For a split moment, Zim'wa watches the struggle between the dwarf and the elf. It was interesting, he thought, that both were so interested in possessing the bag. Its source made it an important claim, of course, but it wasn't the bag itself that was valuable, but rather...
"Excuse me," he says, quickly moving up beside the pair. Taking a moment to find the opening to the bag, the shaman swiftly reaches in, grabs the first thing his hand finds, and pulls out...
Galadin was awed by the terrible power of the troll up till now and stayed with Cappy up on top of the mesa. When he draws his sword, it makes a dramatic shinnnnnnng sound - paladins have a flair for that sort of thing.
He points it down into the maze, and the artificial sunlight reflects off his blade to make it gleam down into the darkness, shining directly on the elf-warrior. She hesitates, her grip tight on the bag for a moment. "Leave them!" a high, shrill voice calls from farther ahead in the maze, toward the castle. "The trolls are coming! Let them take care of them!"
With a fearful glance at Galadin above, she gives a frustrated grunt and shoves the bag at the cleric. As he stumbles backward, she and her halfling cleric friend flee into the darkness beyond.
Behind you, Jarad, you hear loudly thundering footsteps! All of you see the enraged troll charging him, and the sounds of more trolls are coming!
Zim'wa, you pull out a bandolier with 7 potions strapped to it. They're all orange in color, and the glass looks thin enough to shatter on a sharp impact.
Xim'wa was not exactly familiar with alchemical compounds and their use. But the bandolier, the color of the contents, and the fragility of the vial implied it was both meant to be thrown and that it was not helpful. And with the trolls apparently coming, there was little time to question - so the shaman pulled one off and threw it towards the troll.
Xha darts in, his sword flashing in a quick arc from the sunlight shining down into the maze from above. As Jarad turns around to see the rampaging troll bearing down on him, he sees the barbarian leap wildly into danger, jumping in the way of the enormous creature and slashing across its neck. Trollblood, a rare alchemical ingredient, sprays all over Xha's face as the troll stumbles in its charge.
However, the two-headed monster keeps going, catching Xha before he can hit the ground and carrying him in his tight grip! Distracted by the sudden pain, the troll cannot halt his charge! Jarad, roll Defy Danger Dex to dodge out of the way!
As the troll is charging, Zim'wa's well-aimed vial impacts on its shoulder! The point of contact is instantly charged with roaring flames that quickly spread over the troll, but the cinnamon-infused smell the troll has been giving off helps, and all the fires seem to do is halt the monster's natural regeneration.
The troll slams Xha's body against the rock pillar behind the barbarian as he continues his charge, dealing 1d10 damage to him as the rock is pulverized by the impact of the human's body. Jarad, if you fail your Defy Danger roll, you too are smashed.
When he does, the troll knocks the pillar loose! Like a gigantic stone tree that has been hacked at by a lumberjack, the pillar begins to tip over and fall! Enormous boulders are shaken loose, and Cappy and Galadin are in danger of splatting on the ground below as the pillar they stand on falls! *EDIT* However, Cappy is able to nimbly maneuver from one falling boulder to another, hopping from stone to stone until he reaches the ground safely.
Zim'wa, a hail of stones of varying sizes are raining down on you. The Earth Spirit, the Animus you absorbed from the clay soldier, cries out. What do you do?
C'mon legs, there is a huge troll upon us, work with me and jump far Jarad tries to move away but his legs won't move...
"Ooohhf...this was a bad choice..."
Jarad, you're pressed against the stone wall by the body of the troll, which reeks of burned cinnamon. You force the magic of your deity's will upon your weapon, but you twist the fabric of magic to do so - take -1 ongoing to cast spells until you Commune. (this stacks with the -1 from Magic Weapon).
.
Pressed against the wall as you are, you aren't able to get your sword free to get a real good swing in. However, the troll's struggles are growing weaker as your cut to its neck is causing it to bleed out. The fires burn its flesh as both sets of eyes stare hatred into yours. You jerk your blade free and stab with it as best you can, forcing it under the beast's ribs, deeper and deeper. It struggles to crush you further against the wall, but its strength finally fails. One of the heads collapses forward, its bloody chin resting on its chest, while the other starts to shout at it to try and revive it. "Rrugh...wake up!" the right head mutters, pain slurring its words as the fire burns the flesh on its back.
