Walking into the room and seeing all the activity gives Edmund pause.
He tries to figure out why everyone is up in arms about a cleric. Then the creature turns and more than one person exclaims that it is an undead creature.
Edmund recognizes it and understands what it is capable of. He knows that firing a spell into combat is dangerous in the best of situation. This creature poses a deadly threat and the risk is warranted.
شعاع من الصقيع
I am low on spells but I will do what I can
Edmund lines up his spell on target with the undead monstrosity, but right as he is about to cast it, Sabrina shifts into his line of fire, and he jerks the spell left, missing the both of them and slamming into the north wall.
Meanwhile, the Huecuva flails at Sabrina with both of its clawed hands, screeching the entire time.
However, it seems like Sabrina's blow put it off-balance, and it misses wide with both claw attacks, giving Sabrina a clear opening for a quick follow-up strike
Seizing the opportunity Sabrina thrusts her family blade at the opening the creature conveniently provided.
Sabrina follows up on her initial swing and slices the abomination from shoulder to hip, cleaving it in twain as her blade tears through its skin like a warm knife through butter.
As the undead crumbles back into dust, the party starts to notice odd things about the altar he was sitting in front of. While clearly designed as an altar of Torag initially, it looks like it has been defaced and defamed since.
Griffith recognizes that this defamation could, in theory, be reversed with a relatively simple ritual and prayer combination to Torag, but it would probably take about an hour.
"We need to do it. It is the right thing to do. An hour won't hurt, but it will certainly help."
His sword ceases to burn with angelic might. He lays it down upon the alter, studying the room looking for any tool they could use and observing the taint the foul beast had brought to this holy temple.
"That foul beast has tainted this shrine, yet there is hope. We can purify this shrine with a simple ritual, some hymns and a little hope. The question remains, do you simply restore this shrine to Torag or do we encompass other deities to this humble shrine? I recommend the latter, for the sake of Kenabres and those who lost their lives today."
Griffith will bow his head in silence, clutching his holy simple of Ragathiel.
"We must avenge them, their lives mustn't be in vain."
His sword ceases to burn with angelic might. He lays it down upon the alter, studying the room looking for any tool they could use and observing the taint the foul beast had brought to this holy temple.
Griffith will take a look around, and fine some supplies. The Huecuva has two potions of cure light wounds in a pouch on its body, along with a golden ring on one hand. Finally, he discovers a dusty but otherwise functional masterwork war hammer tucked in the back corner.
"That foul beast has tainted this shrine, yet there is hope. We can purify this shrine with a simple ritual, some hymns and a little hope. The question remains, do you simply restore this shrine to Torag or do we encompass other deities to this humble shrine? I recommend the latter, for the sake of Kenabres and those who lost their lives today."Griffith will bow his head in silence, clutching his holy simple of Ragathiel.
"We must avenge them, their lives mustn't be in vain."
"What? We're going to delay our retreat to safety so as to sit around holding hands and asking someone else nicely for help? These tunnels could collapse at any minute! Who knows when it will be too late for us to escape!"
"The gods watch us here. We are safer doing there will and trusting in them than by fleeing in fear."
"Don't be absurd lass, of course I'm going to clean up the shrine. Although it has been some time since I needed to remember any of the specific rituals for such an ordeal, but Torag has always been more about effort than ceremony." Belg began to blush a little.
"Still, if uh, if anyone remembers any specific prayers...or uh, ahem, any uh proper protocols, well...I'd be grateful for any help." Staring at the ground as he finished, Belg was clearly uncomfortable asking for help.
"The gods watch us here. We are safer doing there will and trusting in them than by fleeing in fear."
[dice=Diplomacy]1d20
Horgus will scoff at this. "Oh, like how the gods watched over Kenabres before the Demons killed half the city then?"
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Sabrina looks to Horgus at his comment. Perhaps a little more faith from the people of Kenabres would have gone a long way to protect the city.
