As the bandits scramble for cover, Denair lashes out once more at Yellow and drops him where he stands! Meanwhile, the rest of the group continues to move forward; Serge and Luurg both come skidding to a stop next to Thunder and Yarricki while Malusha manages to catch up with Meredith. Seeing brave Thunder under attack and having had his intended target disposed of by Denair, Marcel swings his bow around and fires an arrow at Red. Unfortunately he isn't quite able to properly line up his shot this time and the arrow thuds harmlessly into a tree.
"Come on Thunder, let's show them how it's done!" YarrickiBot cries. Working in perfect sync, ThunderBot falls back a step and snaps at her attacker as YarrickiBot eyes her target's weak spots before bringing her lance to bear against him...
While ThunderBot's beak once again snaps only air, YarrickiBot's lance sinks deeply into Red's side as blood spurts wildly! With a groan, Red ducks further into the woods and those close by catch a glimpse of him pulling something out of a small pouch and ingesting it. He then utters a shrill whistle and you catch glimpses of most of the remaining bandits as they duck further into the undergrowth, as if responding to a signal.
And to everyone's surprise, a small bag suddenly comes hurtling from the clump of trees immediately north of Thunder but falls well short of the big bird and bursts harmlessly on the ground, splattering a tar-like substance on the nearby trees.
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Marcel
Yarricki + Thunder (-7)
Meredith (Longarm)
Luurg
Serge
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Bandits (Red -6)
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Denair
Malusha
Active Conditions: None
Everyone is UP!
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"Come on Surge mang, runnin gud fer you, better wind!" He goads as he pulls a small pineapple from his belt, tearing a large chunk out of it with his teeth and chewing briefly before swallowing it down. You can almost see a faint glowly pineapple hovering in front of him for a moment after he does so.
"Time ta kick some Teevin' butts! Woo!" He cheers, ready to have some real fun.
He then moves out in the middle of the path, drawing his leafy spear as he does so, eyeing the woods with his beedy eyes. "Luurg sees you... Luurg see real gud in da dark!"
Denair turns with Meredith to help her flush out the thieves. She spots one with a Red bandana and reaches out to hit him.
It probably won't matter with that roll! Man, Denair's on fire with these attack rolls.
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With allies now close, Marcel attempts to move and the realizes how tough it would be stay silent in the scrub brush under the trees. Distracted, he isn't able to draw a bead on the fleeing highwayman as he takes cover on the opposite side of the path and his third arrow sail wide of the bandit.
Non-plussed by the developments, Marcel nocks another arrow to his longbow and shoots at the closest target that he can see.
"You are overmatched!" he yells toward the group's attackers. "Give up now or share the fate of your friends!"
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"With me, Gamin!" Serge shouts, diving into the trees towards the bandit with the red lipstick. "You there, flee this place or be struck down by the might of a talking sword!"
Whiffing his attack, Serge grunts and holds the sword up. "Gamin, inspire Luurg's aim with your words of power!"
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Now up in the thick of the fray and ready to rumble, Luurg and Meredith power themselves up as they prepare to dive into the underbrush after the bandits. Denair circles around the trees and despite the cover provided by them, manage to strike Red another powerful blow that undoes all the healing that his potion just provided. Working in tandem, Marcus takes aim where Denair struck and fires another shot - *THUNK*! An audible thud can be heard as Red collapses to the ground, dead!
Having his intended target finished off by Marcus, Serge instead turns his attention to the Blue bandit that stands gaping with fear at his fallen comrade. He calls on Gamin's unique power to help bolster Luurg's spear and then swings the broken sword at Blue, who ducks under it with a fearful yelp!
"Here now lad, ain't ye ever held a proper sword before? Those oversized thumbtacks them nobles call rapiers dinna count! Ye gotta swin' from tha hip, everyone kens that!" Gamin bellows. As he does, Serge feels a strange sensation come over him as if the sword's words actually have some weight to them.
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Marcel
Yarricki + Thunder (-7)
Meredith (Feather Step, Longarm)
Luurg (Shield)
Serge (Guidance)
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Bandits
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Denair
Malusha
Active Conditions: None
Malusha and Yarricki + Thunder are UP!
