The uncertain terrain made for slow going, particularly with Yridhrennor's blindness, but the crusaders returned to the fortified inn after only dispatching a half dozen or so minor demons.
Steave asks the guards to report to Irabeth Tirablade as soon as possible. He leads Yridhrennor to a comfortable location where he can rest out of the way.
Then, he inquires who is the most competent magical healer within Defender's Heart, because his companion has been magically blinded.
Thank you, Staeve.. Yridhrenor whispers and slumps in the chair. You and Abelard are so kind. But, bravery or not, I still wasn't much of a hero, was I?
Steave puts his hand on Yridhrennor's shoulder, "you were a hero as soon as you put yourself in harm's way to protect others. Now, let's find a divine healer for your blindness."
Steave asks the guards to report to Irabeth Tirablade as soon as possible. He leads Yridhrennor to a comfortable location where he can rest out of the way.
Then, he inquires who is the most competent magical healer within Defender's Heart, because his companion has been magically blinded.
Irabeth is ready to hear Steave's report immediately.
Yridhrennor will take more time to see to, but the harried merchant that kept track of the few priests and prestesses on hand said that his people were her top priority, by order of Sir Tirablade, and he would see again come morning.
Oh.. Oh.. Um, th-thank you, Staeve. Yridhrennor blushes and buries his face in a book, despite not being able to see.
Crusader, I think you broke him. Falfaerel snickers and nips Staeve's ear. Well done!
Yridhrennor groans and buries his face deeper in to his book.
---TIME PASSES---
Thank you, Irabeth. Yridhrennor sighs once his eyes are fully healed.
---TIME PASSES---
Thank you, Irabeth. Yridhrennor sighs once his eyes are fully healed.
Irabeth doesn't do the healing, but you're welcome to thank her for putting you at the head of the queue. :)
So...next item on the agenda?
Isn't there a third cult location? Let's go there.
At Nyserian Manor, the crusaders find only ruins. They dispatch a score or so minor demons on their way to and from the place, but otherwise emerge empty-handed.
Back at Defender's Heart, Irabeth soon approaches them, expression grim.
"As horrific as recent events have been, we've come to realize that they are, in fact, merely a prelude. The razing fo the Kite, the destruction of our wardstone, Trendelev's murder, and the assault on the city were nothing more than opening gambits. The Worldwound is on the march in a more concentrated assault than we've seen since the fall of Drezen. It's fair to say the Lord of the Locust Host is finally making his move. The end of this hundred-year-war is upon us, and it falls to us to ensure victory.
"When the Templars of the Ivory Labyrinth were scattered, those who serve the Lord of the Locust Host himself remain concentrated in Old Kenabres. What we've heard from within the barricade they've erected is ominous. The cultists are waiting for something, and based on our own information and what you've managed to recover so far, it sound like the vile witch Areelu Vorlesh will soon be coming to Kenabres. And it appears we've determined what she intends to do.
"When the wardstone was destroyed by the Storm King, it exploded and destroyed the Kite. The network along the border failed, but did not fade completely. I believe this is because a significant portion of our wardstone still exists, and that the cultists have taken it to the garrison in Kenabres. From what we've learned, they're hoping to engineer a way to somehow reverse the field generated by the wardstones-essentially, to use our greatest defense as a devastating weapon.
"The attack on Kenabres had a predictable result: causing the crusade to gather at the border to defend it. Some wonder why the demons haven't attacked in stronger numbers. I believe that Areelu was counting on us massing along the border, and that if she can corrupt the wardstone field, she can strike a devastating blow against us all. In effect, we've been lined up for the slaughter.
"Vorlesh is surely seeking some object of great Abyssal power, likely the Nahyndrian crystal mentioned in the missive you recovered, and with it she intends to turn the source of our hope into an unimaginable nightmare. We cannot hope to evacuate everyone from the border-I doubt they would give up the defensive line even if they knew what the enemy planned. But we can still stop this from happening-we need to have someone infiltrate the Gray Garrison, locate the wardstone fragment, and destroy it."
.
As soon as Irabeth is finished, Steave steps forward, "we will not stand by and let this happen. I accept this mission. let's go destroy this wardstone fragment at the Gray Garrison."
Galin nods, his hand reaching to the blade at his belt, The sooner the better.
Theran hefts hishammer over his shoulder, "I can get behind that."
Abelard smiles, the skin crinkling around his ruined eyes. "I was thinkin' the same thing. If'n I hang round here much longer I'll just get lazy. Let's go find some evil, an' smite it good and hard."
