Escape Attempt (with Hero Point):
Book knowledge is never the same as actual real life experience and Jorzan is taught that lesson in spades as the speed of the creature far surpasses what he even thought was possible. Before he has time to react or hardly even think the horror is upon him and has snatched him up in it's disgusting multiple appendages. But the young shadowdancer bred and has trained to be far more than the normal human. With unbelievable flexibility he twists, turns and contorts his body until he slips right out of the creatures grasp. Not hesitating for an instant he runs and leaps from rooftop to rooftop putting as much distance between himself and the creatures as possible
Acrobatics DC10:
Acrobatics DC20:
Acrobatics DC20:
The limbals don't seem to care a whit for any of you except Jorzan and Cassandra. As Jorzan twists and spins away, narrowly avoiding re-capture and vaulting across rooftops, both limbals simply roll/crawl down the sides of the buildings and pursue him to the exclusion of all else. It is apparent to anyone watching that these creatures are indeed quite fast, which is unusual for the undead but not surprising for these things considering they're just giant horrid balls of arms and legs.
As the two continue to pursue the shadowdancer, the last one continues to hammer at the doorway, several of its once-human limbs reaching out, sickeningly, for Cassandra as she now sits behind Justahl. The thing is completely blocking the front door.
Without warning, Cassandra's owl, Snowy, launches off her shoulder and out a barely-open window. It appears to be flying straight at the guide, Grumbar. Cassandra looks about to yell something at the creature but then the limbal makes another push at the door, causing everything to creak and crack, and she instead squeals and puts her head down, her eyes shut tight.
Karthan calls forth the cleansing flames of reason, and throws a fireball, centered on square S7, somewhat above rooftop level. This should keep Jorzan clear. Hopefully, stout dwarven construction won't burn too easily...and it should get both Limbals.
He will fly up another 10 feet and hover over square L7.
DC 20 Reflex save for half.
One of the Limbals sort of weirdly flattens itself, avoiding damage, but the other one just plain burns, though it does so still in eerie silence.
Sir Justahl will uncase his lance and fastmount Nouhves.
Ride:
He will then dramatically charge, crashing through the back door and onto the streets.
Some time during the turn, if he gets a chance, he will use the Paladin's Detect Evil at-a-glance power on one of the creatures.
Kelne continued to hack away at his chosen target. The cursed thing just refused to drop.
Hey DRA any chance we'll be leveling after this encounter? I'm only asking because some nifty stuff happens to Jorzan next level and I've the idea percolating in my head for a while now how I'd like to RP it before it actually happens
You all continue to hack at the bizarre aberrations from under the sea, creations of the foul necromancy of the Aboleths. They have come for your friends, that much is clear, but what will it take to stop them?
Tanel, having geared up and borrowed strength from the gods of war, strides forward and attacks the limbal trying to enter the Inn. Unaware of the danger Jorzan is in, he yells a challenge at the thing. "We've kept this girl safe from far worse than the likes of you, you...you...ball of limbs! And we're not lettin' 'er get taken now!"
Round 3, Initiative 6
AC22 (26vsAoO), HP 55/55
Buffs: None
Conditions: None
Starting to really have enough of the disgusting undead Jorzan tries a daring and dangerous move. Dodging his way again past the grasping hands her runs to the side of the building he recalls there being a window on and right at the edge flips to a handstand, grabs the edge, twists himself around and crashes feet first through the window, rolling to a safe landing inside.
Avoid AoO DC27:
Acrobatics:
Acrobatics:
Once inside he moves to the safest corner away from any windows and doors and readies an alchemist fire to throw at the first limbal he sees.
Ranged touch attack: Fire Damage:
The monster continues relentlessly after the limbal, its single-minded focus on the others seems only to enrage him further, and he charges it again.
The monster reaches up as far as he can to get in one solid smack on the limbal that has climbed up after Jorzan.
