Sekathral draws his rapier and picks up one of the rings with the point, sliding it down the blade so he can examine it.
Linah ventures forward and brushes some of the rings aside with her scimitar. If nothing out of the ordinary happens she will continue towards the staircase, and peer down should she get that far.
You think the ring is carved with mystical Olman symbols used for divinations, though it doesn't seem to be magical in and of itself.
Linah, it looks like the stairs lead to another chamber deeper in the temple complex.
Kyson examines one of the rings, putting one in his pocket.
Know (Arcana) w/Detect Magic for auras around as well.
Know (Religion) - religious significance to rings?
"I don't think it's magical. I think we're fine to continue on."
** spoiler omitted **
Linah, it looks like the stairs lead to another chamber deeper in the temple complex.
Linah waits for the rest of the group to gather before taking the lead down the stairs. "Do you have a guess what the rings are for?"
"Do you have a guess what the rings are for?"
Khaz catches up with the others, stepping carefully around the rings.
"Nope. Not a clue. Let's just keep going."
"Do you have a guess what the rings are for?"Khaz catches up with the others, stepping carefully around the rings.
[dice=knowl arcana]1d20+11
"Nope. Not a clue. Let's just keep going."
"And I certainly don't ****ing know if you lot don't. B*ll*cks to 'em. If they want to make a load of ****ing rings and throw 'em on the ****ing floor, I don't ****ing care. What a place, I ask you"
Sekathral glares down the corridor, half-hoping for something to take his bad temper out on.
Kyson follows Sekathral, still walking on sunshine air. He doesn't mind the elf's cussing as much any more.
Life-sized clay statues of ancient Olman warriors armed with spears stand at the four corners of the landing as you descend the stairs. The warriors wear high helmets and feathered shields, though the tips of the spears, the feathers and other details have crumbled to dust and fallen off. The room reeks with the stench of rotting fish.
"While I do not care for the stench the statues are rather uplifting, are they not?" Linah says trying to sound cheery. "I would rather avoid the flooded chamber for now, if that is all right with you."
"Yeah. Might as well go the other way"
Since the rest of you buggers hate getting your feet wet so much
The passage leads to another square room; sitting near the walls are 18 3-foot-tall urns. Leaning on the south wall are two long-handled fishing nets, harpoons and prying bars.
The urns contain various tools, for the most part, though some half of them contain some particularly foul-smelling fluid, shuddering read mud or twitching headless insects with too many legs.
You think the insect creatures are Abyssal in nature.
As in the last room, stairs lead down toward a watery cavern.
Know (Planes)
Kyson gulps and quickly prepares a bag of fire seeds.
"Insect things. I don't like them. I'm pretty sure," Kyson worries while he keeps in treading in the air.
Perception
"What now? If we wanted we could barricade this entire temple, sealing the evil within. Maybe. Or maybe just this room."
"Me neither, mate. Still, they ain't going anywhere."
I hope
"Lead on, skipper"
Khazmia shudders at the bugs, then heads in the direction Zstelian points out.
You descend the stairs to find a large natural cavern. The floor of the cave is hidden by shallow water and hundreds of oysters of various sizes cling to the rock formations near the cave walls. Six of these mollusks have grown enormous, nearly five feet across with black and red striped shells covered with curved hooks and twisted horns.
"What do you find in oysters, mates?", asks Sekathral, rhetorically.
"Anyone want to help me blow one open?"
He walks over to one of the giant oysters, cocking his pistol.
Kyson waits, still air walking and keeping an eye out, while Seka goes into the pool of certain doom hunting oysters.
"Be careful in there, Seka! Might step on some sharp coral!"
Khazmia flies cautiously nearby, ready to try to help Seka should the fickle water turn on him. "Sure, I'll help. Just say the word..." Khazmia readies a magic missile should one be needed.
"W-why?" Linah starts and follows the pirate closely. "What good will it do? Just look at those horns!"
Sekathral makes it safely to the oyster, which has no reaction as far as any of you can tell.