She seems to be defending a perceived insult to her faith, though she will still protect everyone here to the best of her abilities.. before she becomes more agitated, Sabrina turns her efforts to re-dedicating the temple.
apparently Sabrina is a bit too distracted to be of any help.
"Lets focus on the task at hand. Arguing won't help anyone."
He did his best, but with passions as heated as they were, it didn't appear that his words were of any help. Knowing that talking was outside of his strengths.
So he instead focused on helping the next person with the ritual. While he wasn't exactly trained in the ways of faith, his mother was a cleric of Erastril, so he had at least seen her perform ceremonies. While he couldn't do it himself, he was able to help.
Griffith picks up the items, putting on the golden ring and adding one of the potions to his healer's kit, he offers the other potion to someone else. While Griffith was ready to start the ritual, Horgus' comments stopped him right in his tracks.
"Have you no respect for the dead? Women, children and the elderly died today. Those taken away await a fate worse than death. Please think upon what you've just said."
Griffith turns to Belg,"I will help you with all I can as a former priest, as Torag is your patron we shall begin the ritual when you're ready.
I found this old weapon that belonged to the former creature, perhaps it's better suited in your hands?" Griffith presents to Belg the masterwork warhammer.
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Sabrina looks down struggling to look Griffith in the eye. she takes in his words. remembering the death she was witness to in all her years,
the pains she had to deal with, she quickly put herself in Horgus's position. you are right. at times I forget I am no longer dealing with soldiers.
turning to Horgus, she takes a knee in front of him, I apologize, my words were uncalled for. I will strive to do better in the future.
Master Dwarf, If I may help you. I have studied many different religions over the years and I might be able to help.
Edmund looks at the others and smiles at Horgus.
This man would sell his own mother into slavery for a few coppers...
Come now Lady Sabrina, There is not need to apologize. Brave Horgus is well aware of his superior status to everyone here. He knows where he stands and we just need to show him the proper respect and allow him to lead us out of here. I mean he is the most important person here and
He turns to Hurgus...
I would be honored if you would lead us out of here and to the safety that one of your obvious talents can only provide.
Edmund puts on a smile and after a second turns and walks away....
He passes Griffith and Eldric
I am not arguing with him. He is beneath my contempt and is not worth my time.
"And why do you suppose the demons only managed to kill half, eh lad? The gods, that's why. You think demons are some little children that you can shoe off with your fancy words?" Belg took a few steps toward Horgus.
"Nay, they rival the heavens for power. We shoulda died with the rest, but the gods saw fit to intervene, saw fit to save us. I don't know why, but the least we can do is have faith and try to restore some semblance of order amongst this chaos."
He breathed a deep breath and it seemed to steady him some. He retreated away from the man, his peace said and his own duty clear. Now if he could just remember that damn prayer.
As he paced, he accepted the hammer from Griffith. He tested the weight in his hands, gave it a few swings before smiling. "Thank ye lad. Tis a fine weapon. Now let's see what we can get fixed. Probably should eat too while we have a moment."
As Edmund offered up his services, Belg nodded. "I'd be most grateful"
Griffith picks up the items, putting on the golden ring and adding one of the potions to his healer's kit, he offers the other potion to someone else. While Griffith was ready to start the ritual, Horgus' comments stopped him right in his tracks.
"Have you no respect for the dead? Women, children and the elderly died today. Those taken away await a fate worse than death. Please think upon what you've just said."
"I have respect for one thing, and it is not the whims of all-powerful spectators".
Sabrina looks down struggling to look Griffith in the eye. she takes in his words. remembering the death she was witness to in all her years,
the pains she had to deal with, she quickly put herself in Horgus's position. you are right. at times I forget I am no longer dealing with soldiers.turning to Horgus, she takes a knee in front of him, I apologize, my words were uncalled for. I will strive to do better in the future.
