Hearing spellcasting, Kyson swivels his head around to the casters, trying to determine the greater threat.
Spellcraft vs. DC15+spell level to ID
Spellcraft vs. DC15+spell level to ID
Round 2, Init 17
Kyson move to fire at one of the more wounded trogs fighting Zstelian.
touch to hit (combat);
damage.
AC: 21 (4 armor, 3 dex, 4 shield)
HP: 80/80
Delay Poison: 20 hours
Light the Candle 3/9 used
Channel (6d6) 0/5 used
Heroism 0/11 rounds used
Rod Extend 1/3 used
Rod Reach 0/3 used
Wand CLW 3/50 used
Left hand: Shield
Right hand: empty
Round 3, Init 14
Khazmia, seeing the new threats, thrusts her power out in their direction in a blinding blast of her goddess's light.
Linah runs over to Zstelian to relieve the ranger of all claws and teeth. She slashes at one of the troglodytes that stands behind Zstelian.
Sekathral moves up to the trog north of Zstelian, housing his pistol, drawing his rapier and jabbing at the ranger's opponent
Kyson: 17
Linah: 22
Zstelian: 22
Sekathral: 16
Khazmia: 14
Antagonist: 19
Kyson's fireball hits one of the trogs, follows moments later by Linah's charging blade, which cuts deep into its chest. Zstelian finishes it off and spins to the next in line, opening up more wounds, though Kayle's claws find no similar purchase in its diseased flesh.
Ducking under a claw, Sekathral engages yet another trog, which growls in pain.
Khazmia's spell flashes in the darkness, and two of the troglodytes howl as they try to regain their sight.
The trogs continue their assault, two of them continuing to concentrate on Zstelian -- who suffers a claw that finds its way through his armor -- and one on Sekathral, who also suffers a claw wound.
T7: 18
T8:
T9: 35
T11: 15, blind 2 rounds
T12: 26, blind 2 rounds
Linah focuses on the troglodyte in front of her striking a vicious blow.
Sekathral shrugs off the flesh wound, riposting nimbly.
Round 3, Init 17
Kyson fires at one of the trogs on the side, not in combat.
touch to hit (bless, combat);
damage.
AC: 21 (4 armor, 3 dex, 4 shield)
HP: 80/80
Delay Poison: 20 hours
Light the Candle 4/9 used
Channel (6d6) 0/5 used
Heroism 0/11 rounds used
Rod Extend 1/3 used
Rod Reach 0/3 used
Wand CLW 3/50 used
Left hand: Shield
Right hand: empty
Khazmia closes in on the blinded trogs. "Put down your weapons and you don't have to die." She says, in their native tongue.
Kyson: 17
Linah: 22
Zstelian: 22
Sekathral: 16
Khazmia: 14
Antagonist: 19
Linah strikes down one of the troglodytes, leaving two for Zstelian and Sekathral to focus on. The pair quickly dispatch them and Kyson and Khazmia blast another trog, killing it, when they refuse to surrender.
The final trog, still blinded, resolutely refuses to surrender and you find yourself with no option but to kill it.
When combat is over, Kyson casts Detect Magic and walks around the dead, looking for those who might still be alive, magic, and things of interest.
"Heal yourselves. I suspect there might be more ahead."
Kyson takes special care with the priest, destroying whatever holy symbol it might have had.
Each of the 12 trogs have a set of bracers+1. You also find 22 poultices among the bodies, though those aren't magical.
You also find in the remaining mud and stone huts several seemingly unconscious elderly troglodytes on leafy pallets. They don't respond to your presence.
The room also contains a troglodyte skin partially filled with shiny rocks, hunks of glass, bits of metal and chips of gold and silver worth about 450 gp in total. There's also dozens of vials of a strange bluish liquid that doesn't radiate magic.
Finally, the way deeper into the island, per Irgzid, is a deep crevice yawning in the stone, dropping away into the inky dark below. A rickety wooden lift descends into the darkness, raised and lowered by a primitive pulley system of frayed ropes.
"Be careful," the troglodyte sadly warns. "The lift can only hold one person at a time."
Kyson checks out the poultices, sniffing and taking one of the bags apart.
Heal Check
"These are weird. What are they for?"
* * *
At the lift, Kyson indicates that he can airwalk down on his own. He would offer to carry another, but doesn't have the strength to do that.
Zstelian finishes off any trogs clinging to life and then wipes his blades clean.
While radiating her usual commited resolve Linah looks around the scene of the battle with sadness in her eyes. "Such a waste. Yet I fear that Laogzed will have no trouble recruiting followers."
She says a prayer and then returns to the cages. "We need to get this man back to the ship. This cave is not safe for him"
Zstelian finishes off any trogs clinging to life and then wipes his blades clean.
While radiating her usual commited resolve Linah looks around the scene of the battle with sadness in her eyes. "Such a waste. Yet I fear that Laogzed will have no trouble recruiting followers."
She says a prayer and then returns to the cages. "We need to get this man back to the ship. This cave is not safe for him"
Sekathral nods his head at Linah's first comment. "Laogzed's all around them", he says, indicating the trogs with a wave of his hand, "And so the feeling grows. Tell you what", he remarks to their axcompanying trogdolyte, "You go first, cully"
Kyson continues to examine the poultices.
