Round 7, Init 1---> Delay to Round 8, Init 29
AC = 13
HP = 72/72
Weapon Equipped = +1 Light Crossbow
Condition(s) = Hasted
Sight restored, Pent slowly brings his gaze to bear upon the field, looking over the edge of his Carpet to the Dome floor below. With the battling Sarahtar, he's not even sure if Sarah herself ignores the creature's continued invisibility, had Ami's Purge not moved closer to include 2 of the 3 remaining Ghuls.
He takes a moment to watch the Sarahtar swing again upon the damaged Great Ghul on the wall. The Sarahtar is unrelenting, bringing a mighty blow the likes of which the gnome is incapable of rendering himself, very likely.
Pent decides he's better off trying to help the celestial blade finish off the significantly-slashed creature.
The gnome revels in his accuracy, patting his beloved Crossbow affectionately.
Amiamble and Yeen bolt from the punishing Windstorm, before bringing a mass healing to themselves and others. Otah finds a Ghul clinging to the wall just above him, so lunges to injure the creature, though it doesn't seem to strike him as mightily as it should.
Aldebert engages with the frozen figure before him, though it proves odd to do so, as it's encased in a thick, icy sheet.
Mahdi returns the gnome to his full senses, while the Bralani heals the halfling bleeding profusely. Pent tries to finish what the Sarahtar started, but finds his bolt does nothing against the Ghul.
The three Great Ghuls come into striking distance, and Aldebert, Amiamble, and Otah find themselves targeted by blasts of water so strong, it seeks to strip them of sight, much like it did not so long ago with Pent.
...
Aldebert will close and poke at the ice. Seeing it's thick and protective (in both directions) he'll leave it alone. Looking at the map, there's one other on the ground which he'll head to in a moment.
Does Gretiem need to save vs the water blast as well?
vs DC 18 for half of 5hp and blindness (6r)
Round 8, Init 14
Reflex (Ami)
Reflex (Yeen, evasion)
Ami and Yeen avoid the worst part of the spitting llamajerks. He heals himself again then the hosted Yeen will double air walk up to the nearest jerk, menacing divinely...with a bite.
healing
to hit; (+feast,+haste,+BS,+DP)
damage.
grab
ACs: Ami: 27. Yeen: 28+5+4=37 (barkskin, mage armor)
HP: Ami: 91-41-34+19+20/91+0 temp; Yeen: 132/132 + 12-41-20+19
Ami:
[ dice]1d20+12+1[/dice] to hit; (slingstaff, melee, feast)
[ dice]1d6+2[/dice] damage.
[ dice]1d20+7+1[/dice] to hit; (slingstaff, melee, feast)
[ dice]1d6+2[/dice] damage.
Yeen:
[ dice]1d20+18+1[/dice] to hit; (bite,feast)
[ dice]1d6+9[/dice] damage.
[ dice]1d20+19[/dice] CMB to grab
[ dice]1d20+19+1[/dice] to hit; (claw,feast)
[ dice]1d4+9[/dice] damage.
[ dice]1d20+19+1[/dice] to hit; (claw,feast)
[ dice]1d4+9[/dice] damage.
Lvl 1: 3/8 used (DF*1,EE*2,AibBub*0,LibCom*0)
Lvl 2: 5/7 used (barkskin*2,CMW*1,Bull*1,RE*1,Grace*0)
Lvl 3: 5/7 used (mag vest*2,MCaE*1,InvisPurge*2)
Lvl 4: 4/7 used (AirWalk*2,DivPower*2,Grove,FoM)
Lvl 5: 2/6 used (CLWmass*1,FlameStrike*1,DispEvil*0)
Lvl 6: 1/3 used (ColdIce*1,StoneTell,MassCMW)
Extend Rod: 3/3 used (mag vest*2, barkskin)
Yeen.: Mage Armor,Barkskin,Resist Fire 30. MCvEvil. Airwalk.
Ami:
The dwarf manages to shake off the blinding effects of the water, his many eyes blinking all at the same time.
He steps back, examining the new distance between himself and the ghul.
