Rilee approaches tentatively, wide-eyed. Not familiar with creatures from the outer planes, she regards the fiend with sick fascination.
The moment the summoned rat appears within the opposite circle, both the rat and the devil are reduced to ash! Seconds later, the entire dam begins to rumble and quake!
"Time to go!"
"...We better go take a look outside. Either I broke the damn dam or I fixed it."
Setsuna promptly dashes outside.
Once topside, you can see the jaws of the skulls have opened, and steady streams of water surge forth from the open mouths, releasing the water of Storval Deep in a controlled flow!
Eugeni sighs, and runs after the girls, swift as an antelope. He quickly overtakes and surpasses them.
Skipping around like a woman possessed, Setsuna raises her arms to the sky and starts happily shouting to the heavens.
"I fixed the damn dam!"
Rilee follows Setsuna outside, and blows a shrill whistle to recall Olympus to her.
Eugeni snatches Setsuna up in his burly arms and twirls her around before setting her back down. "Woot woot!"
Zoli joins in the celebration. To Setsuna, she says, "You did it! Turtleback Ferry, the people, they're safe again!" Then she has a look of vexed realization and adds, "Oh, at least for two more days."
When she sees the confused expressions on Setsuna and Rilee's faces, she adds, "Eugeni, Morythine, and I forgot to tell you but we've kinda got another obligation now. I mean, I thought of it a couple times, but we were always fighting someone, so it wasn't the right time. Like, it totally occurred to me when Mory grabbed that troll's trident--not sure why--but anyway, I guess we better tell you now.
"When you ladies were off softening these ogres up for us, we went and visited Myriana, the nymph who rules Whitewillow--Lamatar's lover who he wrote those love poems to. Turns out she's totally crazy, and I guess can reincarnate folks--like you can, Riley. Oh, and I'm pretty sure she's a ghost.
"Anyway, I guess Lamatar's remains are in the Kreeg stronghold. She, ah, really wants his remains back, so she can reincarnate him. She mentioned that if we didn't get them back to her in three days, she'd destroy Turtleback Ferry herself. Seems like it'd be a shame to stop the flooding only to have some nutty fey invasion a couple days later.
"Whaddaya say? I mean, she's a nut and I don't really want to set foot somewhere that ogres live ever again...but those Kreegs have to be stopped anyway, right?"
Tentatively, the monk climbs to his feet, too shaken even to pore over the dead skull-ripper and its gruesome ornaments.
As swift as Eugeni, and his recent near death experience giving him a greater respect for saving his own skin, Morythine keeps pace with the half-orc and reaches the top of the dam only paces behind the ranger.
He bares his canines in a fierce grin as the heroes realise they have been victorious, though his happiness dwindles when Zoli reminds them they already have another quest to hand.
"Whaddaya say? I mean, she's a nut and I don't really want to set foot somewhere that ogres live ever again...but those Kreegs have to be stopped anyway, right?"
“Well I do quite like killing ogres, but can we have a day off first?”
Ki points: 2 remaining
Spells: cause fear (domain spell), forbid action, murderous command, ray of sickening
Channel energy: 2 remaining
Orisons: detect magic, detect poison, guidance, resistance
Setsuna's point ears visibly deflate upon hearing the news. She holds up a dainty finger, indicating that she needs a minute by herself. The Oracle promptly stomps off into the former troll chamber.
The following stream of swearing (all in Aklo) is truly something for the ages.
For some reason, seemingly at random, many miles away in Magnimar, a certain Elven diplomat from Kyonin blushes and faints.
A much more composed Setsuna comes out of the ex-troll den and nods.
"I agree with Mory. I'm out of Hounds, and quite frankly, I need to ask Azathoth for some... meaner spells. A Slow spell would have really helped back at the Fort. I suggest that we rest in the water chamber below... if that's alright I mean! If we head back to town, rest, and then head to the Kreeg Stronghold, we lose a lot of time... and I might also want to go swimming and admire the architecture. The Thassilonians really knew how to build infrastructure."
Before she heads down, Setsuna casts Detect Magic and studies the five ogre corpses.
"Sure," Zoli nods. "I could use some rest too...and I agree, I totally want to explore this place more. How cool to be in a working structure built so long ago, by a nation that's faded into the recesses of time?
