"Ooo, smart call," says Brenna as she comes down from her momentary rage. She stands guard while Saphren goes through pockets.
You set to work stripping down Tiryin. The noises coming from the drow soldiers you've walled off are ones of surrender at this point.
His gear is of expectedly high quality:
- two keen +1 shortswords
- +1 returning starknife
- +1 amulet of natural armor
- +4 belt of dexterity
- +3 bracers of armor
- +1 cloak of resistance
- +1 ring of protection
- potions of cure serious wounds and invisibility
Beshtori starts making his way over to the portal to investigate it. However, as he steps closer, he freezes.
There is Something behind it, and it seems very large. It has not moved yet, and despite the darkvision is obscured somehow.
When Besh stopped and pointed out that something was wrong, Lyr slipped over to the wall he'd made and notched an arrow to his bow.
Besh's warning turns into a shrill cry as something huge seems to shift away from the wall and come into sight.
A spider the size of a bull elephant rears up on its back four legs in a violent challenge, eyes shimmering with magical energy.
BOOM
The cave shudders beneath its footfall. The enormous spider-creature looms above the portal, staring down at you.
This is a retriever. Not all constructs are formed from unliving matter like stone, wood, metal, or dead flesh. In the darkest corners of the Great Beyond, certain powerful demon lords have mastered the art of shaping the raw, protoplasmic flesh of the Abyss into hideous monstrosities devoid of life, emotion, and the will to resist control. The monstrous retriever is the best-known of such constructs, a huge spider-like creation capable of unleashing potent energy upon those it has been ordered to seek.
Retrievers do battle through a variety of powerful eye rays which deal elemental damage (fire, cold, or electricity) and may also cause petrification. They rapidly repair themselves and are superb hunters. As constructs, they have the typical immunities of constructs.
(+2 in surprise)
Besh
Zoso
Lyr
---
Retriever
---
Brenna
Saphren
Backing rapidly away from the creature emerging from beside the portal, Besh cries of warning begin to border on incoherence: "FOLKS!! GANG! OMGyouguys, WTFisthatshitshitshit..."
Zoso's eyes go wide and he breaks into his bardic song once more as the enormous creature begins stalking through the cavern. It takes its time extracting itself from behind the portal before it turns and a strange red light begins building in its eyes.
BZZHT
A lightning bolt cracks as it blasts Beshtori!
saphren hasted double moves into the room. Besh! he calls, concern echoing in his voice.
Tears well in Besh's eyes, and ze takes several quick, calming breaths. A look of determination comes over the small gnome's face as ze takes several quick steps forward - toward the abomination.
Being this close makes the creature all the more horrific, and Beshtori gasps in another deep breath. When ze exhales, white mist surrounds zir, blocking from view anything from the portal to the chasm.
Emerging from the stone in front of the creature, the earth elemental attempts to do what it does best - smash big things into smaller things.
Large Earth Elemental
Hit Points: 83 - 48 = 35
AC 19; DR 5/-
Str 28, Con 21
F 11, R 2, W 6
Melee
BAB 8
2 slams +16, 2d6+9
Bardic Song: +2 hit / +2 dam
Haste: +1 hit
Earth Mastery: +1 hit / +1 dam
Power Attack: -3 / +8
"RrrrraaAAAAHHHHH!" screams Brenna incoherently as she rushes the thing, braving its inevitable attacks!
The last 5 points are cold damage. This is a magical, adamantine weapon.
The enormous spider-construct bites down, but the earth elemental ignores the blow. The earth elemental gamely meets the attack, and punches the thing in the face.
Brenna charges as close as she can.
`Using the fog to his advantage Saphren springs in, attacks and steps back away into the fog.
Lyr ran into the mist to where Besh had been, dropped to his knees and skidded to a halt, fumbling blind until his hand came down on the little gnome.
Vex looped up out of the mist, activated a wand to send a bolt of green energy toward the monster, then swooped back down and vanished into the mist again.