Drawing a warhammer from his belt, he tosses it at the creatures.
(haste, BoF) vs DC 18 for half of 5hp and blindness (6r)
Round: 8, Initiative: 3
AC: 31 (F28/T13) (included: magic vestment +3, barkskin +5)(not included: +4 to AC vs the Jinni from smite)
Conditions: Endure Elements (24h), Magic Vestment (1/12h), Hero’s feast (1/12h, +1 attacks/will & +4 poison (morale)), Barkskin (+5), Resist Energy Fire (30, 20/40m), Hasted, Smite (Jinni)
Weapon Equipped: Greatsword
GreatSword Attack BAB +12/+7/+2, Str +2, Focus +1, Magic +1, Size +1, (Power Attack -3) Damage Str +3 (1.5x), Magic +1, (Power Attack +9 (1.5x)) (Crit 17-20)
Summon Mount: 2/2 (Full round)
Smite Evil: 2/4 (Swift, +4 attack, +12 damage, +4 AC)
Lay on Hands: 6/10 (Swift, 6d6 healing +1d6 if not blinded, fatigued, diseased, or poisoned)
Pearl of Power (first) 2/2
Spells (caster level 9, concentration +13, DC 14+)
1) Bed of Iron, Hero’s Defiance,
2)
3) Angelic Aspect, Good Hope
- - -
Gretiem Lord of the Green
HP: 63/65 (DR 5/evil) AC: 29 (F24/T15) (included: mage armor +4, shield companion +1)
Fort: 10 Reflex: 10 Will: 6 (SR 15, Resist Cold, Acid, Electricity 10) CMB: 13 CMD: 26 Move: 40’
Conditions: Mage Armor (1/12h), Hero’s feast (1/12h, +1 attacks/will & +4 poison (morale)), Resist Energy Fire (30, 1/40m), Shield Companion (+1 AC, +1 saves included)(1/9h)
Smite evil (swift, +0 att +10 dam) (1/1d)
Tricks: Aid, Air Walk, Attack x2, Come, Defend, Deliver, Down, Fetch, Flank, Flee, Get Help, Guard, Heel, Hunt, Menace, Sneak, Stay, Watch, Work
Bite Attack BAB +7, Str +5, Amulet +1 Damage Str +7 (1.5x), Amulet +1
Aldebert nudges Gretiem into a charge, whereupon they attack the next beast!
(feast, haste, BoF, charge)
(feast, haste, BoF, charge)
(feast, haste, BoF, charge)
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"So, we know they can go invisible, and that they-- wait... I can burn them?"
Mahdis' mutterings to himself are interrupted by a pause, a blink. "There is something here I can BURN?"
A child-like glee comes over the mage's face, and he instantly swoops down to just slightly out of reach of the hideous undead. "ROAST, YOU MAGGOT-RIDDEN CORPSES!"
Fire roils out of his hands in a blazing torrent that spills down first to bathe the monster Aldebert challenges, and then sweeps on towards the next, racing up the wall to meet the creature.
Round 9, Init 29
AC = 13
HP = 72/72
Weapon Equipped = +1 Light Crossbow
Condition(s) = Hasted
Pent flusters as his crossbow fails to do anything effective. He takes comfort in the Sarahtar's serendipitous skills, at least.
The gnome hears Mahdi's declaration, so decides to move a little closer to the fray. "Not many undead who can resist your fiery personality, Mahdi! The more you can roast, the less they can host, and we can get on with our exploration."
Amiamble and Yeen soar to secure the ghul on the wall, the great cat snagging the undead in its teeth. Otah avoids blindness, though his throw would suggest otherwise. Aldebert and Gretiem lock horns with the ghul on the floor, damaging the undead strongly. Mahdi finds his stride, and brings a slithery burn to bear upon two of the remaining three great ghuls.
Both heavily damaged creatures are snuffed out by the Fire Snake!
...
Within moments, the tide turns, and the last animate Great Ghul finds its way to the floor, engaging Otah, and sealing its fate as the halfling brothers and their beasts descend upon it, ripping it apart, and severing its connection to whatever animating force it had.
