Einar slams her in the chest and she gives a last gasp then collapses on the floor.
From the pile of barrels out comes an attic whisperer, its skull mouth open in shock and distress. "You killed gran! She was the only one who cared about me!" It looks at the party accusingly,"I'll tell Longrivich on you!" Then it scurries up the stairs.
Crummock attempts to cast Stabilize on the woman.
"I am not done with ye..."
He then loots the room.
From the pile of barrels out comes an attic whisperer...Then it scurries up the stairs.
Seeing the attic whisperer attempt an escape, Hirah immediately summons a Komodo dragon inside the room, which promptly blocks the wave in front of the fleeing undead child, before lashing out with a bite attack.
The komodo dragon bites the attic whisperer fast. It tries to wiggle away!
Then it tries to leap over the monitor lizard.
The irate monitor lizard isn't having any and snaps at it.
And regrabs the running attic whisperer.
'we need to stop that think.' Seeing that Crummock has the witch well in hand Einar moves into the hallway and toward the stairs to attempt to help Hirah stop the 'whisperer'.
Buoyed up the success of her lizard, Hirah steps into the fight herself, swinging her blade.
Hirah swings too high to hit that ittie bittie thing.
The monitor lizard chomps on the attic whisperer and holds it fast.
Cornered between a lizard and an inquisitor, the attic whisperer tries to bite Hirah. And misses horribly.
Hirah tries to put an end to the attic whisperer, and chops it cleanly into two.
The ice troll has a battle axe on her and Granny Nan has a potion of cure moderate wounds, potion of fly, potion of invisibility, a club, a ring of protection +1, spell component pouch and a ring of keys.
Einar uses the keys to open the northern door.
Toys and dolls are strewn about the floor of this room, and small tables and chairs sized for small creatures or children sit in the northeast and northwest corners. Books, papers, quills, and ink vials sit top the tables. A cot stands to the southeast. The windows are barred, but the shutters are open to let in the natural light.
There is a skinny little boy in threadbare clothing in the room. As soon as Einar comes into view splattered with bloof and gore, he starts screaming. "Arrrrggghhh! Granny Nan, there's a monster here! Save me!" while trying to hide under a table.
'He has a point.' Seeing the boy Einar puts a finger to his lips, "Sssshhhh boy, you are in no danger from me. Who are you and why are you here?"
"My name is Timmy. You're not going to eat me, are you? There was this book with a dragon that said he doesn't eat people who talk to him. So you're not going to eat me now that I've talked to you, right?" He rattles the whole string quickly, without pausing for breath.
Then he takes a deep breath as he crawls out from under the table. "I was brought up here because I wasn't finishing my food. Honestly, Bonepick's face is enough to turn anyone's appetite off." He sniffs.
Einar looks From Timmy to Crummock, Einar shrugs his shoulders, "Bonepick is no more, Timmy. This is my friend Crummock, he will tell you what to do." Einar winks at Crummock and turns to go back in the hallway.
"Good riddance to bad rubbish. I just can't stand his face." Timmy replies. When Einar tries to shift responsibilities to Crummock, Timmy stubbornly tags along. "But...but...he's just standing there like a lump. At least we're talking, so I'm sure you can come up with something to do, right?"
'Brave little lad, well never to young to learn.' Einar shrugs and points toward the hallway he just came from. "I'm going back out to the hallway to open the next door. If you want to go with me I guess you can." He holds out the two weapons he acquired, "Do you want the 'ogre hook' or the 'axe'?"
He gingerly takes the battle axe, but the axe is so heavy that he ends up dragging the axe with the head on the floor. "Do you have something lighter? Like you know, those fencing thingies or a dagger?"
His eye catches on Einar's kunai, and he points at it. "Could I try that one, instead?"
Mr. Whiskers comes over to the boy. "How about a sling and some stones?" offering his own sling and stones. The child is about the same size as I am. At least with a sling he wouldn't be getting into melee.
"If you know how to use it, you could throw the stones at whatever my big friend here" gesturing to Einar "fights."
"By the way, I'm Mr. Whiskers!"
"Crivens! Lad, ye come come with us if ye want, but I recommend against it - we be gettin' involved in life and death situations, which are nae good for a wee lad such as yourself... That said, perhaps ye could help to guard the other wee ones downstairs, until we have finished clearin' out this here place..."
He then moves to explore the rooms on the other side of the current level.
