from Pietro's blast, but then gets hit by Halsere's!
The diamond passes into Halsere's waiting hands!
The blue golem's gem lights up, and it releases another blast of cold!
Once again, it punches at Pietro!
,
Barely misses!
Thyra will try and the Portcullis up the rest of the way so Pietro can get through as well.
"Let's go Pietro, tis heavy, Ai can't hold it ferevah"
Thyra will hold the Portcullis up, crab walking underneath it so she can easily escape out the other side.
Just as he's shaking his head clear and struggling to his feet, Mirrel gets hit by the blast of cold and slumps into unconsciousness.
Pietro casts a spell on himself and Mirrel to heal them.
healing for Mirrel
healing for me
Halsere throws another bolt of fire at the blue.
This would have gone so much better with my original plan.
Firebolt for and grit damage
Halsere's spell hits the golem hard!
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Spidre, now low on magic, drops his weapons and tries to pull Mirrel free.
Spidre easily pulls Mirrel out of the room (considering Thyra's holding the portcullis up at the moment).
The blue golem steps forward and takes a swing at Pietro!
,
It misses!
And then the lot of you focus-fire it into oblivion, because it's barely standing.
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You take some time to rest and recuperate from that ordeal. In the meantime, you find that although there's no salvageable magic left in the golems, their gemstones are still gemstones, worth 500gp each.
Having acquired the two necromantic artifacts you were sent for, you return to the large door in the dragon's lair and discover that it opens to a large underground ramp which reaches the surface. This must be the secret entrance to the crypt! Indeed, the outer "door" of this entrance is a large section of ordinary-looking ground nearly two miles west of the crypt itself, and when closed merges seamlessly into the landscape.
It takes you a few days to get back to Radlebb Keep, but once there, you are welcomed back into the Hall of the Griffon with a certain degree of awe. Once again you are given an audience with the same gold-armored woman you've dealt with before.
"Truly, the heavens favor you!" she exclaims. "This is wonderful! We will have our specialists get to work on destroying these foul gems immediately!"
She gestures to an attendant, who steps out of the room, then returns shortly with a pair of old, bookish-looking mages who carefully take the Diamond and the Death Gem and head to some other room to begin their work.
"Now," she says, "I can see that you're not only successful, but all in one piece; even so, I will ask, are you well? Do you need anything?"
Some potions of healing wouldn't go amiss and if your organisation has any access to magical items maybe would could look to doing some equipment swaps. If you've access to a magical library I'd not say no either
He turns to the group.
Anyone feel diseased or poisoned? I need of medical attention?
"We had some close calls. I'd like to be prepared with the components to revivify fallen allies. Is there somewhere I can purchase diamonds for this purpose?"
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The woman nods along with Halsere, then replies, "Well, we don't really have anything better here than what's available in the Radlebb Keep armory. There's also a magic shop with a decent assortment of spells available."
"However," she continues, "If you wanted to really get some top-shelf gear, Specularum has a vastly more impressive selection, in both magical gear and written magic. Coincidentally, just this morning I received an urgent message from Duke Stefan himself, asking that a team be sent to speak with him at his manor in Specularum. You are quickly turning out to be one of my strongest teams, and much of our manpower is tied up elsewhere anyway. I'd like to send you to speak with Duke Stefan, and you would be able to equip yourselves while there. What do you say?"
"Aye, tha sounds lik-a fine plan!" She'll begin packing her backpack immediately, "I was beginnin' ta itch fer tha road!"
Spidre bows his head deeply and slowly, perhaps in agreement or perhaps drifting off into a brief nap.
"Fantastic!" she says. "Get some rest tonight. In the morning, I'll give you some papers to take to Master Higgins, the secretary you'll have to speak with in order to see Duke Stefan. Hopefully you'll be able to accomplish whatever it is the Duke needs, and with any luck, by the time you return we'll have destroyed the Diamond and Death Gem, and have a new assignment for you."
Thyra wakes, makes sure her bags are all packed properly before stopping at the kitchen to hopefully pick up some food for the road and fill her canteen.
Talking to the cook/chef/guy stirring soup "Yah, we're off ta see tha Duke over there in that big city, Specalum,"
Anyone who enters the kitchen before dawn sees Spidre apparently arguing in hushed tones with his spider familiar. There is money between them.
"Has your friend been hiding cards somewhere, Spidre?"
After an apparently rather peculiar breakfast with Spidre & Spider, you are given your papers and wished good fortune on your journey. A blissfully uneventful couple of days pass on the road to Specularum, where you arrive in the morning of the third day.