The encased ghul finds itself helpless, either now, or later, as the Icy Prison continues to hold it in place.
The Windstorm dies out moments later, bringing semblance of peace to the grand guignol dining room. Looking over the dining table, you find the Imam's taste runs from efreeti innards, to marid sweet meats, to djinn digestives.
From this room, you find two single doors to the northwest, and a set of double doors in the north wall of the Imam's feasting chamber.
"They just keep coming don't they?" He considers his scratches, and decides they don't rise to the requirement of aid. He looks at the ghul in the ice. "Shall we destroy it then?"
Once dealt with, likely violently, he paces Gretiem back and forth between the doors, considering each equally.
"Let's try one of these lesser doors first shall we?" He suggests as he ends his movement near one of them and opens it when the party has recovered and is ready to move on.
For Ami's wounds, Pent produces his wand, and places a couple of palliatives on the half's frame, and the cat's if the cat's not displaying a cat's cattiness at the moment, being wounded and all.
"Alright, alright. Let's get to this, and figure out what needs retrieving, if we're believing the garundi man weaving in and out of our sight."
The gnome watches intently as the half opens the nearest doors.
Aldebert opens one of the two doors, leading to the northwest.
This immense kitchen is dominated by a massive brass grill set in the center of the floor. Two other doors sit in the east wall of the oddly-shaped kitchen.
Amiamble smiles and pats Yeen as the gnome heals him.
"Thank you, Pent. It is appreciated when the healing comes without subsection emissions," Ami looks at his own wounds, and they don't seem too bad.
There is a lot happening and Ami is somewhat lost. This place makes no sense to him. It is an alien culture inside a plane of fire and with what seems to be unlimited foes and suffering. And this could have all been avoided if he hadn't let the map be destroyed. He failed...but keeps trying to forget his failure and push on, hoping that he can redeem himself for his weakness.
He follows his brother onward.
"A cannibal djinni? Creepy."
The dwarf ponders the amount of professionalism that must have gone into building the estates inside the City of Brass and how it's inhabitants seemed to have devolved into madness.
He turns to investigate the open door, and notices the size of the kitchen grill. "What terrible things lie charred at our feet?" he asks out loud as he moves into the room to investigate any signs of what the grill was used for.
Aldebert pokes around the kitchen a little, "Big place. I wonder where the servants are?"
He watches Otah study the grill. "That's quite a large hole of a sort."
Shrugging, and not particularly wanting to spend time sorting through the celery, he moves to the next door and opens it when the party is ready, though he waits for Otah and others to finish their investigations before doing anything.
The bralani hovers around during the healing, looking attentively at Mahdi and offering a smile to Aldebert, but Mahdi flicks his fingers impatiently and the bralani shrugs and flickers back to somewhere much more pleasant than the Plane of Fire.
Brushing his hands off, Mahdi pokes gingerly at his own light but annoying wounds. "So these won't heal until I'm un....cursed? Lovely. Well, we should prioritize those who are likelier to be getting hit, regarding that. Ugh. What a revolting spread of... I can't even call it food."
He will, as usual, scan the kitchen for any signs of magic before taking up a place behind Otah.
"Pent, you have keen eyes-- anything of interest in this oversized abattoir?" Mahdi says, aware that the gnome has seen many things his own vision would never detect.
Ami and Yeen duck into the room, looking around. Ami makes sure that Yeen doesn't eat too much coal-meat, knowing the cat prefers his rare.
Perception
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"Pent, you have keen eyes-- anything of interest in this oversized abattoir?"
Pent holds up in following Aldebert forward into the grill room, acknowledging a request for reconnaissance. "Rarely get a chance to hear the word 'abattoir' used in such a literal context, eh, Mahdi? From the looks of it..." The gnome swirls above the dining table, keeping a respectful distance so as not to involve his olfactory engagement of the scene. "...you've got a mad Imam... being served up a mixture of fresh and rotting corpses. He seems to have pulled apart the chest cavities, much like you'd do to get at the center of an overly ripe plum to remove its pit."
Something catches the gnome's eye, and he covers his mouth for a moment, before proceeding with his debriefing. "He didn't spare anything. There are eyeballs plucked from the sockets, tongues ripped from their roots, jaws dislodged to access the upper throat areas, bones broken to suck at the marrow, skulls cracked to slurp at the brainy bits..."
Pent looks back over at Mahdi, hoping he's had enough of the firsthand accounting of the severedhand savoring.
"He's even worked over the cartilage between the bones of the spinal cords, pulling it apart like those candy necklaces on those springy cords you can buy in the Katapeshi markets. You ever munched on cartilage? I mean raw like that? Very little flavor, so he wasn't a consummate gourmet, just a glutton for mutton, raw or charred."
The gnome's fascination comes to a quick close, and he joins less fleshy pursuits of the halfs running through the kitchen.
When more rooms are breached, he lends his peeps to the seeks.
Otah finds out quickly enough that the grill is little more than a charnel pit for discarded corpses picked to the bone, and then some. For the comings and goings from the kitchen to the dining room, light drippings of ichor suggest that bodies were dragged from the table, to the grill, which seems to do the work of a crematory, if its heat is any fair representation of the Plane of Fire.
Aldebert in the lead, doors pull open easily enough, revealing two magical larders, which replenish the stores of grains, wine, bread, vegetables, and spices as they are used. No meats, strangely enough.
As Amiamble lays eyes on the southern wall, he spies a secret door, which leads to another, bare room, with a door in the western wall. When that door is opened, a set of stairs leading upwards is revealed to you.
Ami looks up the stairs, then shrugs, looking at his brother, the leader.
”Brother, were there not double doors back that way? Which way do we go?” Ami asks the person he most admires in this world (mortals only).
If his brother things the double doors are the right call, he will open them when others are ready.
"Best we leave the floor behind us searched completely before heading upstairs." Otah chimes in.
"Yes, the double doors are definitely where we want to go next." says a slightly green Aldebert, coming to grips with Pent's over-graphic description.
Glad I don't have a fresh meal in my belly...
He moves to the fresh air by the double doors and, sword drawn, strides in when his brother opens them.
Mahdi looks marginally queasy as well, grimacing through Pent's detailed description as he shakes his head and follows Aldebert's lead to the double doors. "Lovely..."
The double doors open onto a grand vista of the Fourth Level of the Bayt al-Bazan. This huge roof walk extends from the gatehouse to the palace, its eastern face a crenellated battlement overlooking the Sea of Fire far below. To the west, the rooftop looks out over the palace courtyard, while a number of guard shacks, turrets, and garderobes top the walk.
Yet the most impressive sight here is the one-hundred-foot-tall pyramid of ancient tarnished bronze that stands in the northern half of the rooftop. A wide stair rises to the pyramid’s apex, where a small temple with a double-peaked roof stands. Statues of draconic, four-armed female centaurs stand at each corner of this top platform, keeping an eternal watch over the surrounding area.
For its expanse, you are the only souls in the vicinity. At least for now...
Pent quickly assumes a heady height, zooming upwards and circling the pyramid to take in the sights. He revels in the majesty of the monument, while revisiting a look down into the courtyard where once roasted an intestinal efreeti.
"OH, BOY!! This is a feast for the eyes!! Unlike the Imam's feast on the eyes!! There are more doors across the walk, but the doors at the top of the pyramid look much more interesting!! Where do you want to investigate first?"
Ami smiles a bit to be ‘outdoors’, but the Seas of Fire worries him. Seas should be water, or kittens, but not fire. That doesn’t make any sense, so it worries Ami.
Ami and Yeen airwalk up, to the right to stare over the ramparts and see what lays beyond...as if it were more important than what lays nearby.
”Brother, that sea is fire. *Fire*, Brother. What hell is this? What place has only fire in their seas?”
Otah pauses to admire the bronze building. "City of Brass indeed. We get to go inside this?" he asks, the first sound of excited interest to escape his lips since entering the scroll.
He places a foot on the first step of the wide stairwell, and when the party is ready to converge, heads up to the pyramid's doorway.
