GM Rat Sass's Age of Worms

Game Master Governayle

Sol looks around, unsure of what to do.

"Ascaria, maybe we should tie a rope to you and toss you over? That might get you there and Rae is pretty good at tossing things...like hay bales," Sol suggests, looking at Rae.

"Rae, remember?! You worked as a baler for what...a few weeks or something before you...came home early? Because the owner's son hit your hand with his face after he made you angry?"

"Harrumph! He had it coming." She grumbles. Her face flushes at the memory and if the boy were here now, she'd likely punch him again.

"Ascaria is much too valuable to waste on such dangerous exploration." You would risk one who can call forth the power of the Gods to heal? "He is not a slip."

"She has a point, Sis. We should let Pillette try it first. If something happens, Ascaria can help put her back together again." Rae offers matter of factly.

"Perhaps we could look at these carvings first, rather than hurling anyone into a chasm..."

Tynan follows along the wall to his left, rounding the corner to better examine the bas relief carvings. He looks for anything of interest in the broad alcove.

Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (13) + 10 = 23

~

"Ascaria, maybe we should tie a rope to you and toss you over? That might get you there..."

... Does she actually mean over the edge?!

Mortimer turns to Rae.
"Sometimes... sometimes I think Solrisa doesn't like anyone but you, Rae," he says, quietly.

"Harrumph! He had it coming."

"What did the owner's son do to -- ," he abruptly stops to reconsider his line of questioning.I do want to know. On he ventures. "-- deserve aquainting his face with your fist?"

""She has a point, Sis. We should let Pillette try it first. If something happens, Ascaria can help put her back together again."

And maybe Rae doesn't like anyone but Sol...

He suddenly drops to his belly on the stone walk encompassing the deep chasm and crawls to the edge of it. He cautiously peers over the side.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22 Anything coming/changing?

"Perhaps we could look at these carvings first, rather than hurling anyone into a chasm..."

"Yes, maybe the murals can tell us something about the purpose of this room. Please, let's look before anyone leaps?"

Despite his expressed interest in checking out the murals, for the time being Mort stays put peering in both directions into the chasm.

Mortimer turns to Rae.

"Sometimes... sometimes I think Solrisa doesn't like anyone but you, Rae," he says, quietly.

"Huh? Don't be silly. Sol likes everyone. She just doesn't always think things through."

"What did the owner's son do to -- ," he abruptly stops to reconsider his line of questioning.I do want to know. On he ventures. "-- deserve aquainting his face with your fist?"

Rae considers the question, her eyes flicking to her sister then back again.

Given the talk of flinging small folk into the abyss, Pillette debates between her grappler and her climbing gear, before retrieving a hammer, pitons, and rope. She ties one end of the silk to her waist, before slowly, carefully heading towards one of the intact spans, her eyes scanning for danger on the way.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11 trapfinding +1

"They might not be stable." The spans, as well as perhaps those who wants to launch us across.

Solrisa waits to see what happens.

As Mortimer takes to the edge of the stone walkway, he is able to see a slight curving of the wall towards the center of the descent, but the darkness conceals exactly how far the drop is.

Tynan approaches the first bas-relief, as do Raella and Pillette. At first, it’s impossible to tell what the images are meant to represent. The sculpting appears very crude at a distance, the figures blurred and distorted. As you step closer, roughly ten feet away from the stonework, a hissing begins, as valves surrounding the wall release a veil of steam.

As the steam eddies and plays about the rough carvings, distinct impressionistic images become apparent on the walls. These images shift and move, making them come alive with action.

The two walkways appear sturdy enough, connecting to a central platform with its center deliberately absent to accommodate the air column.

Added delineations to the Roll20 map where the platform offers sure footing.

Ascaria relaxes a little as nothing seems to jump out at the party. Still unclear about what the room contains, he drifts to the right where he can just make out a bas-relief at the edge of his vision.

He walks up and investigates it.

Perception: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (11) - 1 = 10

Pillette will slip a quarrel her crossbow and move slowly forward, a hammer in one hand and her loaded bow into the other.

"Disturbing images." Somebody traded something for power.

If she makes it to the wall on the other side of the bas-relief, she'll look for a place to hammer a piton into the wall, preferably a plain stone groove that wouldn't mar any carvings or decorations. Gods, mages, or any powers tend not to be happy if you deface their markings.

"Steam can mean water and wind, which can lead to unsure footing." If she can find a suitable place to drive a piton into the wall, she'll tie off one end of her rope to the spike, and the other to her waist, before raising her crossbow again.

"Even if the spans look sure, better to crawl across carefully with a safety line." Rather than being tossed like a disposable slip. The trick is to be useful enough to be non-disposable.

