Unbeknownst to Del he is no longer sliding down the slope into eternal slumber. He sleeps the sleep of a deep coma, occasionally visions, tastes and smells of the most incredible array of fine liquors and alcoholic beverages flutter through his mind.
Scarlet’s attack hits the first Varag as he passes by but then falls to the Nagatha just before it mist away.
Initiative
Barnabus
Lanliss
Del
Bozvrig
Dalron
X
Scarlet
Barnabus looses a Force Missile at Xeron.
Lanliss rolls his eyes at the elf girl's words, but his demeanor quickly changes to worry when he sees Scarlet fall. In a panic, Lanliss wildly chops at Xeron again.
Bozvrig retaliates against the varag closest to him.
Truffles chases down the one that got past Scarlet.
Xeron smiles at Lanliss standing before him. “I knew you would return to usss my child. It is time!” Xerons form begins to change into that of a viper. He begins to slither away to Leera. She picks him up and makes her way for the small hole in the floor and dives on through. As she passed by Dalron the snake kisses out towards him, causing Dalron to flinch in fear.
The last remaining Varag attacks out at Lanliss in defense of Xeron, but misses.
You currently have an unconscious Del and Scarlet on the ground. Scarlet looks to be bleeding out.
Seeing his force missile fizzle against Xeron, Barnabus turns his next one against the singing girl.
"I told you she was a were-rat!"
Slides deeper into internal slumber.
Stunned by the constant stream of unexpected events, Lanliss is in a daze as he swings his sword at the final Varag.
Bozvrig hacks at the snake as it passes by, shouting, “Don’t let ‘em get away!”
Also confused by the slippery villains, he swings wildly at the naked varag.
Truffels actually helps.
Xeron and Leera are able to flee through the hole in the floor.
The party then attacks out at the remaining Varag and Truffels is able to land the killing blow. As the last Varag hits the floor silence overtakes the room, other than the noise from your heavy breathing and your boots on the floor you don’t hear anything else.
Looking around the room you see Scarlet and Del laying on the floor, still breathing but covered in blood. Your eyes make their way to the hole in the floor where Leera and Xeron fled. Darkness and the unknown is all that is before you.
A burst of energy emits from the four statues. The wave cuts through the group and echos through the halls that you traveled through.
All four of the statues look at you. The statue of the king looks up, and a translucent apparition steps forward. He speaks ina strong but somehow distant voice, smiling warmly. “Thank you m friends. It is good to see that heroism remains in this world.” looking at his appearance he continues; My time to return is not now, but it might be soon.” Looking between the group he speaks up once more; “You must make haste if you are to stop that wretched snake Xeron.”
Another burst of energy pulses from the four statues cutting through the group once more and again echos through the tomb behind you. The four remaining statues have a translucent apparitions appear from within them. The apparition that appeared from the king continues; “You must stop them and retrieve what they stole from my champions and my own sarcophagi...”
“Aye, dat shoulda been our last fight...” Bozvrig kicks a pebble across the floor, then helps Scarlet and Del back to their feet. “No time for naps, boys, we gotta get movin’”
Barnabus casts Light on a stone and tosses it down in the hole.
"No mommy. I don't want to get up yet. I'm so tired".
Slowly Del comes back to consciousness. He feels very weak, and reaches up to feel the freshly knitted scar transversing his head from above his left eyebrow, across his nose, and past his jaw, His beard was missing in about an inch wide swathe.
He struggles to his feet, and looks down at the large bloodstain. "Is all that mine"?
"Some of it was the other guy's." Barnabus tells his fellow dwarf.
Scarlet's eyes burst open upon the first wave of energy that heals and jumps up, sword in hand. Waiting for another attack to come. But seeing the current battle is over and relaxes as the second wave of healing washes over him.
He feels fine now except for his thoughts feel a little cloudy.
"Last thing I remember the elf girl joined the battle? Did we take down the lizard guy?"
Looking around, not seeing the body of the lizard guy or the elf girl, "I guess not?"
"Dey went down dis hole," Bozvrig says as he peers in after Barnie's glowing pebble.
He struggles to his feet, and looks down at the large bloodstain. "Is all that mine"?
"Some of it was the other guy's." Barnabus tells his fellow dwarf.
"He's right!" Lanliss exclaims, fishing out his wand of cure light wounds as he approaches.
"Del, I believe you turned the tide of the battle. That hobgoblin was the most dangerous foe here, I think, but your attack set him up to fall to Dalron's shot. Xeron and Leera fled, the summoned thing dissolved, and the varags weren't the major threats. Well done!"
"I wonder where the two varags came from, though."
Lanliss looks at apparitions around the room. "And why this king will need to return."
"We can worry about the King thing later. Lets go after the elf girl and the lizard guy before they can cause more harm."
Scarlet moves toward the hole Bozvrig pointed out and will start going down it if he can.
Lanliss looks at apparitions around the room. "And why this king will need to return."
The apparition of the king looks to Lanliss; “In my time it was prophesied that my rule would end prematurely, but that I would return to aid in the world in its most dire struggle. I sense that time is coming, but my bones have been stolen, and if they are not recovered, i dont know if the prophecy can be fulfilled.”
"What did they steal?"
“They stole my bones, and the weapons of my wife and my champions! Those arms are very powerful and should not be used in the service of evil. Still, they did not get this...” The king reaches down into a sarcophagi nd through its bottom. When his hand emerges, it holds a black longsword that glows with a silvery light.
