"Hold out your weapon, Claykin..." Pakak moves forward again, and touches Ryu's weapon.
Ryu’s eyes gleam and for a brief moment, he mutters a quick word of thanks to Pakak in the ancient and revered tongues of men.
”Kick ass,” he says with a fierce growl.
Terribly sorry about all that.
In which case I think I'm going to ret-con my move and do something else.
The lack of updates via the map and movements, and the fact that I was waiting for help before I acted - help that I got, but now I don't got, because it has to be ret-conned, because it wasn't done, it's making it really confusing for me to figure out what's going on.
If that can't work, please let me know.
+5 each
+1 each
+6 each
+3 each
Maelchar lands a solid blow to the undead while everyone else in melee positions themselves to aid Maelchar in distracting the creature to make it easier for Maelchar to dodge the incoming attacks. So'rien chants quickly and another celestial eagle appears. Screeching in defiance, the bird rips into the undead but not before it brings if celestial nature to bear. Claws and beak almost glowing with power. The eagle manages to get a claw past the hide of the huecuva and the celestial power bypasses the damage reduction as well.
The huecuva in turn steps up to Maelchar and arms flail at the warrior with the magical hammer. The aid of Sir Garth and Ryu mean that only one of the claws lands a horrific blow dealing 7 points of damage as you feel the detritus of years penetrate the open wound.
Maelchar takes a step back, again putting himself at reach from the creature so his weapon will be effective and attacks with a vicious strike.
Maelchar, impaled by a claw pulls resolve from deep within and steps back ramming the hammer at the junction of the head and neck. Splitting the bones holding the creature together the body falls to the floor as the green light slowly dims.
Maelchar takes a step back, again putting himself at reach from the creature so his weapon will be effective and attacks with a vicious strike.
Ryu's eyes widen at Maelchar's mighty blow.
While he waits for a "buff" from Pakak, he elects to take a free action to call out to Maelchar about his attack.
"We're not worthy; we're not worthy..." he says, calling out in awe, then lets out a mighty "Whoop" at the massive strike that Maelchar used.
Rushing over to Maelchar, Ryu claps him hard on his back.
"Gods damn, son! Banzai, you magnificent basterd!" he says with genuine pleasure.
Stepping back from Maelcahr his eyes roam over him for a bit.
Ryu notices that Maelchar seems to be wounded by the now vanquished undead and his eyes widen in surprise.
"You doing okay there, Mal?" he asks the lad tentatively.
"!" he roars out to the others.
Maelchar's resolve, having filled him with some righteous enthusiasm, seems to fade quickly after the final strike on the creature, and he lowers his weapon slowly, letting the tip droop to the ground, scraping on stone. He nods slowly to Ryu and sighs.
"Perhaps this place needs to be cleansed of the taint this creature put on it." His voice trembles slightly as the adrenaline rush of combat fades.
"I'll be alright, Ryu, at least this time." He touches his chest as he intones ancient words and casts a spell.
"I have no spells left for the day. I'm not sure who has what in terms of other healing... but if we are to cleanse this place and perhaps bless it somehow, we might want to rest here, spend some time doing what is necessary, and give our casters time to recover spells, and time for natural healing as well."
"I know we have to cover some distance and get out of here, but traveling through unknown dangers with no healing to speak of might not be to our advantage."
Thinking of the possibility of this creature hiding some kind of magics in the place, he casts Detect Magic, examining first the creature, then the room in general.
"Perhaps this place needs to be cleansed of the taint this creature put on it." His voice trembles slightly as the adrenaline rush of combat fades.
He touches his chest as he intones ancient words and casts a spell.
Ryu's eyes widen.
"Huh! I call for a medic and you're all like - physician heal thyself, neh?"
"That's some sweet work," he says with a grin.
"But listen there, pal, you just sit back and relax a bit - leave the cleaning up to us, we'll take care of it for you no worries," he says sincerely, wanting his friend to rest a bit and not caring much about doing a little leg-work to clean the temple.
"I know we have to cover some distance and get out of here, but traveling through unknown dangers with no healing to speak of might not be to our advantage."
Ryu looks around a bit.
"Well, the temple's square built and dwarf made - so she's sturdy and ought to do in a pinch, once you sweep it for bad magic stuff," he says easily.
"There's only one entrance to it, so it'll be easy to post a guard, and it's seems comfy enough to crash out in, if we need too," he says glancing around.
"One more day in here ain't so bad, and if it means our spellslingers get a chance to rest up good, I'm all for it," he says easily.
The dwarf cuts his spell off before he wastes it, "Exceptional work, Maelchar."
Pakak's voice is ragged, his wounded face looking pale.