She'll wait until folks are satisfied with their inspection of the carvings before moving out towards the "sturdy enough" walkways.

Solrisa waits to see what happens.

At meeting, slow posting today.

Looking up and down into the chasm, Mortimer begins to feel a little dizzy. He slowly crab crawls away from the edge, stands up and shakes his head clear.

He wanders over to Ascaria.

"What do you see? The room feels very large, but I cannot see... or hear anything other than a rushing wind."

"The stone ground is formed like a wagonwheel with a deep chasm in the middle. I can't see how far down or up it goes, it's deep. In the middle of that chasm is a column of air. There are only four spokes, and two of them are broken -- so watch your step. There are also three more murals besides this one. The others are checking out another over there."

He points toward the others.

He nervously watches Pillette head for an intact span clad in silk rope, and relays the movement to Ascaria.

"Pillette looks like she intends on some point crossing one of the spokes."

He studies the mural with Ascaria.

Ascaria braves his blindness, and encounters a second bas-relief. The wall animates in exactly the same way as the first wall, the mist of steam a subtle warmth in an otherwise barren chamber.

Pillette is successful in securing her piton into the wall, the sound of her hammering echoes through the chamber with quite a bit of resonance.

"Thanks Mort!"

Ascaria then helpfully tells the others what he has seen.

"This image depicts a towering humanoid figure standing over a legion of lesser humanoid warriors. He appears to be wearing the glyph of similar design as the word symbols on the frame of the strange apparatus in the alcove towards the entrance of the cairn."

"The central warrior amongst the lessers bears a grand glyph, but each figure bears a unique glyph as well. As the steam plays about the image, the warriors raise longswords in salute to the towering figure."

"It's really quite beautiful. Is that like what you have over there?"

Ascaria walks over to the left, and joins the rest of the party to examine their bas-relief.

"Huh. I must say I don't get the connection. Maybe the others are clearer."

Ascaria walks around the outside lip and looks at the other motifs. He is slow however, so others may beat him to it, or Pillette might get tired of waiting and advance on the center. :)

"Maybe that's the last in the series?" speculates Mort as he makes his way to the next mural counter-clockwise.

Solrisa stands and listens as the Ascaria (and others maybe) explains what he learns from the walls.

"Rae, listen!! Ascaria is really smart!" Sol cheers, urging others to explain what they discover.

Mortimer rounds the stoneway, arriving at the third bas-relief. As twice before, the wall begins to dance behind the hissing veil of steam.

Tynan joins the others in examining all four sets of bas-reliefs, trying to piece together the story they tell.

As Tynan rounds out the set of four bas-reliefs, he sets off the final steam release, animating the wall in front of him.

Ascaria walks around the circle examining all four bas-reliefs. In the end, he shrugs.

"Looks to me like some race of humanoids was attacked by some sort of demonic creatures. Their champion used a mighty rod to take out the lead demon thing, which broke the rod into seven pieces - which were then reassembled by lesser warriors and returned to the leaders of the humanoids." Order: I, II, III, IV

"Or maybe the lesser warriors assembled the rod before the fight and it's still broken and scattered." Order: I, II, IV, III

"Either way, it doesn't really tell us much about this chamber, or that weirdness in the center." Ascaria peers into the swirling central area.

"Pillette, I think it's time to cross and see what's there. You still game to try? Can someone grab the rope just in case?" he looks to the tall muscular ones for help as usual.

GM Rat Sass - there are glyphs on many of the folks here - is there a glyph on the sarcophagus above that matches any of these?

Ascaria will sketch the glyphs so he can refer to them later.
Drawing: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (5) + 9 = 14

As Ascaria starts to place his sketches, he notes that the individual represented on the lid of the sarcophagus has a scarab pendant around its neck with a glyph that matches the grand glyph of the central humanoid warrior depicted in the second bas-relief referred to as II.

Ascaria shares what he learned with the group, "I wonder if this is the burial crypt of the head guy in these pics - the lead demon fighter guy."

"I wonder if he's got this rod thing," he gestures to the third bas-relief, "in his sarcophagus. We should open it and see."

"Er, when we're done here of course" he looks at Pillette and the center of the chamber.

"Rae, listen!! Ascaria is *really* smart!" Sol cheers again. "Now what?"

"Ascaria *is* really smart, Sol." Rae agrees before reality sets in. "But I bet that thing is still broken. I doubt its worth much all broken."

"Seven colored lanterns, seven pieces of the rod, seven guardian warriors... surely not a coincidence. Well done Ascaria!"

Mortimer scratches his head lost in thought, struggling to keep up.