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Malusha continues to move closer to the combat. The area that is effected by his bless is large but he doesn't want to leave any room for error. Once he's assured himself that everyone is close enough he waves the wand with a quick motion and says the required words. A wave of bless flashes out from him, covering all of his allies.
Malusha quickly positions himself amidst his companions and waves his wand in an arc through the air, blessing their efforts against the wily bandits. Meanwhile, deciding that Serge and the others can handle Blue, Yarricki urges Thunder closer to Purple lurking amongst the nearby trees. Axebeak and gnome strike out in tandem...
...and while Thunder's sharp beak misses the mark, Yarricki drives her lance through the heart of the Purple bandit with enough force to pin him to a nearby tree!
Whether from sheer bullheadedness or simple stupidity, the remaining bandits don't seem inclined to give up the attack. Green and Magenta step out of the treeline to flank Luurg...
...and though Green's sickle sails harmlessly past the half-orc's face, luck favors Magenta and he leaves a sizable slash in the alchemist's arm! Blue takes a swing at Serge as well...
...and connects, leaving a nasty cut on the paladin's leg, before quickly falling back a pace. Orange also decides to try and carve a pound of flesh from Luurg, stepping out of the trees to strike...
...and comes close, but garners no cigar for his efforts!
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Marcel
Yarricki + Thunder (-7)
Meredith (Feather Step, Longarm)
Luurg (-13, Shield)
Serge (-9, Guidance)
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Bandits
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Denair
Malusha
Active Conditions: Bless
Everyone is UP!
Denair, meanwhile struggles to walk through the shrubs and the woods. It's a bit frustrating to snag her legs and feet on the roots. But she does as she's told and flanks with the Blue guy. She feints, flails, checks over his shoulder to Meredith, who is lunging away with her longspear.
Finally, the moment presents itself. It's time for Precise Strike!
Denair opts for a simple bop on the head.
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Marcel shakes his head at the determination of the highwaymen in fighting on, yet the gesture earns a token of respect from the ranger.
I really wish they'd surrendered or fled. It's either us or them he thought to himself as he saw Luurg being surrounded by more robbers, one of them inflicting a nasty gash wound in the alchemist's arm. Drawing another arrow, he aimed and fired at the robber on his companion's left.
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Luurg watches as the bandit slashes his arm and he shakes his head in response "Dat not nice mang! Luurg too strong fer yer swordz. Gib up ok?" The wound on his arm slowly begins to close up, the blood stopping from oozing from the wound and a scab beginning to form.
He stabs his leafy spear out at the green bandit "Quiet now you teef. Deez apples mine mang." He then takes a step back towards his allies.
Spontaneous Healing (Ex): The alchemist gains the ability to heal from wounds rapidly. As a free action once per round, he can heal 5 hit points as if he had the fast healing ability. He can heal 5 hit points per day in this manner for every 2 alchemist levels he possesses. If the alchemist falls unconscious because of hit point damage and he still has healing available from this ability, the ability activates automatically each round until he is conscious again or the ability is depleted for the day.
Meredith and Denair work together to execute a tried-and-true fighting technique, making use of the summoner's extra-long noodle arms and Denair's sharp teeth to flank Blue. Denair rears back and gives Blue the mightiest of *BOOPS* on the head and Serge follows it up with a surprisingly-effective slash along his ribcage with the hooting and hollering Gamin.
"Oh ye're in for it now, ye yellow-bellied cowards! Gamin's got his first taste of blood and it's tastin' mighty sweet!"
It turns out that Luurg and Marcel also make an effective duo; largely undeterred by his wounds, Luurg uses his knowledge of secret fruit-based alchemy to immediately mend some of the damage before driving his spear deep into Green's belly! Almost immediately after another *PTWANG* is heard and Green finds himself with an arrow sticking out of his ribs as well. Malusha seems ready to continue that trend too, as he draws and readies his crossbow.
With quarters becoming a bit cramped, Yarricki urges Thunder to maneuver just a step to the northeast and then snap at the profusely-bleeding Green...
...and the axe beak's sharp beak rips into Green, finishing him off for good!
Finally realizing that things really aren't going too smoothly for them, Magenta calls out, "Dammit to Hell, this ain't worth my life! I'm gettin' outta here!" and withdraws quickly towards the south. "E's right, sod this! I'm out!" agrees Orange as he too turns and plunges into the treeline after his companion.
That just leaves poor injured Blue, currently stuck between a rock and a hard place and very nearly out of luck to boot. He flaps his arms comically for a moment before turning and attempting to flee after his friends.
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Marcel
Yarricki + Thunder (-7)
Meredith (Feather Step, Longarm)
Luurg (-8, Shield)
Serge (-9, Guidance)
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Bandits (Blue -18)
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Denair
Malusha
Active Conditions: Bless
Everyone is UP!
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Luurg watches the Teeves run off into the trees, tails between their legs (if they actually had tails), he laughs a bit "Well, dats dat. Good eye balls up dare Denair n Marcel. Saved us some pokes n cuts from dem fer sure!" He sinks his leafy spear into the ground and pulls out a crooked wooden stick, tapping it lightly into his partially healed wound.
"Apples yum yum!" He says aloud and his cut fully heals over. "Anyone else need sum apples yum yum?"
If not he yanks his spear from the earth and hustles back to check on Kalkamedes.
Denair watches the Blue thief flee. "See? I told you this was a silly idea!" She starts to head towards Meredith, but the thick foliage slows her down. "Come on, don't you recognize me? Why is this happening to me?"
Meredith, still under the effect of the spell, draws her longspear and begins the chase. "Come back here, you cowards! You started the fight, and now I'm gonna end it! Come on, Denair, let's go!"
Denair plants her huge feet in the ground with a simple. "No. They have lost. They flee. We are safe. We won." Meredith stops and glares at Denair. Unfazed, she continues. "We fight to survive, protect the skulk, and we fight to hunt meat. So unless you're planning to eat them, we should make sure Kalkamedes is unharmed." Without waiting for a response, Denair returns to the tree Kalkamades was tied to.
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Malusha lowers his crossbow and unloads the bolt as the remaining bandits flee into the trees. He moves up to where the melee combat had been happening. Three dead bandits lay on the ground. "I guess we should search these. I think they are just opportunistic bandits but maybe they are tied to Kalkamedes in some way."
Malusha searches the pockets and belongings of the dead bandits.
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Meredith sees the bandits the same way as the marauders who destroyed her hometown - vicious, bloodthirsty, relentless. They don't deserve mercy. They attacked her, and they deserve to die for that. Her village's elder came to them unarmed, begged them for mercy and they cut his head off in response. Well, she's going to cut off their heads so the whole world can see-
"No."
Denair's response catches her off guard. Are you disobeying me? Meredith is about to yell when Denair calmly explains the situation and turns back.
...she's right. What good is killing them gonna do, anyway? Will every bandit stop as soon as I kill one? No. Meredith, you have to do better than this.
She turns back towards Kalkamedes and catches up to Denair. "S...sorry. I got caught in the heat of the moment. You know how I get stubborn."
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"Thank you, Luurg," Marcel replies as he steps out of the trees. "They were waiting to jump us. The ones that are running now know how it feels to be ambushed," he stated dryly. Seeing Denair, Luurg, and Meredith moving back in the direction they came from to check on Kalkamedes, Marcel moves up to where Malusha is searching through the downed bandit's belongings.
He looks around, seeing if he can find the one arrow that missed its mark.
Spotting the telltale red fletching sticking from the leaves of a snowball bush, Marcel plucks it out, checks it and returns it to his quiver, satisfied it can be reused. He then moves to each fallen foe, checking to see if any are still alive.
With the threat of the bandits gone, the group quickly returns to check on Kalkamedes and finds him still leashed to the tree that Luurg left him at.
"Whew...good ta see he's still alive an' kickin'!" Gamin says with a sigh of relief.
