Eugeni follows behind, as close to the front of the group as he can get in the interior quarters, his bow ready.
Setsuna recloaks after Olympus carries her up to the roof.
"Dorella is in the commander's quarters. Behind the double doors are at least two male ogres. I didn't hear anything elsewhere, but keep your guard up regardless," Setsuna quietly explains.
"Might as well try to surprise Dorella first, if we can. If she's a caster, her being able to prepare for us is potentially frightening.
"First, while we're outside though, lets cast any spells we want to have active."
With that, while still on the roof outside the door, Zoli picks up a pebble and casts Light on it, holding it in her off hand.
Riley nods sagely. Then he goes through the extensive motions to reassert control over the storm's lightning.
Setsuna renews Protection from Evil on Zoli.
After any casting is done , Zoli quietly leads the group into the fort. When Setsuna nods to the door Dorella was likely in, everyone gets into position. Jakardos volunteers to guard the hall against ogres coming their way.
With everyone in position, Zoli quietly tests the door to see if it's unlocked. Finding it is, she signals with her fingers, 3...2...1, and then bursts in, scimitar in hand.
Beyond the door Zoli just opened, the walls of this room are decorated with finely crafted longswords, stuffed animal heads, and a map of the Hook Mountain environs. A large oak table surrounded by several chairs has been smashed to splinters, and an immense bed has similarly been ruined. An open cabinet that once contained several bottles of wine has been crushed as well, and broken bottles and the faint scent of wine lingers around its ruins.
Standing just on the other side of the door is another massive ogre, his lower face and jaw covered by a metal set of teeth that cling to his skull tightly. He turns his head and gazes at the group confusedly, as the figure behind him raises her ugly head.
This ogress is clad in a simple brown gown, her hair a wild mess, her face and skull misshapen. The moment she spots the group beyond the door, she screams and casts a spell. Magic shimmers over her body, then the magic field fades away.
__________
Riley takes advantage of the surprise to identify the spellcaster in the room, then take a step back so he had her full in view. He waited for the precise moment to call his lightning, and as soon as she began chanting he found it.
The bolt lanced through the fort's roof and scorched her, disrupting the magics she was about to cast. A tight, humorless smile touched his face as he readied for another bolt.
Eugeni steps forward, but he can't see much. He raises his bow anyway and shoots over Setsuna's shoulder. "Sorry," he says to her.
Staff in hand, and rejuvenated by the magic of Marcellano’s fell wand, Morythine steps into the doorway to face Hookmaw. Letting his ki speed his actions, a flurry of blows lays into the ogre.
Setsuna hops a bit closer to the door and casts Bless on the party.
Zoli and Theodric also lash out at the steel-mouthed ogre, each of them opening serious wounds on the creature, but it remains steadfast in the doorway.
The ogress steps out of the doorway, away from the pesky humies, and the group can hear words of magic being chanted from the other side of the wall. Riley furrows his brow in frustration, and darts to the corner Theodric vacated to get enough of a view of her in the darkness to call down another bolt of lightning. The thunder is deafening as the electricity crashes down into Dorella, causing her to cry out in pain and lose the spell once again.
"It's Hookmaw! Jaagrath's son and half-brother! Bring him down quickly!" Jakardros calls out as he sends another pair of arrows through the fight and into the ogre. Shalelu also nimbly darts and dips through the fighters, and takes position by her step-father. She then whirls about and sends an arrow that lodges itself in the ogre's shoulder.
Hookmaw, meanwhile, lashes out with his ogre hook. He sinks it deep into Morythine's shoulder, sending a large spout of blood spraying back across the group.
Dorella slams her meaty fist against the wall and yells out, "Papa! Der's Humies in da house!"
Jakardros turns his bow towards the other door Setsuna noted had voices coming from it, the doors beside Theodric and Riley. "She's calling for Jaagrath!"
__________
Setsuna takes a hop back and begins to summon a celestial leopard.
