Being careful not to touch it, Oloch and Thorgrim valiantly defeat the door (apparently Gorum's favored enemy).
Barley hangs his head over the edge of the bridge and sees a giant pillar supporting the bridge in the center. It is too dark for him to see anything further down.
The group moves past the splinters into a large cavern bisected by a 30-foot-deep chasm. A ratty looking rope bridge crosses the eastern ledge to a western one, which winds down to a hallway 20 feet lower to your left.
Loping across the ground from the bridge are two strange skeletal creatures. They have animal-like bodies with shrunken arms and long tails, and each has two large toothy skulls. Upon seeing your group their mouths open wide.
DC 16 Knowledge Religion:
These are normal skeletal undead, but created from some strange exotic creature. They are likely resistant to all but bludgeoning weapons.
Bodyguard 9 HP: 99/99 | AC 20 | T 13 | FF 18 | Fort +10 | Ref +4 | Will +5 | CMD 26 | Initiative +2 | Perception +13 | Sense Motive +13 | Intimidate +12 | Kn.(Dun.) +12 | Kn.(Nobility) +8 | Climb/Swim +5*
Ondskapning:
HP: 52/52 | AC 31 | T 12 | FF 19 | Fort +8 | Ref +10 | Will +3 | CMD 29 | Perception +10
Resources:
Rage: 12/12; Wand of Cure Light Wounds 21/50; Thunderstone: 2/2
Thorgrim will scream a visceral yell at the skeleton monster and swings his Piston Maul at the beast who just savaged his arm. Mighty vengeance shall rain down upon you!
Intimidate:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16Fearsome Class Ability: Intimidate as a Move Action
Warpriest 4 HP: 26/36 | AC 21 | T 11 | FF 20 | Fort +6 | Ref +2 | Will +6 | CMD 18 | Init +3 | Perc +3 | Sense Mot +6
Knowledge (Religion):1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7 "Aren't all skeletons the same? Just animated bones..." Oloch ponders aloud to himself as he draws his greatsword and swings at the skeleton that tried to bite him.
"Really couldn't hope for a better match for these two. Given their love for smashing doors." Seeing no opening he is content with letting the bash brothers take care of this problem.
While visiting his village in Goka last month, Barley was given praise by his master for successful first journeys with the Pathfinders. It was also revealed that should he return from his initiation alive and with all limbs, his grandfather's real sword and armor was to be given to him.
Now as Barley stood on the bridge, fascinated by the illusion, he suddenly see the bones attacking. He runs to the fray, putting steel to the challenge.
Bone splinters and dust fly as Oloch's sword chops into one of the skeletons and Thorgrim's hammer collapses half the ribs on the other.
Barley runs up to help, but it doesn't seem like either needs it at the moment. Rufus fires a blunt arrow, but misses, Ali uses a wand to partially heal Thorgrim's wound, and Kawrock holds position until circumstances change.
The skeletal creatures continue their assault with a flurry of snapping jaws, ripping claws, and rending talons.
Luckily for Rufus, there seems to be no other danger in the cave. He almost misses the fact that the ledge on the far side of the bridge curves down to another passage below to the south.
Barley grimaces at the piles of ash and bone fragment, ”Sentinels. They were vicious. Perhaps not answering the illusion correctly animated them. -and more in here”.
Warpriest 4 HP: 26/36 | AC 21 | T 11 | FF 20 | Fort +6 | Ref +2 | Will +6 | CMD 18 | Init +3 | Perc +3 | Sense Mot +6
Oloch yawns, "Sentinels? Those puny little piles of bones were no match for a blade dedicated to Gorum... or to your large hammer. Well done, Thorgrim!" The half-orc leads the party across the bridge, or follows the Bold Strider.
Either way, he keeps his greatsword out in case of any other surprises.
Kawrock is a little weary of the bridge so he will check it before crossing with everyone else. He is also curious as to what is at the bottom of this small cavern.
The group crosses the bridge without any problems. Moving a short way around the chasm you soon spot a hallway to the south leading to a door. Circling down the ledge on the far side of the chasm the group passes through the door descends a short flight of stairs, and comes to a small room. A metal lever protrudes from a stumpy stone pedestal in an alcove here. To the north, the hall opens into a large, silo-shaped chamber. Above you can see the bottom of the bridge supported by a large column rising from the darkness below.
When the lever is pulled, the bridge above slowly rotates and lowers as the supporting pillar it’s perched upon screws down into the ground below. It takes the bridge a full minute of rumbling before it comes to rest in a north-south alignment.
Warpriest 4 HP: 26/36 | AC 21 | T 11 | FF 20 | Fort +6 | Ref +2 | Will +6 | CMD 18 | Init +3 | Perc +3 | Sense Mot +6
Oloch watches the bridge rotate and lower. "Excellent work, Kawrock! I had thought for sure that something bad would have happened, what with the warning from the snake man not to touch anything. Perhaps..."
