Maxim and JJ quickly spot the viper, and the dwarf is the first one to react before the viper has a chance to move away.
The tiny reptile is very slow and JJ jumps over it soon striking a strong hit. With that and whatever Maxim manages to do, they manage to stop it before it can go further deep into the darkness.
With the viper disabled, the group starts to go down the earth through the tunnel found. It is a very long spiral that descends into the darkness. After a couple of minutes going down and around, you find a stretch that goes to the north and then opens into a wide chamber. When you turn on your light sources this is what you see:
Ten thick pillars support the ten-foot-high ceiling of this large, unlit room. Deep alcoves are recessed into the west and east walls. A few snakes slither across the floor, and a distant rattling noise emanates from the deeper darkness. A sculpted stone altar rests in the middle of the room, its surfaces stained with dried blood and carved with serpentine motifs. One end of the altar curls up to form the head of a great snake with stony fangs and gems for eyes.
You are still trying to figure out the chamber when from behind the impressive altar stands up a human with a serpentine head and scaly skin "You will pay for Salsinath's death!"
He conceals his features beneath a form-fitting black robe, and around his neck he wears a silver pendant shaped like a tiny cage. He does not mediate more words, raising his hands with rage, casts heightened slow on you while you are still surprised.
And with a quick move follows up with a quickened protective spell.
quickened shield
"More I think Salsinath has already paid for allying with you." he calls out before quickly crossing the ground to the spellcaster. For a moment he feels a pull of lethargy on his muscles... but only for a moment. He has practiced steeling his will against succubi , so a mere snake-mans magic slithers off him.
Alakash lashes out at the master just as it did at the minion.
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In the flurry of activity, Kikinnin doesn't hesitate to follow his crew down the stairs, glad to see the snake slain before it becomes a problem.
His relief is short-lived, as the human snake and altar come into view, and words spoken declare its awareness of their infiltration. He takes in the room, for exits and entrances, where the rats' nest threatens newcomers to the room.
As the first magical attack tries to stiffen his limbs, Kikinnin thinks on Eidi and his instructions. He almost misses Juraan's magical strength and support, seeks the fighters among the Cagewrights for the simplicity of battle. Magic is too impulsive, and there will be plenty of it in the now.
"We're beyond parlay, snake-man. You chose to stay, knowing we'd come to finish the work we started in the Sanctum. The Tree's done for, as are you. Your faith in your conspirators is hollow. Our faith is overflowing. Abandon hope, and accept your fate."
The black beard watches intently for JJ to begin the reckoning, not giving any weight to the viper's death.
Non-hesitant, JJ moves swiftly around the altar and engages Ssythar with a mighty blow that produces a bone cracking sound.
As the ranger damages his foe, the altar's serpent eyes shine and zaps him with strength damaging energies.
Kikinnin looks around intently but the other only obvious exit of the room is to the north, at the back of the sorcerer, and extends up to the reach of his darkvision.
Just at that time emerges from the shadows in an alcove in the west the other creature inhabiting the room that was not spotted by the Cauldron Watchers. A tangle of discolored entrails clings to this lurching serpentfolk skeleton’s torso and winds upward to loll from its jaw like a clawed tongue.
The undead reaches JJ and hits him in the back, but his elven chain deflects the backstab attack!
"So you are the ones that caused the Shackled Tree disaster? Should have guessed so!" Ssythar steps back in between the columns and addresses JJ with fanatism "Ydersius has chosen me to bring back his word to this world, can you not see you do not have a chance against me human?" he points his finger and fires a black ray of negative energy at the young man.
The energies hit JJ and suppresses part of his life force.
With the other hand he follows up and five magic missiles strike in the young man too.
You think the undead is some kind of special mohrg more powerful and using a serpentfolk (aka yuan-ti pureblood) creature as a base.
Even as the horrid powers try to envelop him, the celestial light within JJ surges forth, countering much of the dark energies and preserving his strength.
