The shadow touches Mud, hoping to kill him and his tiny strength score. Mud has 4 Str now.
Achahut clobbers the shadow into oblivion.
The murals are written in Druidic. Ood can read them, and they detail the history of the Sky Tempest Temple. Exiled from the Sodden Lands to the far north, the Storm Kindlers emigrated to the region and began their first storm callings. Eventually they discovered a ritual before being betrayed by Chitauli and his cult following the elemental lords of Hshursha and Kalizandri.
The stairwell descends below. You hear the rushing sound of water.
Ood discusses the Druidic writings and comments on any historical context if he can think of any.
Alset considers the religious aspects of the writings.
Stonewall puts his flail back on his belt and gathers his axe. As the others look around, he checks his axe for nicks and dings, but can’t find any. He marvels at the adamantine blade as Ood and Alset scour the frescos for significance. As they finish, he heft’s his shield and says, [/b]”Onward boys!”[/b],takes his place at the head of the group, and leads the way down the stairs toward the roaring water. Stonewall glances toward the new ring on his finger for reassurance.
Hot, moist air and the roar of falling water fill this room. The descending stairs end at a twenty foot long hallway, which expands briefly before abruptly opening onto a huge chamber. Torches on the western and eastern walls illuminate the area.
The edge of this corridor falls down twenty feet to a swirling lake that stretches out fifteen feet before coming to a wall of churning storm clouds rising up to the chamber's ceiling. A wedge-shaped plinth (N2) hovers twenty feet above the swirling waters at your feet, supported by some unseen force and lashed to iron rings in the wall with sturdy-but-damp ropes.
Stonewall wracks his brain trying to think of what spells would be causing all this.
The platform is obviously floating due to a permanent levitate spell effect. There is a sail below the platform that catches the wind that circles the chamber counter-clockwise. You could easily detach the ropes and the plinth would float around the circle above the water, albeit slowly.
The barrier in the center is a wall of force spell, and will deal electricity and cold damage to anyone that touches it.
What a sight to behold. "well, what do you think?"
"Don't be touching that barrier in the middle. Looks like some kind of wall of force that hurts you when you touch it. Sounds like something is being protected there in the middle. If we unhook this platform, it should circle around to those other halls. Lets do some more exploring and see if we can figure out whats going on here."
Stonewall moves to unlatch the platform, eyeing the water below with unease.
"Sounds like a plan"
Ood moves to watch over Stonewall as he unlatches, an eye out for danger.
The party moves onto the floating plinth, the weight rocking beneath
each step you like a ship at sea. After Stonewall unlatches the ropes, the plinth slowly moves over the waters beneath you toward the east. In what feels like forever (but is less than a minute) the plinth eventually stops before the first opening. It seems the sail beneath is designed to turn when reaching an entrance, and will wait for 2 rounds before continuing on if not latched. There are two hooks to tie the rope to attached to the stone wall.
The churning waters and whirling lightning continue to circle below and beside you. A frigid wind blows through the tunnel you now stand in front of, gusting snow and mist into the central vortex. Thick sheets of frost line the floor and walls of this chamber. On the eastern wall is a statue of a sinewy woman wrapped in flowing shawls, and another of a draconic creature with gills.
Alset gives his potion of lesser restoration to Mud.
"Thanks, Alset," Mud says. "I'm so weak already I didn't even notice."
Ood moves deftly trying not to disturb the plinth's balance as he moves in effort to tie the rope securing the plinth and examines the statues for any historical significance.
Ood shares what knowledge he has.
Alset ponders the religious implications of what he sees before the party.
Stonewall shivers at the stiff wind and squints as he looks down the hall that has been brought to view. "Why can't we go somewhere that is nice and temperate? The constant rain, this driving cold, I'm tired of it." He braces his shield in front of him to break the wind and starts down the hallway, clanking with every movement. The chilly conditions pique his interest and he wracks his brain to remember what could be causing this dismal domain.
Tying the ropes is no issue for Ood. He even walks across the ice path with composed balance. As the others walk across the icy floor, your feet slip and you have to walk slowly to keep your balance.
The statues, Alset determines, are of Hshursha and Kalizandri, the two elemental lords of air and water.
Nothing is magical about the room. The hallway continues in its frozen slickness to the east.
"Do we smash these statues, Al?" Achahut asks. "If not let's march on ahead."
Alset detects evil on the statues. If they're evil, smashing them is next. If not, then we move on.
"Let's keep moving!"
No evil is in this room.
In N4, thick sheets of ice cover the walls and floor here, formed by the bone-chilling cold that suffuses the room. Two wooden benches stand opposite each other here. Bas-reliefs carved into the ice layer depict a myriad of humans worshiping a vast dragonlike creature while others show devotees venerating a raging cyclone. These two are obviously the same gods carved into the statues in the previous room.
The cold is biting, cutting through your thin layers of jungle-ready clothes.
Alset feels the chill, numbing cold in his toes, and Stonewall and Mud are in too much cold-infused metal to avoid the worst of it.
Mud's teeth chattering, wrapping a blanket around him, he says, "I-I-I-I-I'm s-s-s-s-s-so c-c-c-c-c-c-c-cold."
He reaches out a hand and casts endure elements on himself. He looks around, warm and happy, and says, "I forgot I can cast spells now! Oh, wait, did one of you want that? I... can only cast it once per day..."
