Bow to me?
Azulth continues to stare in wonder and bemusement at the creatures before him. "Huh. No, this isn't that strange, but it's weird..." He swings his scimitar absently through the air and calls out to his allies below. "Hey guys, I've got a few up here! Not sure what's going on... No, I'm getting there--they're, uh, bowing, looks like."
Alton notes the position of the final gremlin in his mind and sends forth two bolts of arcane power
Azulth continues to stand by, sword in hand, wondering what's going on. "Yeah, I hope somebody shows up soon, too... No, probably not, she's outside with the horses."
"I'm just glad to be done with those little bastards. So very annoying."
"Yes, I know what you mean." The halfling states agreeing with Arasmes. He grabs a chunk of wood and begins to move the debris into one corner.
"You look to be gathering material to start a fire." Arasmes says to the little halfling.
Seeing the others, Arasmes asks, "So, what's next? All these little gremlins made me forget why I am even here, I became so angry."
"I believe primary rationale was in taking a proactive approach to the gremlin threat by killing them at the source, which we have done so"
"Hmm, in that case, I guess we had better search the place to ensure there are none left."
"Just cleaning up to have access to the forge and kitchen. Sounds good to me, would you mind if I joined you fellows? If not I could just become a chef and weapon smith here!" Baris says simply explaining his actions, then he gets excited hoping they accept him, if not he spins it and goes back to cleaning to make the room serviceable.
Soon enough Baris has the place spotless, he encourages the Magmin to burn the debris and refuge. With a few tools he has a roaring fire in the oven and the forge. He begins to organize what was salvageable. "More things to burn would be great to keep the fires going but material to make some items would be best. Any metal or such that you stumble upon I would be grateful for."
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Azulth the gremlins finish bowing, but stay face down either kneeling or lying flat on the ground. They keep chanting something.
You know the floor is not stable for you but you could move around using the beams to get to the throne. Some of them get up and collect the weapons and put them in a pile next to the throne. You recognize them as fighting with the really ugly and biggest pugwampi against you.
"Yeah, I'm sick of waiting, too. Let's check that chair out." Azulth nimbly leaps and balances along the beams to reach the throne.
Arasmes looks around room to room to ensure there are no more threats.
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No more threats as the Magmin goes and enjoys the flames of the forge for the group on the first floor.
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Azulth makes it to the crude throne and sees that the dead pugwampi have been stripped and moved away. Now all their items including all the weapons of the living pugwampi sit next to the throne. They circle around you with misshapen grins of broken teeth.
Arasmes will patrol the entire temple checking every room looking for threats.
Azulth shrugs. "Well, I guess it's what they want." Still with his sword in hand, he flops down into the throne. "So... What do you guys want?...Yeesh, their teeth are creeping me out..."
"We could report back objective complete," he says neutrally
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Arasmes and Alton begin to search the temple room by room looking for threats leaving the halfling to his own devices.
Azulth not for sure if they want to eat him or serve him waits on the pugwampis to act. The larger, or at least well fed four approach him pulling out a weapon from the pile. They hand you them handle first then one of them points to the four of them. They wait for you to hand the obviously magical small warhammer. It has blood still dripping from its previous owner, though it glows white just shimmering as Azulth grabs it.
"Sure, what could go wrong?" Azulth mutters to himself as he grabs the hammer. "Sure has been a weird day. That nice pretty lady smiled at us, though. That was neat."
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The most outspoken of the four once again points at the hammer then points to himself and the other three.
Meanwhile...
A17
Three long wooden tables and dozens of chairs that once lined this mess hall are in shambles, mostly rotted away with the passage of years. Light shines through several large holes in the ceiling, illuminating a closed door on the east wall.
A18
Ten bunk beds in various stages of disrepair fill this chamber, which must once have been a dormitory for students. The roof is mostly intact, and an open arch in the north wall leads to a large hallway. The east and west walls both bear sturdy wooden doors leading to other rooms, and an open arch in the southeast corner of the room leads into a darkened antechamber, perhaps a large closet.
The door in the eastern wall is unlocked but is not easily opened.
The small room off the southeastern wall is the lowest (and now only) chamber in what was once a 40-foot-tall tower. All of the wooden floors and the old ladder that used to comprise the tower jumble the floor here in a collapsed mess. The roof of the tower fell years ago, leaving it open to the sky.
A15
Five austere beds line the north wall of this humble office and living quarters. A dented metal chest rests at the foot of each bed, and a simple mosaic pattern of red and orange glass chips brings some color to the wall. A layer of grime and filth coats many of the surfaces in this small room, and the redolent stench of dirty fur hangs heavy in the air. This was obviously where the baboons lived.
A14
A sagging wooden balcony overlooks this large room, which must once have been the monastery’s library. An overpowering odor of musty, rotting paper and old leather fills the air here, and hundreds of books—most too damaged even to open without destroying them—litter the floors. Empty bookshelves line the walls of both levels.