"You do yourselves great credit to persevere through this all. Great spirits have broken in less dire times," Irabeth said. "It falls on we who remain to carry on the cause and you have not flinched from your duty.
"The Gray Garrison is intact and held strongly. A conventional assault with our resources cannot carry it without asking more miracles still in the wake of our survival. Your elite force may do better, especially with a distraction. It will mean risking some of what we still hold, but I can spare volunteers enough to make a convincing show. We can time our strikes to your convenience. Even still, it might require several attacks to reduce the garrison. Some of your friends from below have agreed to join us."[/b]
"But if you can destroy the wardstone fragment, we will save far more than ourselves. On that subject, allow me to introduce Quednys Orlun."
An aged, hard-eyed man with an eagle's talon tattoo on his face who had kept as respectful a distance as Defender's Heart's cramped quarters allowed, inched forward. He looked vaguely familiar from the Armasse festivities.
"Now then, Sir Irabeth has explained the basics but you should know a wardstone doesn't die easily. If they did, we'd have been in this mess long ago. I can't say what's left of ours, but it's less than it was. That makes it more vulnerable to whatever Vorlesh plans. Turning that vulnerability our way would take some doing. Pure luck, thank the gods, that I came on a tool fit for the job.
Quednys drew a rod as long as his forearm forth, made of a silvery metal that had curves and whorls like a similar length of natural wood, forked at the top. The fork grasped a green crystal.
"This wouldn't be a tap on the wrist for an intact wardstone, but should do for a broken one. No need to tell you how to work it," Quednys gave Yridhrennor a respectful nod. "But if the worst happens, all it takes is sticking the business end of the damned thing on the wardstone. One good, solid contact. No spells to cast, no command words. Don't know if the stone'll take it well, so you best make peace with your gods before putting it to work, if you get the chance."
Yridhrennor blushes and holds the rod with reverence. I'll do my best to live up to your faith in me.
"Can you tell us more about the Gray Garrison? Maybe do you have a map? How many exits? What's the most probable place to keep the wardstone? How best to approach it? Best time of day to attack? That kind of stuff." Steave asks tactically.
"Can you tell us more about the Gray Garrison? Maybe do you have a map? How many exits? What's the most probable place to keep the wardstone? How best to approach it? Best time of day to attack? That kind of stuff." Steave asks tactically.
"They patrol too heavily for us to get a clear view to their dispositions. Drawing off those patrols will be part of our task," Irabeth explained. "But many of us have been in the building before. We can provide you with a map. Our best guess is that the wardstone would be on the third floor. The Garrison was built to withstand siege, so there are no windows and the walls are thick. You'll have to fight your way through the other two levels to reach it. But these are demoniacs. Their minds twist in strange ways.
"Lovely, a frontal attack. Can we handle a night assault? It might reduce their range of effect if they have any archers. How will we breach the door?"
"Lovely, a frontal attack. Can we handle a night assault? It might reduce their range of effect if they have any archers. How will we breach the door?"
"We can do a night attack, Irabeth said. She pointed to a spot on the second floor. "There's a shutter here, barred with iron. If it's open or you can get it open, you could go in. But it's right above and next to the doors. Hard to get by unseen. For the door, we have a portable ram."
That night, the crusaders accompany Irabeth and her company into Old Kenabres, before separating. A quarter hour later, they hear the distant noise of battle and see cultists racing toward it in the distance.
Pushing on with their task, the crusaders arrived before the Gray Garrison. A large stretch of buckled ground and rubble stretched before the building. It was an unlovely building, squat and gray on the ground once beside the Cathedrel of St. Clydwell. The cathedral is no more-nothing remains but a towering mound of rubble and a deep, ragged rift in the ground.
Four obscenely bloated men stood guard at the doors, one recognizably a vastly swelled version of Lord Hulrun. Kenabres' mayor and one-time inquisitor must have put on more than a hundred pounds. The other looked vaguely familiar, but after a moment's consideration the Kenabres natives made the connection: next to Lord Hulrun stood Kandro Nyserian. The crusaders visited the remains of his manor just that day.
The bloated men let out a cheerful roar on seeing the crusaders' approach, throwing their arms in the air and making complex gestures. Black rays shot from their fingers, playing across the crusaders and tearing their flesh like blades. Yridhrennor reeled and collapsed under the onslaught, which left none unscathed.
Inits:
Total 56, average 11.2. Bad guys win.