Ignoring the damage caused by the ogre’s hook, Morythine continues his blisteringly fast series of attacks for a few seconds longer before scudding away. “Your turn!” he calls out to Zoli.
Ki points: 1 remaining
Spells:
Channel energy: 1 remaining
Orisons: detect magic, detect poison, guidance, resistance
Zoli nods to Morythine with a grin. "Thanks for sharing!"
She steps in and swings twice at the misshapen giant. The first slice cuts deep in the side of his leg, severing a tendon and bringing him down onto one knee, bent forward. Zoli seizes the opportunity to jump up and--with a graceful twirl--draw a clean slice across the ogre's throat. With a bloody gurgle, it collapses backward into the room.
As it does, she glances between where Dorella has retreated to and the door Jakardos is warning about, unsure whether to press on in or stay back to defend against Jaagrath.
________________________
HP 51/51 +10 THP
Luck 4/7
Panache 3/3
Charmed Life 3/3
AC 28 (thanks to Pro Evil)
Buffs False Life: +10 THP
Protection from evil +2 to AC
luck (round 1/3): +2 to hit, damage, skill rolls, saving throws
Eugeni readies his bow at the double doors, in case more ogres attempt to join the fray as Jakardros suggests. Marcellano turns to face them as well, spear at the ready.
Just then, the doors to the chapel beside Jakardros are thrown open, and standing in the doorway is the largest ogre any of you have ever seen, at least the ones that are able to lay eyes on the giant. He stands easily 14 feet in height, and his arms are the size of the Mushfen's largest boa constrictors.
He lays eyes on the Black Arrow before him and sneers, "One-eye."
Jakardros turns in horror, and mutters, "Jaagrath!", but is unable to turn his bow from the other set of doors in time. The ogre leader roars with rage as he slices his ogre hook with incredible speed and power, and the weapon buries itself into Jakardros' abdomen!
Quickly taking a step away from the behemoth, Jakardros lets loose two more arrows, both wreathed in their own lightning, that strike the ogre square in the chest. Shalelu turns and frantically lets hew own volley fly, joining Jakardros' own in the ogres torso. The ogre laughs and cleaves through them with his ogre hook, mocking the pair of archers in the hallway.
As this is happening, the other set of double doors open from the tribunal, and a pair of ogres stand looming on the other side, great clubs in hand. Marcellano thrusts his spear forward at the one opposite him, but it is easily batted aside by the larger foe. Then, three arrows soar straight between Morythine and Zoli, then Marcellano and Riley. The wind of their passing is enough to raise chills on the heroes at the proximity of the projectiles, but they fly true, piercing the ogre nearest Riley twice in the chest, and once in the skull, sending it reeling backwards and falling.
The ogre lashes out with his club at Marcellano, but it only manages to thud against the heavy armor the Hellknight wears. The force of the blow rocks Marcellano a bit, but aside from the dull ring it creates, the warrior is unharmed.
Dorella casts once more, and once more a bolt of lightning tears through the rooftop and strikes her. This time, she is able to keep her teeth gritted, suffer through the pain, and make the magic complete itself. A faint shimmer forms around her before the magic again fades from sight. Moments later, Setsuna's summon arrives on the scene.
_________
Eugeni steps forward and kills the only ogre he can see.
Zoli flinches as she the enormous ogre slashes into Shalelu and Jakardos. I want to be up there fighting him...but I don't want to leave a ogre caster at our rear.
Making her decision, Zoli calls out "I don't want to leave a caster behind us. Let me see if I can deal with her while the rest of you deal with the biggie."
With that she tumbles gracefully into the room and up beside Dorella, who she lashes out at with a clean stroke.
_______________
HP 51/51 +10 THP
Luck 4/7
Panache 3/3
Charmed Life 3/3
AC 28 (thanks to Pro Evil)
Buffs False Life: +10 THP
Protection from evil +2 to AC
luck (round 2/3): +2 to hit, damage, skill rolls, saving throws
Setsuna grits her teeth as Jakardoes gets Ogre Hooked. The Oracle reluctantly takes another step and decides to summon quantity over quality. She casts another summon monster and feels a strong tug.