The troll rolls off of you to the ground, still aflame from the alchemist fire. There are fallen boulders all around you from the collapse of the top part of the stone pillar. Where are your friends? You see Cappy looking around, and Jarad picking himself up off the ground next to you, but the others' fates are uncertain...
"Is everyone ok? We have to move away from here, fast." Jarad will search for the others around the boulders and try to get the team together. (Maybe loot something from the elf and halfling dead teammates)
One of the troll's heads is nonresponsive, the other one is barely conscious. The troll's body is still smoldering with flames. The boulders across the way shift and tumble across each other...
The Earth Spirit's cry is not missed by the shaman; he's still not sure exactly what effect it will have, but he wills the primal force to act as he prepares to duck, dive, and weave through the rain of rocks coming at him.
Gain an XP!
When the rocks descend upon you from above, the Animus Spirit cries out to it, shifting its direction away from a lethal blow! Instead of being struck dead where you stand by the enormous boulder, it sends you spinning off to one side with its forceful collision with your left shoulder. The impact feels like being struck a glancing blow by a galloping bull. The crowd draws in a breath, oooh... as you are knocked to the ground. Take 1d8 damage.
You hear the shattering of glass and the instant spread of flames, very close by. You glance up, and see that a number of the vials were shaken loose from the bandolier by the impact and broke in an irregular broken circle all around you. It's about to get very hot in this maze, the fire seems enchanted not to go out easily...it's burning the very ground somehow...
Xha whipes the blood from his eyes and shouts to the others.
"Get back onto the walls! The flames are taking this place!"
Xha then draws his dagger and stabs it deep into the trolls belly. Much of the resulting spray of blood spatters Xha or hisses in the surrounding flames but enough manages to find its way into the kvak flask to satisfy Xha's ancestors.
Time to move.
The pillars collapsed partially against each other with the troll's onslaught. You see your rope lying against the ground nearby, Father Jarad. With the fire spreading all across the ground, fleeing seems expedient. You can still see the direction that the cowardly halfling and opportunistic elf ran, through the remainder of the maze, and you remember from the view up top from before that you were close to the maze's exit.
The troll's blood fills Xha's kvak flask, sloshing about inside messily. As you stand, Xha, you hear the sounds of the other trolls crashing through the maze from deeper within.
Jabbing at the monstrous troll precisely in time with Xha as they fight, Qadir grins as the familiar flow of the dance overtakes him. Ah, but to fight alongside an ally and drive an enemy into the ground. This is what I have missed in this forsaken land. Watching with no small degree of satisfaction as the troll falls, Qadir darts a quick glance at the spreading fire that Xha calls out. "Being gone in a hurry would be wise. Climbing may be slow and would leave us exposed to the trolls. I would suggest through the maze. First, I think, we will need to retrieve or our shaman. Angering the spirits in this place would be beyond foolish."
Jarad will grab his rope back and get the group togheter so they can run out of there.
The flames singe your skin somewhat, leaving you feeling a bit like a bad sunburn - take 1d6 damage, ignores armor - but you rescue Zim'wa using the rope, pulling him free of the dangerous fire.
Kerrigan's Adventuring Party is reunited and together again just in time to flee the onslaught of the trolls. They arrive in the clearing, roaring, but the flames spreading from Zim'wa's vial spills gives them pause.
You put the maze behind you and re-enter the same rocky badlands you were running through before you entered. Ahead of you is the castle housing Floor 1's Final Challenge. You see a large collection of tents of varying sizes with pennant flags waving in the breeze displaying King Vesteri's colors - it appears the Tower has some inhabitants waiting outside the final boss' doors. You can hear a sizable crowd across the 100-meter field from the maze to the tents.
Suddenly, the vision of Kerrigan appears before you all in the air.
"You have done well for yourselves so far, all things considered," the Agent comments without preamble. "Ahead of you are where the majority of adventurers on this level are camped out. There have been...difficulties in finding a way to tackle the golem that inhabits the castle beyond, and the survivors are trapped here in the tower, with nowhere to go. I've been conferring with some of the other Agents, and they have confided in me a secret." he smiles thinly.