You enter the front lobby of Stefan Manor, and see a friendly-looking halfling sitting at a desk upon which rests a placard that reads "Master Higgins". As you approach, he raises his eyes over his spectacles and smiles.
"Hello!" he says pleasantly. "What can I do for you fine folks?"
Stepping forward, "We're from tha Order of the Griffon ta meet with tha Duke"
Looking around at her group and patting her pockets, "We have paper's here, somewhere, introducin' us"
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You produce your papers for Master Higgins, who begins scanning over them for a few silent moments. Presently, his face takes on an expression of realization.
"Ohhh..." he says. "You're that group. Thank you for arriving so quickly; the Duke will be pleased."
The halfling starts flipping through the papers, applying stamps and metal seals with a combination of speed and calmness that proves he's been at this job for a very long time. Then, he hits a little golden bell on his desk, and from the next room emerge a pair of guards with exceptionally ornate armor and royal-blue capes bearing insignias of the duchy.
Master Higgins hands your papers to one of them, who scans them briefly, nods to the halflings, then bids you to follow the two guards.
They lead you into the next room, where several more of the same sorts of guards form a perimeter around the wall. Duke Stefan himself sits on an exquisite chair in the center of the room, situated on a raised dais.
And he looks like shit.
His skin is discolored, somewhere between green and gray, and appears to be coated in a thin sheen of cold sweat. He is sickeningly emaciated, and seems to struggle to keep his eyes open. He wears less decoration than is customary, and his legs are hidden beneath a comfy-looking blanket. A concerned-looking attendant is leaning toward him and speaking softly, but stand abruptly when you enter.
One of the guards stays next to you just inside the door, while your other escort approaches the Duke and his adviser and whispers something.
Duke Stefan manages a weak smile and says "Thank you for coming so quickly. I have-"
His words are interrupted by a cough so violent it makes your stomach turn.
"Forgive me," he continues after spending a moment catching his breath, "I'm in poor condition to receive you properly. In any case, I have a favor to ask. The criminal organization known as the Iron Ring has kidnapped my daughter, and is holding her for ransom. I would do anything to get her back, but if I paid them, they would only use it to supply the vampire Koriszegy's army and kill us all anyway. Therefore, I turn to you. I would like you to find the Iron Ring's hideout and rescue my daughter."
"My lord!" interjects the adviser. "Tell them about the chalice! There's still time to-"
"NO!" Duke Stefan replies, sending himself into another gut-wrenching fit of coughing. "No, no... My daughter comes first. When she is safe, then we will discuss the chalice."
He looks back at you again.
"Will you bring my daughter home to me?"
I am ever Specularams faithful son my Duke! I am at your service.
"Of course, Your Grace. We will do what we can to return her home," begins Mirrel, inclining his head slightly as he meets the adviser's eye. "However, perhaps we might also hear of this chalice? It may be that we can assist with both tasks. I can assure you we won't allow ourselves to be distracted from rescuing your daughter. But we would be remiss not to at least hear of this other issue."
Spidre pats his blades and nods briefly. His spider crawls onto his head.
While most of the people in the room shift uncomfortably with their attention on Spidre & Spider, the duke shakes his head solemnly at Mirrel.
"They're not really things that can be done together; the chalice and my daughter are in entirely different locations. Howe-"
Duke Stefan is once again interrupted by a series of coughs that would make the grim reaper shudder, then continues.
"However, should you return my daughter to me safely, rest assured I will have another favor to ask of you."
Stefan smiles weakly, then says, "The Iron Ring is believed to have their main headquarters somewhere in the woods to the northeast of here. However, they tend to keep themselves split into multiple camps and keep moving around, so you'll likely have to do a bit of exploring to figure out where exactly my daughter is being held."
Surveying you all, he adds, "Any questions?"
"Anythin' we should know 'bout these woods? Wolves or giants?" Looking around at her party, "We might need ta stop at tha market for some food and supplies,"
"We will perform this task for you. I swear by Njord that these villains will not keep your daughter captive much longer."
The adviser responds to Thyra's question: "The Iron Ring has been known to work with wolves in the past, so seeing some is likely. They will employ any manner of monstrous and magical beasts, but their ranks are primarily humanoids. As for giants, exceptionally large creatures don't work well with the Iron Ring's typical practice of sneaking around in the woods, so I wouldn't anticipate encountering foes of that nature."