Derrik shoulders the Rifle as he seems to mull over this possible fact.
" Then we should tend to them, would that not be the proper thing at this point? The enemy flees and we can spare a few moments to change their outlook on life.. To assure them that we shall destroy this foul cult and its King. "
"I don't know, Arthur, I can only hold my spells for a fixed amount of time. Hate to sound callous, but they will be here when we clear the tower and more or less in the same shape. If we waste time with them now, we may lack the firepower needed for upstairs."
Levinson tries to hide her growing uneasiness around the knight as she lights up one of the remaining cigars. Strange how I never smoked before the world ended. Suppose there are plenty of things to kill me before cancer will ever get a swing, so why not... Besides... More and more Excalibur feels like the Sword of Damocles; might as well live it up while I can.
In the time they sit around, Naomi casts Extended Shield, Extended Lesser Evolution Surge (+2 Str) and Barkskin on Kepler. The eidolon mutates before their eyes. Kepler's fur and feathers take on a crystalline appearance and a shimmer of arcane energy surrounds him.
"Phew. This day is really taxing on the ole arcana..."
Spontaneous spells left for day
Extend Metamagic: 0/3
Summon Monster IV 8/8
Level 1: 1/6
Level 2: 0/4
Level 3: 2/2
Spells in effect
Mage Armor (Kepler) - approximately 7 hours remain
Extended Enlarge Person (Kepler) - approximately 14 minutes remain
Extended Shield (Kepler) - approximately 14 minutes remain
Extended Lesser Evo Surge (Kepler) - approximately 14 minutes remain
Barkskin (Kepler) - approximately 70 minutes remain
Kepler's AC=31 (22+4+4+3-1-1) ; HP=49/49
I'd say they've been driven insane, drugged, or both, by the way they're just lying there....
We could at least step in and tell them we'll come back for them....
Daisy looks concerned for the victims....
MJ nods at Daisy.
Okay.... Go ahead, I'll go in with ya and watch your back....
Kailin peers around cautiously incase there is anything hiding around the room.
Kailin sees nothing hiding in the office....
Daisy nods, and nervously walks into the first office on the west side....
She speaks to the 20-or-so people sprawling across the floor in a soothing voice....
You're going to be okay, everyone.... We're going to get you all out of here, I promise.... Everyone just....ah, just hang out here, okay? We will return for you.... I promise....
Diplomacy
The people lying on the floor make no response, aside from cowering away from Daisy and Mikey Jay as they enter the room....
MJ shrugs, and leads Daisy back out....
Come on, Daisy.... They aren't going anywhere....
The FOs proceed on to the next office on the west side, where Daisy does her best to reassure the 20-some-odd people lying on the floor there that they would be rescued after the enemy is eliminated....
Daisy's Diplomacy check....
The captives weep and moan in abject despair....
In the third office on the west side, The FOs are horrified and infuriated to find nine cots to which young women with bellies swollen by advanced pregnancy are manacled! They scream and cry, and plead to be freed when they realize the party are not cultists....
Oh, my God.... Um.... We'll be back for you, I swear! Just.... Just trust us, okay?.... First we kill the bastards who did this too you.... Then, we come back and free you, and bring you somewhere safe to have your babies.... Okay?
Diplomacy
Please, don't leave us here! Please help! screams one young woman, straining against her manacles....
The others repeat her plea....
Oh, God.... We will, I swear!
Daisy looks at the pregnant women chained to the cots with a helpless look on her beautiful face....
MJ gently pulls Daisy and Derrik back out of the office where the pregnant women are chained....
We'll come back for them first, guys, okay? Let's make some evil heads roll first, right, Derrik?
Derrik looks upon the women, weapons sheathed and seems horribly conflicted and says with a soothing voice
" I am Derrik the Stubborn, the reincarnated soul of the great King Arthur and I promise everyone of you that we shall get you all to safety ; we only need you wait a moment for the destruction of every single evil creature in this place... "
Derrik then leaves the room re-equipping his weapons
Koran enters the room behind daisy and MJ.
What's wrong with them?
They've been broken.... We can only imagine the tortures they've been subjected to....
Ground floor of The Silver Tower....
Scootched.
As the FOs round the corner of the north most workspace, the two ghuls that fled before them, scurry southward now to escape their wrath....
If the ghuls are within 120ft Koran charges forward at them. If not he hurls Mjolnir, and takes massive range penalties.
+ DC 14 Fort or Deafened
looks at the people tied up trying to remain hidden as to not scare them
he whispers to himself
I can't fail, for failure means this will happen
Koran knocks a ghul dead with Mjolnir....
MJ follows Koran's lead and charges down a fleeing ghul....
Powerful overhand chop plus vicious; backlash deals damage to MJ....
The last ghul falls under MJ's blade....
The FOs explore a spacious cafe in the north side of The ST, finding nothing much of interest....