“I am King Theron and this weapon, Merthuvial,” he says, “once helped me save a kingdom. May it aid you in your heroics and service to me. The name you should know is Sertrous. I heard those men refer to something called the Vanguard of Sertrous, and while I do not know who or what the Vanguard of Sertrous is, I know that it is evil. It must not triumph.” He holds the blade out this jet black longsword with a plain hilt decorated by a single large pearl in the pommel. It appears to be in perfect condition.
After handing you the sword, the apparitions disappears, as do the lifelike images on the other statues. The quiet of stone and death pervades once again as the light of the magic blade shines brightly.
Merthuvial in Celestial translates to Kingmaker.
Bozvrig stares slackjawed as Dalron is handed a legendary sword, but at Truffel's nudging, he remembers the chase is still on.
"Let's go get dem bones," he urges as he helps lower Scarlet down the hole.
Bozvrig stares slackjawed as Dalron is handed a legendary sword,
"Most of my magic has been expended,but I've still got my axe."
"My magic as well, but Xeron has also expended some of his magic, and unless he was able to heal himself, he took significant wounds. And it sounds like they are trying to accomplish something that we don't want them to accomplish. Leera seems like the type who's really dangerous if she takes us by surprise, so let's try to not let her do that."
Lanliss turns to the apparition of King Theron. "We will hunt those two down, if for no other reason than for the horrors they are responsible for inflicting on the villagers above this tomb. What can we expect down that hole?"
King Theron gives Lanliss, and the rest of the party, a slight bow. “I am not sure what is beyond. This is where our resting place ends. I sense a new world beyond. You have cleared the evils from this tomb, I am sure you will succeed.”
"I wonder where the two varags came from, though."
Bozvrig stares slackjawed as Dalron is handed a legendary sword,
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CLW #1
CLW #2
CLW #3
CLW #4
Del closes his eyes and flinches as Lanliss bestows the blessings of the wand on him. Each use makes him jump and cringe a little more as though expecting the worst. Finally after four times he holds up his hand.
"Thank you! That's enough for now... don't want to press my luck anymore".
"Let's go".
Del takes the ring from his pocket and leaves it in the room, just to be sure.
Barnabus waits for Del to move on, and then pockets the 'cursed' ring.
Barnabus picks up the ring and remembers that it is a Ring of Swimming, +5 on swim checks.
Dalron takes a look at the hobgoblin and sees that he has a MW Half-Plate, MW Greataxe, 3 Throwing Axes, 4 Pearls (100 gold each) and a Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds
You remember that you downed two Varags in the room before the waterfall. The group quickly was on the chase after the leader who ran off through the waterfall room and into the spider room. The leader met his doom at the maw of the Tomb Spider
Waits for everyone to be ready before heading out.
INT check
Del picks up the proffered sword and swings it a few times, unable to keep a smile from his face at its fine workmanship and balance. ”I guess it won’t hurt to wield it and see how it works. I ain’t never had a ghost hand me a weapon before...”
Barnabus casts Detect Magic and Identify (from a scroll) and examines the sword.
Barnabus, Del, Dalron and Scarlet pull their minds together and study the sword. Somewhere in Barnabus’s studies he came across a sword that was forged by dwarves in the heat of a volcano. It had slipped his mind until all of them converged. That blade Barnabus that was forged by dwarves in a volcano is in deed Merthuvial.
Its adamantine blade proved devastating against marauding cave trolls and mountain orcs. The weapon was one of many, but it earned distinction when its wielded saved the life of the dwarf king by sundering a stone giant’s weapon and spearing the creature on the point of the sword. The king ennobled this dwarf warrior, and the warrior, in turn, presented Merthuvial to his lord in tribute.
Merthuvial is a jet-black +1 Adamantine Longsword. When unsheathed, the weapon glows with a light the strength of a torch. 1/day before learning the results you can reroll one Diplomacy check.
You feel a charge placed upon you, as you have received The King’s Gift marking you as Merthuvial’s rightful owner.
"That is being a right smart blade you are carrying now."
"Very interesting sword."
Everyone begins to climb through the hole in the ground. At first there is a ledge, but then it gives way to a fall. There is a rope tide up and after examining the rope you come to the conclusion it is secure. The party descends...
Lightless space gives way to your illumination, revealing a restricted, steeply sloping tunnel that is maybe 5 feet wide and 7 feet tall. Posts of green wood hold up the walls. The air is damp, stinking with rot. If the slope holds, the tunnel likely surfaces hundreds of yards to the north, though how much farther it penetrates to the south is lost to darkness.
This tunnel was rapidly and rudely dug in the last month by someone using a combination of picks and magic. In fact, it has the look of an exploratory shaft sunk into the earth to locate valuable minerals.
The tunnel goes on for several hundred yards. The rotting smell remains and the green wood that holds up the walls continue on also.
Just as you are getting your hopes up of breaking the surface you reach a defeating point where you find that the rotting smell must be coming from the green wood. The walls and ceiling have collapsed at this point.
You don’t know how much further it could be to reach the surface.
The steep passage descends for what seems like miles before you see an opening in the floor. Before reaching the opening you notice that the air seems to pulse ahead, bringing with it a scent like that which precedes a storm.
"But no...no... I am not worthy! Here you should wield it".
He tries to give the sword to Barnabus... "It is Star metal... Adamantine. A true Dwarf should wield it".
After much convincing, the Barbaric Dwarf finally agrees to keep it until one more fitting comes along. When he hold the sword however it somehow reaches out to him.
Is it possible? Could this sword actually want me?
He sheathes the weapon, and turns to Barnabus. "I would have a word with you if we live through this when we take our rest. Know that for now I shall use this weapon as it is intended".
Looking both north and south, he waits for everyone to join him in the tunnel. "Well, which way do you guys want to go?"