"A secret that will allow you to survive. I'm prevented from giving you any more than a hint - seek the forbidden fruit. Good luck." The vision closes in on itself and winks out.
"Prevented?" Xha scoffs. "Tell us what you will and own your choice. Unless you are a child needing permission to be heard."
"What?! More riddles? Ok, let us rest for a while and then seek information about this forbidden fruit with the other adventurers" Jarad suggests the others.
The image of Kerrigan vanishes before Xha can finish his retort. He doesn't seem to mind what your opinion is.
When you approach the area immediately in front of the castle gates, you see people bustling about all over. There are merchants hawking wares, but the majority of the people around here are heavily armed and armored, or obvious spellcasters. Everyone here has the look of a seasoned adventurer, yet their eyes are downcast and grim. People walk to and fro among the tents in the very shadow of the Final Boss's Gate.
There appears to be a fight going on close by - you see a crowd of people gathered in a circle and hear struggles and clashing steel from within.
The rock delivers a solid hit to Zim'wa, spinning him to the ground with an "Oof." By the time he struggles up and notices the flames, they've grown too large and wild to simply dash through. He wonders what he's going to do for a moment, then happens to see Quadir sailing towards him. Waiting for the right time, he leaps upwards just as his clanmate reaches him, and sails right back out with him.
---------------
Zim'wa shakes his head at Xha's outburst. "He is bound to follow the rules, whatever they may be. Not only for his benefit, but ours as well. Chaotic as it might have been at the end, those vials of fire were just what we needed. I doubt that will be the last time he will help us, but he needs to be in his place to do so."
"For now, I agree with Jarad. We need more information to determine what Kerrigan meant. Much like prophesy, cryptic statements can become clear when the right context is found."
Jarad walks towards the crowd of people to see what's happening,
"What's happening here?" He ask someone in the crowd as he look over the shoulders of other adventurers to see whats the commotion about.
In the center of the ring of people a wild-haired man wearing ringmail furiously swings his sword two handed at an old man in robes, who ducks and dodges his attacks nimbly, holding up a small dagger in defense.
A dwarf stands before you and snorts derisively before turning his attention back to the fight. A human fighter standing nearby sees you get snubbed, and leans over. "Grudge match! These two were the only survivors of an adventuring group that tried the boss in there. Got trounced, like the rest of us, now they've set upon each other."
"Place your money on the swordsman. The knifeman's blood is old and thin."
"Brom, stop this. We both lost. Let's regroup and..." the old one starts, before the swordsman lunges wildly and stabs him in the chest! With a furious growl, the swordsman pushes the sword deeper and deeper into the old man, shoving him to his knees with the force of his stab.
Lightly, ever so gently, the old man's fingers reach up and touch the swordsman's face. Brilliant blue light shines from behind the eyes of the swordsman, whose face contorts in sudden surprise. He opens his mouth to shout, and brilliant blue light shines from there too, and his nostrils...
The light fades and the old man slumps to the ground, blood pooling under his body. The swordsman watches him slide off of his blade, seeming to stare at nothing, his mouth still hanging open, the tip of the blade in the dirt.
[ooc]Right, my bad. . Now if Xha had had $$ to bet then there might have been an argument.
"Move!" Jarad shoves away the crown infront of him and runs to help both persons,
"Make way, I'm a doctor!"
You'd recognize that as magic anywhere, and it seems to have some lingering effect on the swordsman that you notice, but your arcane knowledge is limited - you might remember something with a Spout Lore roll though.
The old man is already dead by the time you reach him. The swordsman doesn't respond, simply staring down at the dead old man before him as blood flows down the length of his blade to the ground. All around you, the crowd begins to disperse.
Galadin shutters at the display of unnecessary violence, but a slight rise of excitement builds up from his parasite. Oh, perhaps we can manage to... no. Too late. Dead meat is no fun at all. Irf whispers to the paladin. He shrugs it off and proceeds forward with Father Jarad.
Galadin thinks he might have viewed this spell before, as a child.
Cappy grumbles and dissapears into the dispersing crowd for a few minutes to dip his hands in some unsuspecting pockets.
You more than recognize that spell, Galadin. Your eyes once shone from an internal light...when the Wolf joined with your spirit. Something sinister has happened to this swordsman, standing unresponsive with his sword hanging in his hands.