"ಮ್ಯಾಕ್ಸಿಮ್ Maxim, ನೀವು ಬಳಸುವ ಆ ಚಿಕ್ಕ ಕ್ಷಿಪಣಿಗಳಿಂದ ಅವನು ತನ್ನನ್ನು ರಕ್ಷಿಸಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದಾನೆ!" Marigold warns, not even paying the serpentfolk's magic spell the slightest bit of attention as it rolls right off of her. "ಮತ್ತು ಆ ಜೀವಿಯು ಸರ್ಪಜಾಲದಿಂದ ಮಾಡಿದ ಮೊಹ್ರ್ಗ್ ಆಗಿದೆ - ಇದು ಬಹುಶಃ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ಮೊಹ್ರ್ಗ್ಗಳಿಗಿಂತ ಬಲವಾಗಿರುತ್ತದೆ."
"Watch out Maxim, he's shielded himself from those little force missiles you use!"
"And that creature is a mohrg made from a serpentfolk - it's probably stronger than most mohrgs."
She moves forward into the chamber and calls out a prayer to Sarenrae, to bolster them all for battle.
"Sarenrae ಬೆಳಕು ನಿಮ್ಮನ್ನು ನೀವು ಸೇರಿರುವ ಕತ್ತಲೆಗೆ ಹಿಂತಿರುಗಿಸುತ್ತದೆ!"
"Sarenrae's light will send you back to the darkness where you belong!"
______________
Maxim takes the initial wave of the serpent man's magicks, then recognises the followup enchantment it casts despite not having the foggiest what Marigold is warning about;
"God's be darned! Quickening shield. That puts paid ta' my magic missiles..."
Assessing the situation, the gun-mage identifies what could the source of some of the fell magic. He moves forward shifting to a better vantage
Raising his arcane gun he draws a bead on the alter itself
"Disintegreren!"
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JJ resists the strength sapping of the altar.
Marigold quickly identifies the dangers the group is facing and advises the group while praying for some divine luck on the group.
Maxim uses powerful magic over the altar which is reduced to dust almost in its entirety!
Ssythar shouts in shock "No! Profaners! Ydersius will make you pay for this insult!"
Determining that the serpent folk is likely the larger threat, JJ steps forward and continues to lash out with Alakast at it.
While his blows are on target, the displacement proves effective at providing at least some protection to the creature.
AC = 33/12/32
HP = 208/208
Weapon Equipped = Eldgammel
Condition(s) = Prayer
Smite = 6/7
Not liking the looks of the wormy undead, Kikinnin grumbles his condemnation of the vile skeleton, and moves to attack it, hoping to distract it from JJ's backside. Fortuately, his Boots carry him the distance.
Maxim resists the ill magics of the altar as it is destroyed.
JJ steps forward and attacks the serpentfolk sorcerer around the stone pillar section. The creature survives even a critical in the head, but one of JJ's attacks hit the stone wall and the others are averted by the displacement.
Pushed by his boots speed, Kikinnin gives the look to the undead serpentfolk and opens a large crack on its bony legs with his axe.
Ssythar, mortally wounded, takes a step back, away from the mighty partnership of Alakast and JJ and casts quickened magic missiles at JJ.
Gasping, he challenges you "Thisss isz not the laszt time we see usz heroesz. My people survived the Azlanti and we will ssszurvive you" with that, he says a word of power and disappears.
teleport
The skeleton turns towards the force breaking its bones.
With two powerful blows, it leaves a bit bruised Kikinnin but fails to grab him, just before touching him with its nasty tongue.
Demonstrating a cunning intelligence not normal in a simple skeleton, it steps back in between the large stone columns.
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AC = 33/12/32
HP = 173/208
Weapon Equipped = Eldgammel
Condition(s) = Prayer, Smite Mohrg
Smite = 6/7
Kikinnin shirks off the tainted touch of the tongue, before stepping up and swinging his blade swiftly.
