Ronan: Jinxx what's up with Horgus
Jinxx gets the feeling that Horgus is holding something back and is very disturbed by the news of the safe houses for the cultists.
Meriui looks cautiously at the group, and touches the blade. Immediately, the blade starts to curve and shorten, and soon it has taken the shape of a scimitar. It softly glows for a moment as his hand touches it.
"I can feel... something in this blade. It is holy and powerful."
Rowena rushes toward the blade, its holiness drawing her in. She takes out her holy symbol and bows her head in prayer.
As Rowena examines the blade she too sees the strong abjuration magic, making this a magic item of considerable power, and can feel a certain divine radiance from it. However, she is unable to determine its purpose. Meriui passes her the blade, which reverts to a longsword. It does not do anything special in Rowena's grasp and feels somewhat strange and inappropriate in her hand. It comes back to life in Meriui's grasp, changing shape to fit his chosen weapon.
"Meriui...what is it?"
"Horgus, is there something you are not telling us? You seem to be very nervous about something. Anything you can tell us might help."
Meriui turns the blade in his hand. "I am not worthy of this blade, but it appears to respond to my touch. I will carry this - for now. It is blessed by Iomedae, I am certain."
"None of your damn business! I was just... surprised to hear that Nyserian Manor is a cultist safe house. That's all. Can we get going? I'm getting claustrophobic!"
Sarkast listens to the various exchanges, eyeing Gwerm warily. He retrieves and cleans his spears, nocks one into the throwing loop, and gives the area one last look, checking for secret passages or hidden items.
"It appears that this is a dead end. I recall there being another door in the first chamber that we have not checked. Shall we get everyone back up the rope?"
Ayesha eyed the shape-changing scimitar with appreciation. Suddenly, her hand dropped to the hilt of her own scimitar, almost against her will. It felt like a possessive gesture, though she wasn't all that sure she was the one feeling possessive.
"I guess so. Have we looked everywhere down here?"
Thora grumbles and starts assigning equipment.
"You people need to be greedier. I don't want to carry this crap."
Meriui temporarily claims the magical sword.
Sarkast receives a potion of cure moderate wounds and an alchemist's fire.
Ayesha receives a potion of cure moderate wounds and an alchemist's fire.
Ronan receives a scroll of bear's endurance and the chain shirt.
Rowena receives the wand of spiritual weapon, and the scroll of remove disease.
Sarkast's final sweep of the area yields nothing more than that.
There's a great deal of struggle and pain getting Aravashnial, Anevia, and even Horgus up the rope, but all three of them are finally on the top level. You all now stand in front of a door to the north.
Sarkast take 10: 19
As the group steps up to the door, most of you hear some arguments from within.
"I tell you I heard something!"
"And I tell you that she'll have us done like that mongrel leader! We were told to stay the post and watch for intruders from t'north and that's what we do."
Hearing the voices behind the door, Sarkast raises an eyebrow in question. He quietly mouths, Offer surrender, or burst in?
Rowena listens intently to the voices beyond the door. She mouths back and gestures wildly. Burst in. Element of surprise. Rowena readies her bow.
'Jinxx, get ready, move in to the room as soon as that door opens.'
Ronan whispers to the rest,"If we surprise them they may surrender, and we maybe able to get more information about what happened in the city".
Rowena nods and gently pushes Sarkast. She mouths toward Sarkast "You do it! Open the door!"
Sarkast switches places with Meriui, counts down, and bursts through the door.
The worked stone walls of this large room hold a number of shelves, each of which display the preserved bodies of dire rats, bats, rock vipers, cave lizards, and other creatures that pose in eerie stillness. A pair of bedrolls have been laid out to the southeast.
Within are two armoured women, one bearing a glaive and the other a scythe. You manage to completely surprise the one with the glaive, the other being a little quicker on her feet.
Ayesha
Sarkast
Ronan
Jinxx (mage armour)
Rowena
Thora
Meriui
Aravashnial
Anevia
Horgus
---
Plain Cultist (flat-footed)
Square Cultist
Ayesha moved the moment the door was opened, pushing inside the room to engage the farthest combatant, and making room for the others.