Cappy, add 2d6+6 coins to your inventory, as well as a small shaving razor and a vial of Goldenroot poison.
Dismissing the blue glowing fighter as uninteresting, "Blood-shock, the old man must have been his first kill. I have seen this before, give him some wine and a few days to forget. He is fine."
Xha wanders towards the tents following his nose towards some food or drink, preferable unguarded.
Cappy reappears flipping one of his new gold coins in the air and making a few feinting stabs with his new razor.
"Someone's going to be growing a beard whether they like it or not...Not the biggest haul ever, but more the principal of the thing and not with out it's merits!"
He eyes the vial of Goldenroot and smiles before he notices the swordsman. He nudges the nearest party member and asks..
"What's all this then? Who's the old geezer? I miss anything?"
Xha wanders away from the rest of the party, gazing aimlessly about at adventurers all around him. You can sense a high concentration of magic here, and dangerous individuals all around you fingering their weapons and glancing back and forth uncertainly.
You find yourself in a corridor between two food stalls, with sweetmeats and wine by the cask piled high. All around you adventurers are feasting, but despite the huge amounts of delicious food, the atmosphere here is grim. There are few conversations, only the sounds of food and plates and chewing. Those that do speak are subdued, addressing only those next to them. Nobody makes eye contact.
Meanwhile, back at the dispersing ring of people, the old corpse lies twisted on the ground and the swordsman turns away from it, walking slowly away with his sword dragging on the ground.
"You know this magic Galadin?" Jarad ask the paladin. (Looting the body of the old man)
Jarad: 1d8+4 coins, a wand, and a small pouch filled with white sand. A few adventurers are eyeing you with disgust for looting the still-warm body, while others are jealous you were first in line.
"We should bury the body, he deserves a propel burial" Jarad passes his hand on the face of the body, closing his eyes.
You find yourself in a corridor between two food stalls, with sweetmeats and wine by the cask piled high. All around you adventurers are feasting, but despite the huge amounts of delicious food,
Xha helps himself to a skin or bottle of wine and a roast chicken, off someone's plate if necessary.
To the crowd as a distraction: "Why so fearful? Are you nothing sheep to be slaughtered? You are no closer to death today than yesterday yet you do naught but cower. Stand up! Fight! Find the fruit the hollow agents whine about and break this place!'
Jarad, no adventurer comes forward with any great willingness to help you with the old man's body.
Xha, the adventurers nearest to you only shake their heads and scoff at your shouting. One of them turns around. He has a nasty wound; the side of his head is partially caved in. It's wrapped all in bandages and he's missing an eye from the injury. He raises his flagon to you. "A toast, to the newest batch of brave fools to die to the Golem King." he says, mockingly. "How many of you will walk out that door alive when you escape his wrath? Three? One? None? I guess we'll see. Here's to you, stranger." he asks, and takes a giant pull from his ale, swallowing repeatedly. A few other adventurers raise their flagons in bitter mockery.
"I changed my mind about burying him, let's burn him instead. We don't know what kind of magics is out there and the least I want is somedead guy causing troubles." Jarad looks at the wand and the pouch.
"'Ow you gonna burn him, old man? Got firewood for a pyre handy?" One of the adventurers watching you steps forward; a dwarf with thick bushy red eyebrows and a wild beard. "Ye should let the old man's body lie; one of the staff here will dispose of it soon enough. Duels to the death aren't uncommon here among former party mates who can't leave, but they don't want to present a messy front for their "viewers." He spits the last word out like a curse, giving a rude gesture to the area where the communication spell appears normally.
"You lot must be new to the Tower of Light. I'm Bruskor." the dwarf nods at you in greeting, his arms crossed. "Your...respect for the dead is commendable, but I would ditch those feelings of empathy. They won't serve you well in here."
"Hello Bruskor, I'm Jarad. And yes we just have arrived here, and mind if I ask you a couple of questions?" Jarad greets at the dwarf,
"How much time do you have here?"
"What happened between these two? and what about that guy walking like a zombie?"
"What can you tell me about the Golem that's inside and the castle"
"Have you heard anything about a forbidden fruit?"
"You know who I can talk to about this castle? Someone who has more time than everyone else."
Xha stares openly at the man's wound.
"Did the Golem king do that?" Xha asks.