"Let's be sure to set a watch tonight. Two at a time."
Once it seems certain the structure will not collapse, Rilee calls Olympus back inside. She watches the water pouring out and flowing downstream for a while before coming inside as well.
She listens silently to Zoli as she talks about the nymph and the additional threat to the town. She nods slowly in agreement at their next mission.
"Two days," she muses. "That's going to be cutting it very close. What did the nymph say would happen if we didn't show? Be very specific -- her exact words, if you can recall."
"Two days starting tomorrow," Setsuna reminds Rilee. The Oracle looks at Olympus. "Though, in the interest of time, we might need to air deliver Lamatar's remains."
Rilee looks over to Olympus with a smile. The great bird lifts his head and shakes it.
"Shouldn't be a problem."
"Oooooh, exact words, huh? Papa was so much better than me at that, but--oh right, you know how good Papa was at that, don't you?--Sorry, that's...I guess that's weird...but maybe sort of comforting too. Really really weird though; mostly that. Anyway, I'll do my best."
Zoli takes a breath and then makes a short series of arcane gestures . Suddenly the air is filled with a ghostly moan. In her best hateful and ghostly voice, Zoli screams, "Silence! Do you not think I know if my Love is alive or not! That fire haired wench took him from me! Took him to the Kreegs! And now he is dead! I know it in my heart...but...but when I tried to reincarnate him...foul magic prevented his soul from returning to his new body...
"If you do not return the remains of my Love to me in three days time...I will make sure that everyone in that town across the lake will feel my wrath!"
Thinking for a moment, she adds, "I suppose it goes without saying...but I bet we've met 'that fire haired wench'. What I don't know is if we should hope she's there, or hope she's not."
Rilee bites her lip as she listens to the performance. Then she thinks for a moment before shrugging. "Well, 'feel my wrath' can mean any number of things. So it might not be death -- probably not, at least not right away if she's interested in punishment. So, all may not be lost if we miss her ultimatum."
The druid takes a deep breath. "Zoli, can I talk to you a moment? In private, perhaps?"
The Swashbuckaeologist nods, "Sure," ready to follow Rilee off a bit.
Rilee steps into one of the side chambers and sits down on the cold stone floor, heedless of the chill in the ancient rock. She waits for Zoli to make herself comfortable, then she lowers her eyes to her lap.
After a moment of sorting her thoughts, Rilee starts, "I am sorry that this is weird for you. It is... strange to me as well."
She raises and arm and looks at it, watching the tiny sparks race along the fine hairs and discharging softly off her fingers. "I wonder if it would be easier if I were still older, but then I would still have been that old Riley." She looks up at Zoli with an amused smile. "That would have been weird, too, I'm sure."
Her face sobers, and her eyes show their deep wisdom and ancient memory. "I will not try to be your mother. I may have carried you in another life, but your father raised you. And I believe he's done a wonderful job."
The storm-born aasimar's eyes begin brimming with tears. "I'll be whatever else you would like for me to be. Whatever you need.
"And if it's not too hard, could you tell me how Tan-- your father -- is? I'm almost afraid to ask, because I think I may have heard the answer before."
The group sets out at dawn. The first thing they note is that the rains have stopped, and that the dam is still draining the waters from the Storval Deep. However, in place of the rains, the weather is now what would be considered normal for the season, extremely cold with snow.
It takes the group roughly seven hours to reach the base of Hook Mountain. Rilee is able to easily locate the hunting trails used by the ogres of the region, and as such is able to guide the group clear of what would otherwise be a dangerous and time consuming climb. It takes another three hours to finally reach the den of the Kreeg Clan...
Constant flurries of windborne snow and frost lash at a gaping hole in the side of Hook Mountain here. Smoke pours forth from the cave entrance, only to be instantly dispersed by the wind. Two well armed and armored ogres stand vigilant guard at the entrance.
Between three castings of Endure Elements from Setsuna and two from Rilee, everyone but Olympus is protected from the cold, and the big buzzard handles the winter chill just fine.
Upon seeing the ogre guards, Setsuna activates her shadow armor, turns to Eugeni, and says, "How about a couple of volleys?"
