Karethas nods wearily at Faelar, "Blasted wish magic! Stab one of them then! He tries to lob a ball of acid at one of the flailing females.
Kzrira steps away and fires an arrow pointblank into the throat of one gnoll. The second shot mortally wounds the strung out gnoll on Faelar. Faelar begins an inspiring song which hardly seems necessary with the sorry state of the attackers. Karethas finishes the wounded gnoll with a glob of acid. The remaining gnolls on Amir and Kzrira can barely lift their makeshift weapons which are easily dodged.
Kzrira- did you apply the penalty for exhaustion?
Kzrira will continue to fire her bow, which seems much more difficult to pull all of the sudden.
Attack-rapid shot:
Damage: <-- -1 for reduced Str. Unsure whether a bow can have a negative strength modifier for damage, if so, then -2 more.
Attack-rapid shot:
Damage:
Despite her weakened state, Kzrira continues to fire at the mostly incapacitated gnolls landing several shots.
Amir steps amongst his foes dropping the sap and pulling his other sword. Having already taken a blow, the rogue was not about to let this last any longer than needed..
I stop singing, but despite that my song still echoes through the halls continuing to aid my companions. I take a few steps back, to get out of the way of the combat and take a defensive posture.
Amir draws his other blade and hits with his off-hand attack. Kzrira quickly finishes that gnoll and the other member of the harem with two swift and deadly arrows. Unnaturally fatigued from the encounter, the team pauses to rest a moment and further inspect the room.
Among the soiled pillows where the gnoll concubines reclined are three unbroken ornate hookahs, a well made satchel that contains a beautifully crafted book of erotic poetry, and a fancy alabaster jewelry box. There is also a broken urn etched with a flock of doves and six unopened bottles of bitter wine.
The doors to the east were closed by Karethas' spell and the doors south are shut behind a pile of rubble.
Kzrira looks to the others:
What happened? I am exhausted. If magic is being disrupted here, we need to be very wary about its use for the time being.
"Yes, but if the spell had gone off, then the fight would have been over. Let's give it a few minutes, hopefully it will wear off like the original spell would have."
Amir nods at Karethas as he looks over the room.
Do we have any reason to think this rubble encumbered door is worth looking in?
Already exhausted from the prior fight (or was it her companions playing with magic in all the wrong places), Kzrira looks at the pile of rubble with dread.
It does not look to be too difficult a job to clear the southern doors and to be honest, the sense of exhaustion begins to fade as you ponder your next move.
I look to Kzrira slightly irritated, "You are the ones who told me to use that spell! I was more than happy to talk to the Gnolls and settle it peacefully!"
Kzrira shrugs: True, but I cannot sense that magic used here might be disrupted. Thinking of which, does anyone know what might cause such a disruption?
Karethas almost casts a spell to clean himself, but catches himself and sighs. "No, I was more commenting on the results of my hubris than on the will of the world. Rather, I think that in this area the flow of arcane energies has been disrupted, probably by the Genie Wars in the Age of Enthronement. I would suggest we rely on physical strength until we leave the area."
Karethas waves his hand distractedly at the general area, "The misuse of wish magic long ago caused all this. In any case, I don't think we want to be looking for any additional trouble. If the gnolls blocked off that doorway, then there is probably something there we don't want to encounter with our limited resources. I say we push on, and hope that this pocket of arcane disruption does not extend too much further."
Kzrira continues to look at the door. I hate leaving the unknown behind me, who knows when it might come back to bite us. In addition, these slovenly gnolls may well have put something good or useful behind the door since they appear to have been little more than unintelligent wasteful excuses for life.
Amir puts his hands on his hips and turns to the younger member of his groups. At odds, not helpful. What do you say Faelar? No stone unturned or do we leave the door alone and move on??
I look to Kzrira realization dawning on my face that she had not understood the previous discussion Karethas had initiated with us about the Arcane energies, well she knew the basics of it now. Trying desperately to find something else to talk about I turn to Amir smiling, "I would rather not leave something that could ambush us from behind, so if we have time to clear the rubble quickly and have a look I can't see what it would hurt. It isn't like the Carrion King is going anywhere ... right?"
Despite Karethas' concern, the majority feel it wiser to remove any chance of a strike from behind. The door is quickly cleared once the brief magical fatigue has waned. Curious to find out what the Carrion Harem feared so much, the doors are opened to reveal the threat beyond.
Beyond is a hall some eighty feet long with three doors spaced twenty feet apart on the west side. The east side is a colonnade that follows the wall until it opens up to the left near the end of the hall. The threat blocks the passage some twenty feet ahead- four male gnoll warriors and a pair of priests. They are apparently taken aback by the unexpected sight of something other than hairy gnoll ho's.
Amir
Karethas
Faelar
Kzrira
foe
Seeing the warriors and the priests, Kzrira once more raises her bow.
Hit the priests first, get the spellcasters down.
She then unloads two arrows at the more senior looking of the two priests.
Attack-rapid shot: <-- add +1 if < 30' for PBS and +2 if Faelar starts Inspire Courage -- +2 is FE(gnoll), remove if the priests are not gnolls
Damage: <-- add +1 if < 30', +2 if Inspire Courage active
Attack-rapid shot: <-- add +1 if < 30' for PBS and +2 if Faelar starts Inspire Courage -- +2 is FE(gnoll), remove if the priests are not gnolls
Damage: <-- add +1 if < 30', +2 if Inspire Courage active
"I think I have something to handle the other priest. Faelar, can you Grease the fighters to keep them from running for more help." With that Karethas starts the process of summoning an ally.