Jinxx slips in right after Ayesha and moves right to engage the other.
Ronan moves right in behind Jinxx and has his crossbow ready.
After opening the door, Sarkast steps back and quietly waits, guarding the door against anyone trying to run past.
Rowena shuffles through the door swiftly, heading toward the back of the small room. She shoots for the woman on the left.
One of the women hasn't reacted as you charge in, the other one quickly chants a spell.
Protection from good.
The group charges in and Rowena positions herself, firing an arrow. Meriui and Thora also both shuffle into the room.
Ayesha augmented her scimitar's blade with a bit of her own arcana and then slashed at the woman in front of her. The blade skitters off the woman's weapon, an ill-aimed strike.
Jinxx snarls and attacks
Ronan takes a shot at the one Jinxx is trying to bite and claw, with his crossbow
Sneaking a glance into the room, Sarkast sees that the small area is pretty well filled. He holds his spear ready in case he is needed.
Jinxx manages to graze the scythe-bearing cultist.
Rowena fires an arrow into the glaive-bearing cultist, which slams into her shoulder.
Anevia, Aravashnial, and Horgus make their way into the room, cramming into the back. Aravashnial leans heavily on Horgus as they move with Anevia limping behind them.
Thora roars and swings out at both cultists, her axe sweeping out viciously.
One cultist is slammed back by the brutality of Thora's attack. Meriui then follows up with a slice from his scimitar, which grazes the wounded cultist.
The woman with a glaive looks terrified at the overwhelming odds, but touches a holy symbol around her neck and gains a wild, frenetic look in her eyes.
"I will die with Baphomet's name on my lips! Die you servants of the light!"
She whips out her glaive and swings it at Jinxx, who hits the deck, allowing the glaive pass overhead.
The one bearing a scythe simply snarls ferally and slashes out at Thora, trying to cut out the dwarf's throat. The scythe sinks in brutally, and Thora collapses to the ground, bleeding.
Square cultist attacks, incapacitates Thora
Plain mongrel attacks Jinxx
Anevia doubles moves
Horgus moves, holds
Aravashnial double moves
Thora cleaves both cultists
Meriui attacks square cultist
Jinxx attacks square cultist
Ayesha attacks plain cultist
Sarkast hides, holds action
Ronan attacks, misses square cultist
Ayesha
Sarkast
Ronan
Jinxx (mage armour)
Rowena
Thora (-1/22)
Meriui
Aravashnial
Anevia
Horgus
---
Plain Cultist (badly wounded)
Square Cultist (badly wounded)
Rowena watches thora hit the ground. She smells the blood and coming death. Rowena clutches her holy symbol and tries to dart past Meriui. "MERIUI MOVE GOTTA HEAL THORA!"
After Anevia, Aravashnial, and Horgus enter the room, Sarkast follows, moving across the room. Seeing that there is no room for him to do anything but get in the way, he holds his spear ready to throw if a target presents itself.
, plus touch of Fatigue
Ayesha spun back the other way, her scimitar slicing through the air to strike at the woman before her. "When you meet your foul demon lord, please tell him that you failed."
Meriui looks over his shoulder to Rowena, and nods once. He swings out at one of the cultists, missing badly. He grumbles and steps back to allow Rowena access to Thora.
Jinxx roars and pounces at a cultist, who smacks him back with her scythe.
Anevia fires off an arrow which misses wildly.
Ronan loads and fires his own crossbow.
It looks like the mongrelman who was knocked out by the colour spray spell is alive and well, and is creeping up on the group. He is approaching slowly and stealthily.
Sarkast hears footsteps from the next room, and just makes out the shadow of a mongrelman. He says nothing, but raises his spear.
Rowena pushes into the crowded room toward Thora. She holds her holy symbol close and prays to Pharasma. As she mutters, black swirls emerge from her cross and wrap around Thora's wounds.
Sarkast's spear flies across the air, and slams into the surprised mongrel's chest. It shrieks before ripping the spear out.
Ayesha spins gracefully and slashes a cultist with her dagger, who manages to resist her spell.
Rowena steps in and chants a quick spell. Thora groans and her eyes flutter open as Rowena's healing magic stops her from the brink of death.