A5
The eastern cloister walk abuts what must be the outer wall of the monastery itself. The lengthy wall bears a marred sculpture depicting the five figures from the north cloister mural in battle against numerous creatures of evil demeanor. Several of the creatures appear to be composed at least partly of fire, while others are much more difficult to define, being outright monsters of unknown origin or unusual warriors with weapons bonded into their flesh like organic tools. In the background Pale Mountain looms large, and over it two titanic figures lock in a deadly wrestler’s embrace. One has the demoniac visage of a noble efreeti, while the other is a gorgeous woman who could only be a djinni princess. Opposite the sculpted wall, a series of open arches leads out into an open-air courtyard.
sculpture depicts the great wars of genie vs. genie that
cast the Pale Mountain region into chaos hundreds of
years ago.
A6
An open arch along the southern wall at the eastern end of the corridor leads off into darkness, while a series of archways lines the north wall, looking in on the monastery’s massively overgrown courtyard. The southern wall bears a bas-relief sculpture in the form of a triptych. In the first scene, a heroic looking bearded figure takes leave of four similarly attired companions, who rise off into the heavens, leaving him to stand vigil over the large mountain in the background. The next scene depicts the bearded figure in battle with a flaming half man, half snake creature wielding a spear. The fire spirit transfixes the bearded hero with the spear, seemingly striking a killing blow. In the final scene, the hero appears twice—once on the ground with a wound in his back and once standing over this form, looking down upon it sadly.
A7
The outer wall of the west cloister passage bears a massive carving. The central figure—the heroic man with the pointed beard—preaches to a variety of human clerics from throughout the long history of the monastery. The first image depicts the figure manifesting in a spiritual manner to a small group of pilgrims of Sarenrae. Another shows the figure conversing with a man in religious finery while the monastery itself is being constructed in the background. Thereafter follows a procession of similar poses, each depicting a visit by the bearded man and the leader of each era of the temple. The depictions of these clerics often also bear an identifying inscription, complete with dates that span the last several hundred years. The most recent carving is from thirty years ago, and while ample room remains for additional carvings on the west wall, the last thirty feet or so are completely blank.
Two open arches on opposite ends of the west wall lead out into
the ruined nave.
The bas-relief here has suffered the most damage of any along the cloister walk. In particular the clerics of Sarenrae have been particularly ill-treated, with some of their names and the dates of their reign completely pried away or scratched into oblivion. Their physical forms bear other obvious sings of abuse, with a few gouges in faces and chests that clearly seem to have been created with strong intent to vandalize. These defacements are tangible reminders of the battle with Kelmarane’s twisted cult of Sarenrae that finally brought the monastery to ruin 2 decades ago.
A4
A sweeping bas-relief sculpture along the north wall depicts five bearded, larger-than-life humans riding the wind with triumph carved upon their faces. Though some of their arms and hands are missing, each is clearly meant to wield a distinctive weapon. One of the five warriors holds a large axe, while another holds a fragment of what must once have been a regal staff. In the distance, an ominous mountain looms over the quintet. East of the wall decoration, two open arches lead into small rooms off the north wall. The south wall is little more than a series of open arches that look out into an open-air courtyard.
from left to right, Kardswann, Pazhvann, Vardishal, Zayifid, and Davashuum. The latter wields the broken staff, while Kardswann wields the strange axe.
No other weapons can be seen on the other damaged statues. Any PC who viewed the bas-reliefs in areas A1a or A1b recognizes Vardishal as
the same figure depicted there.
A8
Huge branches and overgrown weeds clog the central openair courtyard of the monastery’s cloister walk. In better times, the monastic priests would have contemplated the open space while circling the cloister, but today it is barely possible to see a few feet into the tangled mess, let alone all the way to the opposite cloister walk. Here and there the brush thins out enough that a dedicated explorer might be able to create a sort of passage, but mostly it is an impassable mess.
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A9
This small antechamber was a place for reflection before the monks gathered in the chapter house at area A10. Carvings of religious significance to the cult of Sarenrae line the walls, but none seem to involve Vardishal or help in any way to lessen the mystery of the abandoned monastery.
A12
The brightly painted walls of this small chapel, probably meant for personal prayer and reflection, stand out as unusually garish for the otherwise reserved architecture notable elsewhere in the monastery. On the walls, numerous rectangular wooden plates traced in gold filigree depict a strapping warrior battling creatures of fire, riding a chariot on the wind, and engaging in other acts of noble heroism. It is the same figure depicted elsewhere in the monastery, but the sheer number of images here suggest that this shrine was especially important to the clerics who honored him as a saint of Sarenrae. Perhaps a quarter of the gold plates have been pried away or hacked apart by long-absent vandals.
Opposite the door, dominating a section of the north wall, stands a man-sized statue of the warrior, its face marred by what look like numerous blows from an axe. The statue holds both hands in front of him, bent at the elbow, palms up, as if expecting an offering. Several deep rents from similar axe blows make it clear that someone tried to hack the arms from the statue decades ago, but was unable to do so.
A10
This austere octagonal chamber has a tall roof and an aerie of leering gargoyles perched atop each point where a wall meets another wall. An unholy stench of rotting meat, dried blood, and animal excrement hangs heavy in the air, no doubt from the fine crust of gore, animal carcasses, matted leaves, and guano covering the floor.
coins, a chime of opening with four charges remaining, and a
fine silver bowl worth 75 gp.