"Urm ok...I guess." Timmy sounds crestfallen, but accepts Mr Whiskers offer of a sling. "But isn't it not honorable throwing stones from afar? Knights always charge in and engage the evil manticore in glorious combat!" As he recites that, he gets more enthusiastic.
"Guarding others is boooooring." He complains to Crummock.
Three tables occupy the northern half of this room. A five-foot-square extrusion with a small access door on its western face runs from floor to ceiling just south of the eastern doors. A gigantic cast-iron cauldron stands in the southeast corner with wood stacked beneath it. A large iron stove with twin flue pipes running into the walls dominates the southwest corner. The oven, on seeing the party, pulls itself out of the flue pipes.
Mr Whiskers has no idea what the heck is that thing.
"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! Are we going to slay that black beastie?" Timmy asks eagerly.
Chuckling at the statement about charging knights, Mr. Whiskers says "Although the skalds may omit that part, those glorious knights are often aided by reliable squires. The squires are like apprentice heroes."
When the door opens and the oven starts moving, Mr. Whiskers says "I've never heard of that before! Best watch out, it is likely hot!"
Moving in, he quips "Will this clean you?" as he lobs a blob of acid in it's direction. I'm expecting not, but it probably will not hurt to find out.
The acid blob hits, but does nothing, as if the cast iron was too hard to be corroded by acid.
Einar's "squire" fearlessly walks into the room and loads his sling."We'll teach you a lesson, you'll never forget, foul black beast!" He declares.
'The sling would do.' Einar nods in agreement, "The sling is a good weapon, I have heard of lads slaying giants with it." He looked from the boy to Mister Whiskers, cocking his head "Honor? There is no honor in war other than guarding your sword-brother."
'I don't think my flaming claws will do much against the iron stove.' Moving forward, drawing the adamantine sword, ” ! I will pin it in the corner, Mister Whiskers, what would destroy Iron?” Einar begins to rage, Causing his Cambion ancestry to become very prominent. As he lets out a roar, “Stay back boy!” He swings the sword two-handed at the stove.
And Einar cuts a grevious blow into the foul black beast! It honks it's displeasure and puffs out a cloud of smoke at Einar.
"Oh my god that was totally awesome!" Timmy cheers Einar on. "Can we deal with this fiend here, then I'll go guard my sword brothers downstairs? Wait, I don't get it. None of them have swords, and not all of them are boys!"
"That sword is a good start. It should cut straight through the iron of the stove."
Looking to Timmy, he adds "This foul contraption has too thick of plated armor for our attacks to work against it. Perhaps we should step out of the way..."
Is this child for real? Either it has no concept of self preservation or it isn't what it appears...
"Urm....ok. How are you sure that a stone won't work on it? Didn't he," Timmy gestures at Einar, "say that you could slay giants with it?And that beastie looks kinda...gigantic." He asks Mr Whiskers.
Hirah delays.
The oven smacks Einar with its paw, then tries to gobble him up, grabbing him in its mouth. Timmy gasps in shock seeing his hero getting bloodied by the oven.
"Have it at you, knave!" Timmy yells as he slings a bullet at the monstrous contraption.
The sling bullet hits the contraption, but does no damage.
"You're right. Our attacks can't harm that thing. But we can't just let him get eaten! That's not what heroes do right! Please, find a way to save him!" Timmy pleads with Mr Whiskers, while shaking his arm vigorously.
'No damage from the heat, how odd As the stove slams into him and the oven door clamps around his leg, Einar, feeling himself grappled instinctively drops the sword and starts bighting and clawing at the metal contraption. "Let go you overgrown skillet!"
Don't drop the sword, Einar! Oh, too late.
Mr. Whiskers casts grease on Einar's armor.
Immediately after finishing the last syllable of the spell, he gives a rapid series of directions.
"Hirah, can you get to the sword? Crummock, right I almost forgot. Never mind, since you can't understand me anyways. Timmy, please go into the other room so the others can help Einar!"
Einar manages to land a bite and a claw on the oven but does minimal damage due to its extremely hard nature. The fire on his claws does nothing to the oven.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Hirah, seeing Einar struggling, swings her greatsword in an arc, hoping to chip away at the object.
Hirah manages to make quite a substantial dent on the oven. Granted, not as effectively as the adamantine longsword, but none too shabby.
The oven tries to grab onto Einar to give him a good shake, but fails to get purchase on his greasy armor.
Timmy makes himself scarce after asking with Mr Whiskers one more time, "He'll be fine, right?" while gesturing at Einar.
Mr. Whiskers assures Timmy "Yes, with Hirah's help I believe he should be." as he follows the boy.