They enter a kitchen, which is well stocked. There is:
10 boxes of condensed milk worth 5 gp each;
15 cans of chicken broth worth 5 gp each;
6 packaged bricks of cheese worth 5 gp each;
10 gallon-jugs of distiller water worth 5 gp each;
8 12-pack cans of coca-cola worth 5 gp each;
A length of 12 sausage links worth 1 gp each;
4 lbs of salt worth 5 gp each;
4 lbs of sugar worth 5 gp each.
Moving east from the cafe (Cest La Vie Cafe), the party enters a spacious room, littered with the gnawed bones and skulls of humans among other debris.... Flies buzz about this room, and there is a stench of decay in the air....
Squatting in the center of this big room is a horrific, bipedal giant, covered with a coat of black, shaggy fur, with powerful-looking arms that split at the elbow into two pairs of clawed forearms, and most horrible is its head--split vertically by a gaping, toothy maw, with the bloodshot, bulbous eyes on the sides, like a fish! It grunts, a deep, rumbling sound, and rises to its full height of 16 ft!
Initiative
Initiative
Holy s~~@! What the f&&& is that thing!
Initiative
MJ gawks in revulsion and awe at the furry, four-armed, vertical-mouthed giant....
The FOs stand in the west entrance to this 30-ft-by-30-ft room, in a 10-ft-wide doorway that two can hold in a bottleneck....
Derrik and Koran currently hold the doorway, with Levinson and Kepler behind Derrik, and Daisy and Mikey Jay behind Koran.... Radsworth and Kailin form the third rank, behind Levinson and Daisy, respectively.... Yingzen, having been scouting ahead of the party, attempts to slip along the north wall in the shadows unseen by the monstrous brute, but it seems to have no trouble seeing in darkness, as its bloodshot eyes track the tengu's stealthy progress....
Radsworth eyes the creature, not quite sure what he is looking at. He tries to recall from his various lessons and books anything about 16ft furry creatures!
Radsworth has read about gugs.... Huge, savage aberrations that usually dwell deep underground.... Fond of rending and devouring humanoids smaller than itself....
Derrik readies his newly acquired Rifle for combat and examines the beastie for weaknesses
Radsworth frowns as he recalls the creature in question. He was glad to have others between him and it.
"Another aberration. You might hold your ground and let it come to you, warriors. He has some long reach. These things are known for their use of their claws as well. You don't want all four of them hitting you, per the stories they enjoy rending and tearing flesh as a past time."
Radsworth considers his options with the thing, then finally decides. Terminate with extreme prejudice.
He intones the dark and harsh language of evocation, his personal favorite. Hell-things deserved to die for trying to uproot Man on his own world. Let this one taste pain. Unlike what they encountered so far in this tower, this creature worried the formerly soft spoken History Teacher from Oklahoma.
As Traveler is charged with arcane magic, Radsworth decides to link his power to a chambered round. The report from the magical gun is tremendous, and two super heated Scorching Rays streak for the Gug, one of which also wraps around an Aberration Bane round Rad had crafted much earlier in the Fierce Ones history.
Hearing Rad's warning, Levinson acts quickly to try and limit the monster's ability to thrash out. Drawing forth arcane forces from the deep, she causes dozens of black tentacles to burst forth from the floor wrapping up the monster.
and the Gug is grappled if it hits.
Kepler then charges at the monstrosity with icy claws at the ready:
The gug takes a total of 38 damage from Radsworth's shot! It roars in rage and pain....
Koran hurls Mjolnir at the gug.
Derrik Unloads a Flaming Bullet cannon shot with his Rifle, ensorceled with divine power
Yingzen keeps to the shadows waiting for the creature to come to him
Black tentacles of necromantic energy wrap around the gug's legs and arms, constricting like shadowy pythons for 5 damage....
Then Kepler shreds the monster's hide with an icy claw for another 20 more damage....
The gug roars in pain and outrage!
Mjolnir hurtles into the gug's ugly head like a comet, dealing 28 damage, and Derrik's rifle shot blasts it for another 15 damage (bringing total damage inflicted on the gug to 106 points!)....
The gug is bleeding from several wounds, and staggers weakly, gurgling a blood-choked roar of rage and agony....
MJ charges the gug while it still reels from his allies' assault....
Powerful charging overhand chop plus vicious; backlash deals to MJ....
"BJ" splits the gug's abdomen open, spilling its stinking entrails and felling the great brute!
BANZAI, m!!+&*%%%~$~!!
The furry giant collapses in a massive, blood-gushing heap, rumbling with a final death-groan....
Bones and skulls of dozens of humans are strewn everywhere in this large room. A search of the area produces nothing of interest.
Another spacious chamber to the east is littered with more bones and skulls, but nothing of interest or value....
Proceeding southward, the party finds yet more gnawed and cracked bones and skulls in yet another foul-smelling, spacious chamber, and here squats another gug!
Initiative, please....
Initiative
Another monstrous gug squats in the center of this spacious room, noisily crunching a human femur (thigh bone). It turns its ugly head and opens its vertical mouth wide to show The FOs its bloodstained teeth and tongue and lets out a bestial roar!
Initiative
Initiative