The leopard grows at Dorella and charges her.
As doors burst open and their ogre foes suddenly multiply, Morythine doffs his hat and takes another step away from the melee. “I’m sure all is well in hand comrades,” he calls out “Just give me a moment here.”
Dipping into his sack, he pulls out another potion and downs it.
Sweet!
Ki points: 1 remaining
Spells:
Channel energy: 1 remaining
Orisons: detect magic, detect poison, guidance, resistance
Theodric moves into the chamber with the caster, and thrusts his spear up and into her rib cage before viciously twisting it and removing it. The stab elicits a pained cry from the ogress, but she continues to be intent on staying in the fight.
Jaagrath, meanwhile, steps up to take another swing at the heroes in the hallway. His ogre hook comes down viciously on Jakardros' neck, nearly cleaving it from his body, as the man falls limply to the ground with a horrified look on his face.
"Father!" Shalelu cries out desperately as the man falls to the ground.
His muscles bulging with the rage of the fight, Jaagrath turns his head towards Shalelu before taking a sniff of the air. He narrows his eyes at her and mutters something in his foreign tongue, before bringing his weapon down on her as well. The blade cuts deep into her shoulder and back, drawing forth a pained scream from her.
"HAW, HAW, HAW!" Jaagrath laughs heartily and maniacally as the fight rages on.
Clutching her wound, Shalelu attempts to roll away from the massive ogre. Unfortunately for her, her foot slips in the pool of her stepfather's blood rapidly growing on the oak floor beneath her, and as she tries to regain her balance, she leaves herself open for attack.
Jaagrath quickly takes advantage of the opening, and brings his hook down on Shalelu's back, impaling the elf-maiden from behind and lifting her up off the ground in front of his face. Crying out in pain, she clutches at the end of the hook protruding through her chest as she is dangled before Jaagrath. He laughs at her mockingly, licking her and her father's blood off of the hook and her body. Her arms fall lifelessly to her side, her bow clattering to the floor, moments before he flings his weapon and sends her body crashing into the wall at the top of the stair.
He then turns his gaze towards the others with evil intent in his eyes, sniffing the air frantically.
Dorella begins the motions of another spell, and yet again a bolt of lightning comes crashing through the ceiling to strike her. Her magic ritual is once again broken by the druid, and she screams what can only be Giant curse words at the man.
Just then, five eagles appear around Jaagrath, causing the ogre to momentarily balk in his advance and swat at them as if they were annoying flies.
__________
Setsuna barely manages to withhold her screaming and begins to conjure more eagles.
All of Setsuna's summons begin to channel their divine energy.
Setsuna's Leopard lets out a growl and lounges at Dorella, sinking a claw deep into her belly.
The Eagle Swarm begins viciously attacking Jaagarth. Between their combined efforts, they actually manage to scratch up his ugly face.
“I’m sure all is well in hand comrades,”
No sooner has Morythine spoken than Shalelu and Jakardos meet immediate, rather sticky demises. “Oh well, maybe not. Erm . . . I’m gonna need some help over here pretty quick!” he announces, before ducking around the corner to face Jaagrath. Holding his staff like a spear, he pikes it double handed into the ogre’s midriff.
Ki points: 0 remaining
Spells:
Channel energy: 1 remaining
Orisons: detect magic, detect poison, guidance, resistance
17-2+16-2= 29 damage
Eugeni sees Shalelu and Jakardos go down and just starts screaming in primal fury. He steps up and begins sending arrows zipping towards what little he can see of the ogre. "I can't shoot what I can't see! For the love of f$*$! WHY!?"
Zoli cringes as she hears the screams of Shalelu and Jakardos--and the sounds of horror from her comrades. "I'll be out there as soon as I can!" she hollers.
With that, she presses the attack, using all the panache she can muster to drop Dorella quickly. "Die, damn you! My friends out there need me."