Aldebert takes in the sights and a smile pierces his worn face. "My that is impressive."
"Brother, look on it as a work of art, not reality as we know it. Appreciate the beauty that is, even in this evil place."
He walks with Otah to the pyramid. "Yes, let's head inside. Damnation this place just keeps on going!"
Ascending the monument lends to an even greater vista of the City of Brass, as the peak of the pyramid rises to the same height as another, final section of the Bayt al-Bazan.
Almost immediately after reaching the top of the stairs, the fiery sun is eclipsed for a moment, as a giant form soars through the air in a lazy circle above your very Bayt.
A sturdy minaret of brass becomes the temporary perch of a large red dragon, who allows its tail to wrap around the tower below it, for stability. Its distance from you is significant, but you miss nothing of its measuring gaze, as it watches you like a cat watches the floor of a barn riddled with rampant rodents. It doesn't approach, however, only watches at its distance. Perhaps it understands the nature of the Bayt, and the inability to leave for those who enter...
The doors of the apex temple open smoothly, revealing a lit chamber within, the same brass lamps of fire dotting the walls. The inside of the temple is decorated with pictographs and writings in an ancient, but familiar, language.
The pictographs interweave with writings that come together to form prayers to Ymeri.
The floor of the temple hides a large Secret Door.
The prayers on the walls indicate that the way forward will be revealed if blood is spilt on the floor, as is befitting of the Queen of the Inferno.
Pent flits about on his Carpet, taking in the walls with careful consideration, allowing the words to make themselves understood, lo the many years they've had to sit still and be read by those much older than an old bearded gnome.
Slowly, Pent circles upon the magic flotation device, and shoos his friends back and away from the central floor of the temple. The bolt loaded into his crossbow is flicked from its resting groove. The gnome then jabs the center of his right palm, and hrrngs in the pain. Blood pours from the opened wound, but nary a drop touches the Carpet's weave. The gnome demonstrates the foresight to bleed over the edge, and onto the floor itself.
"Alright, let's see what this does. Writing on the wall suggests that we subject ourselves to a little bleed, and find our way below, wherever below might be."
With the gnome's noble donation of blood, the floor begins to slowly sink into the pyramid's core, revealing a set of stairs that descends into darkness, but for a faint flicker of flame fifty feet down.
Aldebert watches Pent's carpet dance as he shoots through the room to and fro. When the secret door reveals itself, he calls out, "Well done Pent! Good find!"
He tosses his ioun torch over his head just in case, and heads down the stairs when the others are ready.
"That was something." Otah takes a moment to appreciate the mechanisms involved in the sinking floor before delving deeper.
Perception
Know (Religion)
Ami nods at Pent, having none of the same revelations as the gnome. He stops being somewhat appreciative and moves to completely appreciative then the gnome offers his own blood to open the door.
Ami watches the torch fall, and if he sees nothing scary, he will air walk down.
A spiral stair descends 50 feet into a small chamber at the pyramid’s heart. A pedestal here holds a head-sized crystal orb of glass within which appears to burn a raging inferno.
This sphere of fire is slightly warm to the touch and contains a sample of Ymeri’s Breath, the purest sample of Fire directly from the Plane of Fire. The glass is nearly indestructible. It is an extremely valuable relic, especially to worshippers of Ymeri Herself.
In the light of the Fire, the wild garundi man makes another appearance.
"Oooo, that's it! Bring that with you, and ascend the stairs you found to the top level of the Bayt, and we can finally see me released, and you freed!!"
The image in the brass wall fades in his excited shimmer...
Mahdi exhales in mild awe at the sight of another sphere of fire, similar to the one he already holds but even more fascinating to the fire-mage.
"Pure flame," he sighs. "The very essence of fire itself. Ymeri's Breath, they call it."
When their guide, if such he is, appears and disappears yet again, Mahdi swears in Ignan. "How shall we trust you, old man? What if we free you, and you attack us?"
Shaking his head, Mahdi returns his attention to the orb. He studies it with the use of the cantrip to find magic, to see if the orb has any safeguards. "Pent, you look at it. Do you think it's safe to grab-- nothing rigged or set to spark me?"
