Cthulhu will not give us a week, Mr. Cox, I assure you.... I also assure you of this: with the magic and craft of the elves of Alfheim at your disposal, your progress will far surpass your expectations.... Imagine your "war-mechas" crafted of mithral or adamantine instead of Earth steel.... With circuitry of fabulous complexity, far beyond the art of human craftsmen.... Augmented by elven magic....
Dirge suppresses a grin as he sees Andy's thoughtful change of expression....
Hmmmm.... Mithral? Adamantine? I thought that stuff was an invention of Tolkien or ancient myth-makers.... But, then, I thought a lot of things were myths that I've seen with my own eyes these past five months.... Okay, Professor.... I suppose I have no choice, anyway.... Go along with everyone else to Alfheim.... Or remain here alone until more monsters come....
Andy casts a disappointed look around the huge cavern at the partly disassembled humvees, tanks, jets, jeeps, and boats he would have to leave behind. He began to collect his blueprints with a mixture of resignation and growing hope sparked by Dirge's promise of superior resources and craftsmen in Alfheim....
I believe you will not be disappointed, Mr. Cox, once you see what the elves can offer to your efforts....
Radsworth agrees with Marcus.
"Correct. Little we can do here anymore. There is much we have to do still in this tower."
Rad checks his gear and gives a final hard look at the charred remains of his spellbook, then moves on with Marcus and the others.
In the lightless catacomb below the Necropolis of Giza:
Lavinia Whateley and her macabre party of grave robbers have arrived in the chamber they have long sought, a 30-ft-square vault with a 20-ft-high ceiling, walls graven with hieroglyphs and reliefs depicting the gods, goddesses, and strange demons of ancient Egypt.... At the center of the vault lies a great, gilt sarcophagus, it's lid depicting a near-mythical Egyptian King....
Ia! Ia! Yog-Sothoth! All glory 'n praise to the Opener o' Ways! We found it, my darlins! We found it! It be inside yonder sarcophagus! Bring it to me, Wilbur, my son! Bring your maw the Book o' Thoth, so's she can call your paw into our'n world! Then, the work we begun in Dunwich can finally be done! Your paw....Yog-Sothoth, Opener o' Ways....will purge this world o' every livin' thing....make it pure again, as it were afore the Elder Things done contaminated it.... Your paw, my beloved husband, will make the world clean 'n ready to be drawn into HIS realm, 'twixt the universes!
The grotesque flesh golem that was once the repugnant, semi-human giant known as Wilbur Whateley lurches toward the sarcophagus in obeisance to its mother and creator's command....
On touching the sarcophagus lid, the golem is suddenly bathed in a web of crackling electricity that briefly illuminates the chamber.... The golem seems to barely notice the arcane lightning coursing through its form, causing muscles and sinews to jerk and spasm.... Suddenly moving with invigorated haste, the golem throws the sarcophagus lid to the chamber floor with a resounding crash that echoes like thunder in the vaulted chamber.... It reaches into the sarcophagus, a scythe blade (still razor sharp after some five millennia) slices cleanly through its forearm, and it draws back the bloodless stump!
Oh! My poor baby boy! Don't you worry none, maw can sew that back on, good as new! Now, there shouldn't be no more traps, my boy.... Bring maw the Book!
Flesh golem Wilbur reaches into the sarcophagus with its remaining hand, and plucks the mythical Book of Thoth from it's eons-long resting place....
As the golem turns back to its creator, Book of Thoth in hand, a ghostly form materializes--a handsome Egyptian in the raiment of an ancient king, translucent and grim....
In ancient Egyptian: Who dares to defile the tomb of Neferkaptah!? Who dares to rob my grave!? Hast thou not heard the tale of the last foolish thief who dared to steal the Book of Thoth!? He soon repented and returned the Book, after my magics deluded him into murdering his own wife and child! Dost thou also seek to be accursed!?
We ain't scare o' ghosts, Neferkaptah! Nor o' curses! Your illusions won't fool me, like they done that ol' fool from the story! The Book o' Thoth is mine, now! So you jus' lay back down in your sarcophagus an' shut yer mouth!.... Come on, Wilbur.... Come, my darlins.... We have the Book, now we must get t' Babylon.... That's where we'll find the best gateway to call Yog-Sothoth!
Lavinia leads her grotesque band out of the dark crypt, veritably crooning and caressing the ancient binding of the Book of Thoth....
The ghost of Neferkaptah howls in impotent rage and despair!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! You call down your own doom, and the doom of the world! Call not Yog-Sothoth into this world! Thou wilt rue it, foolish witch! THOU WILT RUE IT!!!
A quick reconnaissance by Yingzen reveals no other enemies on the 11th floor, so the FOs proceed up the stairs to the 12th and penultimate floor....
This floor contains four large corner offices, with an even larger central court....
Stepping out of the stairwell, the FOs find themselves in a short hall between the northwest and southwest corner offices, which leads into the large central court....
The sounds of ominous chanting can be clearly heard echoing out of the central court area....
Several voices chant in unison: Ia Cthulhu! Ia Dagon! Ia Hydra!.... Ia! Ia! Cthulhu fhtagn! Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah-nagl fhtagn!!
This sinister and wholly alien phrase repeats, over and over.... It is damnably familiar to Radsworth and Levinson from their darker forays into occult lore, and strangely to Marcus from half-remembered nightmares....
That doesn't sound wholesome.... Let's get in there and kick some cultist butts, friends!
MJ strides confidently toward the chanting in the central court....
From the stairwell, a few fireballs could definitely be sent in to target the center of the court, and partial views of robed and cowled chanters can be seen, indicating that at least four such figures would be caught in the blast radius....
Rather than reply directly to Mikey, Radsworth pulls a slender wand from his bag and points it towards the cultists.
Levinson follows suit by aiming the Rod of Faust at the circle of cultists. Infernal runes glow along it's length, and a tongue of magical flame issues forth.
Koran follows MJ down the corridor ready to strike.
Rather than reply directly to Mikey, Radsworth pulls a slender wand from his bag and points it towards the cultists.
Assuming any of the cultists are still alive, Marcus aims a Black Tentacles into the midst of the side that looks the least healthy.
Rather than reply directly to Mikey, Radsworth pulls a slender wand from his bag and points it towards the cultists.
[dice=Fireball]10d6
It's still DC 14
Reflex save vs DC 14 fireball succeeds.... The death priest takes 17 fire damage!
Reflex save vs DC 14 fireball succeeds....the necromancer takes 17 fire damage!
Reflex save vs DC 14 fireball succeeds....the sorcerer takes 17 fire damage!
(There are two sacred sorcerers)
Reflex save vs DC 14 fireball succeeds....the sorcerer takes 17 fire damage!
Reflex save vs DC 18 fireball from Rod of Faust fails....the death priest takes 35 fire damage!
AAAAAAARRRGHH!!!
Reflex save vs DC 18 fireball from Rod of Faust succeeds....the necromancer takes 17 fire damage!
HIIISSSSS!!!
Reflex save vs DC 18 fireball from Rod of Faust fails....the sorcerer takes 35 fire damage!
YEEEEOOOOOWCH!!!
Reflex save vs DC 18 fireball from Rod of Faust succeeds....the second sorcerer takes 17 fire damage!
As black tentacles is a 20-ft spread, Marcus is able to catch all four chanters in the area by centering it in the middle of the room....
All four are no match for the black, ropy tentacles in grappling, and are tightly coiled!
MJ stops at the end of the hall opening into the central court, just outside the area of lashing, writhing black tentacles....
Whoah, tentacles.... Looks like we caught these jokers with their pants down! This is gonna be like shooting fish in a barrel!
Initiative
Initiative
Initiative result 14 (can't post dice roll bug)
Initiative
Initiative
#2 Initiative
Derrik had been fairly quiet during the transformation only outward events hinting at his change. As they bombard the room, MJ looks back at Derrik and notices him begin to shimmer slightly before fading from his sight; the feeling of a quick Breeze being the only indication something had gone past.. As the Metal Sentinel already had Excalibur's blade at the neck of the most harmed Sorceress, moving 30 ft in less than a second..
But astonishingly, Derrik does not stop, as though he was moving faster than a haste spell, His assault continues on toward the counterpart of the First Sorceress, Dawnbringer and Excalibur descending upon her.
When everyone has time to react.. in 6 second, Derrik appears over the other sorc both weapons covered in blood
Derrik moves with blinding speed, giving the effect of a racing black-and-crimson blur that briefly transforms into an armored juggernaut that fills the air with red mist and the dying screams of the two sorcerers!
Both fall, throats opened by Excalibur and Dawnbringer!
Ooh-ooh-ah!!
Derrik! (Acted)
Necromancer!
Levinson!
Death priest!
Mikey Jay!
Wormwood!
Marcus!
Koran!
Daisy!
Kepler!
TBD: Radsworth! Yingzen!
Eeeeek!
The necromancer utters a brief incantation, casting teleport (verbal component only, so no need for concentration check to cast while grappled) to escape the ropy black tentacle coiled around him! He vanishes, and there is no sign of his presence in the near vicinity....
Levinson levels the Rod of Faust at the Death Priest, "Burn."
Concentration vs DC 30 to cast teleport while grappled by black tentacles succeeds.... The necromancer teleports away!
Reflex save vs DC 20 flame strike succeeds.... The death priest takes 31 fire and divine damage!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!
The death priest is badly burnt and barely conscious, weakly struggling in the coils of the black tentacles....
Revision:
Derrik! (Cut down both sorcerers!)
Necromancer! ('Ported away to warn his evil masters!)
Radsworth!
Levinson! (Flame strike on the death priest!)
Death priest!
Mikey Jay!
Wormwood!
Marcus!
Koran!
Daisy!
Kepler!
TBD: Yingzen!
Eeeeek!
Concentration vs DC 29 to cast freedom of movement while grappled by black tentacles fails.... The death priest's spell fizzles, incomplete, as he struggles to cast with the ropy black tentacles tightening around his arms and torso!
If Radsworth doesn't kill the death priest first:
MJ steps close to the edge of the field of writhing black tentacles nearest the charred and feebly struggling death priest....
Better get used to those tentacles.... Where you're about to go, I hear there are some big ones that like to get touchy-feely.... Or rather, squeezy-crushy....
Powerful overhand chopping Sword of Sif deals slashing plus holy plus acid, cold, and electricity damage.... The divine blade flashes, and the evil cleric's head flies from his shoulders and bounces across the floor of the central court!
Yingzen uses the shadows to maneuver himself into the perfect position to strike from.
Yingzen slips into the central court immediately after his arcane counterparts launch a surprise volley of fireballs into the midst of the enemies, and call up a field of grasping black tentacles (the surprise round)....
As he observes the struggling robed figures grappling with the writhing black tentacles, looking for a suitable target for assassination from the shadows, a blur of motion passes into the court and both sorcerers are quickly dispatched by Derrik, who moves with blinding speed!
Then one of the robed figures (the necromancer) manages to escape by teleporting away!
A broad column of fire roars down on the last robed figure (the death priest), eliciting a shriek of agony!
A split second later, either Radsworth or Mikey Jay finishes the evil priest....
It seems there are no other targets in the court.... The battle is over as quickly as it began! Mere mortal foes cannot stand before the mythic might of the FOs!
Yingzen stealthily scouts the four corner offices, but finds no other enemies on the 12th floor....
Now, only the penthouse remains to be explored.... There, the FOs will no doubt face the vile Daemonlord of the Silver Tower, and it's most powerful minions!
Ascending the final flight of stairs to the 13th floor of the Silver Tower, the FOs emerge from the stairwell on the west side of a vast, vaulted chamber that makes up the entire top floor.... The penthouse has been hideously transformed into a fane of Dread Cthulhu!
Black tapestries with deeper black designs and geometric patterns that evoke madness and titanic gulfs of infinity and eternity cover the walls, allowing no light to come in through the windows....
Censers hang from tripods of black iron, exotic incense filling the chamber with their strange fragrance....
Brazen braziers blaze with reddish flame, casting dancing shadows that make the alien designs on the black tapestries seem to writhe like tentacles....
A great basalt altar occupies the center of this floor, graven with bas reliefs of the most monstrous and offensive character....
North of the altar, nearly against the center of the north wall, towers a 15-ft-high idol of cracked basalt depicting what can only be Dread Cthulhu, monstrously squatting on a rectangular block graven with alien glyphs and symbols....
This chamber is occupied by several creatures, most of which are clearly fiends from worlds outside our own!