They all cast mass inflict light wounds. Each cast is three targets. Since they're demons and don't have reason to prioritize targets much yet, going with random victims. If I get a double I'll reroll, since the spell doesn't let you double up in a single casting.
Abelard, Galin, Theran.
(+3 charm/comp)
Steave, Yridhrennor, and a reroll.
Theran.
(+3 charm/comp)
Galin, Yridhrennor, and a reroll.
Omitting the previous leaves us with 3 options: Abelard, Steave, and Theran
Theran it is.
(+3 charm/comp)
Abelard, Galin, Yridhrennor. The dice hate elves.
Ouch. Y is at -1.
Theran reaches out to the Elf, restoring him.
After that, he will advance to the one on the end.
Galin moves towards the men, stabbing at the nearest one,
Cast 1: Abelard, Galin, and Theran take 3
Cast 2: Steave, Theran, and Yridhrennor take 2
Cast 3: Galin, Theran, and Yridhrennor take 5
Cast 4: Abelard, Galin, and Yridhrennor take 3
Totals:
Abelard 6
Galin 6
Steave 2
Theran 10
Yridhrennor 10
Carrying a ladder, Steave charges an obscenely bloated man guarding the door. He twirls and drops the ladder near him and uses the distraction to throw a snapkick.
In that case I wouldn't cure, but would be attacking.
Yridhrennor gasps in pain. Gwirodydd o bridd, slic y ddaear ac yn dod â fy ngelynion at eu pengliniau!
Slick oil bubbles up from between the stones of the tower, covering the ground beneath the feet of the two demons near Galin.
Theran, Last of Clan Silverlight, rushed forward and swung his earthbreaker into the nearest bloated figure. Where cold iron meets flesh, the latter tears, bubbles, emits foul vapors and draws forth a howl of pain. Galin pushed forward just in Theran's wake, his cold iron rapier working its own magic on demon hide.
Steave, weighing the human appearance of the foe, charged with his feet and fists. He landed a solid blow that the man hardly seemed to feel.
Stricken, Yridhrennor answered abyssal magic with his own, "Gwirodydd o bridd, slic y ddaear ac yn dod â fy ngelynion at eu pengliniau!" A slick of oil bubbled up beneath the demons to Galin's flank, but both held their footing until they tried to leave the slick. Then they slipped and fell in Yridhrennor's conjury.
The other two launched themselves at Theran, swinging great scythes. The first caught him on the side, but the spirits warned him in time to dodge the second.
Abelard forged forward, swinging his falchion and coming just short as the demons flinched back fro the huge blade.
Steave's damage is knocked down by DR.
Ref DC 16
and they saved.
Bad guys now. They step out of the grease.
Or not. They need a new set of saves.
and they're on their asses. I've marked them as such with the icon of a tiny man with his ass sparkling.
That'll do for them this round. The other two:
bugger
nope
Galin swings again at the demon,
His snapkick was less effective that usual due to demonic protection. Steave draws his cold iron longsword and slashes.
Abelard again swings and fails to connect, but he does at least use his healing power to restore himself to full health.
"You aren't dead yet? Actually you are.
He works to finish of the evil thing before him.
Yridhrennor mutters a few more arcane words and he is surrounded by a glowing nimbus of light.
Galin pierced the demon nearest him, still slipping in Yridhrennor's slick, and drew a fresh howl of pain.
Steave drew his blade and struck, slashing demon flesh to much more effect. Abelard tried the same, but again his large blade prompted the demon to flinch back. He took the moment's respite to heal himself.
"You aren't dead yet? Actually you are." Theran said, swinging his earthbreaker again. The demon declined to obligingly die, but Theran could tell that he wounded it badly.
Yridhrennor cast a warding over himself.
The demons still standing pushed forward with flashing scythes. Steave caught the one meant for him on his trusty shield, but Theran had no such luck and suffered a deep slash. The others, down in Yridhrennor's grease slick, struggle to gain traction. Only one succeeds, crawling out to the far side and rising.
Attacks!
Other two try to get up.
one up! He steps out of the grease.
Galin stabs at the prone demon,
Steave starts to remember his technique and slashing the demon again.
As the injuries build up, he grits his teeth to finish this before he goes down.
Abelard smiles warmly as his opponent steps back, giving him room for a proper swing. "Mighty obligin' of ya."
His cold iron falchion goes right past the demon's defences, biting deeply into its skin. It is powered by all of his wrath. Many people hate demons; it's natural. For Abelard, it's personal.
