Grasker steps down into the bilious fumes, but fortified by his belief in his Godess, he stands firm against its effects. Even so, he misses on his attempt to mash the tuber into submission.
Round 2
Beagan Berelcar: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (17) + 3 = 20
Elyanius Myoch: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (19) + 0 = 19
Serra Iondri Phaer: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12
Cole Zeff: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11
mandragora: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9
Grasker: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (4) + 0 = 4
Round: 2, Initiative: 11
HP: 28/28
Weapon Equipped = Long Bow
Cold Iron Arrows = 28/30
Silver Blunt Arrows = 10/10
Conditions = None
Ranger Focus = 2/2 (+2 attack/damage)
Child of the Crusade = 1/1 (reroll failed save to be demonically possessed or incapacitated)
Silver Dragon Scale = 3/3
Bow Attack Mods: BAB +4, Dex +3, MW Bow +1, (Deadly Aim -1), (Rapid Shot -2)
Bow Damage Mods: Composite Bow +3, (Deadly Aim +2)
Spells (caster level 1, concentration +3)
Level 1 (DC 13) Aspect of the Falcon
(vs DC 14)
Cole steps closer to Serra and shoots at the noxious plant.
(point blank) (point blank)
(point blank) (point blank)
"Eli's right, this is a foul pestilence! Let us down it quickly and get to fresh air."
- - -
If I need to save each round, here's my round 2 save:
(vs DC 14)
Cole's arrows take out Mr. Potato Head, leaving him mashed to the floor. This doesn't seem to affect the fumes, though, and those that stay must continue to make fort saves (VS DC 14). If failed, please roll 1d8 to decide the effect.
Fort Save
Serra goes over to examine the altar and try to figure out what is causing the jitters/gas/poison/cold.
Serra can't be certain, but it looks like an ingenious bilious bottle trap was triggered when the magic mouth spell went off. This activated the marilith statue, which broke the bilious bottle, releasing it's noxious fumes into the room. These usually last about an hour.
Serra sees what's what and leaves.
"Let's get out of here. It will take some time for this place to air out."
Serra goes back upstairs to poke around the bag of loot while he waits for the air to clear.
Cole coughs and leaves the room with haste, making one more save to do so.
(vs DC 14)
Eli takes a cue from Cole to retreat. He refrains from speech, holding his breath and pinching his nose while ascending the stairs.
After a full minute the fumes clear, allowing the group to re-enter the basement.
"Sir Serra, I am finding your suggestion to burn it with for emote appealing. Too bad there is a risk oh the fire spreading through the city."
The bite stung Beagan, just making it through his armor, but no poisonous effects seem to be present. As the cold vapors spilled out, Beagan simply waved the icy air away.
The effects of the plant clearly distracted Beagan and Xanthos, hence their more than normal obliviousness during the fight....
"I don't know if burning this plant, fungus stuff would be effective or not."
After a a few minutes (he waits longer than just one for the air to clear) Cole heads back down into the room. He checks to make sure the plant-thing is indeed dead and pokes about the room a little searching for any secret doors and the like.
Finding nothing more useful than a bit of lichen he settles in to keep an eye out while others check out the chest and altar.
"Cole, a moment? We've rooted out a little trouble here, certainly, but this is nothing. No cultists. Do we try and prevent future cultists from accessing the basement? This felt like a trap against us, not cultists. Smash the stairs? Take the front doors off for now?" Eli bides his time while the others return to the basement.
"The next safehouse. Which one is closer? Estrod? or the Manor? I think we can investigate at least one more today, don't you?"
"Cole, a moment? We've rooted out a little trouble here, certainly, but this is nothing. No cultists. Do we try and prevent future cultists from accessing the basement? This felt like a trap against us, not cultists. Smash the stairs? Take the front doors off for now?" Eli bides his time while the others return to the basement.
"The next safehouse. Which one is closer? Estrod? or the Manor? I think we can investigate at least one more today, don't you?"
"I think they will easily fix whatever limited damage we do now, be it removing the door or knocking down a few stairs. Kill their beast, take whatever is in that chest, and destroy the altar - that's what we can do."
"Like rats, they will return here, and maybe so shall we in a weeks time or so, just to be sure they've moved on."
Cole thinks a moment, "Of course if they do settle here, it's just another opportunity for us to crush them again. So, honestly, I hope they do return. That way we know where they are."
He stretches his neck a bit and roll his head to get a pinch out of his neck. "I'm not sure which is closer, but a wide circle takes us to all three locations today if we don't run into too much trouble along the way. That was my plan anyway, barring mishap of course."
When the air clears out, Serra will go back down, cast Detect Magic, do a careful search (take 20 for 28), then seek help to smash the altar.
"Gotta get down on the demon altars when we can. And we should alert Irabeth to them in case she wants to have them watched."
"I'll help destroying the altar.. we can't just board up these evil sites and hope no one comes along to find them again. Especially since something claiming to be a powerful demon spoke through the symbol."
Grasker will go about his previous plans to destroy the altar & symbol, with the help of Serra and anyone else that wants to come along.
Serra, in his search for things evil and magical, detects residual magic on the unholy symbol, but no actual demonic presence. Even the little marilith statue is simply an animated object put to evil purposes.
“We don’t need these anymore, but figured if you survived our surprise, it would be just plain rude to leave behind an empty chest for your troubles!”
Serra shrugs after opening the chest. He grabs the holy symbols, stuffs them into a pouch, and is ready to go after the altar is smashed.
"Where to next, Cole?"
"Wait a moment. Serra, there's something on those holy symbols. Might be poison."
Cole takes a closer look, without touching them, at the black paste.
Serra stops short of touching the symbols after he sees the delicious nefarious paste upon them.
"Grasker, do you have any of your god's water to wash off these symbols? I will do upstairs and look for a blanket or sack to carry them. They should be rededicated to the Light, I should think."
Serra will run waddle, huffapuff up the stairs and looks about for something to safely wrap up the symbols.
He will pack them and store them safely.
"If we only feared spiritual corruption, I would suggest prayer and holy water. Since these may be tainted with poison or disease a more physical approach may be needed. I think we could bundle these up without contact and cleanse them with purifying alchemist fire before transport. Ultimately they may need to melted down and recast."
Grasker, wearing his gloves, will look for a way to transport the suspicious symbols to the street & then burn them with a flask if alchemist fire he has had for a while, keeping a distance to avoid fumes.
"Iomadae, I hope this will begin to remove demon traps from your symbols..."
With the concerted effort of the party, especially Grasker's use of alchemist fire to burn off the contaminants from the symbols, the party is able to piece together the story of Aigon Topaz. Obviously a cultist, Topaz most likely joined the chaos in the aftermath of the Kenabres attack, and has probably left the CIty with the demon horde. His trinket, the Marilith statue, was left as a "surprise" for any that might come after, because that would just be fun...the statue still works, though without the bottle, it does little more than wave it's many sword arms.
How about the Nyserian Manor? It doesn't sound at all ominous...
What was once surely a stately manor is now nothing more than a pile of rubble and a gouged trough of ruin.
Cole looks around at the nearby buildings. He wonders where he would go if this were his hidey-hole.
"Let's try that one. It's where I would go."
Serra looks around the manor and the ruins.
"The cultist's lair might be anyplace around here," Serra says drawing out his scale. "We should take a good look around; you're right Cole."
Serra will follow Cole to check things out while scanning around.
Perception
Nyserian Manor is the home of Kandro Nyserian, a well-to-do local of Kenebrasian.
"What do you think Ely? Do you have experience in the world of nobles and manors to suggest which outbuilding to search first?"
"Alas, I have better knowledge of outhouses. Outbuildings are another thing."
Eli taps through the rubble, and quickly grows restless. "Estrod? This place is razed to the ground, and any cultists foolish enough to linger here will not be a problem for very long."
Eli waits until the others have contented themselves, and readies to move to the third and final location for the day.
"If we must fully suss out this area, that house appears to be tended to. Shall we give it a once-over, and be done?" Eli doesn't wait for confirmation, only walks to the door, and tries to open it.
Serra follows Ely to the door, happy to let the big hammer lead the way.
"Eli, easy, there may be someone residing here yet. Not everyone we meet is evil after all. Knock first."
Cole never the less takes out his bow and readies for the worst.
Eli's hand turns from a grasp to a fist, and the door is rapped upon instead of tried.
Though Ely knocks loud enough to to be easily heard, no one comes to the door.
When no one comes to the door, Eli looks to Cole for assent, then tries to open the door.
If the door fails to open in a civil manner, Eli throws his shoulder into it.
Cole nods and draws an arrow to his bow.
Serra watches Ely bash the door.
There you go. Put your shoulder into it.
"We might as well check it out to be sure there are no shrines."
The door sticks at first, but then gives way in front of Ely, opening into a darkened hall. To the right, stairs lead up to the next floor, while another room opens off the front hall to the left.
Not 1, please.
Serra casts light on the end of his ranseur, preparing to follow Ely into the home of the damned.
Serra's ranseur flares to light, casting awkward shadows along the walls. Dust coats the floor, and horrible runes reminiscent of some of the graffiti seen throughout town mars the walls in an awful rust color. A broken chandelier litters the floor 10 feet in front of the group.
Know (Arcana) + Abyssal
"Careful now, that's not real writing. It's magic writing and it doesn't make any sense. However, it's recently drawn so whomever did it is probably nearby," Serra warns Ely while backing him up. "Whomever wrote is talking crazy talk too."
Eli moves to the first floor room to the left, intent on investigating nearest to the front door first. Should nothing living confront them, he moves to the chandelier next.
Cole watches as Eli and Serra obliterate any tracks that he might have been able to follow in the dusk and shrugs. He moves into the room, backing Eli and Serra with his bow.
"Magic writing means a spell caster. Might be nothing, might be someone of power. We should be careful."
The room to the left looks appropriately trashed, with big gouges in the once elegant but aged furniture.
Cole continues to follow the leaders cluelessly watching for any movement from behind the furniture.
Eli moves closer to inspect the furniture, running his fingers over the gouges. "Well, it doesn't appear to be the work of claws. More like a bladed tool of some sort." He reassures himself of the vacant room, before proceeding to the chandelier.
If there is nothing but shattered glass, Eli returns to the stairs, and takes a listen, before heading upwards.