"Why don't we smash and burn this place? I've got some Alchemical fire to help light those benches."
Alset tosses a flask of alchemist's fire at the benches.
Ood note's the cold with interest, but calms his breathing and does not seem effected for the time being.
"Maybe we should look down that hall to the north before we set this room alight."
Alset lobs the bomb at the bench, burning a few slats on the seat clean through.
"Let's just keep moving, maybe the next room will be warmer?"
Achahut moves on to the next room.
Ood follows Achahut into the next room watching for hazards.
Stonewall's shivers escalate but he looks askance at Alset when he throws the Alchemist's Fire. "Letssss justtt get this ovvvver with and get sommmmewhere warm."
The hall expands into a larger chamber, curving out until it's thirty feet long and thirty feet wide. A cage of icy shafts encloses a floating, crystalline orb three feet above the stone floor. Two rime-coated statues flank the hallway leading north.
The icy chill of the room is emanating from the orb, which also gives off strong conjuration aura.
"Alset, hold off on burning this one. Does that look like anything to anyone?"
Alset quickly warms his hands on the fire and moves to follow the others.
"Looks like that might be powering the storms! Does anyone here good with using magical items ? If not, we may just have to try smashing it."
Stonewall readies his axe and prepares to take a swing at the orb.
"Maybe we should hit it with an arrow? Hitting it directly might end badly."
”Ah, good idea, I’ll just clear away some of this ice so we have a good shot at it.”. Instead of attacking the orb directly, Stonewall clears away the icy cage around it.
Stonewall puts his hands on the cage, the cold bars feeling solid, and he cannot break them by hand. As his mighty arms are unable to pull the bars apart, he tries smashing it with his flail.
The ice shatters, and the storm seed is now free and floating.
Mud, fanning himself and holding a lemonade, says, "I cannot diffuse any kind of magical device. Can you hand me some of that ice?" He rattles his glass.
"Looks like that might be powering the storms! Does anyone here good with using magical items ? If not, we may just have to try smashing it."Stonewall readies his axe and prepares to take a swing at the orb.
"I have some skill with magic devices."
"Here goes." Alset studies the device and attempts to deactivate it.
Alset pulls out his masterwork adamantine morningstar and goes to work.
"I think that is not something I would be able to do, additionally, punching it seems like it would be hazardous."
Alset's first attempt fails. But with a holy whack, the storm seed bursts, releasing a gush of elemental energy.
After the seed explodes, you feel the cold energy suffusing the room dissipate. The biting cold still lingers, but the howling wind has died down. Down the hall behind you, however, the vortex still swirls in the center of the Storm Engine.
Crick. Crack. Snap.
The two statue that had been silent and still before break their joints free of the rime, stretching their jaws, wings, and finned claws.
Round 1; AC 16, HP 42/42
Icy surfaces: Acrobatics DC 15 to move more than 1/2 your speed. If fail, fall prone.
Ood and Alset are up. Don't forget about your nonlethal damage from the cold earlier.
Round 1 | HP 27/43 | Arrows 17/40 | Lay on Hands 3/5
As Alset releases an arrow at the closest gargoyle when it comes into view, he checks his knowledge base for info on the rather icy creatures.
Alset knows nothing.
Alset's arrow attempts to damage the gargoyle.
Ood moves toward the nearest statue and punches mightily.
The blow seems to land with a solid thunk.
Alset's magic bow and arrows pierce through the icy stoneflesh of the aquatic gargoyle. Ood shifts and deals a solid blow as well, his ki-powered fists hitting with full force.
The kapoacinth on the right attacks Ood, while the left one shifts to Achahut and attacks with full force.
Round 2, HP 10/42 (Right), 42/42 (left), AC 16
Mud does his thing.
Party is up.
Round 2 | HP 27/43 | Arrows 17/40 | Mon. Bane Arrows 10/10 | Lay on Hands 3/5
Alset sensing the end of the right-most gargoyle let's fly another of his Monstrous Bane arrows.
The right gargoyle is finished as the arrow splits his skull in two.
Round 2 | HP 27/43 | +1 CMD | +2 Attack/AC on AoOs
Stonewall recoils from the explosion of electrical energy emanating from the broken shards of the storm sees. The attack by the ice encrusted gargoyles comes as a complete shock but he whirls on them and closes on the remaining creature to make himself as big a target as possible. He swings his giant axe in an overhead chop at the gargoyle.
Ready for a vicious head wound, Stonewall feels an unexpected resistance from the skin of the Kapoacinth and the resultant injury is only a small scratch.
round 2
HP 33/42
Ood closes with the remaining gargoyle and lets loose a kick
Round 2
HP: 58/58
Status: -2 St
Achahut takes a 5-foot step towards the monster to get into range and swings her greatsword.
Then she screams in its face, hoping to intimidate it.
The kapoacinth is frightened by Achahut's scream. He claws at this new and horrifying enemy.
"What a scaredy cat," Mud says.
Round 3, HP 8/42, AC 16, DR 10/magic
Round 3 | HP 27/43 | Arrows 17/40 | Mon. Bane Arrows 9/10 | Lay on Hands 3/5
Alset senses the demise of the gargoyle and continues with another normal arrow at the remaining kapoacinth.
Round 3
HP: 58/58
Status: Str -2
After the creature's attack does nothing, Achahut displays her teeth to the rock creature in a grin.
With a shout, she stabs as though trying to use her sword to pin it to the wall.