Jorzan darts away from the limbal, which doesn't try to attack him, only attempts to grab his arm as he slips away, but of course the young rogue is far too quick. After flipping and crashing through the window into an unused room in the inn, he hears a thunderous racket start up on the roof, like hundreds of people jumping up and down. This, of course, is the sound of the two limbals hammering away at the roof, trying to get in. Large as these things are, it's likely this trick has worked before elsewhere, but this building was made by dwarves, and much less susceptible to sheer bashing.
Meanwhile the last limbal spins and races after Justahl as soon as he rounds the corner with Cassandra on his saddle, it doesn't attack the paladin of Iomedae, but its many disgusting limbs reach up and around Nouhves, trying to stop the horse's movement and wrap him up so it can try to pull down Cassandra, but the mighty steed is too string and wily, and avoids the .
Kelne was beginning to wonder just what it would take to kill this thing. He'd been hacking away at it for a while now, and it remained unwavering in its determination to snatch Cassandra. Well, sooner or later even one of these undead monstrosities must collapse from accumulated wounds.
Kelne ducked around behind the creature, though this was a relative concept. Still, caught as it was between himself and Justahl, its demise could only be hastened.
Karthan listens to the Limbals for a moment. "Whatever taught you to dance has no sense of rhythm, I fear. Lets...put some fire into it and see if you can hold a beat."
Fireball. DC 20 Reflex for Half.
The limbals, unsurprisingly, continue not to say anything as Karthan's fire washes over them.
The one furthest east is starting to look really horrid; limbs are falling off along with great blobs of flesh, that one probably doesn't have much left in it. Both continue to jump up and down on the roof.
Tanel, meanwhile, hauls off and hacks at the limbal in front of him, trying to help Kelne and Justahl bring the thing down. He connects, taking a huge gouge out of it, and it splurts out some disgusting green ooze from the wound. This limbal clearly does not have much left in it.
The dwarven troops are rounding the corner and will be able to assist in just a couple seconds.
The Monster reaches up and grabs hold of beams and window well, scaling the side of the inn.
Reaching the roof, he pulls himself up, leaping over the edge and coming down to smash the limbal again.
AC: 32
HP: 71
Sir Justahl delares Smite on Limbal 1 in front of him, his aura flaring up into a blaze of silver fire.
Too close to charge, and afraid it would just run them down, Sir Justahl just thrusts his lance at it to smite.
Lance smite attack #1: for a possible piercing damage.
(IF an evil outsider, damage is )
Lance smite attack #2: for a possible piercing damage.
(IF an evil outsider, damage is )
Suddenly the battle turns in your favor. With a roar of frustration and fury, the monster clubs one of the roofbound limbals and splits the thing horridly in two. One half falls where it is, a disgusting stew of alchemical fluids and partially-preserved body parts, while the other half flies off the roof, caroms off the wall of the building next door, and hits the ground with a sound not unlike a melon splitting on a rock.
Over at the inn, Justahl's lance finishes the job started by Kelne's blade; the weapon pierces the thing completely, exploding out the back. Kelne jumps aside as a river of hot, hideous, smelly goo pours out of the wound. The limbal sort of shrivels and starts folding in on itself.
A hail of arrows from the platoon of dwarves turns the final aberration into a pincushion. It deflates with a loud farting noise, some of the limbs attempt to crawl off but only get a few feet away before all of their necrotic preservation fluid leaks out of them. A bunch of the dwarves rush up to the shore to watch for any more intruders while the rest begin cleanup on the mess that's around you. They ask no questions as you gather your things. They don't even steal sideways glances at you, which could certainly be considered a bit surprising. They just go about their business.
The dwarves search the limbals, but they are just giant balls of dead flesh and gunk. They give no clue as to their origin, and carry no treasure.
After a few minutes, you have collected your things and Grumbar is gathering you by the gates to the city. "Awright, listen. We're really not supposed to let horses down into the tunnels. Too much room for error. Okay? We can keep them for you here to pick up on your way back."
Sense Motive:
Instantly zeroing in on the Dwarf's true motivations, Jozran smiles laconically as he dips into his bag and pulls out a handful of gold pieces. Placing his body so as to obscure any overly curious observers Jorzan counts out 50 gold into the Dwarf's greedy paw. The young rogue knew it was likely far to much put at this point he just wanted to get moving and leaving the horses behind was out of the question. Best to overpay him and just get it done he figures.
Grumbar's bushy eyebrows shoot up at Jorzan's silent bluntness, but he makes no move to take his hand away. Clearing his throat, he quickly pockets the coins. "Ahem! Hrm-hrm! Well. Seems I misjudged you, young sir. You, ah, are quite familiar with the ways of things. Yes. Hrm. Well, c'mon you lot. And your horses. I, um, I just remembered there is a larger series of tunnels to the north that the Siegebreakers use that will easily accomodate your animals. Yes. Come along, now."
Grumbar turns and squats, placing his hand under a rock. He tenses his muscles and pulls, and a large trapdoor begins to slide to the side in the wall. The guards glance your way briefly before going back to their steady routine of looking all around the city.
The door leads through the massive walls and into the city. Grumbar shooshes you along. "Quickly, now! Do not tarry in the city, 'tis very dangerous right now. March straight ahead to the grand arch and down the steps."
Since it is still many hours until dawn, only those of you with darkvision can see any of the city. There are torches inside the stairwell, but the dwarves have Olmskodsv under blackout at night to give their enemies fewer targets. What little is seen of the city is plain, almost drab, with massive and imposing architecture everywhere, clearly designed to inspire fear and doubt in visitors. The arch you pass under is a giant thing very much in this character, some 40ft. high and 30ft. wide, with carvings of ancient dwarven kings and queens and warriors across the top and inside. The stairway is plain, but the steps themselves are blessedly shallow, which makes it easier to get the horses inside.
The stairs go down a fair ways. As you climb down, voices become audible. Many, many voices. Grumbar has caught up and is stumping along in front of you. "Okay." he says "I was told you were looking to lighten your load before we went on, and I'm fine with that. We're going to march ahead through the city proper and get to the market district. You'll be able to sleep there, and dump some of your dead weight and stock up for your journey. I have business to attend to, but I'll see you in 10 hours; that should give you plenty of time to rest and do whatever business you need to do in the city."
Rounding a corner, you are met with a wonder of the Land; the great underground kingdom of the Northern Dwarves. You are in an immense cavern, built of natural rock and reinforced by the ingenious stonework of the blessed of Torag. Everywhere massive columns of huge diameter shoot up to the distant roof of the cavern. Braziers and torches and lamps blaze high, illuminating the whole place. The distant far walls of the cavern must be miles away. All around you, thousands and thousands of dwarves mill about, many seeming to either not know or care that the city of above is being attacked.
For the first hour of your march you pass through suburbs and residential areas, but in the second hour you approach what must be the markets; you begin to see more and more humans and elves and half-breeds, all engaged in trade or looking for things to buy. Many glance at you, but no one's gaze lingers. At most, Justahl gets a couple nods or veiled smiles from merchant wives and daughters, attention the handsome paladin is somewhat inured to.
Your noses are assaulted by all manner of smells; sweet, savory, sour, delicious and disgusting, tasty and terrible. This market area is much larger than that in Stormfare, but given's Olmskodsv's reputation as a trade city, that is not surprising. Everywhere are bolts of colorful cloth and people in all manner of dress. Music can be heard; barroom ballads, boozy sing-alongs, noble ballads, tragedies, comedies, all manner of thing.
After two hours of carefully picking your way through the nocturnal crowd, you come past a pillar and gaze in amazement at a miracle, a wonder of the Explored Land that none of you had ever heard discussed. It is the largest statue of Torag -- or possibly any god -- any of you have ever seen. Standing fully 500 ft. high and still not near the ceiling, the thing shows Torag standing before his anvil, his hammer held head-down and resting on the floor while his hands rest on the haft. It appears to have been constructed out of the natural rock of the cavern, a feat of mind-bending difficulty and artistry that is almost beyond comprehension. The statue's presence was hidden by the many other pillars on your approach, but now here, closer to the center of the city, you wonder how ever you could have missed it.
Grumbar turns to you. "Wait here." He disappears into an inn. In the short time he is inside, hundreds of people mill past you. After a bit of time, he comes back out. "Okay, rooms have been procured. Rest here. I will return in 10 hours, at which time we must leave. We will not be able to wait. I'll be staying in this inn as well, room #5 is you have questions. For now, though, I'm heading up the road to my cousin's place for some food."
He hands each of you a room key, then gives a curt nod and starts walking further into the city.
Suddenly Cassandra lets out a cry as if she'd been stabbed, and falls to her knees. "...oh!...oh!...oh no...kevin!" Tears stream down her face but she doesn't sob, she just looks strangely accepting and knowing. Her blind eyes look up and around, her cheeks wet with tears. "My...my brother...my brother is...gone." She grabs the monster's leg and cries into his fur.
Handle Animal:
Marvelling at the sights, sounds and smells of the amazing Dwarven city Jorzan's head is constantly swivelling around, trying to take in everything. Always excited by the new, by clever, by the skill and mastery of others, and feeling safe among the no-nonsense dwarves, for the first time in a long time his guard is down, a smile is upon his face and those that observe can see the youth in him that is rarely visible.
'What I'd give to climb those!' he thinks to himself upon seeing the massive pillars 'Without the slippers!' As they begin to near the markets and more, and different varieties of peoples begin to appear, his guard immediately rises back up. Knowing full well how easily rogues can take advantage of big crowds he keeps his eyes and wits about him and his gold and valuables close at hand. Every single person that passes his periphery gets the quick but discerning scrutiny of his knowing gaze.
Perception:
As the statue of Torag comes into sight for a moment he loses his focus again 'By all that is holy! Is there nothing these dwarves cannot build??' but as incredible as the statue is, is does not capture his attention for but a moment as he also knows that tourists gaping at a local wonder are prime targets.
Outside the inn he waits somewhat impatiently for Grumbar, and when the dwarf finally returns he grabs the key eagerly, nodding his head in agreement at the plans to meet later. Already he is anxious to be off and explore more of the city. At that moment though Cassandra suddenly cries out about her brother and a lance of guilt stabs through the young man's heart 'NO! No! I Knew we should have had the lad protected! This is My fault. I should have insisted the Paladine seek him out and place him under their protection. Damn it! Poor girl, she has no one left....and I Know how that feels...'
Moving over softly and bending down beside her as she weeps against the monster Jorzan places his arms on her shoulders as he whispers in her ears "Cassandra, I am so so sorry my dear. This should never of happened. His death could have been prevented I am sure and I blame myself for his death as I knew, in my gut, that he needed to be protected but did not insist that it be so. I can only beg for your forgiveness, and, hollow recompense that it is, offer myself as a brother to you in his place."
After a few more moments in silence he asks a little bit louder, so the others can hear "Do you know what happened to him?"
The boy had none of the shadow dancer's apprehension upon encountering the crowd. Few try to pick the pocket of someone who has a monster.
He strides through the Dwarven city with eyes wide, pointing this way and that, but rarely stopping.
Occasionally he turns back and calls the monster to heel, when the great beast stops to sniff a strange shop or a passing cart.
The monster sits wiping the limbal goo from the back of his hand, rubbing it in the dirt and crushing a shrub as he wipes it back and forth.
As the others progress into the cavern, he rises slowly with a great *HRUMPH* and plods after the boy.
The dwarven city is filled with a plethora of fascinating new scents, and he stops often to sample the sweet air of a bakery or the fiery stench of a forge.
As Cassandra begins to cry, he sits down and gently pats her on the head with his giant paw. "Don't worry," he bellows, "Friend not *hrumph*... alone."
The boy turns to Cassandra and nods as the monster speaks.
Sir Justahl reaches out a hand and lays it gently on Cassandra's back.
Sometimes there simply are no words.
Cassandra sits glumly on the ground. She isn't sobbing, as one might expect, but tears flow silently down her cheeks. Apparently whatever afflicts her eyes doesn't stop her from crying.
"I know there were four big men there with him. Two were the wolf-men, like the ones that Mean Man was supposed to be one of." She sniffles and points at Kelne. "The other two, they were dangerous. Both had spiky armor and were very short, just like the dwarves above, they looked just like them, but much stronger, and they glowed. They had...weapons...that..." She trails off. "One of them knows the Silver Lady, like Shining Man does, but the other one...I don't like him. He's too mean." She pauses again, and seems to be watching something. "Someone took my brother and put him in a place. A friend put him in a place that wasn't here and wasn't now. It's like...like all of Haunted Man's friends, that hang around him. The invisible ones. The lonely ones. Like them." Here she indicates Tanel "That was why I couldn't really see him, with my eyes. But then the fire came. I don't know where it came from, but there was so much fire, and I could see him...just for...for a second...he hurt so mu-hu-hu-huuuuuuuuch" Finally the sobs come. She buries her face in the monster's fur and lets it all out. The people in the streets give you all a wide berth. They don't look aggrieved, necessarily, though a few do cast questioning looks your way.
As Cassandra cries and those of you so inclined attempt to comfort her, you all take stock of your surroundings. Clearly you are in a large and well-stocked city, with magic shops, arms shops, armor shops, rations, bars, taverns, all manner of place is here. They may have been rude, but the smithies in the town above were right about one thing; this would be a much better place to try to unload extra weapons and procure any needed supplies.
Kelne really didn't know how to respond, in all honesty. Empty platitudes wouldn't change what had happened, and there was precious little comfort to be offered. Somebody had just killed Cassandra's brother, and there were any number of people lining up to do the same to her. Besides which, he and Cassandra made each other uncomfortable at the best of times. Better not to crowd her.
"Perhaps if we give Cassandra a bit of downtime," he suggested, "A couple of us can sell off the gear while the rest find somewhere quiet." It would be easier to sort things out without a retinue tailing the person doing the actual selling in any case.
Jorzan listens intently to Cassandra's answer and tries his best to make sense of it all but has little success. All he knows is the extent of her pain and that there is little more he can do at the moment to help her with it. Giving her one last hug he stands looks about to the others.
It seemed that she was at least getting some comfort from the monster at the moment and she could hardly find a better protector. Maybe the kind would let her borrow him for a little bit. Looking about the city he says "Well, we're here and we have things to do. Karthan, Kelne, you want to come with me to sell off our stuff? Maybe the rest of you could get Cassandra and our horses settled in and make sure they're safe. Then when we get back from our shopping we'll give you all your shares and we'll take our turn looking after our ward. Sound good?"
If anyone disagrees with or doesn't like the plan, Jorzan will be fine to take care of his horses first himself and make sure Cassandra is safe and ok before he heads out.
The boy stands and salutes Jorzan, and begins casting a wary eye for evildoers.
The monster grunts, a puppyish smile on his face as he nods, "Yes... Safe."
Sir Justahl will motion for The Monster to pick up Cassandra and carry her to their rooms in the Inn. He will arrange for stabling the horses, and detail Nouhves to guard them.
@Justahl (and whoever is staying with him for the nonce): You take the now-slightly-settled Cassandra inside. The Inn is a bustling place; colorfully-dressed merchants and soldiers from all over the Land can be seen moving in and out, drinking in the tavern, or poring grimly over maps at lobby tables. A cluster of finely dressed noble-looking types is taking tea in a far, comfortable-looking corner by the fireplace. A voice rings out.
"Justahl?! SIR Justahl?!" There is a minor ruckus and a leggy, attractive elf -- dressed for rugged exploration, not fussy trotting about, like her tablemates -- extricates herself from the table of nobles and executes a graceful one-handed cartwheel over to you, all while keeping her teacup in her other hand.
She does not spill a drop.
The elf's huge and pupilless ice-blue eyes quickly take you all in, but then stop to focus exclusively on Justahl. She is 6'6" and whip-thin. Her leather armor has obviously seen much use, and the rapier on her hip rests in a well-worn scabbard. Her hair is white like new snow, pulled back from her face in a sloppy ponytail that somehow manages to be endearing. She grins a good-natured, lopsided grin. "Justahl it's me, Trista! Remember? You had just moved to Stormfare, I offered to take advantage of you in the stables and you in your knightly honor refused?" Her eyes sparkle in a way that indicates she took no offense from this event -- if it even happened -- and, indeed, would probably make the same offer at the drop of a hat. "So if you wouldn't let me teach you the Northen definition of "a roll in the hay", how is it you came to be in possession of both a son and a daughter? Or are these children not yours?" She gives a big wink. "It is good to see you, sir knight, what brings you this far north? What's with the sprats?"
Looking around, the crush of people here in the actual city of Olmskodsv is tremendous, especially when compared to the barren cityscape above. Suddenly, rounding a corner and going out of sight, you could swear you see Camor.
Perhaps he shouldn't have been the one to go out shopping, Kelne reflected. Then again, the Wolfguard probably had all of their descriptions by now, so it wasn't likely to matter one way or another. What their presence inside the city meant in terms of the siege he couldn't say, but the dwarves would just have to look out for themselves. They had their own concerns, and a confrontation would only delay them.
"Well, there are Wolfguards inside the city," he remarked quietly for the benefit of the other two, studiously not doing anything to stand out as they continued on their way, "Hardly a surprise, all things considered."
'Camor?? What the hell is he doing here?' thinks the young shadowdancer. But then he suddenly realizes that maybe it's not Camor. Either way though, he couldn't just let the man slip away.
"I just saw one of my 'brothers'! I think..."
He turns his head at Kelne's comment, taking in the info and looking around quickly but casually for the group Kelne referred to. But his mind and his emotions are already focused on something else and his decision was made the instant he saw the man "I can't let him get away!"
Moving as quickly as he can with without attracting attention to himself he heads to the corner he last saw 'Camor' and looks intently for any sign of him. Perception:
Knowledge (Local):
A huge smile spreads over Justahl’s face as he sweeps Trista into a bear hug.
“Trista! You are a sight for sore eyes in truth!” He puts her down and glares at her mock seriously. “And you know very well why I would not let you demonstrate. Especially in front of Nouhves!”
He looks around and lowers his voice. “My vow remains unfulfilled, and until I meet the girl destined for me, I must remain chaste. You know that if I were to make an exception for anyone, it would be you.”
He turns to the others. “As for the children, I fear that confidences will not allow me to tell you much; only that I was detailed to guard Cassie. Just as Monster here was drafted to guard the Boy.”
He looks at Trista in speculation. “You are far from home yourself. How came you to a besieged fortress?”
He frowns. "Is your family alright? I have heard rumours that your people had to flee the white dragons."
The abrupt appearance of Jorzan's brother didn't strike Kelne as a coincidence. Still, whether it was a trap or not, Jorzan wasn't going to be dissuaded from investigating. Best he didn't do so alone. If there was a trap aimed at anyone, it would be him.
Kelne fell in slightly behind Jorzan, likewise refrainng from making himself too noticeable, "Just keep your eyes open," he said softly, "He's not necessarily your friend." Not everybody had necessarily gotten free of that crazed mage.
Jorzan nodded absently at the Northman's words, knowing they were right but having trouble taking them all in given his distracted state "I know I know." He mumbled back "but do you see him? Or anything?" As he continuesd to search for sight of the man, his emotional state making him significantly less perceptive than he normally was.