Maelchar nods to Pakak, much as he did to Ryu, acknowledging the praise, though not inflated by it. "Thanks. I guess I was inspired by all of you... couldn't let that thing run amok, whatever it was. Praise Iomedae, who guided my hand."
The dwarf cuts his spell off before he wastes it, "Exceptional work, Maelchar."
"Damn straight, pop!" he says turning to Pakak.
"That's how we roll in this crew," he adds with a quick "thumbs up" sign.
"That said, what do you think about crashing out here for a bit?" he says to the dwarf.
"Thanks. I guess I was inspired by all of you... couldn't let that thing run amok, whatever it was. Praise Iomedae, who guided my hand."
"You bet; the gods help them who help themselves - but I got to say, boss, you know - about your handy work - Kick ass! You splattered that little whore all over the place; that's damn good work," he says with wide grin at Mal.
Scanning the area for magic, three items glow along the belt line of th huecuva. Clearly remnants of its past, 3 cure light wounds potions are tucked in belt punches. Along with the potions is a MW warhammer with the symbol of Torag on it.
With talk of spending time here and resting, Horgus looks cross and insist that the group moves on. Anevia nods her head at the wisdom of rating and healing. Aravashinal asks that if we must wait and rest that at least someone describe what the place looks like at he is trying to formulate a hypothesis about what is going on down here.
"I would give more praise to Torag as well as Iomedae, but some fortunate light yet smiled regardless. I... I think staying is good for the night. My wounds ache."
Ryu picks up the hammer and hefts it in his hand.
"That's a damn fine hammer," he says, then glances at the others.
"Anyone want it? I'm not much into hammers," he says with a shrug.
Glancing at Anevia, he nods.
"That's pretty much what we're all thinking; you know - rest up and take a breather, on account of the fact that healers could use some relaxing time," he says with a nod.
"Plus this place is all mucked up; giving it a once-over would be pretty good, you know - on account that you got to take care of religiosity and all that," he says with a nod.
With little to do but wait for a reply, he quickly relates the details of the build and make to Aravashinal.
"I would give more praise to Torag as well as Iomedae, but some fortunate light yet smiled regardless. I... I think staying is good for the night. My wounds ache."
Ryu nods at his stonekin.
"Well, that's good enough for me, then," he says with complete seriousness to Pakak.
" - We're taking it easy for a bit; we ship out when everyone's fit, not before, so everyone get comfortable," he calls out in a loud voice to the others.
Knowing weapons and the crafting of them to some extent, Maelchar says, "This warhammer looks to be of fine craftsmanship if someone wants to wield it. THere are also three potions of cure light wounds here. THese could be invaluable as we make our way back to the surface."
He turns to Horgus and nods sagely. "I see your point that we need to make progress in our passage upwards and back to the light, but we must be able to defend and heal ourselves as we travel. This ancient temple, ostensibly to Torag, is a good defensible place for us to rest and recover our abilities to guide and protect you along the way. Please trust us to know our own capabilities and needs. We promise to see you safely home, but we cannot do so without rest."
He turns his attention to Aravashinal next and leads him around the room, describing it in great detail, and letting him have some hands on feel when appropriate, like if there are any carvings he can feel as part of the 'tour'. He tries not to skimp on anything in the room, detailing not only what it appears to have looked like new, but the ravages time have played on the room as well.
Knowing weapons and the crafting of them to some extent, Maelchar says, "This warhammer looks to be of fine craftsmanship if someone wants to wield it. THere are also three potions of cure light wounds here. THese could be invaluable as we make our way back to the surface."
"You like it, keep it - hell, brother, you earned that thing, savvy?" he says.
"That was damn fine work you did, you know?" he says with a grin.
He looks at the potions.
"Meh, they'll do in a pinch, if we need 'em. Until that time, it's all good either way," he says with a careless shrug.
So'rien turns and says to Horgus Maelchar is correct. We will see you safely to the surface. To do so may require resting as appropriate. We do not want to be caught in a situation where we have exhausted our capabilities and are beset by enemies.
So'rien moves around with Maelchar and Aravashinal as well, supporting his brother.
"Thank you, Ryu."
Pakak admires the hammer's craftsman ship and looks over it. "That is a master's skill at work, that is. In time, a skilled enough wizard could imbue it with magic proper. Or better yet, a cleric of Torag, for his sign is upon it."
Maelchar is correct. We will see you safely to the surface. To do so may require resting as appropriate. We do not want to be caught in a situation where we have exhausted our capabilities and are beset by enemies.
"That's enough jawing, Chatty McGee," Ryu says to So'rien, moving up to him.
Watching So'rien waste time with this Horgus fellow, he rolls his eyes.
"Come on Sori-san, you got time to lean, you got time to clean, neh?" he says amicably.
"We got some work to do before we crash out, you know?"