A half dozen insectoid creatures swoop down upon Arasmes and Alton, each of them have two pairs of bat wings, a tangle of thin legs, and a needle-sharp proboscis.
Stirges
Alton
Arasmes
Action!!!
Alton frowns pulling inside himself to call out some of his arcane fires to extirminate as many of the beasts as possible
"Hey, nothing bad's happened yet. Why not?" Azulth shrugs and pushes the hammer against the big creature's chest, wondering if that's what the thing wants, or if it actually wants to be beaten.
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The pugwampi gets pushed back by Azulth. He smiles and dances in a circle, he comes back and grabs onto the hammer, obviously waiting for you to let go. Another of the four goes over and collects a small longsword and offers it to Azulth handle first. Another nice weapon.
_______
Alton fires off fire from his hand making the creature turn into ash.
With the prescence of arcane magic the floor looks to absorb the extra power and a design of red light emerges on the floor.
Arasmes adopts snake style stance and takes the total defense action, waiting for them to attack.
Azulth lets go of the hammer and takes the sword. If the pugwampi again motions for him to touch it with the weapon, he does so. "This is really weird."
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Round 1
Alton now stands in the middle of the room, lets loose his burst of fire turning three of them into ash.
Arasmes stays at the door and prepares to defend himself.
The bat winged beasts charge at the one who destroyed their brethren. They all hit and with their multitude of barbed feet and proboscis they latch onto Alton. He loses 4 con as they drink his blood.
touch attack
touch attack
touch attack
touch attack
Round 2
Heroes go!
AC 27, touch 20
Seeing three more flying creatures dive at him Alton starts to think he may not have made the best decision
He fires off a small ray of ice at the charging monstrosities, keeping his sword ion the guarded position as he steps back 5ft, but the creature manages to swerve out of the way, and two of them strike his skin and drink his blood weakening him, he retaliates against it flanking with his invisible imp
Alton in turn tries to remove one of creatures himself slicing it in two
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Surprise round, Alton moves into the room seeing the creatures before they see him.
Round 2
Arasmes waits for the moment when one of them charges him, but he estimates to late and misses the small creature entirely.
Alton slices one of them off of him, though its legs are still stuck in his flesh. The other two continue to drink, 2 more con damage (now a total of 5), gorging themselves on Alton's blood. The other one decides to find a different target and goes after Arasmes.
touch attack vs. Arasmes.
The creature darts at him with full force, slamming through his defenses and embedding its legs into his left arm. It's proboscis enters near the neck and begins to feed on his blood, 1 con damage.
Off to the right something begins to take form out of the bones and sinew left from the small creatures' diets. It looks to be reptilian in form with a mouth full of teeth.
Round 3
Heroes Go!
Round 2
Arasmes gets an immediate action Sense Motive check to use as his AC versus the attack due to Snake Style
still got hit :(
Round 3:
AC 27, touch 20
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Azulth
The pugwampi that got the warhammer collects other weapons and has Azulth distribute them out. Once that is done the pugwampi scatter about the room now armed. The pugwampi with the warhammer and his fellow three biggen's stay next to Azulth almost as if protecting you, standing at guard.
_____________
Round 3
Arasmes you hit the sucker on your arm, though your hand does not seem to do much damage to the creature. One of its wings has been broken but it keeps sucking.
The imp once again strikes out with it's poisonous tail giving Alton an opportunity to slice with his magic sword
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Round 3
Alton slashes off another of the blood suckers. Now only one bloodsucker each continues to drink. The one on Alton is rather bulbous with his blood.
The runes and lines of glowing red light diminish, but the creature has been fully formed. It charges Alton but is not able to clamp down its serrated teeth on Alton's flesh. Instead where the mouth hit leaves behind acid to burn through his clothing to his flesh.
if hit then grab
Another con damage for each of you. Now Arasmes has 2 con and Alton has 6 con.
Round 4
Heroes go!
Azulth shrugs and leans over in the throne, trying to get as comfortable as possible with his scimitar still in hand. "I mean, let's see where this goes. Maybe Razzy'll come on up, we can set up shop here. Wonder if this makes us a prince, huh? That'd be cool."
Alton slices off at the remaining leach monster, figuring that fightin an unknown creature while getting his blood drained by a leach was a bad idea he keeps his guard up as he does so slicing it in twain, he nearly falls over at the head rush from the blood loss he shouts out to his imp "Rekhit, my wand... Use my wand" Rekhit grabs the wand of lesser restoration on his belt to heal his master of his blood loss
Round 4:
AC 27, touch 20
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With Azulth taking a lazy attitude he will stay in his throne waiting for the others. ;)
Round 4
The flying leeches have been taken care of and now an abomination stands to take down Alton. It bites into Alton's leg leaving a large wound and trips him to the floor.
if hit then grab
Round 5
Heroes go!
Round 5:
vs the creature on Alton, gave myself flanking if possible
AC 27, touch 20
Cold and icy black blood sprays from the wound felt by the creature