Once the cold starts visibly affecting Olympus, Setsuna casts Endure Elements on him.
As they set out from the dam the chilling cold starts to get to Morythine. Noting the divine protection from the elements enjoyed by some of his companions puts him to thinking. After a little while, he drops to the back of the group.
“Give me a moment guys, gotta pee,” he announces “I’ll catch up with you in no time.”
When his companions are out of earshot, he prays “Zon-Kuthon, Lord of Death, the cold touches neither the dead or undead. By the blood of the vampires that taints my veins, grant me this blessing until the world has turned a full circle.” To the dhampir’s genuine surprise, the biting wind immediately feels less cold.
Ki points: 5 remaining
Spells: cause fear (domain spell),
Channel energy: 3 remaining
Orisons: detect magic, detect poison, guidance, resistance
Once everyone is protected from the cold, Eugeni turns his mind to the problem of the ogres.
"We've been going for ten hours, we need to rest before we do anything. Do we have a way to get everyone darkvision? I'm thinking Setsu can scout in the morning invisibly, Zoli, Mory and I can creep close to the entrance and hide. Rilee can turn herself into something innocuous and stay near too. Then once Setsu reports back, we ambush the door guards and breach the hideout. I don't know if there's much point planning beyond that for now."
Setsuna ponders Eugeni's request before nodding.
"I'll have to ask Azathoth for Darkvision the Spell when I sleep. As for scouting, I will do that right now."
The Oracle promptly vanishes from sight.
Thankfully, Setsuna shows up again about twenty minutes later.
"Past the two guards at the front entrance, there is a long tunnel that leads to a central area, which branches three ways. In the central area, there are two more heavily armed and armored ogres and a hill giant."
Setsuna lets everyone digest her report.
"For southern branch, there is a small army of eleven ogres forging stuff. One of them is much better armed and armored than the others. An overseer of sorts."
Setsuna again lets everyone digest her report.
"For the western branch, there are big three monster women doing something with a cauldron."
"That... is a lot of enemies," says a slightly stunned Rilee.
Setsuna nods and continues.
"For the northern branch, there is another fork. To the northwest, I think I found Lamatar's undead frost wright corpse. He wore Black Arrow armor, but I didn't recognize him personally."
"Oh, then that corpse probably won't go willingly," Rilee notes worriedly.
"Yeah. To the northeast, I found Lucrecia, two stone giants (I think), and the zombie remains of Vale and Jak," says Setsuna with a frown.
"Aw," mumbles Rilee. "They were, nice? I kind of remember them."
Setsuna once more nods and sighs.
"One of the stone giants was really fat and sat upon a big ol' stone throne. I think that he runs things around here. That or he's Lucrecia's second in command."
"Hmm. Lucretia was gloating at us, and watching us. She knows us, so they're probably prepared. We should change our tactics as best we can," says Rilee. "Here's a thought: I have a lovely spell I didn't get to use earlier. It creates hard-to-see spikes among the stones, so anyone crossing the altered terrain will take wounds. If we attack and face the full brunt of them, I can cast that spell and force them to fight us at range. I do not believe they can match us."
"Killing them in groups is probably what we should do. Eugeni can snipe these door guards from a distance. Maybe from Olympus' back? I can cast Silence on a rocks to block out sounds of fighting."
"Also useful," remarks Rilee.
"The ogre army, those women, and three central guards are what worry me the most. If they all swarm us, it's game over. Lamatar is by himself. Lucrecia and her friends are kind of far apart. Everyone else is very close together...""
Setsuna pauses as an idea comes to her.
"How long will your silence spell last?" asks Rilee. "We dampen the sound, and our group can make short work of those ogres."
"b]"...Around 1.5 minutes," Setsuna answers. "However, the fat stone giant, Lucrecia, and the others are... in a throne room... that opens to the sky."
Setsuna looks at Olympus.
"Oh," remarks Rilee, who soons sports a large grin. "How high are we talking about?"
They both look at Eugeni.
"About fifty feet up," says Setsuna. "It was a big sky window that covered most of the room, which itself was large enough to make the giants seem small."
"Okay. You want to go straight there, or do a two-pronged attack?" says Rilee.