Kyson wait well above the water, continuing to keep watch while Seka oysters.
Sekathral attempts to open the oyster.
"This'd go well with a barrel full of stout, ha ha"
Sekathral's attempt to open the oyster is a dismal failure as it easily resists his attempts. Worse, though, it lets out a bloodcurdling shriek that's likely able to be heard throughout the region, especially because it echoes through the cavern.
Kyson covers his ears and keeps his eye out for trouble.
"It's really too bad we can't call upon Sarenrae to destroy this place from the sun. It's the only way to be sure," Kyson mentions.
"B%*#&*#s!"
Sekathral abandons his attempt to prise the oyster open and retreats.
"Let's get out of here"
Khazmia holds her ears and retreats with the others.
You quickly retreat back to the earlier chamber and descend the stairs again to another chamber flooded with murky, rancid-smelling water. The bas-relief figure of a feathered serpent is carved as a single frieze that runs on the walls of the chamber near the ceiling.
Linah, Sekathral and Zstelian all notice that the floor appears to be fairly lower than the base of the stairs, preventing anyone from falling into the water unexpectedly.
Two opening on the far wall to the west lead deeper into the area.
Khazmia:
Kyson:
Linah:
Sekathral:
Zstelian:
Linah follows close behind and lends light from the soft glow of her scimitar. Now and again she extends her hand searching for the tell tale prickly and foul sense of evil.
Sekathral pads along leftily, pistols out and ears a-quiver.
Khazmia nudges Kyson to keep him up with the others.
Zstelian slips into the foul water and starts stroking forward, as Kyson -- walking in the air above -- offers encouragement.
"That's great, Zstelian, you look just like a dog. Keep your head out of AAAHH --" he lets out a sudden squawk as Kayle zips past his head.
"I think your bird just tried to attack AHHH" he's interrupted again, this time as the water roils, the old Varisian suddenly under attack!
Three creatures emerge from the water, their armored flesh scaly and moist. Each's large, toothy mouth gapes below a pair of hungry, reptilian eyes.
They're hezrou demons.
One lurches at Zstelian, but the big man has just enough time to react and avoid its chomping teeth.
The other two stick their heads out from under water, one uttering a word so foul it makes you ill . The other gestures and a cold, cloying greasy miasma of darkness descends over all but Kyson and Zstelian .
Khazmia:
Kyson:
Linah:
Sekathral:
Zstelian:
Antagonist:
Round 1, init 7
"Just what we ****ing well needed. Stitch this, goggleyes, whatever the **** you are"
Sekathral fires off all four barrels at the nearest fish-beast
Round 1, Init 21
Will vs. daze
Know (Planes)
"Oh holy piddlespot! Hezrous!" Kyson utters, wishing he knew more about them. "I'm mostly sure they are demons and definitely sure they are jerks."
Kyson moves away from the herzou (up and away from their reach) and casts Blessing of Fervor.
Blessing:Each round for the duration of this spell, each of your allies can choose one of the following bonuses for that round at the beginning of its turn (their choice).
*Increase its speed by 30 feet.
*Stand up as a swift action without provoking an attack of opportunity.
*Make one extra attack as part of a full attack action, using its highest base attack bonus.
*Gain a +2 bonus on attack rolls and a +2 dodge bonus to AC and Reflex saves.
*Cast a single spell of 2nd level or lower as if it were an enlarged, extended, silent, or still spell.
AC: 21 (4 armor, 3 dex, 4 shield)
HP: 109/109 +7 temp
Light the Candle 0/9 used
Channel (6d6) 0/5 used
Heroism 0/12 rounds used
Righteous Might 0/12
Rod Extend 0/3 used
Rod Reach 0/3 used
Wand CLW 3/50 used
Left hand: Shield
Right hand: nothing
[ dice]1d20+11+2[/dice] touch hit;
[ dice]1d6+5[/dice] fire damage.