With the assurance that Kalkamedes won't be able to break free from the tree, a few of you set about the task of searching the five bandits you managed to drop and Marcel works to stabilize the ones still alive. Of the five, Red, Yellow, and Cyan are beyond help but Green and Purple still draw breath and Marcel quickly manages to stop their bleeding.
Cure Light Wounds Potion x4
Tanglefoot Bag x4
Leather Armor x5
Heavy Crossbow x5
Bolts (20) x5
Masterwork Sap x5
Masterwork Sickle x5
At one point as Serge passes close by to Meredith, Gamin quietly says, "Ye ken, lass, it's a strong person what ken give mercy ta someone or someones they ain't keen on. It'll pay off for ye one day when ye least 'spect it."
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Serge nods as the party agrees to either let the bandits flee, or tend to their wounds. "How very righteous of you, Marcel. There is no need for unnecessary slaughter. Let us leave these bandits' fate to the courts!" He tears off a shred of cloth from each of their shirts to form a sort of makeshift manacle, and ties their wrists behind their backs, grinning. "Let's see how tough they are now, shall we?"
After that's done, Serge assesses the situation. "I think it fair to call this attack opportunistic. We haven't found anything on their bodies to indicate otherwise. I suppose they were hoping for some easy targets. Luckily, we do not fall into that category." He twirls Gamin in his hand now, tosses the blade up and catches it by the hilt. "Eh, Gamin?"
With two of the bandits unconscious but stable, Serge quickly gets to work binding their wrists so they can't escape or try anything else funny once they eventually come to. Gamin utters a hearty laugh as the paladin twirls him through the air in jaunty, celebratory manner.
"Aye! It's hard ta remember fer sure but I be thinkin' thar's a road somewhere a lot further south from here. Might be they were headin' that way ta set up an' just happened ta hear us comin' - leastways that makes sense ta me, nae sure about tha rest of ye!"
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"I agree with Luurg on this," Marcel chimes in. "I'd take them to the nearest town and turn them in. But we don't have time," he adds, glancing knowingly at Kalkamedes. "Helping Kalkamedes is our mission. Tie the robbers to a tree and leave them for now. They would be helpless, but they might escape, either on their own or if their partners grow spines and come back. If we succeed and they're still here on the way back, we can bury the dead ones and hand these two over to the local authorities."
Not having found any arrows, Marcel does take note of the potions that the highwayman were carrying. "Serge, you and Luurg look like you could use one of these. Thunder, too," he adds as he notices an absence of feathers and an ugly cut in their place on the axebeak. "These bandits won't be needing them."
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Serge mulls it over relatively quickly. "Very well. We will leave them here for now and return to bring them into the authorities later." He twists the cap off one of the potions and begins to sip on it.
Serge's wounds close up entirely, and he stretches his arms out luxuriously in relief. "Much better. Well then, let's unleash Kalkamedes and see where he takes us now, shall we?"
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Malusha looks through the gathered items. "I don't think I've ever used one of these bags," he says as he picks up one of the tangle foot bags. "If you don't mind, I'll take one to try out. And also the extra bolts." He puts one of the tangle foot bags in his bag of holding and picks up the bolts.
"I'm ready to keep moving. Once we tie those guys to a tree, that is."
"I'll need some rope, but I can get them secured to this tree here," Marcel says, pulling one of the bandits over to a nearby spruce tree. "We do that, and then Luurg can turn Kalkamedes loose."
Having decided to leave the two remaining bandits unconscious and secured to the nearby spruce tree, you all make ready to turn Kalkamedes loose once again. Yarricki takes one of the recovered healing potions and carefully tips it into Thunder's open beak.
The axebeak makes a contented crooning sound as her wound mends and completely closes over.
"Okay! Now we're ready," the gnome replies cheerfully.
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After unleashing Kalkamedes the sleepwalker continues on his trek towards the unknown, continuing to journey north and then eventually gravitating northwest. He keeps his course for another two hours and you begin to feel a sense of worry, for the hour is late and you've yet to discover anything about where Kalkamedes is heading or why.