"So much for a quiet entrance. Don't suppose the snake-man left Shatterhorn altogether?"
edit:
"He may have just gone invisible.." sighs JJ. He turns his attention on the undead monstrosity still within his reach.
"ಇಲ್ಲ...ಅವರು ಟೆಲಿಪೋರ್ಟ್ ಮಾಡಿದರು, ಆದರೆ ಅವರು ಇನ್ನೂ ಪ್ರದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿದ್ದಾರೆಯೇ ಅಥವಾ ಅವರು ಶ್ಯಾಟರ್ಹಾರ್ನ್ ಅನ್ನು ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣವಾಗಿ ತೊರೆದಿದ್ದಾರೆಯೇ ಎಂದು ತಿಳಿಯಲು ಯಾವುದೇ ಮಾರ್ಗವಿಲ್ಲ," Marigold informs the others.
"No...he teleported, but there's no way to know if he's still in the area or if he left Shatterhorn completely."
She then steps a few paces to the south, enabling her to sight the mohrg properly as she delivers a holy smite of her own!
Maxim flashes a hard smile of satisfaction as the fell alter is destroyed.
His smile becomes a frown as he recognises the magics invoked by the scaley menace;
"Reckon Lil' Miss is tellin' us same as I clocked. Ol' Snake-hips has teleported elsewhere. Likely ain't even in Shatterhorn no more."
The gun-mage holds, waiting for his bror to finish the undead...
Shrugging the paralysis aside, Kikinnin tears through the thoracic cage of the skeleton opening it with a single blow. With the follow up swing he manages, only thanks to Marigold's luck, to chop in two parts the entrails parasite that had control within.
Within the dust of the altar remains, you recognize the two gems embedded in the altar's "eyes" are black sapphires worth 1000 gp apiece.
Examining the eastern alcoves you find out the one pillar in between is in fact a "rolling pillar". The pillar looks like a protruding section of wall but has stone rollers tucked into its base, allowing it to roll to the north or south.
You spot an anomaly in the southeastern wall of the hall . The section of the wall has been painted here to blend seamlessly with the surrounding murals and stonework. Softly knocking this section makes you think this is only a 3-inch thick plaster wall and could be knocked through easily.
An eerie rattling sound comes from the north of the hall, past the columns.
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"H-he said we'd s-see him again, th-though...s-so we've g-got something to look f-forward to I g-guess," Marigold adds with a sour smile as Kikinnin finishes off the mohrg and the dust of their skirmish settles.
She noses around the room for a moment but nothing really catches her eye.
"Hum...n-now which w-way?"
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Kikinnin acknowledges Maxim's destruction, glad they're not leaving an unholy altar at their backs. "What do you think, they have more than one of those lying around? Suppose they'd make centerpieces for each grand hall..."
"Alright, stick close. I'd have you near, in case we're savaged by magic."
Kikinnin moves north, expecting more adversity. "Don't suppose anyone can gift me the Air Walk Kythel was able to cast? I still have my Pearl."
While he inquires, he brings his blade alight with the spirit of his Far.
Kikinnin advances himself into the darkness to the north, his dwarven eyes piercing the veil of underground night as he goes.
Thick pillars support the ten-foot-high ceiling of this hall. Four alcoves hold heaps of dust and bone intermingled with shards of painted ceramic. A stone arm, the remains of a shattered statue perhaps, rests on the floor between the pillars. The arm looks human-sized and is broken at the shoulder. One of its stony fingers bears an iron ring.
The alcoves hold the shattered remains and spilled contents of four ceramic burial urns. The ceramic fragments are painted with serpentine motifs and images of serpentfolk dressed in ceremonial armor and robes. Amid the refuse lie serpentfolk bones and tattered funereal wrappings.