Turning to Marcello, she says, "She's backed into a corner. This panther and I can finish her. Do you know any spells to stop whoever's making everyone scream out there? Maybe a way to disarm them or blind them or something?"
_______________
HP 51/51 +10 THP
Luck 4/7
Panache 3/3
Charmed Life 3/3
AC 28 (thanks to Pro Evil)
Buffs False Life: +10 THP
Protection from evil +2 to AC
luck (round 3/3): +2 to hit, damage, skill rolls, saving throws
Theodric steps into the hall once more at Zoli's request, and attempts to conjure a greasy surface over the ogre hook's hilt, but Jaagrsth is able to pull the weapon out of the way of the magic before it makes contact with his weapon.
He seats his hook at the Eagles harassing him, cleaving two of them from the air, that are immediately replaced by two more from the celestial realms.
Dorella once more attempts some magic, but Riley continues to thwart her arcana.
_________
Seeing Dorella is on her last legs, Zoli takes a swing for her femoral artery. The ogre mage manages to back away...but in doing so gets herself trapped in the corner. Zoli leaps up, bounding off the bench beside her, and slices the ogre's belly open. As entrails spill out, Dorella collapses in a heavy thud.
Zoli sighs at the gruesome scene...but only for a moment because the sounds of her comrades in battle still ring in her ears.
"OK, she's breathed her last. Here I come!" the Swashbuckaeologist yells.
___________________
HP 51/51 +10 THP
Luck 3/7
Panache 3/3
Charmed Life 3/3
AC 28 (thanks to Pro Evil)
Buffs False Life: +10 THP
Protection from evil +2 to AC
luck (round 1/3): +2 to hit, damage, skill rolls, saving throws
With something in her brain having broke from Shalelu and Jakardros' deaths, Setsuna just keeps doing what seems to be working: conjuring more eagles.
The Leopard slowly stacks closer to the sounds of combat.
After the newcomers active their celestial powers, the Eagles continue to tear away at Jaagarth. The mighty leader of the Kreegs, able to cut down a man with a single swing of his wicked ogre hook, finds himself being gradually bled to death by a swarm of angry birds.
Setsuna begins to laugh hysterical at the sight.
"'Lu, aw, no!" Riley yells, heart sick as he steps back into the hallway to see the carnage wrought by the massive ogre. The druid's face is hard as he faces the chieftain.
Sidestepping to allow more room for his allies, Morythine unleashes all he can muster at the monstrous ogre.
Ki points: 0 remaining
Spells:
Channel energy: 1 remaining
Orisons: detect magic, detect poison, guidance, resistance
Eugeni steps to the side of the hall to get more of the ogre chieftain into view, and sends three arrows at the giant. Unfortunately, in his efforts to avoid any of the eagles and his allies, he was unable to leave enough space between them and the wall, and all three arrows bury themselves into the oak wall to the left of the double door.
Again, Marcellano removes a sliver of butter from his components and musters up some magic while taking a protected stance. The magical effect soars towards the ogre's weapon, but the very moment it appears to be making contact, Jaagrath jerks the weapon out of the path once more.
Despite the continued harassment from the eagles, the continued magics being thrown his way by the human in the hall seems to be more irksome to the brute. His cold eyes lock onto Marcellano, and he brings his hook down hard into the armored man. The blade of the weapon grinds into his armor with enough force to penetrate it and drag the man down to his knees. Jaagrath quickly removes the blade from Marcellano's back and brings it down once more, even harder than the first, and the hook buries itself into the top of the Hellknight's helmet, clearly cleaving clean into his skull as Marcellano's entire body goes limp on the end of the ogre's hook.
As the ogre removes his hook from Marcellano's skull, five more eagles appear in the space directly above the previous flight of avians, creating a cacophony of flapping wings, angelic eagle screeches, and snapping beaks.
__________
“Oh my . . .” mutters Morythine as Jaagrath’s ogre hook sweeps over his head to bury itself in Marcellano’s helm. Well as they do in Galt, if someone vexes you, kill them quickly.