Horgus seems a little confused at this, convinced that Griffith's words were directed at him. Afterwards he will just look away and mutter barely audibly "Fine, lets just get this over with before we all starve to death"
Griffith remains as confused as Horgus.
"My words were directed at Horgus, I have no issue or contentions with you Sabrina. Now onto the ritual, I will help by whatever means necessary."
Griffith stands at the alter, facing the group as if delivering a sermon.
"Let us pray, take a moment of silence for the fallen. Torag, Father of Dwarvenkind, heed our prayers. We come to you in our time of need, we offer this once sacred shrine back to you as a gesture of good faith, give us a sign on our path."
Griffith remains as confused as Horgus.
"My words were directed at Horgus, I have no issue or contentions with you Sabrina. Now onto the ritual, I will help by whatever means necessary."Griffith stands at the alter, facing the group as if delivering a sermon.
"Let us pray, take a moment of silence for the fallen. Torag, Father of Dwarvenkind, heed our prayers. We come to you in our time of need, we offer this once sacred shrine back to you as a gesture of good faith, give us a sign on our path."
[dice=Knowledge religion]1d20+4
Horgus will sulk over in the corner upon hearing everyone else's responses, and will say no more until the ritual is finished. Speaking of which, as Griffith and Belg run through the ceremony, they make a few mistakes, pronounce some words incorrectly, and mistime the applications of holy water, but once they are done with it the shrine starts to let off a faint, white glow. As the shrine continues to glow however, everyone in the temple begins to feel a tingling sensation over their bodies, followed by a deep sensation of of peace and confidence.
"Well, seems like this little side-trip has paid off for us, but this area seems to be a dead end. Shall we continue back to the main passage and continue on from there?" Anevia will suggest.
"Indeed! Let he be off." Eldric will begin making his way out of the building and towards the next tunnel.
The party departs the small shrine and continues heading through the passageway. The going is slow, as Anevia and Aravashnial both need aid in moving through the passageway, but after about 40 minutes of walking up a gentle incline, the passageway opens up into a much larger cavern, that seems to have a few dozen statues carved into the walls. The statues all seem to depict well armed and armored men and women in various stages of grief or sadness.
Edmund, upon seeing these statues, recognizes the armor and weapon markings as dating back to the first Crusade.
Sarah takes the other potion and tucks it into her kit.
"The only thing stranger than the attack is these preserved caverns. I wonder how much of our history has been buried, to leave these structures and statues behind with the town above none the wiser?"
She'll describe the statues to Aravashnial.
Sarah takes the other potion and tucks it into her kit.
"The only thing stranger than the attack is these preserved caverns. I wonder how much of our history has been buried, to leave these structures and statues behind with the town above none the wiser?"
She'll describe the statues to Aravashnial.
"I wonder . . . ." Aravashnial strokes his chin gently. "There's an old legend that during the first crusade an entire battalion of crusaders became infected with abyssal energies, and after the crusade had ended they disappeared, rumored to have fled underground somewhere in Mendev to hide their horrific deformities from the world."
"That's...less than ideal. Let's press on and get out of this hole before we test the validity of that."
Belg was the last one to leave the reclaimed temple. He lingered as the rest pressed on until finally he had to part ways with the ancient shrine. Who knows how long it had been down here. Who knew how long it would be until eyes laid sight on it again. With the warhammer in one hand he rushed after the others.
Once he caught up to the group, he slipped up to Avenia and once again lent her his shoulder. Coming upon the chamber and the statues spoke to Belg on a different level. It had been years, decades even since he had seen such craftsmanship. Whoever had sculpted these took great care and spent much time in a place long forgotten, but why? The why was mostly lost on Belg though. The stone was more important to him than anything else.
I...Yes mother. I think I am beginning to understand why I am here...why we're all here."
As the party moves into the large cavern, there is a short scurrying sound coming from the statues near their entrance, and a pair of what look to be flying squids jumps at the party and attacks!
So only Sabrina, Belg, and Sarah are caught off-guard by this, so they won't be able to act in the surprise round.
Edmund will also immediately recognize these creatures as Darkmantles, subterranean predators that jump at and latch onto their victims, constricting them to death.
Anevia will draw her bow and let out a warning cry. "Ugg, Cave squid, on the right", sadly failing to see the one north of the party. The one she can see jumps at Sabrina, trying to slam into her and latch onto her torso
It strikes her by surprise and catches her flat-footed, slamming into her chestplate. It then tries to use its pointed tentacles to latch onto her body
However, it can't seem to get a good hold on her armor, and slinks off, landing on the ground at her feet.
With one of the creatures so close to him, and with tales of abyssal mutations so recently heard, Eldric's heart skipped a beat. He pulled the string of his bow back and time seemed to come to a standstill. He had to kill the creature here and now. Within the space of half a dozen seconds two arrows were unleashed at squid like creatures.
[dice=Perfect Strike Hit]1d20+3
[dice=Perfect Strike Hit]1d20+3
[dice=Damage]1d8+2[dice=Hit]1d20+3
[dice=Damage]1d8+2With one of the creatures so close to him, and with tales of abyssal mutations so recently heard, Eldric's heart skipped a beat. He pulled the string of his bow back and time seemed to come to a standstill. He had to kill the creature here and now. Within the space of half a dozen seconds two arrows were unleashed at squid like creatures.
Griffith will concentrate his holy menageries on the creature closest to Sabrina. Blasting it with a gout of purifying flame.
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When Sabrina sees the statues, despite not knowing the real history, the sight of the armor of the first crusade, her memories of when her father first went to war.
the story as to what happened again fills her mind with memories of her sister that fell for the same thing. the taint consumed her, the promise of power, the battle....
she is suddenly snapped back to reality withe the darkmantle attack.
Griffith will concentrate his holy menageries on the creature closest to Sabrina. Blasting it with a gout of purifying flame.
The darkmantle seems to duck out of the way of most of the holy fire as it floats around next to Sabrina, though it is still a little singed.
When Sabrina sees the statues, despite not knowing the real history, the sight of the armor of the first crusade, her memories of when her father first went to war.
the story as to what happened again fills her mind with memories of her sister that fell for the same thing. the taint consumed her, the promise of power, the battle....
she is suddenly snapped back to reality withe the darkmantle attack.
"That's...less than ideal. Let's press on and get out of this hole before we test the validity of that."
"Oh you mistake my words. In fact, despite their horrifying deformities they were reportedly just as eager to fight the Abyss as their more human kin. Its just that its hard to raise children with antlers, scales, and five eyes in a place like Mendev without drawing some . . unwanted attention."
Aravashnial paused for about two seconds before realizing. "Oh right, enemies" He will begin his magical chant
આકાશમાંથી બહાર આવો, ઓલીઝિયમનું સર્જન
Moveing forward to better see what the commotion is about.
Edmund goes through the movements of his spell and releases a ray of utter coldness at the creature that he can see.
شعاع من الصقيع
Moveing forward to better see what the commotion is about.
Edmund goes through the movements of his spell and releases a ray of utter coldness at the creature that he can see.شعاع من الصقيع
Horgus will gladly duck towards the back of the party to make some room for Edmund to cast.
Edmund's magical frost ray zaps towards the creature in front of Sabrina, managing to just barely catch it near the head, freezing a bit of the creature's leathery flesh.
Meanwhile, the second darkmantle will leap at the party from the North, initially aiming for Belg before coming to an incredibly quick stop in midair and instead heading towards Sabrina.
It's quick turn however seems to have thrown it off balance and it slams harmlessly into Sabrina's backside.
Anevia will mumble something under her breath and drop her bow, pulling out a shortsword and stabbing the northern Darkmantle.