You spot an anomaly in the northeastern wall of the hall . The section of the wall has been painted here to blend seamlessly with the surrounding murals and stonework. Softly knocking this section makes you think this is only a 3-inch thick plaster wall and could be knocked through easily.
You spot an anomaly in the northwestern wall of the hall . The section of the wall has been painted here to blend seamlessly with the surrounding murals and stonework. Softly knocking this section makes you think this is only a 3-inch thick plaster wall and could be knocked through easily.
The four pillars surrounding the stone arm are actually made of painted plaster. Although the plaster pillars look like ordinary stone pillars, careful inspection and a successful reveals the truth.
The iron ring bears an inscription: "Here lies your doom."
There is a moderate transmutation aura in the ring.
ring of evasion
An eerie rattling sound still comes from the northern corridor exiting the room.
JJ winces, his footsteps sluggish.
"Not sure what the snake hit me with, but it really took the stuffing out of me. "
He points over toward the northeastern wall. "Look over here. It looks like stone but... I think it is plaster. A bit like those fake walls we had such fun with in the volcano.."
"Oh! I've g-got a scroll, it m-might help," Marigold pipes up when JJ mentions that he's feeling a little less awesome than normal. "Let's see..."
As she attempts to use the scroll...
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"Thanks Sis!" smiles JJ, his eyes looking northwards toward where the odd sound is coming from.
"I doubt whatever is making that sound means us well. Probably some Giant snake. Just in Beafinator vs the Snake God. There was this huge albino worm that was crawling through the tunnels and... And anyway, lets not worry too much about that. He came out okay in the end..."
Actually I think he cut his way out of the stomach, lets hope that doesn't happen again. I thought Kikinnin was doomed the last time one of us got swallowed.
Nothing bad happens when Marigold casts her spell.
As if answering to JJ's theory, the rattling intensifies for a few seconds before falling to its eerie sound once more.
The young man identifies a secret door.
"H-happy to help," Marigold smiles. The smile falters a bit when JJ posits that there might be more snakes - larger than the little one they'd encountered earlier - lurking about.
"G-gosh, I h-hope not," she says, looking about warily for any signs of trouble or magical auras. "Snakes m-mean p-poison, usually..."
"Huh...that r-ring is magical but I'm n-not sure what the spec-c-cifics are..."
As he sidles quietly toward the northeast to put eyes on whatever is making the sound, JJ pauses by a pillar. "Hey... these are not real either.."
He stops and gestures. "Why put in fake pillars? A trap?"
As Marigold examines the ring's aura from afar, she realizes that this aura is an illusion of some kind.
You know a false aura can be created with the magic aura spell, being able to reach as far as simulating an object to be a specific magic item that it is not in reality.
When JJ advances himself to the north, the light of his ioun orb pours around the corners reveling a wide intersection of corridors.
Just as he is going to step in the middle of the corridor, he notices something strange, crevices in the floor that might indicate a pit trap below.
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"Hey, w-wait...I d-don't think the aura's that sh-showing on the r-ring is the real th-thing," Marigold further comments, with a frown. "It's almost l-like someone used a Magic Aura spell to m-make a false aura."
After thinking on this and the inscription on the ring, she can only conclude one thing.
"Um...I th-think that r-ring is b-best handled with c-caution...or m-maybe not at all..."
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"Or maybe it is very powerful, and just being altered to look less so?" suggests JJ.
"See that happened in Beafinator vs the Lich. He, that is the lich, he hid his soul in a gem, and then had a fake magic aura on it to make it look like just an ordinary light stone..."
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Picking over the alter's dust Maxim notes two black sapphires that were its "eyes" still intact;
"Mighty nice. These are worth 1,000 Suns apiece!"
The canny dwur notes all the plaster facades and brings them to the group's attention
"Hell's Teeth. Whole place seems to be made up as sumthin' it ain't. Too much theatrics fir my likin'."