Morythine continues clobbering Jaagrath for all he’s worth with his quarterstaff.
Ki points: 0 remaining
Spells:
Channel energy: 1 remaining
Orisons: detect magic, detect poison, guidance, resistance
Zoli is pleased to have brought down the ogre mage, but all that pride turns to horror as she emerges into the hallway just in time to see Marcello's skull cleaved.
You bastard!
"Mory, everyone, fall back! Lets let Setsu's pets deal with him for as long as they can hold him."
As she stands there, her eyes start to take in more of the gruesome scene. Oh Chaldira, Jakardos and Shalelu are down too! Is this too much for us? Are we all done for?
Setsuna has no reaction to the Hellkinght's death. Instead, she just keeps laughing hysterically and calls another Blessing from the Dark Tapestry to aid her Eagles. As if it would make any difference.
Setsuna's Leopard jumps into combat and takes three swings at Jaagarth. However, the leader of the Kreegs manages to deflect each blow with his wicked ogre hook. The celestial cat grows in anger and prepares to try again.
All channeling their divine power, the Eagles continue to tear away at Jaagarth. Several of their talons and beaks rip into him, hacking out sizeable chunks of the ogre. Their angry cries and shrieks drown out their summoner's laughter.
3rd: 5/5
2nd: 4/8
1st: 5/8
Seeing his earlier shots fail to hit, Eugeni grits his teeth and takes more precise aim with his next volley. This time, all three arrows sink into the ogres left shoulder in a tight grouping.
__________
Zoli sees that Morythine isn't going to be able to get out of the way in time--Ulp! Mory's fast on his feet...but he's not going to be able to dodge that nasty hook. Glancing at her three fallen comrades she shudders, thinking I can't leave him there!
"Aw what the hell? Chaldira you haven't forgotten little old Zoli, right?" she mutters under her breath.
She stands just outside the door and cuts into the ogre's ourstretched arm as he bats at the swarm of eagles. "Hey ugly! I just slew Dorella with Baern's Breath here. You ready to meet her in the Abyss?"
_______________
HP 51/51 +10 THP
Luck 3/7
Panache 3/3
Charmed Life 3/3
AC 28 (thanks to Pro Evil)
Buffs False Life: +10 THP
Protection from evil +2 to AC
luck (round 2/3): +2 to hit, damage, skill rolls, saving throws
The amount of death this ogre was dealing sickened Riley, and then the halfling rushed into melee with it, taunting. "Zoli, no!" Riley shouted and moved forward himself through the hallway so he could view the monstrosity.
He couldn't fathom why she would want to draw its ire; perhaps it was a madness borne of the deaths of her companions so raw and fresh. He couldn't let her light be extinguished. "And I am the one who is calling nature itself to end you!" He punctuates his statement with a peal of thunder as a bolt of lightning lances through the roof and upon Jaargrath's form.
saves
= 9
Spotting another human come into view, Jaagrath lashes out in a blind rage. His cleaver-like-hook slashes out and into Riley's abdomen, lifting him clean off the ground with its fury! As Riley lands back on the ground, clutching at his entrails, The hook comes down again, and splits his skull in half like a ripe melon...
__________
Eugeni joins Setsuna in making animal noises, though his sound more like half pig, half enraged baboon. He steps into the other room to get a better angle, and unleashes three more arrows at Jag. This time one of them strikes him in the eye, and kills the giant.
28+18-2=44
After Eugeni's miracle shot, Setsuna somehow manages to compose herself. She plans to lose her head later. She does not drop her invisibility.
"I am leaving," the Oracle declares coldly as she collects Riley's gear. While the druid's death stings, she at least knows that he will come show up again after about a day.
"It's over," she clarifies coolly, "The Black Arrows are dead. The Kreeg leadership is dead. I am in no shape to fight another ten of those things and Xanesha's big sister."
She looks at the confused Olympus and sighs.