Sensing that he needs the aid of KArethas's minions, Amir holds to see the effect of the young man's magic before he act.
I sigh again and look at Karethas, "If you say so ... don't blame me if it backfires ... again." "Haven't we established that casting spells in this area is a bad idea, how forgetful are these people?!"
Amir steps forward ready to meet the rush. Faelar slurs down the scale and a grease slick appears beneath the gnolls in the center of the hall. The veterans remain standing however as Kzrira's shots fly past to hit one of the priests. The foul gnoll priest offers a bestial howl and breaks the arrows off from where they have pierced the mottled splint mail.
The warriors step forward, one nearly slipping in the grease stays in place, but the other three stay beyond melee range as they each pull what appears to be a severed human head from their sides and lob them at the party!
The awkward objects tumble in the air however and all miss their targets to burst on the floor and ceiling disgorging tiny scorpions. They break apart near enough that a few flying scorpions land on the back line and sting.
The rough priests don't seem particularly interested in casting and rush forward bearing corroded battle axes. They skirt the grease which ruins their charge, but they manage to reach Kzrira and Amir. Sholeh is ready however and slices the evil cleric. Neither priest in their fury comes close to injuring their foes.
Now more concerned about the dangerousness of the Gnolls, Kzrira steps back and once more fires at the priest before her.
Amir, back to the wall so they cannot flank us. Faelar and Karethas, back up and defend.
5-foot step to D2
Attack-rapid shot @ E4: <-- +2 Inspire Courage, +2 Favored Enemy
Damage:
Attack-rapid shot @ E4:
Damage:
Unlike usual, both arrows are improperly nocked and simply fall from her bow.
"Amir, help Kzrira and I will try to stop the other priest"
Amir nods to himself at Karethas' directions and the rogue shifts over to strike out at the priest bearing on Kzrira. Amir brings Simin in a wide arc, purely to distract, while striking out with Sholeh.
I look a little surprised that the spell actually worked, but didn't seem surprised that the effect hadn't been as effective as planned. I begin to whistle a small tune almost forgetting where I am.
Karethas summons a silvery leopard which leaps at the newly disengaged priest. He turns his attention to the other priest and lobs a ball of acid at him.
Leopard CR 2
XP 600
N Medium animal
Init +4; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +5
DEFENSE
AC 15, touch 14, flat-footed 11 (+4 Dex, +1 natural)
hp 19 (3d8+6)
Fort +5, Ref +7, Will +2
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft., climb 20 ft.
Melee bite +6 (1d6+3 plus grab), 2 claws +6 (1d3+3)
Special Attacks pounce, rake (2 claws +6, 1d3+3)
STATISTICS
Str 16, Dex 19, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 6
Base Atk +2; CMB +5 (+9 grapple); CMD 19 (23 vs. trip)
Feats Skill Focus (Stealth), Weapon Finesse
Skills Acrobatics +8, Climb +11, Perception +5, Stealth +11 (+15 in undergrowth); Racial Modifiers +4 on Stealth in undergrowth
Perhaps shaken by the frenzied cultist before her, Kzrira uncharacteristically fumbles her shots as she retreats. Amir sidesteps swinging high and jabbing low with his other blade. Sholeh drives deep into the threatening priest who coughs up blood and collapses.
Faelar whistles an encouraging tune as Karethas shakes off scorpions and calls a radiant leopard from beyond. The celestial cat appears mid-pounce and drags the brute priest to the ground swiftly slaying him. Karethas' acid toss falls short of the warriors.
With the priests quickly slain, the four warriors fall back behind the grease slick focusing their fire on the unnatural cat. Only one arrow hits.
Kzrira calls to the others:
Strange, that they are not attacking. Very unusual for these beasts.
She then fires 2 arrows at the closest warrior.
Attack-rapid shot:
Damage:
Attack-rapid shot:
Damage:
Although not perfect, the shots are a vast improvement over the prior two shots.
Amir will wait for the gnolls, he too is suspicious of their itentions and is confident Kzrira will win any range war they attempt to bring in the mean time.
The leopard' s silvery glow intensifies as it gracefully bounds towards one of gnolls, avoiding the grease. It lunges for the archer's neck. Karethas uses the doorway for cover and glances behind the group, checking their collective back.
Amir holds, suspicious of a trap. Faelar stops whistling and his song continues to resonate. Still heartened, Kzrira lets fly this time easily bringing down a warrior. Karethas takes cover as the leopard bounds forward and lunges at a gnoll's throat. The hyena man ducks reflexively and the leopard's fangs miss.
I stand defensively as I stop my whistling, hoping that things will be sorted out soon.
Drawing a hooked blade, the gnoll threatened by the leopard slashes it with a critical blow and it disappears. The other two warriors fire two hasty and poorly aimed shots at Kzrira before dashing around the corner leaving their companion behind.
Amir will charge if Kzrira doesn't take this one down.
Kzrira fires at the lone remaining Gnoll before it has a chance to flee.
Attack-rapid shot:
Damage:
Attack-rapid shot:
Damage:
The remaining gnoll turns, but is killed before it can follow its companions. The old rogue was halfway to his target, but stops to return marking the faint steps of the retreating gnolls ahead.