The Four Pillars

Game Master chavamana

"He's coming to suck the marrow from our bones and devour our souls to strengthen himself," Chancre says. "This will cement his metamorphosis into unholy glory. That's the basic gist of it."

"...and that's his name." Chancre screws his face up into a strange configuration, then abruptly relaxes it and shakes his head. "Can't say as I've heard of him."

"اسے نہیں سنا ہے. کیا نشانی تک میں اسے جانتا ہوں گا؟"

"You think I should learn more languages?

اور یہ جس مالک ہے؟"

Samirah wrinkles her nose. "I think you should learn more attractive sounding languages, at least."

"نم. مرہم. سوپ بنیں. You may be right."

"نم. مرہم. سوپ بنیں. You may be right."

This draws a confused frown from Konstantin.

Chancre Cailean wrote:

"You think I should learn more languages?

اور یہ جس مالک ہے؟"

Samirah wrinkles her nose. "I think you should learn more attractive sounding languages, at least."

"Might I recommend Elven? Gwrandewch ar sut neis y mae'n swnio; pa mor hyfryd ei fod yn disgyn oddi ar y tafod," pipes in Míril with a smile.

"It has to pass the three words test," Chancre says. "نم. مرہم. سوپ بنیں. رطبة. مرهم. يصبح الحساء. Mitra. Ziede. Izkust."

"It has to pass the three words test," Chancre says. "نم. مرہم. سوپ بنیں. رطبة. مرهم. يصبح الحساء. Mitra. Ziede. Izkust."

"What are the three words in Taldane?"

"Might I recommend Elven? Gwrandewch ar sut neis y mae'n swnio; pa mor hyfryd ei fod yn disgyn oddi ar y tafod," pipes in Míril with a smile.

"Yes, exactly. Much better on the ears!"

"It has to pass the three words test," Chancre says. "نم. مرہم. سوپ بنیں. رطبة. مرهم. يصبح الحساء. Mitra. Ziede. Izkust."

"That second one wasn't bad."

Assuming Míril is/was given the 3 test words...

"Llaith. Eli. Datawdd."

"It has to pass the three words test," Chancre says. "نم. مرہم. سوپ بنیں. رطبة. مرهم. يصبح الحساء. Mitra. Ziede. Izkust."

Konstantin shakes his head. "Yes, this is what I thought you said."

From the ground, the gargoyle's guttural scrape of a voice, "آسمان تاریک ہو جائے گا اور خون آسمان سے روئیں گے . تیرا گوشت ہڈی پر کھانا پکانا گا اور آپ کو خوف معلوم ہو جائے گا ."

Chancre attacks again. His blessed and empowered corkrapier makes an awful sound as it skitters across stony skin before scoring a wound. "Look," he says. "Blood from a stone."

Hovering or not, Míril presses her attack on the gargoyle. He blade darts out to find a less defended part of the monster's stony flesh. And sinks in with a nasty wound that carves off a piece of stony flesh.

Then, unexpectedly, Miril stabs again, hitting the same point to gind out a little more damage.

The gargoyle, close to mortally wounded, turns on Miril with claw, tooth and bone, all scoring hits on the nimble half-elf as the creature goes into a near-death frenzy. (Miril takes 18 points of damage.)

The other gargoyle gets lucky - finally scoring through Chancre's immense defenses. (Chancre takes 6 points of damage.)

Another lucky shot from the final gargoyle scores a thin line of red against Konstantin's brow. (Konstantin takes 7 points of damage.)

Anevia tumbles around her grounded gargoyle, placing herself as a human barrier between the beast and one of the healers. Her strike skitters against stone skin.

Samirah grits her teeth against the pain of the flail's attack, and turns the attention of her scimitar onto the ghoul that summoned it. Her scimitar eats away at the undead body. As she jumps up onto and across the overturned pews the ghoul falls to the ground, destroyed.

More cold iron flies relentlessly targeting his remaining opponents one at a time. The first burns especially bright with holy energy. As Roshan finishes two more ghoul bodies fall to their destruction.

The ghoul pulls itself out of the freezing rime of Konstantin's spell, coming to the doorway, hissing in hunger. Meanwhile his force flail flails unfailingly at Konstantin. (Konstantin takes 9 points of damage.)