"Wow Ascaria, nice. I wonder how many pieces of the rod are in the sarcophagus. Do you think they built this place either as a conduit to get the warrior that was sucked into the sky rift back -- or as a protective device to keep the sky rift from reopening?"

Mort is referring to bas-reliefs II (being in sarcophagus and warrior pals) and III (sky rift).

He goes to attend to Pillette's tether.

"Before we crack the sarcophagus open, did we want to recheck any part of this place out now that we have all the lanterns in place?"

"ohhhh, right. This whole place could be a thing. Huh, I hadn't though of that Mort, good call. I just figured it was his resting place with historical stuff, but it could be a magic, er, thing in its own right."

Ascaria casts Detect Magic, looks around the place, and eyes it with a new set of perceptions - especially noting what little he can see of the central swirling (just the edges).
Knowledge... arcana?: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16

If spellcraft is more appropriate, it's +7 instead of +2.

Pillette will make sure she is anchored firmly, the rope around her waist tied securely to a piton near the sturdy walkways. She'll carefully head across, leaving her bow behind, a dagger in hand.

Her eyes will peer ahead, looking for anything untoward, as he crosses the
Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17 +1 more for trapfinding

If she crosses successfully, she'll hold tightly onto the rope and take a close look at the strange "wind tunnel" in the middle.

Solrisa watches as the actors act; she tenses as Pillette crosses.

"Ooh! Be careful Pillette!"

Ascaria walks dances a little onto the platform Pillette walks across. He's eager to try the center, but doesn't want to get in Pilltte's way - or trip over the rope and fall.

"Pillette, I think it's safe. The center bit has a spell that let's you walk on air as if it were solid ground! Try it!" Ascaria says excitedly.

Rae watches as Pillette tests out the platform, noting how small she really is. "This isn't going to work. I mean, she'll probably be fine and float right up, but why wouldn't she? She's so small. Someone like me Mort there might not have the same experience."

"This isn't going to work. I mean, she'll probably be fine and float right up, but why wouldn't she? She's so small. Someone like Mort there might not have the same experience."

With increasing concern, Mortimer notes the length of rope attached to Pillette and the distances to potentially be covered on her foray.

No, this isn't going to work. Unless she frees herself from the rope upon her ascent, she risks being pulled right out of the air column by the anchor on the other end of the rope -- and then she might fall anyway.

"Hang on Pillette, I'm coming out to you."

He throws himself to the ground and carefully crawls across the walkway over to Pillette.

"You're gonna need some slack, I think," he says, pulling a rope out of his backpack. "Once you are in the column of air -- if it works, tie this rope around your waist, and untie the other. I'll be your anchor at the end of this walkway just before the air column."

As Pillette walks out onto the stone walkway, the chamber resonates with the softest of halfling footsteps. The footsteps of Ascaria and Mortimer sound no different than Pillette's in the echoes.

In answer to your announcement, the winds of the air column accelerate, and two ancient sets of ceramic armor step from the column to face you. They hover for a moment, then touch down on the stone platform. Both grip twin longswords. They tap them together in unison, nodding to each other.

Round 1
Raella- 22
Ascaria- 21
Solrisa- 18
Tynan- 14
WW- 13
Pillette- 10+
Mortimer- 10

Raella, Ascaria, Solrisa, and Tynan are up!

Her attention had been focused on the walkway and the column in front of her, but Mort's discussion draws Pillette's gaze behind.

"Wait, Mort. It might not be safe for you out here." It takes a moment for the big guy's words sink in. Column of air? More slack? Wait, he thinks I'm going up in there? She swallows hard. That would be a job for a slip wouldn't it?

Pillette is clearly focused on the activity of the companions approaching her, and not ahead.

Round 1, init 22

"BE CAREFUL!" Rae yells as the ceramic knights step out of the wind column towards the little kited slip.

"Back up! Come on." Rae rushes past the others to guard their way back.

Round: 1, Initiative: 21

Ascaria is surprised by the knights, looks around a little, and casts Bless (+1 attacks, saves vs fear (morale)) on the party (effecting everyone except Sol who’s too far away).

He then backs off the edge of the platform to make room for others to shift around. He takes out his sling as he moves. He shakes his head and curses his lack of preparedness for this fight.

Sure it’s a new thing I don’t completely yet understand, but what better place to learn! Damnit!

Group spells in effect
Bless (+1 attacks, saves vs fear (morale)) (everyone except Sol)

Round 1, Init 14

Hearing Rae's warning, Tynan ceases his study of the carvings, and moves toward the suspended walkway while readying a throwing dagger. He looks closely at the closest ceramic knight, sizing up any possible weaknesses. Studied target

Round 1, Init 18

Solrisa debates for a moment between continuing to guard the door/rear and going to help the others.