Spells:
Delay Poison (13 hours)
Heroes Feast (13 hours)
Ext Air Walk (260 minutes)
Round 1, Init 5
Assuming Khazmia can see the nasty darkness affecting her friends... she casts unholy brightness to negate it, moving if necessary.
Bloodline Spell-Like Abilities (CL 13th; concentration +20)
. . used 0/10/day—acidic ray (1d6+8 acid)
Sorcerer Spells Known (CL 13th; concentration +20)
. . 6th (used 0/ 5/day)—disintegrate (DC 23), sirocco[APG] (DC 23), veil (DC 23)
. . 5th (used 1/ 7/day)—baleful polymorph (DC 22), feeblemind (DC 22), overland flight, teleport
. . 4th (used 2/ 7/day)—ball lightning[APG] (DC 21), bestow curse (DC 21), black tentacles, enervation, greater invisibility, unbearable brightness[ACG] (DC 21)
. . 3rd (used 1/ 8/day)—dispel magic, fly, heroism, lightning bolt (DC 20), tongues
. . 2nd (used 0/ 8/day)—burst of radiance (DC 19), create pit[APG] (DC 19), false life, scorching ray, see invisibility, touch of idiocy
. . 1st (used 3/ 8/day)—color spray (DC 18), corrosive touch[UM], enlarge person (DC 18), expeditious retreat, magic missile, touch of gracelessness[APG] (DC 18)
. . 0 (at will)—acid splash, breeze[UM], detect magic, ghost sound (DC 17), haunted fey aspect[UC], mage hand, prestidigitation, ray of frost, read magic
Linah powers through the despicable magic of the demons and engages the closest demon and slashes with her scimitar.
Kyson: 21
Zstelian: 15
Linah: 10
Sekathral: 7
Khazmia: 5
Antagonist: 22
Kyson climbs up farther, until he's sure he's away from the demons, and calls on his goddess, whose touch each of you feel in a burst of fervor.
Zstelian, still dazed by the foul word of the one demon, can do nothing but try to collect himself as his companions move into action: Linah dives into the water, but the dessert dweller's lack of familiarity with the medium shows, and she can't make any headway toward the demon.
Khazmia casts a spell and fires a black ray toward the nearest demon, the beam washing over it as it twitches. Sekathral blasts it with both barrels, but the bullets seem to bounce off the creature's hide with no apparent effect .
The demons continue their attack, one going after Zstelian and another after Linah. The paladin avoids the worst of it as she struggles in the water, but a claw rakes across the old ranger, pulling him into a tight embrace, and the noxious ooze on the demon threatens to make him ill. .
The third gestures toward Kyson, and a miasma surrounds him for a moment, its unholy touch burning the young cleric.
H1:
H2:
H3: 1 negative level
Round 1, Init 21
Will vs. bad touching
Kyson maintains his distance from the hezrous as he airtromps 15' back to the middle of the party.
He holds his holy symbol and prays.
Are you there, Sarenrae? It's me, Kyson. I need you.
healing, excluding baddies
Blessing:Each round for the duration of this spell, each of your allies can choose one of the following bonuses for that round at the beginning of its turn (their choice).
*Increase its speed by 30 feet.
*Stand up as a swift action without provoking an attack of opportunity.
*Make one extra attack as part of a full attack action, using its highest base attack bonus.
*Gain a +2 bonus on attack rolls and a +2 dodge bonus to AC and Reflex saves.
*Cast a single spell of 2nd level or lower as if it were an enlarged, extended, silent, or still spell.
AC: 21 (4 armor, 3 dex, 4 shield)
HP: 101/109 temp
Light the Candle 0/9 used
Channel (7d6) 1/5 used
Heroism 0/12 rounds used
Righteous Might 0/12
Rod Extend 0/3 used
Rod Reach 0/3 used
Wand CLW 3/50 used
Left hand: Shield
Right hand: nothing
[ dice]1d20+11+2[/dice] touch hit;
[ dice]1d6+5[/dice] fire damage.
Spells:
Delay Poison (13 hours)
Heroes Feast (13 hours)
Ext Air Walk (260 minutes)