If Pent sees no traps, and Mahdi doesn't either, he will carefully lift the orb from its resting place and cradle it close to his chest.
”Mahdi, do you want me to get it?” Ami asks, casting Resist Energy Fire on himself and Yeen, just in case.
He waits to see if Mahdi is burnt by the flames and might need help with the Orb. He’s not too worried about the crazy old man.
Otah turns to face the wall-man's visage when it appears.
"Surely this treasured object is not just protected by a little drop of blood?"
"Well, we did have to go through quite a bit to get to that door Otah. Still, be careful Mahdi, nothing is safe here and Otah's concerns are valid."
He watches and waits for something to jump out at them, his sword at the ready.
Pent allows the Carpet to waft gently, avoiding the top of the topmost stair descender, before arriving at the bottom, and the rather cramped inner chamber.
"Pent, you look at it. Do you think it's safe to grab-- nothing rigged or set to spark me?"
The gnome actually drops from the Carpet, his legs slightly wobbly for the solidity of the brass. He circles the pedestal, giving it a solid going-over.
"I see nothing that would discourage you from plucking the Orb from its perch. Keep in mind, I'm not a pickpocket or tomb raider by trade, so I can only suggest discretion, despite the desire to see you snatch it, and bring it from this dark nestle."
Mahdi weighs caution and passion, before picking Ymeri's Breath from its pedestal. It is warm to the touch, but it doesn't burn the fire mage in a physical sense.
Pure Flame, encased in glass, joins Mahdi's Perpetual Flame, and the fire mage appears lit from within, for his joy.
Nothing occurs. The Pyramid makes no sudden lurch, no new wheels begin to grind, and the stairs remain in place, allowing the team to ascend them, when they are ready.
"I resist flame in my own right," Mahdi says modestly to Ami.
Mahdi beams as he cradles the orb close. "It's so.... beautiful," he murmurs, peering rapt into the heated depths.
"...right, we should be prepared for anything when we reach the upper level. Anything including that dragon. Let me make sure our reserves are prepared against possible flames, shall I?"
That done, Mahdi next encases the group of extra-planar travelers in a bubble of sweet-smelling air....
"Shall we?" Mahdi says with a nod upward, his feet beginning to drift that way and his body as well. Stairs are for those poor souls stuck with gravity.
Ami accepts Mahdi’s protections and is happy to air climb out of the dark and scary place...and back to where he can again see the Sea of Fire.
"Thanks Mahdi."
The dwarf begins the trek up the stairs and out of the pyramid.
Pent hops back onto his Carpet, much more at home, at height. He looks over Mahdi and his fiery affections, and gives an approving grunt, words unnecessary in the moment, as it should be apparent that the fire mage in fact has a heart, which beats to a different drum.
The gnome is ready to soar to even greater heights, and come to understand what they can do to depart the Bayt, as hospitable as it's been so far...
Perhaps it's your imagination. Perhaps it's your senses dulling to the constant roar of the Plane of Fire. Whatever it might be, your walk across the Roof of the Bayt al-Bazan is largely placid. Across the way, you spy two mad efreet wandering from tower to tower, wholly unaware of your presence. The brass bull in the courtyard below bellows not. The dining hall renews your disgust in its smell, but there is no new activity to confront you, to bar your way to the next Floor.
The kitchen greets you with a relief for your senses, as the spices cloak the char of the grill.
Taking to the stairs, you find yourselves emerging on what must be the Top Floor of the Bayt.
From your position on the Southwest balcony, you are treated to a breathtaking vista of the City of Brass spreading out below, almost like a detailed map in miniature.
There is a single door in the northern wall, as well as an expensive curtain on the northeast section of the balcony.
Aldebert takes in the beauty of the sight and realizes, maybe for the first time, just how far away from home he truly is. What a strange trip life can be. he thinks as he looks out over the vista.
Eventually he tears himself away and heads toward the curtain. He nods to the others to get into position, and shifts the curtain out of the way with a dramatic swoop in the hopes to clear it all and open the passage fully for the others.