The druid stifles a shriek at the reaction. He shakes the ring loose and drops it portal-side-up into the fountain before backing away quickly.
Aurora looks disgusted. "If I had some powdered silver, I could try consecrating this area... unfortunately, the dragon took our things as tribute."
Head cocked to the side, she seems lost in thought.
Like a pulled drain at the bottom of a tub, the ring of wrists starts to suck away all the nastiness.
The galloping hooves draw nigh. Flee, or prepare yourselves.
Vael's fiery stare makes it clear that she would never consider the first option.
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Talathel looks at Vael, looks at the ragged and ravaged party, and makes his decision.
"Everyone who is leaving, needs to leave *now*. Vael, gods watch you for I can not right now."
And he moves to the far door, ready to be the moving rearguard of those who wish to withdraw. If no others will move, he will flee by himself.
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Aurora side-eyes Talathel, moves to center herself among the group, and pulses out another wave of channeling.
"We may need to be ready to withdraw, but let us see the threat first. It might be our good friend Yaza."
"I stand by my assessment of the situation. But I will hold here a little longer.", Talathel replies, stubbornness clear in his voice.
Adelie doesn't feel like leaving anyone to die, but he is ready to get out of here. He silently commands Mone to heel, and moves towards the exit.
Bedlam--quickly--runs to his blasting jelly square; applies alchemical grease to the floor just before it and runs back to his 20' spot.
He gives the group a thumps up!
“Sh!t.”
Tal and Aurora really know how to pull on Anzath’s strings. She affords one longing look at Talathel and the path of least resistance, then draws her weapons, standing ready to defend the squishies.
“Dis time, ve all die togeder.”
“Vait, vagonz kan not klimb stairz, yez?”
"I have never seen a stair-climbing wagon. Whoever is coming will almost certainly have to leave the wagon to enter this room."
Indeed, the wagon comes to an abrupt halt in the stable room. You hear a voice yelling, "OI, whar ya goin? I needs my pay, now!"
But the protestations of the stiffed whomever seem to make no impression on his passengers. There's a lot of milling about in the stables, barked commands, clearly you're in for a visit.
Adelie nudges Tal and says quietly, "That nausea you were feeling earlier is going to come back in less than an hour. The delay lasts 50 minutes."
"I have never seen a stair-climbing wagon. Whoever is coming will almost certainly have to leave the wagon to enter this room."
Tragershen peers into the spy eye and sees a stagecoach covered in ghouls who quickly dismount from the roof and the running boards. The doors have already popped open, and four black-robed figures emerge. One of them sports the turban of Yaza Mongro. One of her undead servitors also emerges, wearing armor and holding a Spy Eye--it calls to Yaza, who then looks directly at the Spy Eye in the wall, and waves to Tragershen.
They head to the stairs. The demonic Grease has worn away by now, so no hilarious banana peel scenes for Yaza (yet).
She points the undead to form a line in front of the staircase. Then she and the three other non-undead humanoids begin to cast spells.
After two rounds of casting, Yaza sends in the first two acolytes and two ghouls.
Initiative
Vael draws her scimitar and holds it in front of her as a symbol of Sarenrae. As footsteps rush up the stairs, she chants a Blessing upon all of you!
The first ghoul rushes into the room.
Anzath drops her crossbow and chugs a potion of Hide from Undead.
In preparation, Tragershen draws for a scroll and chants from its content. When he is done, he gestures at the handsome wolf amongst them.
He will also ready his whip and make sure he is behind several stout adventurers before the undead burst into the room.
Two more ghouls run into the room, positioning themselves adjacent to our front-line fighters.
One ghoul each for Anzath, Bedlam, and Vael.
The acolyte enters the room and lets a pulse of negative energy rip through the living:
Anzath and Tal take full damage. Everyone else feels some of their life force sapped away by the powers of the abyss.
Perhaps it is best that I perish here than risk bringing the plague out., Talathel thinks gloomily.
At least I shall show them how an elf warrior dies.
Talathel leaps forward and down, branched spear glinting as he powers it towards the first surviving monster to enter!