"I'm heading back to Turtleneck Ferry. Or the campsite. Or the caves. I am going to rest and lose my f*@~ing mind somewhere safe. Please. Let's be smart and retreat from this godforsaken place. Riley will be back in a day. I would rather not have to explain to him that you all went downstairs and..."
Setsuna barely suppresses a heave. As she speaks, her voice is trembling. She is clearly on verge of falling apart.
Setsuna waits a moment for the others to join her. If they insist on staying, she apologizes quietly and leaves via the roof.
"Yeah...." Eugeni says. He makes sure the others get out safely, and follows behind them. Maybe the other ogres will have run away by the time we get back...
One moment, Zoli is bracing to dodge (or to feel the savage hook rip into her). The next, Riley has sacrificed himself on her behalf. She looks from the druid to Shalelu to Marcello to Jakardos. Her lip starts to tremble. "All of this for...for...for what?"
When Setsu speaks up, Zoli looks toward the sound of the halfelf's voice. "You're right. We've got to go...though I'm not sure how far we can get in that storm. The caves might be our best bet. Riley could've told us more about the storm but..." Zoli bites her lip. "He's coming back right? He said that's what he does: 'riding the wheel'."
She chuckles a bit. "What do you suppose he comes back as? Riley the Reindeer? Riley Rhino? How will we recognize him? How will he find us?
"...And what about Shalelu and Jakardos and Marcello? Can he reincarnate them too? If they want it? Do we need to bring them with us?"
As she looks them over, she says, "Marcello has that magic bag. Could we carry them--their bodies--down in it?"
With a sigh that's a far cry from her usual curiosity, she adds, "I suppose we better search these rooms and their bodies before we go, so we aren't leaving behind items the remaining ogres will use against us." As she speaks her eyes come to rest on Jaagrath's bloody hook.
Zoli encants the words that enable her to see magical auras, and starts to glance about halfheartedly.
These stone platforms are shielded by crenelations spaced at even intervals, offering those behind them cover against archer fire and a perfect killing angle on foes charging the keep below.
The walls within this enormous chamber are mounted with dozens of trophy antlers, some taken from stags that must have stood as tall as dire bears. Most of the antlers are draped with bits of rotten flesh, strips of skin, or coils of viscera. To the west, a marble altar has been heaped with the mangled remains of at least a half-dozen dead men and women. A crude image of what might be a three-eyed jackal has been painted in blood on the wall above the altar's alcove.
The walls of this room are decorated with finely crafted longswords, stuffed animal heads, and a map of the Hook Mountain environs. A large oak table surrounded by several chairs has been smashed to splinters, and an immense bed has similarly been ruined. An open cabinet that once contained several bottles of wine has been crushed as well, and broken bottles and the faint scent of wine lingers around its ruins.
Although the Kreegs have done a number on the contents of this room, they aren't quite observant enough to have noticed that the bottom of the wine cabinet contained a hidden compartment that Zoli, Morythine, and Eugeni all notice handily. It is partially smashed open from the top, making it readily visible, but the latch to open it is broken, requiring the heroes to pry the slats of wood above free to expose what's hidden within...
Smashed chairs and a ruined table sit in this once regal-chamber. Along the curved east wall hang tattered remnants of several regional maps. Three Black Arrow corpses hang from the rafters here, apparently in the process of bleeding them into grimy buckets. The buckets are spilled, causing three huge pools of blood to spread across the floor.
Wood and glass map cases lie in ruins; the hundreds of sheaves of parchment within are now spilled about, spattered in blood and torn to shreds. Only a few remain intact; one is a map detailing several of the smuggler's tunnels beneath Riddleport, another a map detailing the few poisonous levels of Viperwall, and another map showing the hidden paths of Lurkwood's interior.
This room was used to store miscellaneous supplies and tools, but nothing of value remains now that the ogres are done with it...
This flight of stairs ascends up to...
A cracked bell hanging from a huge oaken frame takes up most of this chamber's upper half. The ringer has been removed and replaced with an upside-down ranger, a steel helm strapped tightly to his skull. A broken worktable and three chairs sit below, stained with the dead man's blood.