He pauses. the ring highlighted by Marigold catching his attention. Without caution the gun-mage picks it up, scrutinising it closely with spell and eye;
"Ring O' Evasion Lil' Miss. Ain't nothin' doomladen 'bout such an item. These snakes are plain weird by my reckoning."
While he scans the ring auras, Maxim too realizes the auras he is detecting, typical of a ring of evasion, seem an illusion.
But more dramatic, he is just holding the ring in his hand when the plaster pillars around crumble to pieces revealing four women with snakes hair frozen in temporal stasis.
The hair snakes start to move as the women come out of their prolonged stasis, everyone is quick to react to the new danger, except for Maxim, who is still busy with the ring.
They are holding a shortsword and have bows at their back.
When you see the eyes of the snakes, you feel a strange iching in your skin.
These creatures are medusas, but are likely more powerful than normal ones.
Of course, the stone arm in the middle of the room takes new meaning now. It is probably the remains of a petrified thief of some sorts that had the bad luck of exploring the wrong place.
AC = 33/12/32
HP = 173/208
Weapon Equipped = Eldgammel
Condition(s) = Prayer
Smite = 6/7
Kikinnin feels something like fear, though he doesn't give it much time in his mind. The idea of suddenly stiffening up, like the victims of Vhalantru's estate, would be a horrible thing to happen to them.
"Bror, I think you mighta woke these harpies up, touching that ring. Just, you know, be careful touching things down here, until we're sure there's no more threats." The black beard only mildly cuffs the blond verbally, knowing he might have made the same mistake with a pretty, glowing helm...
For now, he brings his blade 'round, glad for the Bond.
Kikinnin shakes the petrification gaze and attacks with determination at the first snake-headed woman. His axe cuts part of her hair with the first swing, still flatfooted, she cannot avoid a single one of the attacks, and Kikinnin manages to surrender the first one with his last swing, knocking her barely unconscious before she can get out of the stasis, and freeing Maxim from the dangerous flanking.
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All that time in the underground was starting to pay off. Eyes that before had seemed so necessary now seemed like liability.
JJ steps up to the two snake-women and, closing his eyes, smashes into them with the holy might of Alakast. They may be no demons they they will still have bones that the staff of his famous ancestor can break.
He first tries to disable the woman in green, before putting any strikes left into the woman in red. He's met a woman in red before.
+1 to hit and damage from prayer
+2d6 damage from holy
miss chances from averted gaze.
Still feeling uneasy as Maxim reaches out to pick up the ring, Marigold is on edge just enough to be able to try and avert her gaze as the plaster comes down to reveal the frozen snake-haired women.
She steps back into the nearby alcove and begins casting a spell, conjuring forth a bolt of lightning that lances from her fingertip to Yellow and then ricochets to Green and Red!
______________
Quickly closing his eyes to avoid the dangerous gaze of the snake-hair, JJ attacks in the darkness, and guiding himself by his other instincts, strikes thrice in one of the monsters, breaking bones and causing bruises.
Trying to avoid the gaze, Marigold's lightning arches in various directions but two of the snake-haired women avoid completely the shock, only the third being partially blasted.
"Iuuaaah! Visitors!" one exclaims going out of the stasis while stepping forward to attack JJ "Where are the serpent-priests?!"
Fortunately, JJ's blind training, allows him to keep protection and avoid the sneak attacks while having closed eyes.
The next one steps forward to flank with the first sneak attacking.
JJ dodges most of the spinning shortswords, but one cuts from the back of his neck while the snake-hair bites his shoulder!
The last one tries to abuse Maxim surprise with her swords.
But the dwarf is tough to be caught undefended. With uncanny dodge, he avoids the sneak attacks even while having his attention in the ring, and only a couple attacks pierce his defenses.
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"Dead" snarls JJ, flinching in pain. These women were tougher than he expected. Story of his life really.
Alakast continues to swing around, bashing and bruising the woman who are so unreasonably intent on killing him.