You believe their some sort of medicine, likely to treat whatever disease the troglodytes were infected with.
Kyson looks at the poulstices for a bit longer, unsure how they might be used.
"Well, this might help with him, Linah, but not that answers your question. Yes, by Sarenrae's teaching, you are right. We are to shine the path with our deeds, no matter how much that may affect our plans," Kyson says.
With Linah's help, Kyson will help take the man (as quickly as possible), back to the ship.
"I'm sure nothing bad will come from leaving them unattended on the ship. Meanwhile, I have these slippers, should anyone care to test their magic. They will allow you to walk your way down the shaft rather than riding on the elevator. I can fly down, I should think."
The trip takes some four hours before Linah and Kyson return, the Olman safely esconced on the ship. Though there's no sun down here, all but Sekathral can feel fatigue weighing at them as you realize it's well into night time above ground.
The night seems longer than it will, the stink of the caves filling your noses, but passes without event.
Kyson uses his pearl 4 to recover Air Walk, and recast it with extend.
"Well, Linah...are we ready to go down now? Who has the slippers? I assume that Khaz and I will fly down with the lift, one of us will needt stay behind. Unless there is a solution that I'm missing?" Kyson asks.
"In theory, we control the lift now though. Which means we could rest here if we wanted, keeping guard on the one way in and out. I could call upon Sarenrae's power in the morning to move the stone by hand, and like with the stony walls I created on the beaches of Farshore, I could stone this entire lift over," Kyson offers.
"Of course, there is no guarantee that that would really stop everything. I'm just offering ideas."
"Good idea, providing we can still ****ing well breathe once you wall it over, mate", puts in Sekathral.
"Good idea, providing we can still ****ing well breathe once you wall it over, mate", puts in Sekathral.
Kyson looks at Seka, then shakes his head.
"Uh...no. I...uh...I...you misunderstand Seka. I was talking about sealing it over from out here. I was talking about sealing it over good and just moving on," Kyson explains.
"We should be able to breathe fine out here."
Linah scans the vast cave and ends back at the dark opening on the floor. "It is not a bad idea, Kyson, but can we be sure that there is not another way out of there? Also, what if there is more prisoners down there. I do not like it but we might not have another choice than to go down. Kyson, would you be able to use your powers to build a stairway to the bottom? Otherwise I can go first down the elevator. One of us should be enchanted with flight to be able to follow once everyone else is down."
Despite the foul smell nearby, the evening passes uneventfully and in the morning you make your way down the hole, deeper into the bowels of the island.
The path winds through the darkness, lit by Sarenrae's blessings, until finally you emerge into a chamber a couple miles later. Trickles of water emerge from a crack in the ceiling, splitting into numerous rivulets that roll slowly down stalactites and drip off into the deep, milky pools that dot the floor of this chamber.
In the morning, after his prayers to sun, Kyson prepares to airwalk down the lift. This time his prayers include an ant's strength in case that is needed.
In the morning, Khaz casts overland flight upon herself and offers fly to anyone that might need it. She also casts tongues upon herself so she can continue to converse with the reptile.
"Ok, Irgzid. If you don't mind being tethered, I can gift you with flight as well, at least for a short time. If you're not used to it, it is better if you don't fly alone." and at least tethered, we have a shot of reeling you in if you decide to run.
"Ok, I'll follow Kyson, Irgzid, you stay close by, in case I need to catch help you."
And with that, she is ready to head into the dark.
Sekathral rappels down, bracing himself against the side of the hole.
Linah leads the group forward lighting the way with the soft glow of her scimitar . When the trail opens up into the (vast?) underground chamber she stops and turns to Khazmia. "Khazmia, can you ask Irgzid what this place is and how far we have to go to get to the crystals?"
Irgzid shakes his head at Khazmia's question.
"I can take the lift," he says, not seeming to share any concern the rest of you have. He follows suit, lowering himself by hand with the crude pulley system.
"Be careful," Irgzid warns. "The air in here is not good. We go through very quick, without breathing."
The troglodyte sucks in a lungful of air and holds his breath to show you what he means.
"It is the place of the burning pools. We have far to travel to the pearls. It is several days and nights before we will arrive at Golismorga."
Fort Save
Fort Save
Fort Save
Kyson airwalks down with Linah, taking his time to walk to and fro until he reaches the bottom. His earlier amazement at being able to walk on air no longer completely stuns him, and he contains his marvel.
"That was strangely easy," Kyson quips when the party is at the bottom. "Come now, it seems our journey isn't close to being over. Not even close."
Kyson tromps on.
As Zstelian and Kyson lead the group into the damp, foul-smelling room, they can feel the caustic air burn their nostrils even despite their attempts to hold their breath.
They begin moving forward when suddenly a black, amorphous blob surged forward from the far corner of the room.
It's a black pudding, a scavenger of the underworld.
Khazmia:
Kyson:
Linah:
Sekathral:
Zstelian:
Antagonist: