"What ya think be takin' 'em sa lang?"
Lockjaw paces impatiently, hoping no harm has come to the others.
Chitleen sets his jaw "Not that I know... let us walk with haste... but if battle comes, I will not run"
Karrak and Lockjaw wait under the battlements for their companions to show up above. Meanwhile, Chitleen and Tararr move warily to the door of the barracks. Suddenly, across the courtyard the heavy smithy door flings open in an explosion of smoke and cinders. Through the haze, you see the sooty undead dwarf wrapped in the missing barbed chain. It charges toward you with a rasping sigh like a fanned flame. As the damned dwarf nears, it breathes out a cloud of blinding, burning cinders.
Chitleen
Tararr
Forgespurned
Round 1:
Reflex:
Chitleen answers the chain wrapped dwarf with acid...
Alkahest: for
...though his aim is woeful.
Even though the pair move quietly it is to no avail. Tararr catches the forge dust full in the face again. Echoing the elf's own words, Tararr charges toward the the sound of the chains full of fury.
Tararr charges forward to meet the undead smith still some 20feet away as Chitleen tosses a bomb which slices off to the right missing the melee. The cinders swirl around Chitleen obscuring his target.
Eyes clenched against the swirling cinders, Tararr charges forward swinging and feels his urgrosh hit. Fortunately, the black forge smoke does not persist and immediately wafts away allowing the barbarian to see again. The red hot barbed chains encircling the undead smith whip outward savaging the living dwarf.
Round 2:
Seeing the pain wrought upon the dwarf, Chitleen hopes that his next volley of acidic torment is better aimed. Maneuvering to get a clear throw...
Alkahest: for
...though his second thrown vial is even more innacurate than his first. Chitleen begins to wonder if the Dwarven magic that supposedly removed his curse was actually more nefarious in nature...
Vision clearing just in time to take a blast of chains in the face, Tararr roars and launches his own assault. Attacking the chain realizing he will not survive many more assaults,the dwarf aims for the metallic menace in the foul dwarven hands.
Tararr aims for the burning chain and lands a heavy blow. There is a shrieking sound as several links break and white wisps fly upward. For a moment Tararr thinks he sees bearded faces on the pale things. A moment later, another bomb flies wildly at the combatants. It slices again just over the burning smith's shoulder and explodes spraying outward and causing no harm.
The forge spurned staggers backward shielding its chain from further attack as it retreats back toward the hellish smithy.
Round 3:
Determined to make amends for his pathetic showing thus far, Chitleen hares after the forge spurned to fling another acidic missive...
Alkahest: for
Do we hear anything? Not that it would likely do much good.
Perception:
Standing on the ramp beneath the battlements, Karrak and Lockjaw hear the distant explosions of Chitleen's bombs from somewhere in the armory.
A maniacal smile crosses the dwarf's face when he sees the result of his attack. He follows quickly seeking to finish the job.
Again the dwarf assaults the chain seeking to break the fiends literal bond to this world.
Tararr chases after the fleeing undead and again strikes the chain twisting around the smoking figure as if in pain. The blow hits sending fragments of shattered steel flying and releasing trapped souls once again. Chitleen's vial sails in to explode on target this time.
In the conflagration, the undead dwarf falls turning into a sooty shadow that sinks moaning into the ground and likely to eternal damnation. Only a few broken chain links remain.
Lockjaw looks to Karrak before preparing himself for a climb.
"I gotta rope but na hook."
With that he attempts to scale the wall.
Although he makes it half way, his grip falters and he falls.
Hissing before swearing under his breath in Elvish, Chitleen kicks the broken chain links in disgust. Looking over the acid-singed Tararr, he adds "We should make for the others... they may be wondering."
Tararr grimaces as the dwarf is both vanquished and he takes the same spray of acidic materials. Letting his fury fade, the dwarf shows the wounds a hard won battle. Saying a quick prayer to Torag for thanks and to watch over the souls he has freed, Tararr nods to Chitleen's statement taking up the lead again.
With the forge spurned spirit finally destroyed for eternity, Tararr and Chitleen quickly move through the barracks to the battlements above where they look down to find Lockjaw straining mightily if unsuccessfully to scale the wall. They lower a knotted rope and are finally rejoined by the others. A short time later they have returned to the werebats lair in the vents where Karrak surveys the ruined treasures left behind.
"I hope this stuff is worth something,Karrak. The elf and I almost got whacked by that spirit chain."
Chitleen grunts "Better now than upon us as we slept."
"Da, but will it be back?"
Lockjaw looks on in approval that these two so easily downed the smith a second time, hoping it is the last.
"Well lad, where now?"
Karrak looks over the broken furnishings ruined by the spiteful werebats. There are three paintings torn and smeared, a pair of tall paper and wood screens now ripped and splintered, and a heavy wooden chair ornately carved in arabesque looks like it was hacked at with a heavy blade.
"I am doubting its return a third time, paladin. It had bound souls to its chain and the chain has been destroyed by Torag's will."
Karrak says a quick prayer before looking over the paintings and appraising the items.
