Don quickly procures and drinks a potion with a grimace. His other hand fingers a knife as he waits for his moment.
Free: draw Fire Beetle potion.
Minor: drink said potion, spending a surge for 5 resist fire.
Minor: draw knife number 2
Standard: Ready Deft Strike, after he comes around the corner.
Greeg watches his two sneakier friends begin to engage the disgruntled spirit and decides to try and prevent it from getting too far into the room.
"I can help you with your afterlife your kingness. My advice, just close your eyes and let my hammer send you on to meet the Lady of Ravens. She'll help you find paradise, or so I've been told."
He swung an initial blow, trying to guage his opponents strength
Greeg's attack doesn't quite hit, but comes close enough to do some glancing damage. The King snorts.
"All well and good, but the bastards gave me this elemental blood. You'd think they's show a bit of respect for royalty, but no, elemental blood, get out there and burn. "Guard this archive". Sorry about this lad, but it's not under my control."
Plodding forward, he draws his greataxe and engulfs Greeg in flames, swinging twice to make his point.
Bandit to the rescue...maybe?
Deft Strike with CA since I was hidden until just now.
for
Don hurls his knife at the strange, fiery king while jockeying for position.
with Dazing Strike
If that hit, he'll be dazed UEOMNT.
"Ah, well, now, this feels rather strange, dead dwarves not being all that hostile to me except for that unfortunate incident in the old mausoleum of course but that doesn't apply here, I don't suppose you could see your way to leaving without any sort of fuss, claim that you were guarding another entrance or something when we broke in, assuming of course that there are other entrances which actually I have some reason to think they're aren't, but you could always go and guard a bit of it which we aren't heading towards and avoid all this unpleasentness." Guldarin tries to heal some of Greeg's injuries.
I can see it, even on my iPad. Can't edit, despite it allowing me to select things. Looks good though.
Abruptly confronted with Don, Holdred reacts as so many before him and goggles.
"Yes. Well now. That's certainly an idea. I'm in control of myself now. For the moment anyway. So if you'll just excuse me, I'll move away a bit. We don't want any nasty accidents, after all."
Temporarily released from the curse placed on him by the giants, Holdred seems to display some of Guldarin's characteristics.
"Just step away from me, if you don't mind. I'll do my best, but it's not very easy keeping a grip on this."
He smoulders apologetically.
Don regards the King with befuddlement. "..........okay then....so...uhm...you give up now?"
He looks down at his knife in astonishment, wondering what just happened.
"Oh, no, my dear chap. Not at all. Only while I'm dazed or otherwise semi-concussed. I'd really recommend you make me unconscious as fast as possible. I'm rather fearsome under the influence. Warrior King training, you know. I'd hate to kill someone when it wasn't my own decision and I'm quite sure you're all perfectly agreeable people."
Holdred explains his unfortunate situation as best he can.
"Ah, well, now, this isn't so good, smiting other dwarves but I suppose if it's what you want I can oblige, although I do remember one time when someone asked me to beat them and I'm not sure she..." Guldarin blushes red, and a blast of lightning arcs out of the sky and towards the king.
"Oh, nice try. I do appreciate your efforts. Although I'm afraid my body will instinctively try to avoid me taking harm."
Holdred sounds terribly disappointed as Guldarin's lightning arcs over his head.
Cronin interjects, "While we may talk, Your Majesty -- can you tell us the location of the Keys of Kaima, if they are in the Archive?"
"One of them is. You'll need to bypass this portal to get to it. That might cause you some difficulty - I'm not the only royal personage afflicted with a Kadrana curse."
Holdred remains polite, but seems concerned that he may be overcome again.
"I hate to hurry you, but I'm not likely to remain in control indefinitely."
Kevaras draws his Bard's song dagger.
"So this is the portal?" he asks, while pointing to the 20ft. circle. "And disabling it will permanently break the curse and allow you to seek your final reward, your majesty?"
Holdred points out the finer details to Kevaras.
"Three sigils to be activated, as you can see. Typical Kadralu paranoia, they're all in different parts of the archive. The Study, the Blood Chapel and the Dragon Chapel contain them - and naturally they are all guarded. I fear that only the awakening of Kaima will allow me to rest. A nuisance, but there it is."
Don casually saunters up a bit closer to the king, though the distasteful fire aura doesn't appeal to him. "Since you're all sorts of hospitable, how about tipping us off to any treasure and traps in the area?" He adds as an afterthought, "Oh, one more thing...."
Don gracefully throws his knife at Holdred's throat.
Deft Strike
for
Move:Look exceptionally nonchalant.
Free: Draw dagger 2
Minor: Peer about for any issues about. PP 21
Holdred quirks a cynical eyebrow in Don's direction.
"Grateful doesn't mean suicidal, young man. I'm not just going to stand here and let you turn me into dogfood you know."
The dagger hits and the King's elemental blood takes over once more.
Don notices nothing more than his Majesty has already pointed out.
With the beginning of the fight, Cronin flies into action. Quite literally. Landing just outside Holdred's aura, the storm cleric brings his halberd down with holy light, immobilizing the undead guardian. Taking advantage, he then slips in more closely and lashes out with a peal of thunder and flash of lightning off of the blade of his polearm.
Holdred's eyes glaze over as Cronin lands beside him and he returns the favour in kind, slamming into the cleric with his greataxe.
Greeg watches the situation unfold with slight confusion. Having watched Cronin get smashed with that huge axe, he was under the impression that Don may well have saved him a world of hurt earlier.
Watching Cronin get hurt unleashed an anger within the guardian. With a scream of rage, he called on the might of the earth itself to portal him to the fiery king and strike down with great vengence.
Even though the weapon missed its target, the sheer rage of the attack stunned the king somewhat.
"IF YOU HAVE A GRIPE WITH YOUR PAST, TAKE IT UP WITH ME! LEAVE....MY...FRIENDS....ALONE!!!"
The big Goliath hadn't felt this angered since the time the Drow had hurt Cronin the second time he and the cleric had travelled together.
Holdred looks deeply concerned as Greeg lands abruptly beside him.
"Oh my goodness. You may be in a spot of bother here. I can't move you see. As you know, I tend to be dangerous when not under my own control. Keep up the good work, lads."
His Majesty shoots a sharp glance at Don. "I appreciate that you're probably trying to help out here, but a little less gloating would make this much easier to stomach. I've got my dwarven pride you know."
Nayce stands back, observing the unfolding conflict. Ultimately, he is resolved that putting this spirit to rest would be a mercy and dashes into the fight.
Holdred blinks slightly as Nayce pops violently back into view and attempts to deal a powerful blow.
It misses by a very narrow margin, but his dwarven majesty still salutes his opponent.
"Dwarven armour, lad. Very well made."
He takes not further action.
"Well, I really don't know what to say, having to fight a dwarven king just seems wrong if you know what I mean, and I'm sure my gods will have something to say about this, although hopefully I'll be able to persuade them that it isn't so much fighting as freeing, as I'm fairly sure you don't really want to be here, so that makes it all right even if it doesn't deel all right emotionally, so, your majesty, if you don't mind being freed that's what I'll try and help to do." Guldarin moves round slightly and stares rather aggressively at him.
Holdred gives Guldarin an approving nod.
"Very difficult for you, I'm sure. I suspect that should I become sufficiently badly injured, I may be allowed to disapparate, but it's very hard to tell. I've never been sufficiently badly injured. Nice headache you've just given me. Well done."
"Let's get you closer to the Raven Queen," he tells the king.
The drow moves closer and throws his dagger in an arcing trajectory over the goliaths.
The big Goliath hadn't felt this angered since the time the Drow had hurt Cronin the second time he and the cleric had travelled together.
"Uh, those drow didn't throw daggers I hope?" asks Kevaras, making sure that his choice of weapon was not inappropriate.
"Oh, good shot."
Holdred beams approval at Kevaras before turning his gaze towards Don.
"Now, I'd appreciate an absence of sarcasm young man or things may go very badly for you when I'm next disabled by this curse. Kill me with respect."
Don gives an incredulous look to the king, then scowls...again. "I imagine I could be nicer to you, if you weren't trying to take our heads off. You don't like my commentary, I don't like your attempts to kill me. It's a tough world."
Don circles around the fiery king to L14, his knife flickering in the light. He then adds, "Probably sucks though, being cursed and all..." as a minor measure of remorse.
"Try it sometime. After a few centuries, you'll appreciate my position."
Holdred keeps an eye on Don as the rogue circles before looking rather apologetically at Greeg and Cronin.
"Sorry about the blisters."