However, the cultists are on Thora like wolves over wounded prey. As soon as Thora's eyes open, a scythe descends quickly into her chest.
The second cultist's eyes flash and she jerks a dagger from her belt, passing her glaive to the other hand. She leaps down on Thora, and with one swift, brutal movement she slashes the dwarf's throat. Thora writhes violently, and then goes perfectly still.
Sarkast attacks, wounds mongrel
Rowena casts rebuke death on Thora
Ayesha attacks, wounds plain cultist
Jinxx attacks square cultist
Ronan attacks square cultist
Anevia attacks plain cultist
Meriui attacks square cultist, withdraws
Square cultist attacks, wounds Thora
Plain cultist kills Thora
Mongrel approaches from south
Ayesha
Sarkast
Ronan
Jinxx (mage armour)
Rowena
Thora (-17/22) (dead)
Meriui
Aravashnial
Anevia
Horgus
---
Plain Cultist (near death)
Square Cultist (badly wounded)
Mongrel
"Thora! Ayesha yelled as she saw the dwarf go down. Enraged, she switched from her flowing slashes to driven thrusts. Her anger is no advantage, and her blade strikes the stone wall behind her target.
, plus touch of Fatigue
Jinxx once again attacks (square)
The cultist with the glaive dances back from Ayesha's attack, laughing. However, Jinxx pounces on the cultist with the scythe and pins her to the ground, ripping out her throat.
Seeing Sarkast throw his spear Ronan takes a step back and sees the mongrel and fires his crossbow
Rowena feels Thora's spirit rise to another realm. Fighting back tears, she whips out her bow and aims for the last cultist.
Rowena hauls up her bow and with shaking hands, she meets the eyes of the cultist, who stares back defiantly. The arrow takes the cultist straight through the eye and she collapses back, instantly dead.
The mongrel to the south, hearing the death cry of the last cultist throws it hands up in the air.
"Mercy! Mercy! Please!"
End of Combat
The whimpering of the mongrel to the south is the only sound as you survey the carnage. The two cultists are wearing symbols to different deities, one to Baphomet, one to another bearing a symbol of strange, spiking, crossed lines. Thora's lifeless body lies amongst the carnage, her axe having fallen from her grasp.
This is a symbol to Deskari, Lord of the Locust Horde.
Rowena swarms the cultist bodies, squinting at the holy symbols. She looks closely at the strange, spiked one. "what do you do...?
The symbol does not glow as magical - Rowena identifies it as a symbol to Deskari, the Lord of the Locust Horde.
Sarkast confirms the area is clear, then comes back. Seeing Thora's limp form, he closes his eyes and whispers a prayer to Desna.
"We will have to divide up the gear she was carrying. Does anyone know her people's customs for death? Should we bury her at the temple we found, or take her with us to be returned to her family?"
Looking toward the final mongrel, he says, "I suggest we bind this one's limbs, and return him to his people for judgment."
He then makes a sweep of the room, looking for any further dangers or hidden containers or exits.
"Having Thora's last resting place be in the Temple is perfect, and yes this one"pointing at the mongrel"needs to be judged by his own people."
Anevia kneels sadly by Thora. "Poor dear. I... my heart lies with continuing to the surface, but she fought valiantly and I could not deny her rest in such a lovely temple."
Horgus remains a good distance from the carnage, his arms folded.
"Bah! The longer we stay down here the more of us end up like Thora! We need to keep marching! Just leave that one to rot and let's move on."
Sarkast hears Horgus' comment and moves quickly and quietly. His face inches from Gwerm's, he whispers, "One more word like that from you, and you can be the one to rot. That woman gave her life protecting yours. She will be honored."
Legitimately intimidated by the intensity of Sarkast's threat, Horgus points a finger at the mongrel captive. "I er, uh... meant that one. N-not Thora. I thought we'd bring her with us or uh... find someplace respectful."
Sarkast nods and turns away and helps arrange for Thora and her gear, all the while keeping a close eye on the surroundings.
"Now that I think on it more, the temple may be too much out of the way. We should return the prisoner to his people, and seek the way back to the surface. Hopefully we can find a priest who can take proper care of Thora there."