Just when you begin to wonder if you'll be forced to make camp for the day ahead, you come to the top of a small rise and see a valley stretching before you. The light of the sinking moon washes the sub-alpine valley in silvery light. A squat, stone bunker crafted of dark rock sits nestled among the low trees, it's domed roof barely peeking out from above the leafy canopy. As a cloud passes over the moon, the entire structure seems to fade from view, leaving a momentary void before the moon's light again illuminates it. Only a single, solitary entryway mars the smooth, windowless facade of the lone building. Though none of you have ever been to this place, you all instantly recognize it - this structure is the same as the one from the charred drawing you found in Kalkamedes' stove.
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"Oooo Looky dare! Dat ting from da ting in da house! I'mma tinkin we be gettin close mang! When we be gettin closer I gotta take a few secs to get ready... someting is gonna go down and Luurg's gotta be tip top!" Luurg takes a good hold of the rope as Kalkamedes leads them closer to the sneaky building.
Denair scampers back to warn the party of the strange building. Meredith takes this opportunity to use the wand of Mage Armor on her, as a transparent field of leaves form around the fae.
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Marcel watches Meredith, Luurg, and Yarricki make their preparations for whatever might lie ahead. Not having anything he can really do in a similar vein, he goes with the practical approach. "Time to earn our keep," he comments to no one in particular. Slowly nocking an arrow to his bow, he moves ahead silently toward the one entryway he can see into the stone structure, keeping a close eye out for danger.
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Malusha comes over the small rise and immediately spots the small stone structure. "That's just like the picture," he says without thinking. When a cloud covers the moon, and the building is no longer visible, he looks perplexed. "Did the building disappear when out of moonlight? Or is it just so dark that we can't see it?"
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"Gamin, whatever lies ahead may pose danger greater than I wish to have you risk dealing with," Serge says, sheathing the broken longsword. "I'm afraid this mundane sword may be more powerful, though not nearly as interesting or helpful. Please, don't take it personally." He draws his two-handed greatsword and holds it ahead, moving to the front of the group.
Gamin chuckles wryly. "Not a problem, lad. I can handle meself but at the same time I 'preciate you wanting to be careful not just with my man Kalk but his belongings too. I'll be right here iffin' ye change yer mind."
While most of the rest of the group take a moment to prepare themselves for whatever might lie beyond, Marcel stealthily creeps towards the single entrance that he can see. As he approaches, he can see that a ten-foot wide stone archway, its keystone inscribed with a seven-pointed star wreathed in ancient markings, offers ingress into an unlit corridor built of cut stone blocks. Weathered script snakes its way up and down each side of the entrance.
The words written above the entrance read:
'Enter the Black Edifice, locus of the Thrallkeepers, servants of the Runelord of Sloth.'
Marcus also notes that there are paw prints of dried mud that mark the passage of a variety of wildlife into and out of the structure. As Malusha edges a little closer and scans the area for magical auras, his intuition is rewarded when the entire face of the structure lights up. He reads a powerful illusion aura and surmises that this place has been enchanted to be invisible by day and only visible at night by the direct light of the moon.
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Denair creeps back up to Marcel. "Do you see anything in there? Uh...besides the writing?"
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Marcel looks in but doesn't see anything immediately threatening as far as he can tell. "No," he uttered to Denair. "But that doesn't mean that there's nothing in there. Look here," he said, pointing to the dried paw prints on the ground. "Animal tracks."
Marcel looks at the writing. It's written in something that he can't read or understand. "You don't happen to know what that means, do you?"
Marcel looks back down at the paw prints and studies them, hoping to determine how long the tracks have been there and what made them.
Marcel studies the tracks for several moments in an attempt to determine what sorts of animals have come and gone through the structure recently. He quickly determines that the tracks seem to be of varying ages and belong to a variety of animals: foxes, skunks, deer, mountain lions, and even bears.
Denair, thanks to her darkvision, can see further into the entryway and notes that the hallway seems to run about 10 feet before making a right turn. Luckily, there aren't any foes - or even animals - that she can see.