Knowledge History with Guidance (+2 more if dwarf-related)
Appraise with Guidance
HP=30/30
Channel Energy 4/4 remaining
Deflection Aura 1/1
Touch of Good 5/6
Level 0 (5/day):
Create Water
Read Magic
Light
Guidance (touch: +1 competence 1 roll)
Detect Magic
Level 1 (4/day + 1 domain):
Prot. from Evil (Domain slot) (touch: 1 min/level, +2 deflection AC, +2 resistance saves; extra bonus against compulsion and evil summoned creatures)
Know the Enemy
Sanctuary
Remove Sickness
Ironbeard
Level 2 (3/day + domain):
Barkskin(Domain slot) (touch. +2 natural armor. 10 min/level)
Make Whole
Summon Monster II
Burst of Radiance
These all look to be works of humans not dwarves. Karrak is uncertain how much the flimsy paintings are worth even is they were restored to their frames and the paint restored. He doesn't think the screens would have much value if restored either. The heavy chair however, is something that seems more familiar. The carving is certainly well executed if only in wood. It is respectable work and he expects it might bring upwards of 1200 gold pieces should it be completely restored.
"This chair is nicely carved; I think the merchants will pay us nicely if we fix it up, maybe a thousand gold. I am not sure about the paintings but rolled up they will be easy to carry. I think that is all of value here. The question is, how to get the chair back out."
Karrak rolls up the paintings and gives the room another search, using Detect Magic, while waiting for the others to weigh in.
Perception
Chitleen shrugs "Sell it to them in situ - let them deal with the question of moving it... we waste time here otherwise"
"Ya lad, fine works be one thang, but we're warriors, ya?"
Lockjaw will eyes the works, willing to carry them back but not keen on being a pack mule for...art.
"I don't want to be a porter either but it's worth gold. Shall we go ahead and move it?" Karrak will help bring the chair to the battlements and arrange a harness to lower it.
CLW on Tarrar.
"Toss it out the window and fix it with yer fancy stick." says the less refined side of the battle scarred dwarf.
Torag certainly holds that all well crafted work should be honored and Karrak follows his God's tenets at least where profit is to be found. There are several hairy moments as the heavy throne-like chair is eased over the catwalks back to the trapdoor leading down from the vents to the battlements. Here the adventurers suddenly realize that the great wooden seat won't fit through the narrow passage down.
"I think we are going to have to use Tarrar's method." Not wanting to desecrate the fine carving, he looks to the rager.
Karrak can't bear to look as the berserker hacks the chair into manageable pieces. The wood is extremely dense and takes a bit of time and effort, but finally it is done. Strapping the heavy arms and legs to their backs, the dwarves move down the ladder and back to the battlements with the elf.
Getting down the knotted rope to the ramp goes smoothly enough and the adventurers move down the ramp to the floor of the Grand Transept. The light from the front of the chamber has receded some as the day grows late. Chitleen's nose wrinkles as an unknown stench seems to linger in the air.
Suddenly a ululating howl rings through the air as three naked pale gnolls charge from the darkness at the back of the great room.
Karrak +2 underground
Lockjaw
Tararr
Foe
Round 1
HP = 44/44
AC = 21/10/21
SR = 9
Weapon Equipped = +1 Adamantine Warhammer
Speed = 20'
Lay on Hands/day = 5/5 (2d6)
Channel/day = 2/2 (2d6)
Smite Evil/day = 2/2 (+2 hit, +4 damage, +2 deflection AC)
Status Effects = None
"The 'ell?"
Lockjaw prepares to hammer the first one in reach.
As the strange gnolls charge forward, the stench gets rapidly worse until it threatens to overwhelm you with a miasma of death and corruption!
Round 1:
Fort:
Choking on the stench Chitleen summons his willpower to soldier on despite it and seeks a means to make the pale gnoll's burn...
Alkahest: for
Religion
Local
Shouldering up to the paladin, Tararr lets the rage fill him.
Though the power is there, the swing feels off balance.
Tararr and Lockjaw move forward standing shoulder to shoulder and presenting a unified wall against the charge of the weird gnolls. They don't look like any variety of gnolls that Karrak's knows. The tall pale humanoids lope forward with their horrible wavering cry and vile stench. One avoids the set spear of Tararr's urgrosh, but Lockjaw's hammer bears down on another.
One reeking gnoll pushes against the urgrosh trying to bite Tararr. The other two focus on Lockjaw. They have no weapons though and snap at him with freakishly sharp teeth which gratefully grate off his heavy armor and shield.
Fortitude save.
Karrak reels from a wave of sickness but stands firm and casts Protection from Evil on Tarrar. He draws his dorn-dergar and moves to block the direct route to Chitleen should the gnolls come around the front rank.
HP=30/30
Channel Energy 4/4 remaining
Deflection Aura 1/1
Touch of Good 5/6
Level 0 (5/day):
Create Water
Read Magic
Light
Guidance (touch: +1 competence 1 roll)
Detect Magic
Level 1 (4/day + 1 domain):
USED Prot. from Evil (Domain slot) (touch: 1 min/level, +2 deflection AC, +2 resistance saves; extra bonus against compulsion and evil summoned creatures)
Know the Enemy
Sanctuary
Remove Sickness
Ironbeard
Level 2 (3/day + domain):
Barkskin(Domain slot) (touch. +2 natural armor. 10 min/level)
Make Whole
Summon Monster II
Burst of Radiance
Round 2
HP = 44/44
AC = 21/10/21
SR = 9
Weapon Equipped = +1 Adamantine Warhammer
Speed = 20'
Lay on Hands/day = 5/5 (2d6)
Channel/day = 2/2 (2d6)
Smite Evil/day = 2/2 (+2 hit, +4 damage, +2 deflection AC)
Status Effects = None
Karrak touches Tararr with a warding sign and then move to defend Chitleen. The elf gags on the stench, but manages a direct hit on one of the stinking gnolls. The alkahest burns violently leaving gaping holes in the undead gnolls. The one maimed by Lockjaw's hammer blow succumbs and collapses to a more natural inert state of death.