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As the group forms up its lines Aurora focuses on her magic, quickly preparing another spell. Her stance shifts into a more defensive position.
Adelie grumpily waves a small branch at Mone and recites the words needed to cast acid maw. He follows that up with guidance.
Bedlam casually drops a match into the alchemical grease he'd dripped trailing into the other room. The makeshift fuse sparks and sizzles. Moments later, BOOM!
One of the acolytes is suddenly engulfed by flames!
Talathel's furious charge hurls one of the ghouls to the ground. It's even deader than it was before.
The final ghoul awaits Yaza's command...
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That acolyte looks like he's suffering. Let's see if we can do something about that.
Tragershen hurls a minor spell at the acolyte, hoping it might be enough to take him down.
Acid splash. To hit (touch attack), . Damage .
The lack of plants would make Adelie's thorny entanglement rather ineffective. He channels the energy instead into summon nature's ally III and, waving his bit of plant around again, summons as many small elementals as he can. He aims near to the door into the hallway.
Lofting the black-and-white symbol hung around her neck, Aurora utters a clarion prayer threaded with divine power — repositioning herself elsewhere in the room beforehand if necessary for the best effect.
Mone jumps at the acolyte. She spent most of the last fight incapacitated, and she's ready to bite something. Something that isn't a pestilenzi demon.
Tragershen's acid hits the acolyte in the fountain room. Mone's bite fails to latch on to the acolyte. Aurora's happy magic fills the crew with hope. And Adelie starts chanting.
Yaza orders her skeletal champion and ghoul into the room, before callously demanding that the healthiest acolyte precede her in order to unleash a negative channel that will surely catch the other acolyte in the blast. "Let him feel the power of Orcus, it's good for the bad, and bad for the good Ha! Even if it hurts!"
As the acolyte and ghoul enter the room, they are swiftly knocked prone by the elven hero!
The skeletal champion enters the fountain room in a fighting stance and leaps nimbly over the branched spear.
From the ground, the most recently arrived acolyte sends out his pulse of malevolence, disregarding the agony of his colleague...
Will Saves
Everyone in the room, save the undead and this most recent arrival, takes five damage.
Summon Nature's Ally--the long casting time leaves the caster vulnerable, and Adelie's sudden, sharp pain causes him to stutter and lose the threads of earth magic!
Back in the stable, Yaza gives the wounded acolyte a Death's Kiss and orders him to Inflict himself until he feels a little better.
Vael triggers SMITE EVIL against the skeletal champion, gripping her scimitar in both hands and charging!
Her velocity and faith carry her through the long-dead champion's guard, and the edge of her scimitar slices his bone as if it were mere flesh!
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Anzath draws her blade and mace and closes with the nearest ghoul.
Anzath jinks to the left, to the right, then brings Kritfisher straight down and through the skull of a ghoul. The Dungeon Master hopes that she and Talathel make brief eye contact over their respective reestablished cadavers.
The acolyte in the room grimaces at the other acolyte. He says, "That stung! Let's see what the Dark One has for you!"
Will Saves
The Dark One isn't paying much attention. Most people take two damage, but Tal and Vael take five.
"You know what's really evil? When your evil god undermines your evil against your evil comrades." the acolyte sighs. "I love the boss."
The ghoul's raspy, exasperated voice says, "Shut up and work evil." It attempts to murder Vael. It also ought to have gotten an AOO last turn, so I'll throw that on the pile (sorry V!).
Vael freezes like a statue.
Mone tries again! She aims for the prone acolyte.
Adelie growls and flees out the doorway that he is standing next to. He runs until he's fairly certain he can cast without being interrupted.
When the daunting skeletal champion enters, Tragershen narrows his eyes. He dips a hand into his pouch and comes out with a smear on the tip of his gloved finger. He points at the undead warrior and watches to see if one of his last spells works.
Casting grease on the skeleal champion's sword. DC 15 reflex check or the weapon is coated in grease and dropped.
Talathel switches to a cold iron warhammer and aims to break a leg - of the skeletal champion.
Bedlam steps back 5'. The dwarf tosses a bomb where it does the most damage.