Ziranu simply unleashes a barrage of emerald arrows around Asyra against the closest baykok, switching the target of his remaining arrows to the last surviving undead, if the first baykok falls, after which he quietly steps five feet to the east...
Post-attack analysis...
Attack 3 is definitely a miss. Remaining damage breakout:
- Against AC 31 or lower: 62+27+29+27= 145 points of damage.
The first monster was almost dead, and goes down immediately. Ziranu's three remaining hits manage to dispatch the final one.
After a few moments pass, Sial and Asyra snap out of their paralysis.
Asyra: "Ridiculous things, underestimated them. Quick thinking with the walls. You all fight well."
Laori: "That may be more syllables than I've ever heard from her at once. She must really respect you."
Asyra: "More than I do you. Where was the damn Blade Barrier?"
Laori: "They could fly and shoot and freeze people by screaming loudly! What good would that have done?"
Sial: "Stop bickering. We've got a lot of this place left to explore, and if we keep throwing magic at it, we'll soon run out. We may need to rest soon."
Laori: "We know one place that should be safe." She points up to the windows that overlook the courtyard above and to the east. "Those things were in there, and they heard our fighting and came running. Stands to reason it's empty now. Bet those stairs lead up there. And it's some sort of guard post so it's defensible."
Sial: "Might work for now. But should we maybe plan more of a tactical retreat? We've still got a Teleport. We could go from here to Kaer Maga, rest in safety, and resupply, along with replacement Teleports. Harder to keep watch that way though, might have to quickly check the rooms we've already cleared to make sure no new occupants have moved in though."
Anastasia is glad that the danger is over.
"This place is very dangerous! But I feel in good shape still. Do we want to continue?"
Sure! I still want to punch some people in tha nose!
The room beyond the door is massive. It's also a total wreck.
Possibly once a kennel or stable, this chamber has has most of its supports knocked down over the years, and the ceiling sags alarmingly as a result. Random piles of bones, debris, and straw lie scattered haphazardly throughout. The marks of huge claws mar the walls. Something big and nasty lives here, and it has a temper.
Said temper is quickly on display, as a voice bellows out of the darkness (no source is currently visible, though if any of you has See Invisibility or true Seeing up, let me know). Said voice is extremely deep and angry sounding, with a slightly archaic manner of speech.
"HAG! If that be you, know this! I care not for any deal you have struck with Mithrodar! And if you be forces she has cajoled or conjured, be warned! The soul of Belshallam shall come only with the cost of your own! This I swear upon Dahak's own scales!"
Hag? Yeah...I took her out and smushed her head with me hammer! Searok says in response to the voice.
Tronar does not have see invisibility or anything like that ... but he does have good hearing. he will move into the room (while invisible himself) and perceive if he can locate the speaker.
Tronar feels a presence to the south, the sound of breathing and a slight rustling of debris that allow him to roughly locate where the creature is hiding.
Ziranu activates his darkened Mask of the Mantis, spending a charge to gain See Invisibility...
Shaeda too will activate her mask for see invisibility.
"Zhe name zhat creature said was zhe Umbral Dragon zhe Hag mentioned, and clearly an enemy of it! It knows of our presence, and warns but does not immediately act to destroy us. Zhat means we should first parley wizh zhe beast, see what it knows and what it wants, before deciding to hunt it. Anastasia?"
After his words are spoken, Ziranu moves stealthily forward to peer around the edge of the doorway...
Searok is excited when he hears they might be fighting a dragon, then is disappointed when the agreement is to do the talkie-talkie.
Ziranu manages to peek into the room without being sighted, and with the aid of his mask gets a good look at a huge, sinuous dragon that looks to be made partially of shadows. It hangs down from the ceiling of the room like a bat, craning its long neck around to scan for the people it is sure are present, but can't yet perceive.
Searok figures he'll try the talkie-talkie thing. He bellows,
"The hag is slain? Then I am spared whatever fate she planned for me, no doubt bargained to the lower planes like a mere trinket. Yet I can take little satisfaction, I remain enslaved either way. But perhaps this is an opportunity. I have no resources that would entice one who peddles souls, and Mithrodar has what he wants of me already, but I can smell that you are living beings, almost alone in being like myself in all this castle. Perhaps with you I can reach an accord."
The great dragon becomes visible and drops to the floor.
"Step forward, hagslayers. Let us discuss matters. I assure you of your safety, should you assure me of mine. I assume we all know what happens to the dead in this place."
Searok, feeling rather proud of himself, says to the others, See! I can do talkie-talkie too! But you take it from here!
After saying that, he strides into the room. Searok Tha Hagslayer at yer service!
He doesn't wait to see if anyone else follows him into the room.
Still invisible, but now able to actually see the thing, Tronar says, "Indeed, we have decided to parley with the living in this abominable castle, and come to some sort of mutual understanding."
Searok and Tronar seemed to have this situation well in hand, so Shaeda didn't interfere.
Tronar identifies this as an Umbral Dragon, a species from the Plane of Shadow. They are typically evil, and as dangerous as any other dragon, although they have an odd quirk: they prefer to eat undead, even ghosts, over living flesh.
Belshallam: "I will tell you how I came to be here, and perhaps we can find a way to aid each other. I assume you came here to hunt the vile dead and claim treasure. We have that in common."