As the battle heats up, the sounds echo off the walls and pillars, confusing the lad, so that most of his attacks go wide. Most... but not all. One strikes deep.
Maxim does not even have time to retort to the warning from his Bror, before the group are ambushed upon my Medusa guards;
Thanking his own fortune, the gun-mage drops the ring as one of the serpent haired assailants targets him.
While he avoids any series damage, the snake hair bites deep, and leaves the blonde beard weakened as he staggers away from the threat
He then draws his pistol and levels it at the medusa
"Roepen!"
From his pistol a booming cone of sound blasts forth at the creature:
JJ gives a powerful whack to the green medusa, but despite his blind training, he does not manage to make her fall.
Maxim heroically resists the medusas' gaze and washes one of them with a sonic boom that leaves her completely deafened!
Marigold continues trying to keep her eyes averted against the remaining medusae...
...as she directs a ray of searing light at Green!
AC = 33/12/32
HP = 173/208
Weapon Equipped = Eldgammel(Holy/Speed)
Condition(s) = Prayer, Divine Bond
Smite = 6/7
Kikinnin watches as Marigold angles her gaze among the snake-haired women. He looks down at the floor at his feet, then the floor under Red's, and he figures Eldgammel needs only a little direction to find her body. He tries to do the same, stepping forward and tucking his chin.
Marigold kind of looks directly to the medusas despite her will to not do it, but manages to endure the gaze sending searing light ray that burst the already badly injured medusa that falls to the ground bleeding.
Meanwhile, Kikinnin averts his eyes and endures the little gaze he sees, swinging Endgammel powerfully and striking once after another except for one attack. The medusa is left barely standing.
The medusas hiss, fiercely fighting to the death, spinning their shortswords with two hands at the ones around.
Unstable at seeing her sisters fall, the medusa's attacks are very weak and JJ's armor deflects the blades.
At the other side, Maxim jumps dodging most of the attacks except one.
As the tide begins to swing in favor of herself and her allies, Marigold channels healing power to mend their wounds.
AC = 33/12/32
HP = 173/208
Weapon Equipped = Eldgammel(Holy/Speed)
Condition(s) = Prayer, Divine Bond
Smite = 6/7
Kikinnin presses his attack against Red, hoping to strike it dead, and free the lane for JJ to down Yellow. With two of the snake women dead, the black beard doesn't avert his gaze this time.
"What kind of magic shoved these women into the pillars? Do we have to worry about more creatures hiding in the walls?"
edit:
Going first, Maxim is likely stepping back to shot or cast, freeing the spot for Kikinnin.
Marigold manages to avoid the insidious gaze of the remaining medusas, then washes the Watchers with her positive energy.
Many wounds are healed!
Kikinnin steps in over Maxim's previous position and chops the red medusa's head with a first swing, then swashes in the opposite direction, his axe striking three times, one in a vital spot, and sending the last snake-headed woman to the ground!
The medusas are removed from the way, but the eerie sound keeps coming from northwest.
4x +2 chain shirt
8x short swords (+3 short swords for a few hours thanks to greater maaic weapon spells)
4x masterwork shortbows
80x arrows
"Th-that could've g-gotten ugly," Marigold finally says as she stares down at the dead medusae. Then, unable to help herself, she shoots a look at Maxim.
"I knew that r-ring was b-bad news..."
But with everyone still largely hale and hearty, she doesn't push the matter any further than that. Instead, she turns to her big brother and sets about further mending the wounds he'd suffered.
"G-guess we h-head to the northw-w-west next, right?"
JJ grins as his sisters personality... not to mention connection to positive energy... make him feel much better.
"Shall we check out that giant-snake-sound next then?"
"Remember that trap I almost walked into.."
Maxim tries to look sheepish, shrugging his shoulders;
"Ach. In my trade oft is the bad deal that turns good... as much as other way round. I'll try to be a mite more cautious next time..."