"It's probably best if only one or two of use flying magic," Lym says. "We'll also need to get down, later on. Praxim, you're up; you're a strong man, you can carry us, if you would be so good."
"Lym, let's just get up there." Tomaru casts Fly on himself then uses the scroll to do the same for Praxim.
Rhianni asks Lym, I have one more scroll available I can use to rise up from the ground, should I use it on you or do you have your own methods to move up this tower? She waits for Lym's answer before...
Rhianni takes a scroll from her pack and in her softly spoken voice speaks the arcane words enclosed, causing her to float upwards after those who can fly. She follows the two men up.
Tomaru takes Rhianni by the hand to help guide her as they rise.
"I have my means," Lym says, heaving a brief sigh before she unrolls her latest scroll and casts it.
You ascend toward the top of the tower. You make it halfway up, when suddenly a loud BONG echoes throughout the tower. Looking up, you see one of the bells swinging, just before tearing free of its ropes with a tremendous crash. The immense bronze bell tumbles and smashes along the walls as it plummets towards you. Lym manages to avoid getting bludgeoned, but everyone else isn't so fortunate.
Lym snaps off several... colourful... phrases in Orcish as she just barely manages to dodge the descending bell. Cloak belling out like a pair of batwings, the Wizard struggles to maintain her altitude and position despite the rain of dust and debris that accompanies the bell, and glares up in the direction the unusual projectile came from.
Limmeric the bat comes crawling out of her sleeve, chittering at the top of his voice as he orbits his Wizard.
"LOOK OUT!"
Fly
Rhianni groans as the bell strikes her.
Fly:
"Sphaeram frigis expandens, e manu meu EVOLAT!" Lym roars, extending one hand upward towards the faceless humanoids.
A tiny bead of blue light shoots from the palm of her hand, zips over to the three humanoids -- and expands into a sphere of blistering, sub-zero cold. Ice and frost cover every surface, and the very air hisses and crackles as the magic takes hold.
"Are you alright?" Lym shouts down to the others. "I got two of them! It's three more of those cultists! Still alive, but they're on the retreat! Can you get back up here?"
Lym stands ready to blast the cultists as soon as they show themselves again.
When he thinks that everyone is in range, Tomaru summons a flutter of butterflies to refresh the group.
Channel Positive Energy excluding any of the cultists that are visible.
[d]Desna favors the bold of heart.[/b]
Then uses Divine Favor in preparation for the battle to come.
"I'll live. They won't."
Praxim shakes his head clear, raises one fist above his head and flies straight up.
Tomaru makes sure that Rhianni is ready and continues upwards.
Recovering her poise once more, Rhianni moves up once more towards the cultists, getting in range to use her spells and wands. "Thanks to Tomaru's faith, I am fine and ready to join you and battle these evil believers."
HPs:
None of you see anyone up here.
Praxim floats over to the exit at the top of the stairs, scanning for evil.
Lym follows after Praxim, ready to hurl another spell, and scanning for magic.
Rhianni uses the walls to crawl round and find solid ground, as she follows Lym. She casts a spell to help protect her from any aggressive creatures here.
If time allows, Tomaru will cast Protection from Evil then Shield of Faith on himself.
As Tomaru casts his buff spells, Praxim casts weapon of awe on his bow.
"Let's move," Lym says, "but keep your senses peeled. I only winged them, none of them died."
Outside the doorway, the rickety stairs continue up the exterior of the tower, high up off the ground below, to a room that must lie just beyond the ceiling directly above the bells. Do you continue up?
Lym chants a quick spell, and a bat appears out of thin air.
"Fly up, attack any living creature in the room above!" Lym whispers at it. "Go!"
The Wizard gestures at the others to wait a moment while the summoned creature zips upward, chittering in a hostile fashion.
Yes. Out and up.
Praxim counts to five, then flies after the diversion, scanning for evil.
You move around to another side of the tower and enter the room above
Three hairless, featureless creatures, like the ones you met at Aldern's house, stand near the doorway, on either side.
Initiative: Tomaru, faceless creatures, everyone else.
The bat is dead.
"Ugh! I mistook you bags of goo for someone else," Lym grumbles. "Well enough. You will die as easily as any other!"
The Wizard jabs both hands forward and - provided no one else from the party is in the way - unleashes fiery doom upon the faceless creatures!
Tomaru begins casting Summon Monster III
The monsters can't reach the party and all end up burning to death from Lym's fireball.
A timber cabinet sits against the southern wall of this room, while a boarded-up door stands in the wall to the east.
Lym casually blows a wisp of smoke from her fingertip and nods to Tomaru.
"I believe the investigation of possibly trap-bearing receptacles is your specialty?" she says, smiling.
Praxim stands guard, scanning for evil all around, while Tomaru works on the cabinet.
"Quickly, though, so our magic spells don't expire."
"Great! Now I've used up a high level spell." Tomaru tries to open the cabinet door. If it doesn't open, he'll have the summoned lantern archon bash it open.
You find two ravens in the cabinet.
Tomaru will go for the boarded up door next. The same as the cabinet.
The archon repeatedly attacks the door until vanishing, doing no visible damage.
I was hoping that meant the light rays could tear through those boards.
"Praxim, would you do us the honour of opening the way to the next room while Tomaru tackles the cupboard?" Lym asks.
Strength check:
Praxim nods, takes a deep breath, and makes a run at the door with his shoulder.
Praxim breaks through the door.
The room on the other side is large and cluttered, filled with immense gears and clockworks. Most of them appear to have rusted in place.
An exit in the western wall again leads to stairs that circumvent the outside of the tower and go upward.
"Onward and upward," Lym says. "Keep well clear of the gears, and beware anything lurking in between!'
Disappointed that the lantern archon wasn't able to get through the wooden planks, Tomaru follows after Lym.
Perception: