"ಜಗತ್ತಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಏನು?" Marigold gapes as Kikinnin flings open the southern door to reveal the enormous ice-rimmed being just sort of...standing there, waiting on them?
"What in the world?"
Unsure of just what they may be dealing with, Marigold takes a few steps forward and then offers up a prayer to Sarenrae for protection and success in battle.
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Marigold moves forward praying to Sarenrae who brings luck to the Cauldron Watchers and bad fate to the automaton.
"An iron golem!" the blond dwarf identifies the automaton and quickly delivers instructions on how to deal with it.
The dwarf moves forward and opens fire with his pistol trying to disorient the metallic enemy.
The shot lands directly on the head side, and although the construct seems to ignore most of the damage, it is left disoriented by the accurate shot.
Without bothering to move, the iron golem starts to deliver powerful blows on Kikinnin.
Both his hands strike, one of them smashing Kikinnin's head with terrible strength.
"adamantine? I thought that was used for things like vault doors? People make weapons out of it?" splutters JJ.
Looking at Alakast he shakes his head, memories of the battle against the elemental in Cauldron springing into his head.
"This is not going to be pretty."
The youth steps forward taking up a defensive stance next to Kikinnin.
Kythel has nothing prepared or on hand that could even nick this terrible guardian. He can though, still aid his comrades. Kythel casts Shield Other on Kikinnin!
"ಓ ಪ್ರಿಯ...ಉಮ್, ಇದು ನಿಮ್ಮಿಬ್ಬರಿಗೆ ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿರುತ್ತದೆ..." Marigold sighs, finding herself in pretty much the same sort of predicament as Kythel. Still, like the priest, she can still support her friends. She moves up further and calls upon Sarenrae's fervor to aid them.
"Oh dear....um, you two are pretty much on your own on this one..."
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AC = 27
HP = 138/148
Weapon Equipped = Eldgammel
Condition(s) = water breathing 25 min, resist energy 20 (cold) 18 min, bull strength 7 min, aid 14 min, Prayer, Blessing of Fervor
"Abadar damn this infernal thing!! It strikes true with every slam!!" Kikinnin coughs up a hefty amount of internal bleed, looking up at the cold-blasted golem standing in his way. He eyes something in the floor across from them all, and suspects the obstruction standing between them and it demonstrates the spellweavers' desire for none to pass. He considers the inevitable pain coming from the iron man, healing himself quickly for what's sure to be a protracted battle.
He holds up a finger to the iron golem, then he closes the door.
"Hey, Far. We're gonna need Eldgammel at its fullest. Bring me up to full strength, then we'll see to the golem."
"Alright. I'm ready now." Kikinnin figures he might just wait to see if iron golems know how to open doors...
JJ moves forward while Kythel brings a special shield of protection upon Kikinnin.
Marigold brings another blessing on the party, inspiring fervor on the Cauldron Watchers while Maxim reloads the two barrels of his gun Smaug.
Then Kikinnin closes the door before him and requests the aid of his father's spirit who quickly comes to Eldgammel's edge on his son defense, all while his wounds heal by Abadar's mercy.
Soon, the doors open and the golem storms the dwarf with another slam.
It breaks another of the dwarf's ribs but somehow he feels less pain than usual while a bruise appears on Kythel's chest.
With a reluctant sigh, JJ steps forward and brings Alakast to bear. He strikes out, focusing on strong blows, rather than quite so many as normal.
[ooc]+1 to hit and damage from prayer; extra +3 to damage from two handed.[/ooc
"I'm like a fly trying to swat an elephant!" he cries out in dismay.
Marigold's Round 3
Unable to offer much else in the way of offense, Marigold closes the distance to the melee until she stands next to Kikinnin and behind JJ.
"ನಾನು ಇಲ್ಲಿದ್ದೇನೆ ಮತ್ತು ಕೈಥೆಲ್ ಕೂಡಾ. ದೃ ವಾಗಿ ನಿಂತುಕೊಳ್ಳಿ ಮತ್ತು ನಾವು ನಿಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಗುಣಪಡಿಸುತ್ತೇವೆ!"
"I'm here and so is Kythel. Stand firm and we'll keep you healed!"
She then adopts a defensive stance as she begins casting a spell...
...and heals a few of Kikinnin's smaller wounds.
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AC = 27
HP = 138/148
Weapon Equipped = Eldgammel
Condition(s) = water breathing 25 min, resist energy 20 (cold) 18 min, bull strength 7 min, aid 14 min, Prayer, Blessing of Fervor
Kikinnin nods as JJ declares the problem aloud. These things are certainly on par with Spike of Malachite. He wonders how he might go about creating one or two iron golems to guard the fortress alongside Spike...
"I would try and avoid this guardian, but his power suggests that we're destined to see what lies beyond him."
The black beard does his best against the aggressor. He's not interested in glancing blows brought on by his own enthusiasm. He does his best to shave the iron accurately.
In the shadow of the iron golem, Kikinnin decides to heal his ribs, so that they may be broken again shortly.
Maxim loads his pistol with a heavy, metallic bullet , then moves forward to bolster the line
In fact it seems Kythel used his protective defense on JJ rather than on Kikinnin.
JJ grasps Alakast with two hands and advances cautiously over the golem trying to distract the automaton more than really striking heavily on it.
Marigold approaches to heal the dwarf's wounds, and so she does.
Then Kikinnin closes up with the golem and swings Eldgammel striking truly and heavily three times, breaking the construct legs plates as the spirit on his axe pierces through it with ease. The dwarf's wounds quickly heal even more by the protective blessing of Abadar.
Maxim prepares his gun with something able to pierce the foe's plating and closes even more on it.
Kythel does something heroic.
Seeing the dwarf is the one piercing through its defenses, the golem see no incentive to change targets.
And once again Kikinnin's armor can do little to spare the bones grinding.
Marigold's Round 4
Though it seems unlikely to make a discernible difference, Marigold still has to try and help defend her friends from the golem. She draws out her longspear and - since it seems focused on Kikinnin - tries to do what she can to provide a distraction against the construct.
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AC = 27
HP = Less than 148 /148
Weapon Equipped = Eldgammel
Condition(s) = water breathing 25 min, resist energy 20 (cold) 18 min, bull strength 7 min, aid 14 min, Prayer, Blessing of Fervor
Kikinnin grunts with strong exasperation. It's been awhile since he's had an opponent strike him so truly, so often. It's humbling. For the three swarfings, he grips Eldgammel more tightly. It's reassuring.
The black beard presses his attacks, favoring the Fervor for as many swings as he can squeeze out of the halfling lass's boon. He wonders how many licks it takes to get to the center of an iron golem...
Pausing to examine his work, Kikinnin knits his wounds for a third time in the exchange.
JJ steps to the side, to give Kikinnin an option for flanking the terrible creature.
"You're cutting it down like a tree!" he says helpfully.
This time Alakast seems to have the measure of hte creature, and small cracks appear where it connects.
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Marigold's courage with the lance seems to inspire both Kikinnin and JJ, as they throw themselves with stirring boldness against the golem. Axe and staff strike once and again on the same plates, until finally JJ discovers how many licks it takes to find the golem's center. With a final strike of Alakast the automaton loses its stand and falls to the ground with a resounding commotion.
With the iron guardian removed you can easily approach the smooth-sided pit located at the end of the room. It has a five-foot-diameter making it relatively easy to brace against the opposed walls of the pit.
The pit is not something existing in the room by design but something "added" later most probably by means of magic. Whomever did the tunnel probably needed to skip the collapsed stairs to reach the lower level.
The smoothness of the pit walls recalls you the effect of the disintegrate spell on stone. By the thickness of the stone here, at least a couple of them would had been needed.
A closer inspection deep below discovers the pit falls into a small dark room 20 feet below. You hear no noise and there is no one to be seen down below. Neither there is any meaningful magical aura.
"Okay, th-that went b-better than expected t-too..." Marigold remarks as the golem finally falls with everyone still mostly hale and hearty. She cautiously approaches the small hole in the floor of the room and tries peering into it, but she's not able to see a great deal without actually climbing down.
"W-weird...why is there j-just a hole h-here?"
With a shrug, she turns back to Kikinnin and the others. "B-but there's no other way f-forward but this one, r-right? Let's m-make sure we're all r-ready to g-go before we t-try climbing d-down." Noting that Kikinnin seems the only one injured, Marigold channels healing power into the dwarf.
"Th-there we go, b-back to normal!"
"Want me to try going down first?" asks JJ, patting the mighty Alakast in a manner one might more associate with someone praising a cat.
He throws a rope around himself. "I'll be okay going down, but if you need to get me out of there in a hurry... this may be handy."
Then, with either disregard for his own safety, or full belief in the ability of the iron golem to have stopped anyone else heading down the tunnel, down he goes.
"It's a bit slippery, best be careful..."
JJ's overconfidence makes him almost to fall down the pit when he starts talking while going down, but his great skill secures him passage to the dark room below.
The walls of this partially collapsed room are blasted and pitted from some ancient calamity. The room's collapse is total to the north, a solid wall of frozen stone. A smooth-sided pit rises up from the ceiling near the east wall.
The room is cramped due to a collapse on its northern wall while the only remarkable feature is a door leading west. A cursory examination of the door reveals it is not trapped or locked, nor there is any meaningful sound coming through. The coldness is still freezing, but you are luckily protected.
"J-J-JJ? What do you s-see down there?" Marigold calls down softly as she edges up next to the hole in the floor. "S-safe to come d-down?"
"Th-there we go, b-back to normal!"
Kikinnin pats Marigold's hand as she places it on his arm to heal him twice. "As always, thanks to you and your goddess for the healing surge." He looks down on the fallen golem, a small mix of feelings. You're done guarding. Didn't have a choice who you guarded for. Feels like a loss. He picks up a small piece of the golem, and tucks it away.
Getting over to the hole, he listens for JJ to touch down. Once he's sure the way is clear, Kikinnin steps off the ledge, and floats to the bottom. Once there, he sends his Rope of Climbing back up, to assist in Marigold's and Kythel's climb down.
Once they're all down, and before the single door in the room is opened, Kikinnin takes the Watchers' measure. "My Axe is still thrumming with Abadar's magic. Do we press on swiftly, then? I'd like to engage other foes before this floor really knows we're about. I don't expect we've been quiet enough to avoid detection, from the golem clanging..."
When he's sure they're ready, he opens the door, and steps through to continue their infiltration of Karran Kural.
"Yeap, a door, and another collapsed passage down here." calls back JJ.
"Come on down, its a bit chilly, so don't forget your winter woolies!"
"If you have trouble climbing, I can scoot back up and lower you on a rope if you would prefer."
With Kikinnin's rope of climbing the group easily makes it down into the collapsed room.
After opening the door and carefully advancing some meters through the silent and chilling corridor you find out several collapsed passages and a decision: a corridor full of lattices to the east, or a closed door to the south.
"St-strike while the iron is h-hot? That m-makes sense to m-me," Marigold agrees once the entire group has reached the bottom of the strange hole. "If we r-run across anything that looks r-really dangerous we can s-slow up if need b-be."
She dutifully follows the group until they reach a new decision point; she pauses to consider which way might be best.
"Um...I v-vote the lattices; I d-don't like leaving open sp-space at our backs and we'll have to b-break them at s-some p-point anyway..."
"As much as I hate the Lattice, I agree with the miss. JJ, you were pretty nimble through them last time. If you want to run ahead, just keep track of how far back we are, in case something meets you on the other side."
Kikinnin steps aside for the young man, before himself beginning to hack through the Lattice, one 5' square at a time... This hallway is a chokepoint if I ever saw one. Mole rats, head after tail, all in a row...
"There was a devil in front of us last time, and Alakast doesn't like them.p" points out JJ.
"No reason we can't take our own sweet time working our way through this not."
He proceeds to carefully advance through the laticework.
"Think, JJ. The Lattice is there for a reason. It slows us down, makes us vulnerable to things that move through it with ease and no fear of the deathly touches. Be as quick as you can to get to the other side of this..."
"H-here, maybe I can h-help..."
While JJ carefully moves ahead and Kikinnin follows with his axe, Marigold pulls out her longspear and attempts to help speed the process of lattice-breaking from just behind.
You industriously work on destroying the ice lattices. As you advance through them breaking the major pieces, small splinters touch you giving you a bad feeling.
When you are about to face the last section of lattices, the door ahead suddenly opens a man with a stern and proud look and a long dark tunic salutes you waving a rod and pointing in your direction. An empowered lightning bolt makes all the way through the corridor, he then points to you with his other hand and a quickened lightning bolt follows suite!
The man, who has 8 images of himself moving around, then steps to the side out of the door's frame.
Marigold and Kythel are the first ones to react after the lightning appearance of the man.
"Arghhh... gods damn it that hurts" says JJ, deftly avoiding the worst of the first bolt before catching the second square in the middle of his chest.
"Cold is one thing, necromantic energy another. I don't remember anything being said about electricity. Wily caster, I'll give him that. Maybe we'll say a few words over his body."
As the construct falls, Maxim holsters his single-barrelled pistol with the adamantine bullet still loaded.
As they push on he pauses at the pit trap, noting a conjecture on its origin;
:
"Pit trap was added by magic, not by construction..."
:
"...Most likely couple o' applications o' the Disintegrate spell. Bad juju right there. Iffin' someone 's wieldin' that particular magic we need to be mighty cautious."
:
:
As lighting rains down on the Watchers, Maxim cannily avoids the more powerful blast completely before taking the full brunt of the second!
"G-G-Gods be d-d-darned iffin' that don't smart some!"
Marigold's Round 1
So focused is Marigold on helping break through the lattices that she's caught completely off-guard by the man's sudden appearance and attack. Whereas Kikinnin manages to duck out of the way in time she's not so lucky and takes the full brunt of both lightning bolts to the chest.
"AUGH!"
Even with the blast still ringing in her ears and a burning sensation dancing along her nerves, Marigold manages to keep enough of her wits about her to know that there's no going back, only forward. The corridor is a death trap and they need to get out - fast.
She grits her teeth and makes another attempt to smash the remaining bit of lattice with her longspear and open the way for Kikinnin and the rest to advance without being impeded.
"ಕಾರಿಡಾರ್ನಿಂದ ಹೊರಬನ್ನಿ! ನಾವು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಬಾತುಕೋಳಿಗಳನ್ನು ಕುಳಿತಿದ್ದೇವೆ!"
"Get out of the corridor! We're sitting ducks in here!"
The Watchers avoid the lightning bolts with different odds. Thankfully, the aid of the dwarven freed souls helps maintain the group's shape.
Marigold attempts to break the lattices in front with her spear, but she only deals scratches to the ice.
Kythel raises his holy symbol in an attempt to soften the effect of the bolts.
"You will not usurp my knowledge meddlers!" the man frowns maniacally and looks around the corner, extending his hand towards you while still covering behind the stone "You healer, die first!" five missiles of pure force fly unerringly to strike on Kythel!
JJ dashes down the corridor, swinging at the man as he gets to the end.
AC = 27
HP = 129/148
Weapon Equipped = Eldgammel +3
Condition(s) = water breathing 25 min, resist energy 20 (cold) 18 min, bull strength 7 min, aid 14 min
Kikinnin snorts, scraping a boot along the floor, while speaking deliberately to Abadar. Within the blink of an eye, the black beard picks up his pace, and gains entrance more deeply into the room.
He looks on the myriad of images, seeking out the one which will yelp when an Axe is stuck in it, regretting the fade on his Sight, when he could see things for what they genuinely are, magics all stripped away.
"I'm assuming one of you is Abradius. We would have been content speaking with you, but you're clearly mad, and won't listen to reason. We would know more about you and your Cagewrights, Fetor. Speak quickly, otherwise we're going to try and speak with you, once you're dead."
Maxim shifts forward at an accelerated rate through Marigold's divine enchantment, as he moves the gun-mage draws a trusty wand...
Fight fire with fire I reckon...
He levels his wand at the fell mage activing its magics:
"Magische Raket!"
- firing a pentad of glowing bullets at their wizardly foe:
:
:
JJ, Kikinnin and Maxim rush through the remaining lattices miss-regarding its deathly cold touch. As they do a numbening feeling is left on their arms.
JJ reaches the wizard position and bashes one of its images that shatters with a crystalline noise.
Kikinnin surprises with a sudden burst of speed that sets himself cornering the wizard against a wall. The man smiles when he is identified as Abradius "So, you have made your homework" the man shows a ring with the Carcerian sign while he dodges the dwarf's attack that only strikes on an image "The Cagewrights just don't understand how much knowledge the spell weavers left on their Soul Pillars. Nor do you!"
The wizard is preparing to counter attack when Maxim burst him unerringly through mirrors thanks to his wand force missiles.
Marigold's Round 2
Seeing as how the rest of her friends are just barreling through the remaining bits of lattice Marigold grits her teeth and pushes through as well, managing to just reach the doorway ahead.
Since she can't quite see the wily mage to target him with anything she opts to offer up another prayer to Sarenrae for aid in battle.