In the end, she moves to help others, especially when Rae offers to take the lead.

Double moved closer.

The ceramic knights survey the field. They seem to come to the same decision, moving in unison to block Raella from crossing onto the platform. They slide their blades, letting the metal scrape as they approach. The sound is the very essence of fingernails on boards made for chalk writing.

Single swords raise by each knight's arms, and descend against the foremost foe.

Longsword: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24 for 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7 damage

Longsword: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15 for 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7 damage

Pillette and Mortimer are up!

Round 1, Init 10+

Seeing the moving pottery appear to be quite fearsome, Pillette high-tails it away from them, pulling the rope with her as she flees.

Watching the blade slice into the angry sister, the halfling nervously looks at the drop-off. "Rae! Not on the walkway!"

She concentrates on keeping the rope away from anybody's feet, as she considers what should come next. Flask or bolt? What would work better against such magic.

Round 1, Init -10

The ceramic knights survey the field. They seem to come to the same decision, moving in unison to block Raella from crossing onto the platform.

Are they... marking some territory?!

"Rae -- retreat! Get off that walkway to here! I'm not entirely sure they can actually cross!"

Moved on map.

Raella establishes her defense point at the front of the line. Ascaria manages to spread his blessings to all, save one. Solrisa manuevers closer, intent on protections. Tynan studies the knights while readying a dagger. Pillette retreats with her ropetail between her legs. Mortimer readies to draw the attention of one of the knights.

Round 2
Raella- 22 (-7hp)
Ascaria- 21
Solrisa- 18
Tynan- 14 (R)
WW- 13
Pillette- 10+
Mortimer- 10 (R)

Raella, Ascaria, Solrisa, and Tynan are up!

Round 2

attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 131d10 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13

Rae swings at the knight that hit her, then falls back 5 feet.

Round 2, Init 18

Sol double moves again, this time drawing her shield as she does.

"Are we sure we need to fight them? Maybe we should just leave tthis place be. There is no more known evil here, right? The ghost is gone."

Round: 2, Initiative: 21

”Rae, get out of there you fool!! You cannot take them all by yourself. Teamwork!”

Ascaria tries to hit one with his sling (clear shot, not in combat for once) after loading it.
Sling: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10 damage: 1d3 ⇒ 1

Group spells in effect
Bless (+1 attacks, saves vs fear (morale)) (everyone except Sol)

Round 2, Init 14

Tynan moves closer to the end of the walkway, ready to hurl his throwing dagger should the ceramic knight move within 20 feet of his position.

Thrown Dagger: 1d20 + 7 + 1 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (10) + 7 + 1 + 1 - 2 = 17 (+1 studied target, +1 bless, -2 range increment)
Dagger Damage: 1d4 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 + 1 = 3

The first ceramic knight slips off the central platform, and circles the lone trespasser on the walkway, flying quite well. It regards Mortimer and Tynan, watches as Tynan's dagger bounces off its breastplate, then turns its attention back to Raella, where it establishes advantage for its twin. It slashes to distract, and distract it does.

Longsword: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25 for 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4 damage

The second guardian steps up to Raella, and swings twice. It starts to look towards the others in the chamber as the blades strike true.

Longsword: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 8 + 2 = 21 for 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10 damage

Longsword: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 8 + 2 = 30 for 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11 damage

Confirm Critical?: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 8 + 2 = 23 for 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10 damage

Raella's blood courses over both sides of the walkway, her body still as the stone on which it lies.

Pillette and Mortimer are up!

Round 2, Init 10+

"No!"

Horrified by the blades slicing through the all-too-brave woman, Pillette grasps for her crossbow, hefting it and firing at the terrifying clay knight in front.

Crossbow: 1d20 + 6 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 6 + 1 + 1 = 231d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6 Point Blank, Bless

Her mind curses at the vile beings. Milani take them!

Init 10-, Round 2

Mortimer shakes his head in dismay.

"You've -- you've killed Raella... You BASTARDS!", he bellows, waving his hands about menacingly -- though it looks more frantic than anything else.

Standard act Call Out + martial flexibility

Intimidate: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14

"Come on, you filthy pair of fungal infested pepperpots!!!"

Round 3, Init 18

Whereas Sol had wanted to retreat and leave the statues be to guard their treasure in peace, now that Rae had fallen, there would be no way she would leave her sister...not here, not now.

Sol will get Rae's body or join it on the cold, airy floor.

Sol takes a moment to attach her shield (move), and draws her sword as she readies to battle for Rae's body.

AC 20, HP 28/28