Konstantin takes a step back, his frost-rimed hand crackling again. This time he opens it, revealing one of his deadly orbs of ice, which he flings at the gargoyle. The gargoyle ices over, cracking as it hits the ground.

Aron tries to help finish off Miril prey, but in its frenzy it proves too mobile.

Sosiel leans over and lays a hand briefly on Konstantin's shoulder, healing the sorcerer. (Konstantin heals 14 points of damage.)

Striding through the interior door is a seven-foot tall humanoid with demonic features - bat-like wings, glowing red eyes, claws. The aspergillum he carries drips a thick black fluid and he is flanked by a pair of ghouls.

"Roshan, we seem to have more guests!" Samirah says as the demon steps into the room. She moves toward them as she speaks.

"Roshan, we seem to have more guests!" Samirah says as the demon steps into the room. She moves toward them as she speaks.

Sense Motive DC 20: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (9) + 17 = 26

"Is it Mowgli?"

"What are the three words in Taldane?"

"Moist unguent deliquesce. Three very pretty words that describe unpretty things."

"Moist unguent deliquesce. Three very pretty words that describe unpretty things."

"Llaith, Eli, and Datawdd. See? Even pretty in Elvish."

"Hmm. I'll consider Elvish. I've also been thinking about Aklo, but it's hard to make some of those noises without a beak."

"It sounds like I need to have business with your boss. Would you care to die now?"

...then he repeats it in Abyssal: "میں تمہارا مالک کے ساتھ کاروبار کرنے کی ضرورت ہے ایسا لگتا ہے. آپ اب مرنے کی پرواہ کریں گے؟"

And attacks the gargoyle in front of him. However, the appearance of the new combatant seems to have given the gargoyle a second wind, because he uses one thick stony arm to deflect the force of the blow. (1d20 + 5 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 5 + 1 + 2 = 25) "Beautiful strike, მოხუცი!" It is the shout from Samirah that makes Chancre rethink his attack at the last moment, and his blade sinks true. And the gargoyle falls.

Míril grimaces at the pain from the gargoyle's attacks, but continues her assault on the fell creature. She concentrates her attack on the same wound she ripped into it before. And this time her adamantine sword bisects the creature, who tumbles to the ground in pieces.

With the last of the gargoyles fallen, Anevia moves quickly into the room and finishes off the last of the original ghouls before it can recover from Konstanin's rime-ing ice.

Weapon glowing, Samirah rushes across the room to position herself in a position to flank the new arrivals with Roshan. She swings her scimitar at the closest ghoul. And metes out a nasty burning blow to that ghoul.

Roshan glances at the door to see if any allies might be entering for tactical advantage with Samirah. His eyes return to the newcomers, and narrow. Another flurry of cold iron along with the last of the holy blades of Sarenrae's cache flies towards the newcomers, raking down the front line of ghouls, and he is entering the fray closing up and personal...at least for the moment.

As Roshand drives past the big demonic man, his battle aspergillum swings (1d20 + 10 ⇒ (10) + 10 = 201d6 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10) And the nimble just manages to duck under the casual blow.

The force flail continues to beat at Konstantin, and the big man continues to weather its blows. (Konstantin takes 8 points of damage.)

Meanwhile, the ghoul priest, freed from the cloying and debilitating ice, goes after the far softer target of ... Samirah? Who proves she can dodge ghouls in her sleep.

A few twisting words that are almost abyssal and the new comers weapon glows with black flames to mirror Samirah's true flames. He looks with no little disgust at the fallen bodies of the ghouls, "Maugla gave you new life and you do so little to prove yourself worthy of it." He shakes his head, looks at Samirah, "It's a pity the same will happen to you, beautiful."

The path before him cleared, Konstantin strides into the old temple. Konstantin sends a snowball flying at the new arrival. Like many well-armored foes, the new comer proves to move slowly, and the snowball slams into him. But his demonic fire seems to melt the ice with great rapidity.

With a quick motion from Sosiel, Aron moves over to move Pan just inside the doors, in case any other foes lurk the night.

Sosiel strides into the room and with a quick assessing look at his allies starts his beeline for Samirah.