"...I don't know. If we kill Lucrecia and her friends and get Lamatar back, then we probably don't have to fight the rest of these damn ogres," remarks the Oracle. "...Can you turn into a dire bat or something big for Mory? I can carry Zoli."
Rilee nods.
"Here's my plan," says Setsuna. "We wipe out those door guards right now but hide Olympus. We then immediately fly to the Throne Room and take out Lucrecia and friends. I can put a Silenced stone at the entrance to (hopefully) block off the sounds of battle. Eugeni stays on Olympus and snipes from the sky. We then blitz the next room and rekill the thing I think is Lamatar with Summons. Lamatar is an Ice Wright. The normal kind can sap your soul with physical contact. Summons wouldn't care about that."
"Fire, too, hopefully," adds Rilee.
"We hide Olympus in case the entrance guards don't stay and fight. That way, everyone thinks that we're coming from the front entrance. Alternatively, I cast Tongues on that Satyr again, and he makes them stay and fight... The only difficult part is going to be getting from the Throne Room to Lamatar undetected. His lair is close to the three central guards. I could cast Obscuring Mist in the central chamber and Silence another rock to cover that movement." Setsuna says, "And then we get the hell out of here. Remember, we didn't fight the entire Fort."
Setsuna sighs and ponders the situation.
"I say we attack now. If we wait until morning, then we only have one chance to defeat about twenty-five enemies before that damn Nymph goes nutty and murders everyone. There's also no storm right now. Perfect flight weather. And keep in mind, Lucrecia is Xanesha's big sister, and back in Magnimar, Xanesha alone was strong enough to tumble with us and a small army of Summons. If we go from the main entrance, then we'll probably be in terrible shape against Lucrecia and her friends, who are likely the strongest of our foes. Meanwhile, if we immediately attack Lucrecia and lieutenants, we are at full strength. Once we secure Lamatar, we have no reason to stay. Even if the others swarm us, we can retreat via air."
Setsuna takes a minute to catch her breath.
Eugeni listens carefully and takes a moment to think. Then he nods in agreement. "That sounds like a solid plan to me. So, how do we want to drop the front door? I could probably have them both down in a few seconds from about thirty feet away. Shall I ride Olympus again for that?"
Zoli pulls Rilee toward her when the druid begins to cry and gives her a kiss on the forehead. "Oh it's weird, don't get me wrong...but that's OK with me. You've been my friend for a few months now, and that won't change."
When the newly reincarnated druid sits beside her, Zoli runs her fingers through the Rilee's hair, starting to braid it. "Now Papa..." Zoli is quiet for a minute, letting her nimble fingers work in Rilee's hair. Her own eyes moisten, but not with the same violent intensity that would have shaken her a few months ago. "Oh you really don't remember? He was killed by goblins, in the raid that started all of this. We--we drove them off, but there were casualties. I'm sorry."
Crying now in earnest, she adds, "He--he always spoke of mama with love--of you, I mean, I guess. He told stories about you. He loved you a lot, and I love the stories he left me with."
Zoli nods at the suggestion that they attack tonight, and grins at the suggestion to attack the throne room directly via the air. "Lucretia's going to try to get away, if things go south. How do we stop her? Other than killing her quickly, that is?
"Also, was anyone sleeping when you scouted? If not, maybe we wait until some of them are asleep. It's much less sporting, but those odds are something fierce, and they are mighty evil, and we could use whatever advantage we can manage."
As she collects some rocks, Setsuna thinks about deploying Olympus.
"On second thought, taking Olympus would probably be better. He can fly faster than those two goons could run."
Setsuna looks at Zoli and smiles.
"Lucrecia is bold. Proud. Arrogant. She won't retreat immediately. So we do the same thing we did with Dorella. If she tries to cast a spell, Rilee can zap her. Or you stab her."
Setsuna shakes her head.
"Unfortunately, no one was sleeping. The undead don't sleep either. Unless we used my Ring, zombie Jak and Vale would probably see us coming, and even then, we would only be sending in one person alone. I say we stick together as best we can."
"...Can you turn into a dire bat or something big for Mory? I can carry Zoli."
