Undari/Elemental nods and times his spell to take effect the same instant Thorek bursts through the door. Casting Thorny Entanglement on the top floor through the hole in the wall, he watches from a distance as the vegetation on the top floor begins to writhe. Floating up high enough to see any oncoming ariel threats, Undari doesn't really have much direct view of the lowest level of the tower, but he listens carefully to the ongoing battle, ready to jump in if he is needed.
Taking the sound of cracking wood to be the signal, Undari unleashes his magic upon the swamp constructed within the tower's heights. The dense vegetation grows and writhes. A hail of thorns is whipped at the chamber's occupants like a volley of javelins. The unaware hobgoblin woman is struck especially hard, with the thorns piercing her armor at the joints, while two of the lizards and the cougar are also wounded. However, only one of the lizards ends up tangled in the wild plant growth.
With the spell Undari let's off, Gaius decides more acid is going to be the key here. He fires off a spray at the Hobgoblin as the vines start thrashing.
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Shouldering through the door, Thorek bulls into the room. Taking in the squealing pigs the dwarf sighs.
Following quickly after Thorek, Esperanza strides directly toward the hobgoblin opposite her, throwing two slashes from her glaive at the closest hobgoblin as she walks past.
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Lily walks behind Thorek, slaps him on the back, and says,"Go get em.
"
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Esperanza delivers a cross slash that leaves terrible, bloody wounds upon the first Ironfang soldier she encounters, bringing him halfway to the Boneyard. Behind her, Lily works her mesmeric wonders.
On the top floor, Undari watches as the animals in the swampy garden panic and flee to the stairs leading down. They evade the latest volley of thorns whipped at them by the writhing plants, although one of the lizards remains snared by the entangling vegetation. The hobgoblin lieutenant urges them onward as she herself dodges thorns and vines and escapes downstairs.
Gaius' acid arrow misses its mark and leaves another sizzling hole in the brickwork.
The hobgoblin interrupted on the cusp of a privy visit struggles to secure his armor, shield, and axe. The other two, having snatched up their own glaives, prepare to wage an two-on-one duel against Esperanza.
Undari drifts to the side and catches a glimpse of the enemy descending the steps. He drops a white-hot Burst of Radiance in their midst before they descend below (10 foot radius burst, DC 16 Reflex or Blind for , (dazzled instead if makes save). In either case, evil creatures take .
With his dorn-dergar spinning faster and faster, Thorek bears down on the the hobgoblin behind Esperanza and sends his weapon flying at the Ironfang warrior's face, where it impacts with a crunch of breaking bone.
Esperanza stands her ground, pressing her attack against her first target. She carries the slash around in a circle to deliver another deadly blow at the one behind her.
Lily attacks the closest enemy unleashing a powerful attack against them.
Thorek delivers a stout blow to the Ironfang soldier's solar plexus that nearly knocks the wind out of his lungs, even through his armor.
The officer leading this squad draws forth an iron divine symbol and invokes a blessing from his deity. He moves through the room, weaving through the pigs, and with a touch of his leather gauntlet-clad hand, bestows the spell's protection upon himself and two of his subordinates.
The pigs scatter into three directions.
Some flee upstairs, a few hide in the privy, and the rest leap or squeeze through holes in the tower walls to escape into the courtyard.
Undari's brilliant spell catches the hobgoblin lieutenant squarely, the narrow walls of the staircase perhaps amplifying the burst of radiance. She clutches for her eyes, blinded, as the magic wracks her with pain. Two of the lizards, dazzled, stumbled down the stairs, while their third kin - unable to break free from the grasping plants - continues to be torn apart by the large, sharp thorns.
Esperanza delivers a pair of bloody wounds upon the hobgoblins both in front and behind her. Lily steps forward and dazzles the wounded hobgoblin ahead of her, leaving it vulnerable to a deadly arrow to the chest that lays him low.
Gaius floats down to the ground and then rushes in through the door. "Things are coming down the stairs!" he warns.
Upstairs, the blinded hobgoblin lieutenant stumbles awkwardly down the stairs. She still isn't sure what's been unleashed upon her stronghold, but her instinct and training guides her away from the ensorcelled plant life.
Downstairs, the glaive-wielding hobgoblin attempts to duel Esperanza, but this is an ill-fated choice. Shaken by the swashbuckler's intimidation, the legionnaire's thrust is deftly parried, and even the divine protection laid upon him by his officer cannot save him from the riposte that drains the lifeblood from him.
Having taken up axe and shield, the third rank-and-file forest soldier accosts the woman responsible for felling his comrade. However, Esperanza also deflects the incoming axe swing.
With no enemies in sight other than the one entangled, Undari resumes his watch over the Fort—Looking for returning dragons or any sign of other foes exiting the buildings they have not yet searched.
Knocking aside another blow with a swipe of her claw, Esperanza sees Thorek moving at the edge of her vision. Pointing that same claw at the attacking Ironfang, she says, "I'm not the one you should be worried about."
Pushing into the room, Thorek turns and plants his feet--his dorn-dergar and Esperanza's glaive forming a deadly front against the Ironfang soldiers. With a wordless warcry he strikes at the axeman.
Even with the magic of his allies guiding his strike, Thorek's attack is vexed by the opponent's magic. The protection spell cast upon the axeman by the officer strengthens the hobgoblins defenses, allowing him to hold up his shield and endure the brunt of the dorn-dergar blow.
The hobgoblin warpriest officer invokes another spell, aiming a finger at Thorek and issuing a command bolstered by divine power.
"Flee!" he barks in Common.
However, the dwarven warpriest remains unmoved.
Esperanza's gaze locks onto the hobgoblin caster, and she advances on him with two powerful swings of her glaive.
With the Hobgoblins tending to their prior engagements, Gaius moves closer to the stairway. Aiming as high up as he can, he flings a bundle of cob-webbing and it magically erupts into a thick, sticky strands.
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Lily continues to press forward unleashing an arrow into the nearest opponent.
With two quick strokes, Esperanza drains nearly all of the hobgoblin warpriest's lifeblood.
Though he yet stands, there is not much vigor left in his bones and sinew.
Lily's arrow flies straight and fast, sinking in just above the neck of the Ironfang forest soldier's armor, grinding against his clavicle.
Gaius fills the winding staircase with a thick mesh of magical webbing, providing a serious obstacle to any enemy reinforcements.
The axe-wielding hobgoblin offers a clumsy swing that Esperanza easily parries, and he receives naught but a claw across his face for his efforts.
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Concerned that Esperanza may show him up, Thorek steps forward to put the enemy warpriest in range of his weapon--and the Ironfang axeman squarely hemmed between himself and Esperanza. With a bellowing warcry the dwarf swings, heedless of anything else that might be happening else where in the tower.
Lily nervously looks around trying to find any potential enemies.
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A powerful swing of Thorek's dorn-dergar crushes the hobgoblin warpriest's ribcage, leaving him to collapse to the tower floor. A sickening, wet gurgling leaves his throat as his last breath escapes.
Rather than a deafening roar, your ears pick out a honking sound. It is merely a flock of geese passing across the moon. There is still no sign of the dragon's return.
With the warpriest down, Esperanza snaps back to the axeman near her. Shifting her grip on the haft of her glaive, she transitions from her usual wide, sweeping arcs and into a style of shorter thrusts and feinting strikes.
. " Im pretty sure there's a troll upstairs with an animal? I'm not sure ," Lily says kind of confused
Lily lands another shot upon the last of the first floor's ill-fated guard duty, with the arrow slipping through a joint in his armor and sinking into his hip where the thigh meets the body.
Undari continues to keep a sharp lookout for threats—either from the air or from enemies spilling out of any of the unexplored buildings. If his party calls for help, he will jump back into the initiative order.
"Someone's calling for help!" Gaius shouts as he rushes over to the Northern room.
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Gaius lifts the bar from the door tucked into the northeastern corner of the tower and opens it, revealing a short hall that leads to another barred door. This inner door bears a small inset window, within which appears the grime-covered face of a human man pleading for help. However, the chorus of voices behind him make it clear that a dozen or more additional prisoners are also shoved into the cell beyond.
The axeman delivers a low swing towards Esperanza's legs, but she effortlessly evades the attack.
On the top floor, Undari sees the last lizard break free from the thorny vines and struggle to reach sanctuary behind a crumbling wall. In the process, the lizard suffers further biting wounds from the thorns.
"When you get to Hell, tell them Thorek of Kraggodan and Esperanza the Glaive Dancer sent you," Thorek says as he swings the chainflail around for another blow at the axeman caught between Esperanza and himself. Looping the chain around the hobgoblin's ankle, he pulls hard.
After continuing to keep watch the previous round, Undari flits down to the opening of the lowest floor, calling out to Gaius, "No sign of the dragon; I'll go back to keeping watch unless you need my help in here."
In tandem with Thorek, Esperanza flicks out her glaive at the remaining soldier, opening his throat.
Gaius gives Undari a firm nod. Hearing who he hopes are his allies joining him, calls back. "Prisoners, about a dozen? See any keys on the Hobgoblins? We've got an hour before my spell wears off, but the others could cut through or I could dismiss it at any time."
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Lily continues to attack the closest hobgoblin sending another arrow directly into his chest. "Great. As if we we didn't need more complications than dragon. I'm not even sure how we're going to handle this ," she says exasperated.
The last of the first floor guards is quickly overwhelmed and slain.
Other than the couple of pigs taking refuge in the privy, the foot of the tower is under your control.
Among the other trinkets found on the Ironfang warpriest, you find a stout iron key that proves capable of opening the lock on the prison door. Using the key and removing the bar, you grant freedom to the fourteen men and women who were crammed into the barren, mildew-stained stone chamber. They are in varying stages of malnourishment and bear poorly-dressed wounds, but none of them are in immediate danger of death.
"Thank Deadeye," a broad, hatchet-faced man sighs. "We'd almost given up hope for a counterattack. I'm Cobb Greenleaf, one of Fort Trevalay's subcommanders. I presume that you're allies?"
The wispy elemental swept into the lowest floor of the tower and spoke in a breathy tone, "Finally, some survivors. I'll return to keeping watch outside until you are ready to go to the next level--if you hear a lightning bolt strike close by that will mean trouble outside." Waiting briefly for a response, Undari heads back out into the stormy weather unless someone in the party speaks up and suggests otherwise...
"We're allies, yes, but not with your Chernasado company. Most of us are survivors from Phaendar. Are you and your men well enough to defend yourselves? You have your pick of the Ironfang fallen's gear."
Esperanza leans her glaive against the wall, freeing up her hands to help the prisoners out of chamber. At the man's question, she nods. "Allies, yes. I am Esperanza, and these are my friends Thorek, Lily, Gaius," she says, pointing at each in turn. When Undari's wind form flies into the room, she points at him as well. "Undari, a powerful druid."
Undari's comment draws a smile out of her. "I'll listen closely, then. If you see any Ironfang fleeing out the windows, that'll mean trouble inside."
Returning her attention to Cobb, Esperanza says, "It's good to see you. You are the first surviving rangers we have found so far. How long have you been held prisoner like this?"
Gaius gives a weak smile at his introduction, but otherwise ignores the prisoners now that they're free. He spends his time watching the stairs.