Even with her injured Leg, Anevia manages to slash the beast across some of its tentacles, causing it to bleed heavily from the strike.
The Southern Darkmantle then makes another leap at Sabrina
It however also seems to catch sight of Belg, and recoils a bit, causing it's attempted slam to go far wide of Sabrina.
Eldric's precision arrows slam into the Darkmantle hard, the first shot critically wounding it and the second finishing it off as it flies back limply through the air, its corpse hitting the ground a few dozen feet east of the party.
Edmund starts to relax and is about to make a comment when he sees the other creature. Cursing himself for not perceiving the second threat. He immediately starts to cast another spell. His spell selection is limited but this spell is one he has cast so often that it seems to never leave his memory. His fingers move with practiced ease and his voice is calm even in the face of danger. The threat was to great not to act.
شعاع من الصقيع
To many people in combat as his spell goes way of target....
Books tell you how to do things but actually doing them is harder than reading about them
Sabrina steps to the side to keep both enemies in her sights (avoiding her being flanked, and try to gain a flank attack for her)
[dice=claíomh solais]1d20+6+2
[dice=damage]1d8+3
Sabrina attempts to swing at the northern Darkmantle, but Eldric's arrows pierce it before she can get the blow off. She instead twists and tries to swing at the other one, but her blade slices barely over it's head.
With his free hand, Belg picked up a handful of dirt. He squeezed it tightly, trying to keep as much of it as he could from running through his fingers. He took aim and threw it towards the remaining cave octopus, but the dirt was too loose-packed and did not form the way it should have. As it left his hand, it scattered into a fine mist and dissipated harmlessly.
"Hmmpphhh. Needed more spit" he grumbled.
Griffith unleashes another blast of his soul-fire at the sole remaining Darkmantle:
The holy flame burns unusually bright this time, lighting up the entire cavern, but the darkmantle manages to duck out of the way of most of this blast as well.
Meanwhile, Aravashnial finishes his arcane chant, and a pair of amorphous, multicolored blobs begin to form out of the air around the Darkmantle, pulsing and churning before eventually solidifying into a pair of brightly glowing golden Eagles, who begin to swoop down at the Darkmantle:
Between the two of them, they managed to get off 3 hits, clawing at and biting the remaining creature with their golden wings, and seem to have seriously hurt it. "I do hope this is sufficient, as I'm rather certain I will not be able to prepare additional spells for the immediate future."
Horgus meanwhile is still hiding behind a rock near the back of the party.
"I believe so, Aravashnial. Your, uh, eagles seem to be handling things. Horgus, are you ok? Nothing behind us?"
She gestures behind them and peers that way raising her light, but somewhat blinding herself in the process.
"I'm afraid I can't see past my own light that way, so we're counting on you sir."
"Holy fire. Summoned eagles. Magical frost. It seems like we are going to be alright. Let's push onward."
"I believe so, Aravashnial. Your, uh, eagles seem to be handling things. Horgus, are you ok? Nothing behind us?"
She gestures behind them and peers that way raising her light, but somewhat blinding herself in the process.
"I'm afraid I can't see past my own light that way, so we're counting on you sir."
"Oh um, yes, watching the rear, no danger here. Let me know when it is safe to move forward"
Anevia, seeing Eldric pierce the Darkmantle twice in a single volley, took a deep breath, and picked up her bow again. Focus, after all is the key, line your shot, predict the movement, wait for the right moment, and STRIKE!
With a single shot, Anevia nailed the creature directly in the eye, and sent it spiraling towards the ground, where it twitched for a few seconds before slowly coming to a halt.
"Well, that takes care of that. Hopefully we won't have any more surprises like that until we--"Anevia was cutoff by a sudden, low, dwarvish voice coming from further down the tunnel. "Coming--Coming, they're coming--they're finally coming, coming to get me--get me and take me back--can't go back--won't go back--coming coming coming!" The voice gets more panicked and frantic as it goes on.