Wembly casts a spell and moves to a safe corner!
Antonella tosses a flask of fire, but it flies long, smashing near a rat!
The cultists and rats surge forward, two rats moving toward Antonella!
The two rats attack, but miss the wily paladin. The other press forward, but can't reach the party!
Ag'mira deftly removes some sand from her spell component pouch and filters the grains through her fingers .
"
Pleasant dreams
Close your eyes
Sleep well"
-Posted with Wayfinder
Ag'mira begins casting a spell!
Antonella punches at a rat, but misses!
Wembly urges Whiskers forward and the cat tears a rat to shreds!
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Heccan smiles and begins to formulate a response to Antonella before he is cut short. He wrinkles his brow and is about to protest until Antonella directs his attention to the threat. Upon seeing the cultist patrols he quips Well, that is certainly not the party I had in mind.
Heccan tries to fall in with the ambush, but the cultists are already on them. His eyes dart back and forth a bit frantically as the melee takes shape. He lets out a long breath, clearly debating something internally for a long moment before he states By the 7th layer! I just know I am going to regret this...
Heccan takes in a deep breath, runs a hand through is hair and takes a step forward, drawing even with the Antonella. His eyes glow a sharp red and he stares down the quickly approaching cutlists. He splays his hands and speaks something low and sinister in the language of the lower planes. The dark power of his heritage is unleashed in the form of a spout of flame that engulfs several of the oncoming cultists.
School evocation [fire]; Level sorcerer/wizard 1
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range 15 ft.
Area cone-shaped burst
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw Reflex half; Spell Resistance yes
A cone of searing flame shoots from your fingertips. Any creature in the area of the flames takes 1d4 points of fire damage per caster level (maximum 5d4). Flammable materials burn if the flames touch them. A character can extinguish burning items as a full-round action.
Ceobryrn fires two arrows and takes down a human cultist!
Heccan steps up and casts spell.
As the sorcerer casts, a rat bites him, but the man holds his concentration and get the spell off!
One cultist manage to duck the flames, but the other two take the full brunt!
Orryn wings over and flies toward Ag'mira!
A rat tries to attack Antonella, but misses,. while two cultists moves up and attack Heccan, one striking the sorcerer with his club! All the while the cultist rave about the approaching end of the world!
Ag'mira finishes her spell and throws sand at the mass of rats and cultists!
The cultist and three rats, stumble then fall to the ground asleep!
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Ag'mira will 5' step left then stares down the cultist in front of Heccan.
"Sweet dreams my pretty"
Slumber Hex DC 15
"Save your fanatical blather and die already."
-Posted with Wayfinder
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Heccan winces in disgust as he is bitten by a rat, and grimaces as he struggles to maintain his concentration, but ultimately is able to unleash his dark power. He cries Ack! Damnable vermin. I am quickly tiring of this cult's choice of hench-creatures. He turns to Antonella with a smirk and whispers to her in conspiratorially , I never get caught up with the minutiae of the lower planes my dear, that is how the fiends trap you. Now if you will excuse me, I have an appointment with the other side of this room. I am not one for grunt work.
Heccan carefully moves to the back of the room, biding his time until he sees an opening to remove himself from the front lines.
Withdrawing from melee combat is a full-round action. When you withdraw, you can move up to double your speed. The square you start out in is not considered threatened by any opponent you can see, and therefore visible enemies do not get attacks of opportunity against you when you move from that square. Invisible enemies still get attacks of opportunity against you, and you can't withdraw from combat if you're blinded. You can't take a 5-foot step during the same round in which you withdraw.
If, during the process of withdrawing, you move out of a threatened square (other than the one you started in), enemies get attacks of opportunity as normal.
You may not withdraw using a form of movement for which you don't have a listed speed.
Note that despite the name of this action, you don't actually have to leave combat entirely.
Restricted Withdraw: If you are limited to taking only a standard action each round you can withdraw as a standard action. In this case, you may move up to your speed.
Ag'mira puts a hex on the northern cultist and he falls to the ground in a slumber!
Heccan moves backward, not comfortable in his proximity to the confrontation!
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Ceobryrn puts his bow away, then quick draws his scimitar before shifting forward (SE) to attack the rat.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Antonella punches the rat in front of her, but it continues to hiss!
Ceobryrn swings his blade as he steps up and cuts into the rat, taking it down!
Wembly rides up on Whsikers and the two stab, claw and bite the cultist, taking down the man!
Orryn guides his mount in a swooping dive, spearing a rat and banking away!
The final two rats moves in and attack, but both miss their marks!
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Ag'mira hexes the rat in front of Ceobryrn.
"Time to take a nap you furry little beast"
This hex can affect a creature of any HD. The creature will not wake due to noise or light, but others can rouse it with a standard action. This hex ends immediately if the creature takes damage. Whether or not the save is successful, a creature cannot be the target of this hex again for 1 day.
If that rat already made a save vs Slumber then she casts her Misfortune Hex.
Ag'mira tosses out another hex and puts another rat to sleep!
Heccan fires a ray of frost at the remaining rat, but misses!
Orryn pulls hard on the reins and wheels his mount around for a return charge!
Ceobryrn swings, but misses the shifty rat!
Wmebly and Whiskers combine attacks to bring down the last rat!
Checking the cultists, you find they carried only a club, heavy wooden shield, leather armor, and a silver holy symbol of Groetus, each.