** spoiler omitted **
The enormous spider-construct bites down, but the earth elemental ignores the blow. The earth elemental gamely meets the attack, and punches the thing in the face.
Brenna charges as close as she can.
Zoso utters a spell and vanishes, reappearing on the other side of the creature. He tries to identify it but has absolutely no luck. Some big spider-thing. Vex swoops in with a wand, zapping the creature to some success.
The retriever rears up, and a ray of fire blasts down from it at the earth elemental, scorching it!
Besh (-20)
Zoso
Lyr
Elemental (-55)
---
Retriever (-34) (acid arrow)
---
Brenna
Saphren
Large Earth Elemental
Hit Points: 17
AC 19; DR 5/-
Str 28, Con 21
F 11, R 2, W 6
Melee
BAB 8
2 slams +16, 2d6+9
Bardic Song: +2 hit / +2 dam
Haste: +1 hit
Earth Mastery: +1 hit / +1 dam
Power Attack: -3 / +8
Skirting around the edge of the portal, Besh runs behind the abomination and shoots two rays of dark flame from zir staff.
WHAM WHAM WHAM
The elemental steps up to the enormous spider-thing, and the behemoths duke it out with the elemental doing frightening damage in exchange for the blast of fire it received. Twin rays of fire blast into it as well as Beshtori continues layering on the damage while Saphren dances through its legs, slashing it with his falcion.
Besh (-20)
Zoso
Lyr
Elemental (-55)
---
Retriever (-165) (acid arrow)
---
Brenna
Saphren
Brenna charges in at the construct, but unfortunately the obscuring mist fouls her attack and she misses.
Focusing entirely on the source of its pain, the construct rears up, attacking the earth elemental. A blast of frozen ice fires from its eyes into the elemental!
Besh (-20)
Zoso
Lyr
Elemental (-55)
---
Retriever (-160) (acid arrow)
---
Brenna
Saphren
[ooc]The earth elemental takes 40 cold damage but I imagine its done its due diligence. Everyone is up!{/ooc]
Saphren will spring out of the mist, attack and then spring back in, thus avoiding the miss chance.
Brenna hammers on the thing with constant smashing attacks.
Falling back to Zoso's side, Beshtori pulls out a wand, pointing it tremulously at the creature
Vex looped out of the mist again and fired off another green bolt before disappearing into the mist again.
Lyr ducked out of the mist and added his own acid flask to Vex's bombardment.
The elemental vibrates violently before shattering beneath the blast of the cold ray. The entire group surround the enormous construct, teaming up on it and pouring on a series of incredible attacks. Saphren runs through its legs, undermining its support while Beshtori, Vex, Lyr, and Zoso pelt it with missiles. Finally, as it sinks to the ground Brenna roars and leaps up through the obscuring mist, her hulking form twisting as she swings out with her axe.
CCRRRAAACKKK
The construct splits open, its legs splaying out as it collapses to the ground with a crash.
End of Combat
The portal yawns before you.
Let us gather up what treasures there are, heal what wounds we can and then be gone.
Brenna halts, then slams her axe down several times onto the large chunks of the construct, smashing them into bits. Finally she pauses and just stands there, axe resting on the ground, heaving with overwrought breath.
She pauses in her breathing for a moment as if to say something, then just lets out one last long hiss.
Finally she hauls the axe back up to her shoulder - careful not to let the edge get too close to her armor, as it'll cut through it far too easily - and waits for the all-clear to head through the portal, and hopefully, toward home.
Hair standing up even more than usual - a residual effect of the lightning blast - Besh leans heavily on zir staff: "Let's just get out of here."
You all stand together, and sucking in a breath, take a step through the portal. A white light bathes all of you before you experience the gut-wrenching sensation of being ripped across reality.
It's impossible to tell how much time has passed. Seconds? Hours? Days? Regardless, you all stumble out of the portal together and fall on your faces in a clearing in the middle of a gorgeous ancient forest. Wracked with nausea, you stare up from the ground, and see at least forty elven soldiers encircling you, bows drawn.
You are free from the Darklands, and it looks like you're in Kyonin.