Yridhrenor takes aim with his crossbow and fires on one of the prone demons.
M
Galin seized the opportunity and thrust his blade into the flank of the demon still bedeviled by Yridhrennor's oil slick. Steave didn't have the advantage of a distracted foe, but proved just as able to rend demon flesh with his own blade. To Steave's side, Theran gritted his teeth at his wounds, and smashed his earthbreaker into his demon once more. It nearly fell under the blow.
Burning with wrath, Abelard thanked his and Steave's demon and then slashed deep into its abyssal hide. Like Theran's foe, it nearly collapsed under the attack.
Yridhrennor took aim at the demon Galin wounded and loosed a quarrel its way. The bolt sailed just over its head.
Theran's demon roared and tore open its own hide, splitting Kandro Nyserian down the middle. A pallid, five-jawed worm emerged from the ruin. The demon before Steave threw his hands into the air and begins mystical gestures again, but Steave and Abelard press in and he abandons the effort to save his stolen skin. Galin's demon rose, taking a stab from the crusader for his troubles as the last of the demons rounded the oil slick and raced for Yridhrennor, scythe raised high.
AC bonus from prone made Y's bolt miss.
One demon pops his flesh.
He also loses 3 points off his AC.
Second demon does a defensive cast.
no good.
Prone tries to rise.
he's up. THat provokes off Galin.
And a double move for the last guy.
Galin stabbed powerfully at the demon closest to him before running towards Yridhrennor,
Steave slashes at the demon carving through its foul skin.
Pleased with the success of his last strike, Abelard swings again - but misses this time.
"Now I know why everybody is so annoyed at you guys. You're harder to kill that dire boars." he says.
"Oh, and the whole sacrificing innocents thing. That's wrong too."
Yridhrennor pauses long enough to allow Galin, who flanks the demon with elf, to get a good swing in at the demon. Then, a glowing tear cuts into the air just behind the elf and he steps backwards through it. A similar glowing line rends the air a few paces east of Gallin and the arcanist calmly steps out, already muttering arcane words.
Gwirodydd y Ddaear! Wrando ar fy ngalwad a rhwystro ôl traed fy ngelynion!
A small pit appears beneath the demon Gallin just struck!
He waits just long enough for Gallin to get his flank on
Then, he burns 1 arcane reservoir point for a Dimensional Slide: 10' move per level (so 30') which puts him 3 squares east of Gallin. This does not provoke an AoO as it only counts as a 5' step.
Then, when he reappears, he casts stumble gap on the ground beneath the demon. DC 16
Galin thrust deep into the demon nearer him before racing to Yridhrennor's aid. The demon slumped and nearly fell, ichor running from its sundered skin. As Galin advanced on Yridhrennor's foe, Steave cut deep into his own demon and likewise brought it near to collapse.
Abelard swung his heavy falchion once more, but the demon had grown wise to his style and did dodged to the side instead of back this time, letting the blade flash past near enough for the wind of its passing to stir the hair on the demon's head.
"Now I know why everybody is so annoyed at you guys. You're harder to kill that dire boars," Theran said. "Oh, and the whole sacrificing innocents thing. That's wrong too."
Yridhrennor paused long enough to allow for Galin's arrival. Then, a glowing tear cut into the air just behind the elf and he stepped backwards through it. A similar glowing line rent the air a few paces east of Gallin and the arcanist calmly stepped out, already muttering arcane words.
"Gwirodydd y Ddaear! Wrando ar fy ngalwad a rhwystro ôl traed fy ngelynion!"
A shallow pit opened up beneath Yridhrennor's attacker. The demon stumbled and fell into it, sprawling on the ground.
The demons infesting the body of Lord Hulrun and a man with a long beard tore free from their skin, revealing two more five-jawed worms. The three exposed worms launched themselves at the crusaders, but only managed to score a small bite through Abelard's armor.
The other, still wearing its stolen flesh, dodged Galin's blade as it rose and attacked. Galin parried the scythe's reaching blade as if it were a fencer's foil.
and he's tripped
Demons: two drop skin. -3 to their AC and
Also turns out that's a swift action, so they still get attacks. These are bites, though. Not so fun as scythes.
miss
hit
miss
And the guy down by Galin stands, provoking.
miss
miss
Galin stepped in close to avoid the scythe blade as he struck again at the demon who had assailed Yridhrennor,
Steave grits his teeth and slashes at the five-jawed worm.
No words anymore, just a scream of rage.
Yridhrennor fires on one of the demons with his crossbow