“I’ve got my own means of flight,” admits Morythine. “For outnumbered against a horde of giants the plan sounds well enough.”
As the group flies into the opening of the cavernous throne room, the shadow of the large avians washes over the giants as the heroes descend, eliciting them all to look up and see their assailants just as Setsuna silences the entryway.
This gigantic chamber extends into darkness to the east, sloping upward between two wide ledges on which loom statues with angular faces, stern brows, and strong jawlines. Above, the ceiling opens to the slate gray sky above. The ramp leads up in tiers, finally coming to an end before an immense stone throne.
Within the chamber are various figures, as Setsuna described. One is a red-haired woman, elegantly dressed from the waist up, but her lower body is that of a large serpent. On the other side of the throne stands a large humanoid that looks to be made of stone. Seated upon the throne itself is a large, muscular stone-like giant as well. And kneeling before him, their bodies still bearing the fatal wounds that felled them, are the forms of Jakardros and Vale.
"Oh, how quaint! Look Barl, the ones I told you about! They came sooner than even I expected!" the woman says with a giggle and a feigned clap of her hands.
"Truly," the giant upon the throne says. "Be rid of them, Lucrecia, and quickly. They have been enough of a nuisance to my realm." As he speaks, he reaches up and rubs the Sihedron medallion around his neck, as well as mutters a few words of magic, calling into existence a glowing hand at his side.
The red haired woman scowls at Barl, "Your realm? You forget your place, Barl. The only pecking order you sit atop of is that of these ogres. And we both know you don't really expect to be giving me orders, don't we? Nevertheless," she says as she turns an amused gaze back towards the heroes, "I have been looking forward to this." She too rubs her own medallion before saying some arcane words. A shimmer of energy washes over her before fading from sight. She then draws a pair of daggers as she slithers towards the group!
__________
To-hit and Damage
23 for 13
19 for 18
14 for 16
25 for 20
Eugeni draws his bow and fires on Lucretia.
With Morythine supplying his own transportation, Rilee instead opts for the shape of an innocuous bird. With her tiny size, she alights upon a small rock overlooking the battlefield and begins summoning.
Zoli leaps off of Setsuna's back and runs at Lucrecia, feinting low and then twisting her scimitar, attempting to slice up at the lamia's belly.
"Your insane 'greed harvesting' days are over, Lucrecia. You're done!"
________________
AC 27
HP 67/67 +11 THP
Luck 10/11
Panache 4/4 (-up to 3 for parries)
Charmed Life 4/4
Luck o’ the Scene 1/1
Buffs False Life: +11 THP
Expeditious retreat (round 2/10)
luck (round 2/3): +2 to hit, damage, skill rolls, saving throws
Morythine plops his serpentine owl down in the snow and mutters a command word. Mist pours out of the green statuette’s empty eye sockets, and when the vapour clears before him stand a massive horned owl, its grey feathers exhibiting the slightest tinge of verdure.
“Just as they said he would be . . .” the dhampir exclaims with a quiet whistle of appreciation. With a mental command, the owl leaps into the air, its wings stirring up vortices of pine needles and shaking fresh snow from the tree branches. It wheels about, extends its feathered talons and plucks Morythine from the ground as if he was nothing more than a clueless lemming, then flaps after Eugeni astride mighty Olympus, with Rilee’s tiny bird flitting between them.
Morythine tucks in his legs to avoid the jutting rock as the owl dives in through the gaping stone maw of the natural skylight. On silent wings it swoops over where Lucrecia and Zoli are already battling. With the speed and grace of a cobra, the lamia rears up on her coils, dagger slashing out to almost sever one of the owl’s legs. Mist gushes from the wound and the owl releases Morythine. The dhampir grabs his hat as he tumbles towards the ground. His boots find purchase on the craggy walls of the cavern, and his fall turns into a somersault, then a scissor kick with Lucrecia’s face meeting both his heels.
Ki points: 4 remaining
Spells: cause fear (domain spell),
Channel energy: 3 remaining
Orisons: detect magic, detect poison, guidance, resistance
Meanwhile, Morythine’s owl glides across the cavern, extending a claw towards the zombie of Vale. The talons squeal across walking corpse's chainmail but find no purchase.