He pauses and gives So'rien a once over, eyeing him critically.
"Listen, as we're all looking for some sack-time, why don' you magic up something that can pitch in and give a hand scrubbing this place down? I mean, hell - what's the difference, if you summon up a few things to pitch in, you're going to sleep anyhow," he says giving So'rien a friendly smile.
"Thank you, Ryu."
He grins from his work as he begins to clean the place up.
'It's all good, boss," he says to Pakak "You just take it easy."
He looks at the hammer and gives it a low whistle of appreciation.
"It's a beaut, I'll give you that," he says with a grin.
Upon Maechar's tremendous blow, which killed the Undead cleric, Oriana bowed her head in his direction, and quietly praised him, "Well fought, brother."
Pulling her waterskin out of her pack, she moved to the Lady Anevia first and respectfully enquired if she would like a drink to quench her thirst.
She then does the same with the noblemen Gwerm and later Aravashinal, once Maelchar had shown him the general lay of the temple ruin/shrine.
Upon completing her task, Oriana moved to the temple dias, noting Ryu working diligently in his cleaning/clearing. Touching the silver, holy symbol of Iomedae at her throat, Oriana sent a prayer to her goddess and the god Torag, asking for their aid in restoring the good balance to the temple/shrine and to watch over them as they took respite.
Oriana quietly/silently aided Ryu in the cleansing. As she worked, she also kept a vigilant eye on their surroundings, scanning her eyes for threat or things of note.
Your three charges all seem to come to an agreement with you after seeing that their cares, wishes, and well being are being looked after. Even Horgus looks more acceptable than usual once it is relayed to him that continuing on would jeopardize his life. With multiple people pitching in when they are not resting, the shrine gets cleaned in half the time, 4 hours. Among the dirt and debris, a few religious pieces to Torag are found about the floor near the alter.
Knowledge religion check with Pakak able to give an aid at a +3 for being Dwarven.
Anevia enters the main part of the building and looks around. A small tear still dangles at the edge of her eye, but it is a remnant from before. Clearly she has mastered whatever it was that overcame her. She nods in Ryu's direction when told that the group was considering spending the night. If that is what is decided, then I will do my share of the watch as well. I can not move much to clean, but I will stand guard for what it is worth. I can not see in the dark but if we have enough torches I will place one at the entrance so if anything comes that way they will have to enter the light.
Turning to Oriana, Thank you for the drink. I am afraid that my waterskin was ruined in the fall.
Getting an elaborate tour from So'rien and Maelchar, Aravashinal takes it all in. Halfway through the tour his head starts to nod slowly as if some puzzle he has been working on has finally been completed.
There was a legend that I was told when I was doing research for e war effort. After the First Crusade a group of crusaders who had become infected with Abyssal energies fled into these caverns to raise their deformed children in peace, and that their descendants live on today in the tunnels below the city. The presence of this shrine here gives significant credence to the tale. It is too soon to confirm as it is an isolated shrine, but it does explain its presence to some degree.
Maelchar helps to clean the shrine as well once Aravashinal has completed his tour and wisely offered his counsel. While cleaning, rather than talking with the others, he concentrates his thoughts on prayers to Iomedae, since he knows none to Torag.
When the shrine is fully cleaned after four hours has passed, he takes a deep cleansing breath of his own, and takes a sip of water, wanting more, but afraid to use too much in case they don't find more along their path.
"Ah, it looks much better. What say you, Pakak, as you are our only dwarf with knowledge of Torag? Will it please him, do you think?" As he speaks, he reverently places the icons found on the altar neatly.
"Were I a proper priest, I'd know how to clean each item and put it back in place on the altar, which I would also clean. There would be oils, I think, the sort often used in smithing I suspect. I have none with me." Pakak answers their questions as best he might, and makes a note to study all he can of religion as soon as he can They rely on me for knowledge, and we come repeatedly upon one area of knowledge I am ignorant in. It is unforgivable, like a warrior going into a battle with a short blade when his compatriots need a lance. Torag, forgive me neglect.
With the splitting of shifts keeping watch and the remoteness of the shrine everyone is able to rest and recoup in peace. He stresses of the day have passed and everyone is ready for the next leg of the journey.
Between Dwarven heritage, intuition and elbow grease, you all manage to get the shrine back to its former self. Maelchar, reflecting back on his religious knowledge says a brief prayer to his god Iomedae and one to Torag. When the prayer and rites are done the last of the green light disappears and is replaced by a white light. Emanating from the alter. The light hits everyone and the radiance buoys the spirit.
Everyone receives a bless effect for the next 24 hours as Torag is pleased by your work even if you are not direct followers of him. You get the sense that if you ever need a safe place, this would be one while you are underground.
days