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Marigold rushes through the lattices and brings Sarenrae's prayer on the party.
Meanwhile, Kythel tries to close up the distance with the party, but avoiding to cross the lattices, and raises again his symbol to further heal the party that barely reaches both Kikinnin and Maxim. The follower of Pharasma intently excludes Fetor from the positive energy surge.
Fetor clenches his teeth, cornered by Kikinnin, the wizard goes bold and does not mind to include himself on his spell casting.
Marigold's Round 3
Marigold isn't sure just what sort of magic it is that washes over her but she can feel it tugging at her mind and attempting to sink its claws into her. With a shake of her head she throws it off and glares at the man.
"ಬಹುಶಃ ನೀವು ನಿಮ್ಮ ಬಲೆಯನ್ನು ಮುಚ್ಚಿ ಸದ್ದಿಲ್ಲದೆ ಬರಬೇಕು!" she retorts as she begins casting a spell, attempting to silence the dangerous mage.
"Maybe you should shut your trap and come quietly!"
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"Huh, what?"
"Oh, a mirror spell. Cleaver, but not cleaver enough. If I hit myself that should pass through and hurt him!"
So saying, the ever confident JJ knocks himself in the head with Alakast.
"Ha! Take that!"
AC = 27
HP = 129/148
Weapon Equipped = Eldgammel +3
Condition(s) = water breathing 25 min, resist energy 20 (cold) 18 min, bull strength 7 min, aid 14 min, Prayer
Kikinnin takes a moment to watch Fetor weave a spell, and the moment is lost, when he could have been planting his blade in the spellcaster's side. Then he takes a moment to watch JJ hit himself, and immediately remembers that they stand in the presence of a demented agent of the Cagewrights.
"If you have any hope here, it's to drop your magics, and kneel, Fetor. This place has corrupted you to the bone, and the only way for you to come to your senses will be in manacles, marched from Carin' Curl."
Kikinnin closes his eyes against the mirrors, and swings away.
"Snap out of it, JJ. I need these useless images stripped away, so I can plant Eldgammel in Fetor's back. That is, Fetor, unless you surrender..." The frustration in Kikinnin's voice belies any attempt at sounding diplomatic in the present moment.
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Maxim welcomes the wash of healing and once again levels his wand at Fetor as he mulls the enchantment used on JJ;
:
:
"Hell's Teeth! The basterd's using Confusion spell! Surabar's right - only way to counter it is damagin' yourself'..."
He then prompty smacks himself in the face with his wand :
Marigold attempts to silence Fetor but the man resists her magic.
JJ and Maxim sagely decide their doubled images in their vision is not normal and hitting themselves in the head is the best way to proceed.
Not as much convinced Kikinnin attempts the traditional way to smack the thing with his axe.
As usual though only images pop out.
Kythel attempts to dispel the mirror images but Fetor's power seems to strong. The images remain.
"You dream off! This is a Cagewright you are fighting now. Not one of those minions you have been facing this far! Die!" Fetor steps sideways next to Kikinnin and attempts to touch him with a hand full of crackling black energy.
But he fails. The hand remains charged with that energy.
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AC = 27
HP = 129/148
Weapon Equipped = Eldgammel +3
Condition(s) = water breathing 25 min, resist energy 20 (cold) 18 min, bull strength 7 min, aid 14 min, Prayer
Kikinnin senses that he's not long for a painful touch from the Cagewright, so he swings Eldgammel several times, hoping to injure Fetor faster than Fetor can feel him up with that black hand. The black beard steps along the wall, placing the mass of mirrored men, then closing his eyes again, and swinging away.
Marigold's Round 4
Stubborn bugger!
Realizing that she'll have to work hard to get her magics to take effect against Fetor, Marigold moves into the chamber proper and decides to summon some extra help for Kikinnin and JJ. A ghostly form appears behind the mage, sandwiching him between itself and Kikinnin, and lashes out with a ghostly whip!
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"That's it Maxim. We are getting through all those images. Look at them drop. He'll be defenseless soon!"
Smacking himself in the face seems to restore a moment of clarity in Maxim and instead of bludgeoning he directs his wand toward their foe;
"Magische Raket!"
- firing another pentad of glowing bullets at Fetor;
:
He then uses Marigold's enchantment to augment his movement to shift to a clearer pathway to the evil wizard...