Chancre moves toward the ghoul cleric (and by extension, the rest of the combatants). "Who here is up for a serious discussion of morality?"

Chancre uses a charge from Steve to cast Spiritual Weapon (bringing Steve to 12).

The force corkscrapier appears between the ghoul cleric and Konstantin. And the force rapier successfully pokes the caster of the force flail.

With all the gargoyles vanquished, Míril stops to touch her Scale. She concentrates in order to heal herself. She then steps into the building to join in the ongoing battle.

The now-nimble rogue slides over the upright and over turned pews to flank the undead priest, ????

Samirah tosses her hair and grins broadly, managing to look more feral than good natured. "I'll be here long after your corpse has turned to dust. But I do appreciate the compliment."

After dodging the priest's attack, she keeps her eyes on the demon and strikes at the ghoul instead. A blow which takes off a hunk of the undead's flesh - but doesn't seem to phase the hungry ghoul as much as Samirah may wish.

Almost as an afterthought the ghoul that Samirah attacked last round falls to the ground, apparently just realizing he'd been destroyed. (The GM apologizes for missing the extra damage from the confirmed critical last round.) As the undead creature falls, Samirah nimbly steps up towards the brawny demonic man.

Roshan slides back into the room, unleashes a torrent of metal that mostly ricochets off the heavily armored one but keeps his position to prevent the man from easily retreating.

The flail proves to be a precise and annoying weapon as it again slams into Konstantin. (Konstantin takes 10 points of damage.)

The ghoul proves far less effective with his natural weapons as Samirah dodges easily bite and claws.

"Once upon a time, my father told me 'Nulkineth, only the strong survive in the world. Everyone else is there for the eating.'" His grin would almost be handsome, if it didn't reveal so many teeth filed to deadly points. "Then he ate my mother."

A quick blessing over it and he swings his battle aspergillum which slams unerringly into Miril's torso with the sound of cracking bones. (Miril takes 19 hit points.)

Nulkineth then turns back to Samirah, his head suddenly jinking forward in a quick move - which Samirah expects, parries and counter-atatcks successfully. His claw, however, grazes her arm even as she parries the blow. (Samirah takes 9 hit points.) Not put off enough by Samirah's blade hitting his own flesh, Nulkineth licks his claw. A shrug, "To bad eating you would get me nothing." He glances at Miril, "You, on the other hand, will not taste as good, but will be quite a meal."

Back to Samirah, "Would you like me to kill you before my father comes? Being eaten alive," he shakes his head, "I'd not wish my mother's fate on many."

Konstantin produces another hard-packed snowball and hurls it at the newcomer. Again the hard-packed ball of ice slams into the demonic dude, but again his abyssal heat lets him shrug off the normally debilitating effects of the ice. "Would someone kill that priest, please?" he mutters as the flail continues to beat him.

"Truly working on it," Anevia says.

Aron slips around the pews to flank the undead cleric with Anevia. She shoots him a quick grin, "And hopefully we'll take care of business shortly."

Sosiel tries for a hit on the ghoul cleric, but is obviously distracted keeping track of his allies wounds, because he misses.

The final lesser ghoul does try to bite and claw at Samirah, but his attacks she parries without any thought.

"What about me? I'm old but I'm probably still tasty."

"Thank you," Konstantin says to Anevia.

"What about me? I'm old but I'm probably still tasty."

"You would bring the flesh a great deal of strength, but no joy to the soul." He flashes those all-too-white teeth, "Which means your dead body would be saved for a snack for the next time someone decides to investigate the old temple. [b]"Like Sebastian. Sebastian was a bit old and dry though."

"Thank you," Konstantin says to Anevia.

Anevia stumbles back a step from the paralyzing claw of the ghoul, "Really, really working on it."

Muttering, "Preferably before I wind up a ghoul-sicle."

Samirah's fierce grin doesn't change; if anything, she looks like she's enjoying herself more thoroughly, though blood is flowing freely from various wounds.

"You forget there's the option where you turn around and leave before I, and my friends, slay you and forget this battle within a day. Nay, within minutes of leaving this temple."

"I'm juicier than Sebastian, but not if you save me for later. What are you thinking? Nulkineth, you're better off abandoning the battle. It's lost already. We're too juicy for you."