After putting down the cultists, you notice the sound of fighting has subsided to the south. Heading that way, you find constables guarding the prison’s entrance and waiting for the party to arrive. Nearby, a handful of ragged and injured cultists are in manacles and seated against the wall. A cleric tends to wounded constables.
The uninjured constables are relieved to see the party and let you into the prison without question, though with words of encouragement.
Two features dominate Swift Prison’s interior: the Greedy Narses and the prison’s main keep. The Greedy Narses is a large wooden building on the southern border of Swift Prison through which all prisoners or visitors must pass to reach the keep. The many cells lining this building’s southern facade serve as “beggar’s boxes” that provide a chance for the Swift’s unskilled residents to earn some coin. Other than the decorated front, and the gilded statue in the square, this building is quite plain. The keep to the north is a three stories tall stone structure.
Looking into the buidling, you see many market stalls lie shattered across the paved floor. Wood splinters and papers litter the room.
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Ag'mira pulls a scrap of leather from her component pouch and casts Mage Armor then steps into the room behind Orryn.
Level: Sor/Wiz 1
Components: V, S, F
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Creature touched
Duration: 1 hour/level (D)
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: No
An invisible but tangible field of force surrounds the subject of a mage armor spell, providing a +4 armor bonus to AC.
Unlike mundane armor, mage armor entails no armor check penalty, arcane spell failure chance, or speed reduction. Since mage armor is made of force, incorporeal creatures can’t bypass it the way they do normal armor.
Focus
A piece of cured leather.
"I Wonder where that bell is?"
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Heccan audibly sighs with relief when the patrol is finally defeated. He bends down on one knee and somewhat gingerly dabs at a small bleeding wound on his ankle with a silken handkerchief. Rats, lunatics, cults. Bah! This is not what I hand in mind when I left that tawdry old life of power, money and prestige back in Egorian. See the world, they said, make new friends. He takes in a quick breath then returns the kerchief to a pocket of his robes and stands, moving near Ceobryn. On the other hand, I am glad to have a friend like you in these circumstances. I hope your knack for spotting trouble is still in full effect. Keep your eyes keen and I will do my best to cover you.
Ag'mira remebers that the bell is supposed to be in the prison's chapel.
Following Antonella's lead, the party head east, entering a small corridor that holds many small rooms that look out through rusted bars out onto the small square in front of the prison. At the base of each set of exterior bars, a box with a slot for coins sits on the ground. There are 12 small rooms in total. Each wooden box has been smashed to bits and the coins are gone.
Moving north to the double doors on the right, the party enters to see the prison chapel. This 50-foot-by-35 foot room contains the recognizable trappings of a chapel. An altar dedicated to Abadar rests upon a raised section near the northern wall.
Ag'mira peers around the chapel and spots a bell. Detecting for magic, Orryn sees that the bell is indeed magical, affirming that this is the bell of obedience.
Taking some time to study the bell, the party takes copious notes, measuring, drawing and analyzing the bell. confirming your suspicions that this is the bell your were tasked to catalogue.
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Heccan again winces as Antonella tends to his bite wound. His face noticeably returns to a more calm demeanor as he is healed through channelled energy. Thank you Schiavo. They never taught me how to engage enemies on the front lines during my apprenticeship. I do think I will avoid it in the future.
Heccan observes the party scour the bell for information. He nods again to Anornella. I agree with your pessimism Antonella. I believe a healthy dose of skepticism has a strong tendency to increase one's survival rate. We should proceed with caution.
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Heccan seems taken a bit by surprise upon hearing of Antonella's ties to Cheliax. He fixes her with a charming smile. No need to apologize Schiavo. Not only are you in my good graces for tending to my wound, but you are asking me about one of my favorite subjects. Myself. His grin widens showing the obvious jest, but with a hint of truth.
I must confess that I am not too knowledgeable about the Westcrani Houses. I have heard of Arvanxi, of course, and I am certainly no relation. My house, a minor one admittedly, contains itself to Egorian. He smirks as he continues. Now I should use my stature to awe and inspire you, but I cannot bring myself to take advantage of your belief. Though I may have been an upstanding second son to the House Abraxi I am no longer considered a formal member of my house. His smile seems to fade involuntarily before he is able to recover and maintain it once more. That was a lifetime ago. Now, I am what you see. A man chasing after rats in a prison. Not as comfortable as dinner and an opera in Egorian but somewhat more interesting at least. He laughs a bit at his own joke and bows his head slightly to Antonella. Tell me Schiavo, did you live in Westcrown?
Moving west across the courtyard, you find another narrow hall on the southend, consisting of beggar's stalls, to the southwest, and a mess hall and kitchen through the northeast double doors. You find nothing of interest in the any of the rooms.
Heading north into the next courtyard, you see rusted, iron flakes dust the ground around a series of thick gates. Within the keep’s yard, four derro corpses surround an insectile quadruped. Countless barbed crossbow bolts penetrate the strange beast’s hide, and where its head should be, thick ichors moisten the ground around two separated feathered antennae.
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Orryn tries not to overhear to the banter between the Chelaxian man and Mwangi woman, knowing that such an act is rude. Still, he can't help hearing each discuss elements of their family, and he wistfully remembers the family he had in Kintargo, where the Quattlebaum name was once synonymous with great service...
Best not to dwell on it.
Ho there! Looks like we've found some trouble. Or rather, the aftermath. Hmm, looks like the hordes of Belkzen have been through here, though certainly not the same level of savagery. He moves in closer to the bodies, looking at them with some interest.