"Although a quirk of his insanity was that he preferred human form for some no doubt disturbing reason, Kazavon's true nature was no secret among his fellow dragons. We are territorial beings, and this region showed every sign, most of them so subtle that no humanoid would ever recognize them, of having been claimed by a wyrm. And a mighty one at that, so all kept their distance. After he fell, there were rumors of some new evil that had claimed this castle at the center of his domain, and sightings of many undead. Other dragons theorized that Kazavon had survived in some other form, or even joined the ranks of undeath himself, and so they continued to avoid this place. But my breed finds the living dead a delicacy, and the thought of an unguarded hoard was too tempting, so I chose to take that risk."
"Alas, while Kazavon was indeed no more, there was still danger even for one such as me. Kazavon's steward, Mithrodar, had become a monstrous being called a Chained Spirit, who enhances his power by finding the strongest souls he can, living or dead, and binding them."
"This was my fate. When I destroyed one of these Spirit Anchors, an undead warrior named Gorstav, I was weakened following the battle and Mithrodar was able to snare me in his place. I am trapped here, able to travel no further than the edge of the castle's grounds. Even death can't free me, I would simply rise as some form of undead myself. Naturally I reacted to this fate poorly, and went on a rampage. But Mithrodar has the ability to sap my strength, which would leave me easy prey to his other minions. I retreated here, with what treasure I was able to gather, and have been a prisoner ever since. I feed on rats and the occasional zombified orc that wanders too close. On a couple of occasions Mithrodar has come to cajole me, try to get me to ally with him. I know he will never free me, so I don't listen. I suspect he is tempted to slay me, in the hopes that whatever I arise as will be easier to control. But I will collapse the beams of this room should his minions enter, doing great damage to them, to the castle, and hopefully to my own body, limiting its usefulness after death. It is an uneven stalemate - he gains power from having me chained, and won't give that up unless he has a candidate to replace me, but I make myself more trouble than I am worth to destroy. I suspect the hag was to break this impasse, that Mithrodar would trade me to her if she could claim me safely, but you say she is dead."
"But if you can find a way to release me, that will weaken Mithrodar. Surely that furthers your goals, whatever they may be? And although it wounds my pride as a dragon to say this, I have suffered greater indignities...I offer my hoard for my freedom. It is not as vast as it should be, this castle is what I believe you would call "slim pickings", but I have scoured what I can and believe it's value to be a sufficient enticement. Regardless it would take too long to transport, and should I be able to leave I will do so immediately."
As the dragon starts going on and on with the talkie-talkie, Searok's eyes glaze over and he starts daydreaming about punching the dragon in the nose instead.
"I certainly think that a parlay between you and us is a very reasonable start. In addition, I can't say that I hate the idea of our dragon friend here aiding in the dispatch of the undead. If that's what he eats, then why not feed him? I'm not sure what we'd need to do to free him though. Anyone?"
not that he is very good at it, but Tronar studies the dragon's words and body language.
"Sounds like a great idea! I totally believe our new friend that eats undead."
turning to Shaeda, "I have no idea how to free him unless it is the typical kill the king of the castle and all will be free."
Back to the new shadow friend: "Any information you can provide us on your captor, his location, and how to dispatch him?"
"It also occurs to me that often a dragon's horde contains useful items. Does your existing horde contain anything that would aid us in dispatching these foes, and thus expedite your release?"
"If I attempt to go on a rampage through this place, Mithrodar will exert his power over me. He can sap my strength considerably, which would make me an unreliable ally. And should I fall here, I would simply rise again as a new problem for you to deal with."
"As for means of freeing me, if I knew any way other than Mithrodar's destruction I would have escaped years ago. Are any of you knowledgeable in the ways of magic, perhaps you can concoct one. As for my hoard, if it held the means to dispatch my foes, I likewise would have made use of it before now."
Woot!
Tronar smiles at the challenge.
Tronar's powerful, analytical brain tackles the challenge with gusto. He quickly comes to a workable conclusion.
The power binding Belshallam to the castle, and to Mithrodar, is not a one-and-done effect, but an active power working on him, effectively a spiritual tether. And like any tether, its range is limited, which is both the point and a limitation; a chain binding a dog that's of infinite length would be worthless, the dog would still be able to go wherever it wanted. I.E. if Belshallam is able to physically get away from the castle, the tether won't be able to reach him, unless he returns. But surely the tether will have limitations on things like teleportation and planar travel built into it, too many powerful monsters have such abilities, and this is specifically meant to ensnare them. But there's one thing that almost no active magical effect can withstand.
The solution is an Antimagic Field. If someone were to cast that spell, it would suppress the tether around them. If they were then to, say, ride on Belshallam's back so the effect would travel with him, he could fly away from the castle. As long as he stays away, he retains his freedom, even after the Field drops.
"Alas, an anti-magic field would be sufficient to remove your tether. Of which I do not currently possess, but presumably could teleport away and retrieve a scroll or two if the party would like me to do so?"
Tronar will also look for other ways to solve the riddle:
"Would you use the scroll, or would you learn the spell from it?"
"presuming that I can learn it correctly, I will have it. I can then switch out a slot and cast it."
Searok thinks to himself that it would be easier to kill the dragon and then kill whatever it returns as, but he says nothing while the talkie-talkie going on.
Searok thinks to himself that it would be easier to kill the dragon and then kill whatever it returns as, but he says nothing while the talkie-talkie going on.
"Belshallam, it does seem as zhough our Arcanist can devise a means to free you, and we will take you up on zhis offer you propose if he succeeds. What else can you tell us of any ozher means to weaken zhis Mithrodar, or of any ozher great dangers wizhin Scarwall zhat might zhreaten our mission against zhis common foe?"