Samirah hitches her thumb at Chancre. "It is also as he says. Too juicy."

"Yr ydych yn marw, dyn drwg yn barod. Mae eich corff nid yn unig yn gwybod hynny eto."

(Apparently Míril feels like starting the Elvish lessons early.)

"Like Sebastian. Sebastian was a bit old and dry though."

Roshan frowns, wondering how a crab could ever be old and dry. Must have been out of the water for a while.

"Yr ydych yn marw, dyn drwg yn barod. Mae eich corff nid yn unig yn gwybod hynny eto."

He nods. Possibly in agreement.

Chancre moves up to the ghoul cleric and attacks it physically first, then with the spiritual weapon. His physical corkrapier scores a piercing blow, but the force version does not.

"Hi, Samirah! I hope you don't mind if I join in!" says Míril as she uses her flanking of the Evil Demi-Demon with Samirah to skewer him.

Anevia tumbles up and over, striking with her short sword before she stops moving. Finally the force flail winks out of existence as its creator does.

He opens his mouth to say... something. It remains unsaid as the large body crashes to the ground, still and lifeless.

Roshan's last two daggers end the un-life of the final ghoul.

Just to be safe, Sosiel motions everyone away from the bodies of both the demi-demon and the gargoyles before channeling. Everyone heals 8 hit points.

Chancre is down 8 hit points. Kon is down 30 hit points. Miril is down 23 hit points. Samirah is down 22 hit points. Anevia is down 5 hit points. Aron is down 27 hit points. Pan is down 5 hit points (and is once again conscious). Sosiel is down 21 hit points.

Perception: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (8) + 12 = 20

Perception dc26: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (4) + 11 = 15

Samirah looks down at the body of the demonic man, disappointment in her eyes. She says nothing, however, and presses a hand to her sternum.

Cure Light Wounds: 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8
40/52 HP

The blood and dirt remain on her skin, but she looks less wounded and slightly less fatigued. Not a hair is out of place, however.

"Thank you, Sosiel." She inclines her head slightly to him before turning to Konstantin. "I can't be sure, სიყვარული, but I feel as though they hated ice and fire equally today."

Then, to Miril: "And you are always welcome to help me kill demons." She smiles warmly.

"Thank you, Sosiel." She inclines her head slightly to him before turning to Konstantin. "I can't be sure, სიყვარული, but I feel as though they hated ice and fire equally today."

"Further testing will no doubt be required."

Konstantin uses the scale.

Perception 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (9) + 13 = 22

Perception DC 26 stupid 26 couldn't be 25 oh nooo.....: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (4) + 15 = 19

Chancre claps his hands together and prepares to Heal Folks.

Sosiel moves over to the altar at the foot of the room where the two divinely inspired ghouls had been directing their congregation. Just the hint of disgust and a curled lip as he moves aside innards and other bits of viscera on the defiled altar. He uses a small knife to trace cracks in the piece until he finds one that is just a bit more intentional. He pauses.

Motions to everyone to come closer for a moment and channels, 3d6 ⇒ (3, 3, 5) = 11, then back again. "Just in case they found the cache and booby-trapped it." He explains.

Using the knife as a wedge, you hear the scrape of metal against stone. Just as the crack widens to a gap, a loud thump sounds from the smaller courtyard followed the softer thud of a door hitting a wall. All out of sight from the chapel room, but easily accessible from the small alley where the gargoyle attacked.

"Dinner time." A brightly crazed laugh, "Or at least it will if you don't stop me."

51/52 HP

"I suppose we should stop whoever that is, then." She says, sounding bored. Her eyes, however, are glittering. "I'm going to go check it out."

She leaves the room the opposite way from which the voice seems to be coming from.

"Eat me first! Eat me first! I'm old but I'm still juicy!"

Chancre attempts to heal whoever he can before combat starts in earnest.

"Yn wir, 'i' y diffyg moesau o gwmpas fan hyn sy'n cael mi," says Míril, shaking her head as she tails Samariah to check on the source of the voice. "'Amser cinio, neu o leiaf bydd os ydych yn peidiwch â rhoi'r gorau i mi'? Pa mor anghwrtais."