GM Tarondor |
"Aaargh! Die, dammit! Die!"
Tenzekil wildly swings the magical club at Mikhail with fury, but the seasoned warrior easily blocks the attacks.
Shillelagh v. Mikhail: 1d20 + 10 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 10 + 1 = 121d8 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 2 + 1 = 5
Shillelagh v. Mikhail: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 5 + 1 = 101d8 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 2 + 1 = 4
Everyone, go!
Alister Medvyed |
Alister smiles as the air elemental appears. "That's it! Let's rid the world of this traitor!" He aims and fires at the gnome again.
Inspire Courage buff the air elemental too.
Attack (IS, melee): 1d20 + 6 + 2 - 4 ⇒ (20) + 6 + 2 - 4 = 24
Damage (IS, AS): 1d6 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 + 2 = 10
Crit!: 1d20 + 6 + 2 - 4 ⇒ (15) + 6 + 2 - 4 = 19
Extra Damage: 2d6 + 4 + 4 ⇒ (6, 1) + 4 + 4 = 15
Grimnir Hammerhand |
Grimnir throws another javelin, hoping to connect this time.
javelin (inspire courage): 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 7 + 2 = 261d6 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 3 + 2 = 9
Mikhail Templeson |
Mikhail shakes his head and slashes at the tragic gnome to end his crazed threat to the people he had threatened.
Attack with Civility with Flank, PA and IC: 1d20 + 10 + 2 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (20) + 10 + 2 + 2 - 2 = 32
Damage with Civility with PA and IC: 2d6 + 7 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (1, 2) + 7 + 6 + 2 = 18
Secondary Attack with Civility with Flank, PA and IC: 1d20 + 5 + 2 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (10) + 5 + 2 + 2 - 2 = 17
Secondary Damage with Civility with PA and IC: 2d6 + 7 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (4, 4) + 7 + 6 + 2 = 23
Critical Confirmation Attack with Civility with Flank, PA and IC: 1d20 + 10 + 2 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (9) + 10 + 2 + 2 - 2 = 21
Critical Confirmation Damage with Civility with PA and IC: 2d6 + 7 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (5, 5) + 7 + 6 + 2 = 25
Aristu Medvyed |
Aristu points his wand up at the gnome and launches 3 more bolts of force.
Activate wand to cast Magic Missile at Tenzekil. 44 charges remain after use.
Force damage: 3d4 + 3 ⇒ (1, 1, 4) + 3 = 9
Alister Medvyed |
Alister stands over the corpse of Tenzekil and sighs. "Maybe once a good man, but he turned into a traitor. Because of his hurt feelings, thousands may die." Alister searches the gnome for any further clues.
Mikhail Templeson |
Mikhail drifts down and waits for the others to gather around and then calls upon Abadar to heal everyone.
Channel And see how it goes
1/3 Channels: 3d6 ⇒ (1, 5, 5) = 11
Do it again mainly for me.
2/3 Channels: 3d6 ⇒ (2, 3, 6) = 11
GM Tarondor |
High on the hill, Piotr sees no sign of immediate reinforcements. He does, however, see a fairy-tale castle looming the opposite distance, all turrets and pennons.
Mikhail's prayers to Abadar bring swift healing for most of the party. Soon only the priest himself is slightly banged up.
Meanwhile, Alister searches Tenzekil's body, finding nothing in the way of clues, but much else of interest.
Tenzekil had the following loot on him.
Goodberries (8), pearl of power (1st), potion of cure moderate wounds, scrolls of antiplant shell and neutralize poison; +1 leather armor, +1 light wooden shield, masterwork club, sling and 20 bullets, handy haversack, granite and diamond dust worth 250 gp, 162 gp.
STATUS
Piotr (-1 Dex damage)
Aristu
Grimnir
Alister
Mikhail (49/56 hp)
Grimnir Hammerhand |
Grimnir is satisfied when the gnome plummets to earth, but not because of the contributions he made.
"Ah'll need a way tae fly," he mutters.
Searching the body, he is disappointed there aren't more clues.
"We will need tae investigate that castle--seems certain."
Aristu Medvyed |
Aristu helps his brother sort through and identify Tenzekil's magical items. Turning to Grimnir, he says, "I think you're right, Grimnir. Do you suppose that's the Queen's castle? Or one of her vassels'?"
Is the castle in the same direction that the fleeing spriggan rode off in?
He looks down at the gnome's battered corpse. "Villain or no, we should still bury him. Can your rocky friend help with that?"
Piotr Denisov |
Since it is still present, Piotr orders his summoned elemental to fly overhead to provide warning of anything approaching. When the spell's energies wane, he dismisses the elemental with thanks.
"Let us not tarry beyond what is necessary. Tenzekil was probably set here as a sentinel, either to warn of our approach or to delay us while other forces approach."
Mikhail Templeson |
"It looks like he was just stationed here to guard the break in the wall. How do we fix the wall is the question though."
Mikhail looks at the break in the wall to see what can be done.
Grimnir Hammerhand |
Grimnir crosses his arms and examines the wall with a soldier's eye.
"Lemme see," he muses.
profession soldier: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21 Not sure if this would work, but worth a shot.
Alister Medvyed |
"The wardstones are useless without Rhoswen's staff. If we place them now, it's possible someone else could interfere. But if we take them with us, then we're bringing right into the heart of her power." Alister glances around. "It might not make any difference, but it could allow her to take them somehow."
He sighs. "Maybe we should place them. What if we manage to steal the staff and don't have much time to activate them?"