Oloch crosses the bridge to the set of doors on the other side. Resting his greatsword on his left shoulder and steadying it with his left hand, he reaches out to open the door on the north side of the chamber.
Kawrock shrugs, "I saw no other options so I went with the only one I had." He watches as Thorgrims smashes another door. I doubt a single door is going to survive this trip.
As Oloch reaches for the door Thorgrim smashes his hammer into it and it flies open, then dangles on one hinge, the other having broken loose from the wall.
Beyond the doors the vaults open into a vast, cathedral-like space that seems even larger because of its emptiness. Two rows of stone pillars run down the center of the hall, supporting a vaulted ceiling sixty feet above. The east and west walls contain tall alcoves—some hold strange objects or displays, and others sport tall stone doors. To the north, twin stairwells ascend to a raised platform with more alcoves, and a circular stand just south of this platform supports an immense mechanical device.
“We welcome you to us, friends,” A womans voice calls out in a monotone voice without emotion. “You will join us as children of the Black Goat.”
Knowledge Religion DC 25:
“The Black Goat” referrs to Shub-Niggurath, an alien deity of fertility and monsters worshiped by lunatics and worse.
A human woman in a chain shirt also steps into view. Numerous hideous scars line her scalp and brow showing stark where her hair has been shaven in rough patches. She levels a small crossbow at Oloch and fires.
Movement from the edges of a couple alcoves alert some of you to danger in the room as a few men with fiendish traits step out from hiding and fire their crossbows as well.
Bodyguard 9 HP: 99/99 | AC 20 | T 13 | FF 18 | Fort +10 | Ref +4 | Will +5 | CMD 26 | Initiative +2 | Perception +13 | Sense Motive +13 | Intimidate +12 | Kn.(Dun.) +12 | Kn.(Nobility) +8 | Climb/Swim +5*
Ondskapning:
HP: 52/52 | AC 31 | T 12 | FF 19 | Fort +8 | Ref +10 | Will +3 | CMD 29 | Perception +10
Resources:
Rage: 12/12; Wand of Cure Light Wounds 21/50; Thunderstone: 2/2
Thorgrim rushes the woman after taking an arrow to the knee. He swings his Piston Maul in a wide arc to crush her for her arrogance, but he ends up blowing a crater out of the piller next to the woman.
Black Goat,... that sounds so familiar"Whao!", Barley jolts as the bolts fly by. He moves towards the crossbowman, drawing his katana with a horizontal slice.
If his grandfather could see him from the afterlife, Barley would make him proud as he moves up and executes a downward slash from his katana, giving the tiefling a moderate wound.
Hopefully Kawrock and Thorgrim's grandparents are still living (or napping in the afterlife), because one loses a bolt in the darkness and the other nearly trips over his own weapon.
The woman slips forward between Thorgrim and Barley as she draws a pair of punch daggers. It seems a reckless move until a tiefling steps behind Thorgrim with a shortsword in hand and another steps behind Barley.
Rufus fires an arrow right into the woman's leg. She glances down at it curiously, watching the blood begin to well from the wound, but has little other reaction.
Warpriest 4 HP: 26/36 | AC 21 | T 11 | FF 20 | Fort +6 | Ref +2 | Will +6 | CMD 18 | Init +3 | Perc +3 | Sense Mot +6
Oloch winces at the bolt to his side, "Gorum demands your blood!" He rushes forward with his greatsword drawn and moves into a flanking position with Thorgrim. (Provoking an AoO)
Once in position, the war priest of Gorum swings at the tiefling with a powerful force, hitherto unseen in these chambers.
Luckily, Barley's grandfather was watching over him at that moment, because he screamed, "Get out there you numbskull! Remember the porcupine - sunder from down under!".
"Yes, grampa!", Barley utters then drops into a push-slide, threading beneath the wounded tiefling's legs, away from the two flankers, emerging with an up stroke of the hanzo.
Ali sends magic missiles through the hall, blasting three tieflings right off their feet! Oloch moves up to flank, and destroys some tiles on the floor.
Surrounded by enemies, Barley suddenly drops to the floor. It happens so fast that the woman and tieflings have no idea what's happening as he tumbles right out from under their noses and like some kind of ninja pops up behind one of the tieflings and runs him through with his grandfather's blade.
Kawrock moves forward to join the fight, but can't find an opening.
Thorgrim throws caution to the wind and swings with all his might, bashing the woman in the chest with his maul before collapsing from his wounds.
The woman moves forward, circling a pillar and comes up to flank Kawrock as two of tieflings push themselves back to their feet, but one goes right back down from a vicious wound given by Oloch's greatsword.