Piotr Denisov |
"Carrying the wardstones with us to Rhoswhen's palace is akin to delivering them directly to her," says Piotr. "Perhaps the Queen could use them, or simply lock them away so that the ward could not be restored. I feel that it is better not to carry the stones. The question remains whether to place them in the wall or hide them nearby."
Knowledge(Nature): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (7) + 10 = 17
Mikhail Templeson |
"If she and her ilk cannot touch them then we might as well set them in place now. I doubt she has any other mortal allies with Tenzekil removed from the fight." Mikhail says.
Alister Medvyed |
Alister nods as their finish the construction. If they had more time, he might ask Aristu and Piotr to try and activate the wardstones without the staff. But every minute more brings the Fellnight Realm more into the Stolen Lands. "Good work. Now, we have the truly enviable task of finding our way into her sanctuary. Something tells me a frontal assault is a bad idea. Let's find her palace and see if there's a way to sneak in. She must know we're here now. She'll be on alert."
Aristu Medvyed |
Aristu considers suggesting that they could put the gnome's corpse in the wall and covering it with the stones, but decides it would be unwise to mess with the wall's powerful magic.
As Alister returns the stones to the wall, Aristu looks up to see if any scavenger birds have been attracted to their next potential meal, then asks, "On to the castle?"
Piotr Denisov |
"We should take the healing magics and the scrolls - they might come in useful. Myself, I would like to take the Pearl of Power and the spell components. That would allow me to cast a protective spell on one person," asks Piotr.
Piotr looks around at this shadow realm.
"Resting would be good - it would allow me to change and recover my spells. Do you think it possible that we could find a safe resting place?"
Alister Medvyed |
"Do you think Rhoswan will let you rest? It didn't go so well for us last night. Part of me thinks we won't be able to rest until she's dealt with." Alister places several of the items in his now much more empty haversack.
That was my interpretation. Are you out of spells? Go ahead and take the Pearl and the diamond dust. We should each take a goodberry to stop any bleed. Aristu can take the haversack, unless Grimnir needs it for his gear.
Mikhail Templeson |
"I have used quite a bit of my powers, but we can try and see what defenses the castle might have. Its possible that the three of you will fare better against her attacks since you now know that she is coming. Assuming that her agents would allow us to rest for that long this close to her seat of power." Mikhail adds in.
Grimnir Hammerhand |
Grimnir instructs his stone servant to take the dead gnome underground for burial. When the deed is done, Grimnir looks at the castle in the distance.
"Ahm not much for sneaking," he muses. "But off we go."
Aristu can take the haversack.
GM Tarondor |
Grimnir's silent companion descends into the earth of the Fellnight Realm, burying the troubled gnome, then returns.
The team pushes forward toward the castle, coming to a broad expanse of thorns. The forest sounds fade as the undergrowth parts, revealing a massive, thorn-wrapped palace rooted upon the valley floor. Intimidating spikes cover its walls, projecting outward with deadly intent. Three separate towers rise from the tangle, reaching toward a dark canopy of trees as tall as any mountain. You realize that the entire castle was grown from an enormous thistle.
You see a single obvious barbican gate, heavily fortified and reinforced with gigantic thorns. It might be possible (though dangerous!) to scale the thorny walls to reach a balcony or window. You might also try to fly in. There don't appear to be any smaller gates or posterns.
Mikhail Templeson |
"I do not have the ability to fly again today. I am also not sure how well we would scale those walls." Mikhail muses as he looks over the defenses.
Aristu Medvyed |
Aristu takes in the view with the others. "No offense, Grimnir, but fighting our way in sounds like a desperate last resort to me. Besides, we don't even know if this is the Queen's castle - although it does seem a reasonable guess. Let's start by finding a good spot to observe the castle, and watch for a while. If there are any others coming or going through the gate, that might present an opportunity for us to enter."
After a moment, he adds, "I don't suppose your elemental can safely carry you along as it travels under ground."
Piotr Denisov |
"Attacking immediately through the gate does seem ... hasty," declares Piotr. I agree with Aristu - spy the place out and see if there is a less obvious place to enter. Or, a way to sneak in with a group."
Grimnir Hammerhand |
I don't really want to go through the gate--mainly, I have no way to fly or scout, so I'm on board with that plan. Just trying to play the battle-hardened dwarf. :)
Mikhail Templeson |
How long do we think we have before the battle? I got the feeling the battle would be happening soon and so we are on a time limit.
Alister Medvyed |
I'm beginning to think we need to rest. The fact that time moves differently here means that the battle could have already happened, or we could have days. Ultimately defeating the Queen and completing the ritual is what really matters. If we can't regain spells, then we'll learn that. I think Mikhail and Grimnir as a divine casters should at least regain their abilities.
Piotr Denisov |
"Gentlemen, as you are by now surely familiar with, I require a continous period of rest before I can prepare spells. I can keep watch at the beginning or end of the night," states Piotr.
Aristu Medvyed |
"As long as I can get a couple of hours of sleep, I'll be fine, so put me on any watch." Aristu walks around the copse and casts a spell to look for any dangerous magic in the area.
Cast Detect Magic
GM Tarondor |
Aristu detects a wild surge of magic all around him, unlike anything in the normal world. It's strange enough that he can differentiate it from normal magical auras, of which there are none beyond those his companions carry. The strange aura seems to be the basic nature of the Fellnight Realm.
1d20 ⇒ 19
The team rests peacefully, disturbed only by strange and lonely sounds in the night. Morning never arrives, but time does pass.