Going off the hope that others may not have heard the soldier's cry through the closed doors and stone walls, Timo charges the guard with his blade raised. "And if the alarm has been raised this will be the perfect spot to take them one by one until their bodies form a new wall."
"Wonderful," Raven says drily as he hears the guard's cries for help. Even so though he remains focused on the battle at hands as he looses two arrows in quick succession against the ice construct, taking care at the same time not to accidentally hit those companions of his that have chosen to engage it in melee.
Affyria takes a few steps forward and invokes her divine powers to heal Morthos' wounds.
Morthos takes a quick glance behind him to see who is touching him. Noticing it's Affyria, he grins as he expects her healing powers to flow through him; yet he quickly finds himself gritting his teeth in pain as he finds that it burns. "Bah! What in the lowest level of the Abyss...?!" he asks somewhat irritated but mostly curious. He then takes another quick look and just manages to catch a wisp of smoke rise from his shoulder of where she touched him before returning to the task at hand. I will study it further when time permits. Most interesting...
Daed: Summon
Morthos: Attack golem (hit, hit, -7/6)
Timo: Charge and Power attack (guard is dead)
Raven: Arrows at Golem (miss, hit -8)
Aff: CLW
As Daedalos begins to summon infernal assistance, Timo charges down the hall after the fleeing guard. The Mitran dies a horrible death, his screams gurgling as Timo's sword cleaves through bone, flesh and lungs.
Meanwhile, Morthos and Raven try to continue chipping away at the golem's body though their efforts seem to do little more than shave off some small chips of ice. As Affyria tries to heal some of Morthos' wounds -- and unexpectedly injures him further -- the golem slams a frigid fist into the antipaladin's side, the cold seeping into the human's bones.
On the other side of the door, Timo hears the sounds of men calling for reinforcements and to send the ravens.
"Malai unkao prena shlyu"
Daidalos tells his servant as it materializes, pointing at the fallen paladin. As the daemon goes about its work crystallizing his immortal essence, Daidalos finally gets a chance to look at the wand he captured and study it for magic.
Morthos takes another shot from the golem and he starts to get a little irritated. Nevertheless, he continues his assault upon the creature.
Affyria wrinkles her nose at the smell of Morthos' burnt skin and looks down at her hand curiously.
Alright, that was a bit unexpected. Let's see if this works better.
Morthos mentally waits to see what transpires as he feels the cleric's touch once again. But this time he notices his wounds heal up nicely. Grinning wickedly, "Perfect. Well done, Affyria," he tells her while keeping his attention upon the golem.
With both Morthos and Timo within striking distance of the ice golem, Raven remains in place, firing arrow after arrow at the construct,knowing full well that most of the damage does not get through but that every bit counts.
Timo hears the guards calls and has begins to laugh. "I wish I could see the look on their face when they find out all the ravens are dead." He then glances back up the hall towards golem and sighs "Why won't that thing die?"
With a quick look back at the closed door he makes his way back up the hall and swings at the construct.
The cacodaemon begins to consume Havelyn's soul while Affyria heals Morthos of some of his wounds. Meanwhile, the rest of the party continues to chip away at the golem's body. It makes a sound resembling a roar as a jet of arctic air and ice blasts out of its 'mouth'.
Out of the corner of his eye, Daidalos sees a flare-up of evocation magic, and twists out of the way just in time, wincing as the cold washes over him, but staying mostly unharmed.
He effortlessly maintains concentration on studying the wand, though he does move into the wizard's room to stay out of range from any further attacks. As the cacodaemon finishes ingesting the lord of the keep's soul, it retreats to Daidalos and vomits up a glistening golden crystal into Daidalos' free hand, who glances at it with a keen eye and grins gleefully.
As the arctic blast envelops him, Morthos is found grinning when it stops and he appears to be no worse for wear. And with that, he quickly attacks the golem once again with an uncanny speed.
Affyria winces as the cold blast from the golem washes over her.
hp 33/41
Despite his elven reflexes and agility Raevanis nevertheless catches the full force of the golem's icy blast. The cold chills him to the bone and the pale elf takes a moment to retrieve a healing potion from his backpack and drink its contents. Still, its effect feels diminished, perhaps due to the bite and his own weakened condition.
Affyria notices the elf getting hurt pretty badly, and glances down at her hand, as if contemplating something for a moment. Seemingly reaching a decision, she lays a hand on the elf and mutters a few words.
After missing the ice golem completely, Timo swings again hoping to destroy the beast.
Morthos and Timo pair up, chopping away at the ice golem. One fissure after another opens until Timo brings down his blade in a final, mighty swoop. With a CRACK, the golem shatters and erupts in a blast of arcane energy.
As the ice shards fall to the ground in a crystalline shower, eventually the noise of combat is replaced by the banging of a gong outside the keep's thick walls and the sounds of men's voices yelling from the lower levels.
Timo shrugs off the bite of the ice into his skin. He takes a quick glance to the door. Not seeing any immediate concern of anyone entering, he gives the paladin's body a kick before examining his remains for anything of use. As he does so he remarks to the group rather nonchalantly.
"The way I see it we have three options. One, we can stay and force them down them down the hallway. This way they won't have the numerical advantage on us. Two, we sneak out the way we came in and come back another night. The castle is on high alert now but they can't remain that way and have no way of sending for quick help. Finally option three," Timo says with a murderous glint in his eye, "we kill every last person in here tonight while there is chaos and they are without leadership."
While his cacodaemon takes the brunt of the golem's explosion, its fiendish resistances ensure it stays on the plane as its healing abilities start their work. Meanwhile, Daidalos finishes studying the wand, trying (though failing, much to his annoyance) to find out what exactly it does, then turns his magical gaze to the fallen nearby, and to the magister's room at large. "I say we kill every soul in this place. That fight took a lot out of me, but that's no reason to quit now. I say we hold here for a bit, strip these floors of valuables and magic, and move on. By tomorrow night, there won't be a voice left to maintain the alarm." he says with conviction.
Affyria lets loose another burst of her miasma of infernal energy throughout the room, healing the wounded.
"If we clean our weapons we might be able to bluff our way out of it, pretend we're the first ones to arrive at the scene? We've crushed their command structure in any case, it's possible we can convince them to abandon the keep altogether. For now, I agree with Daidalos, and we should check out the magister's quarters."
Morthos shields himself and manages to avoid most of the explosion.
"Let's be quick about it, we probably only have a few minutes before reinforcements arrive. I'll have a look around his laboratory. Raven, you check out the magister's quarters, the rest, check their bodies for valuables before we head upstairs," Affyria says before she heads into the laboratory where the golem broke out of.
"Certainly," Raven readily agrees as he makes his way into the magister's quarters and begins to thoroughly search through the now dead man's belongings. Thoroughly and carefully as one never knows what traps a deceased mage's things may have.
"Care to lend a hand, Daidalos? You are our resident expert in all things arcane after all," the pale elf addresses celestial-blooded wizard with a smile.
Daidalos nods, and scans the entire floor for anything magical.
Intermediate Goal: Sufficiently weaken the tower's defenses (manpower, resources, and fortifications like the gatehouses) to help the bugbears' assault.
End Goal: Launch a rocket (provided to you) into the air to signal it is time for Fireaxe to attack the Watch Tower.
In the magister's quarters, you find a strongbox under his bed (locked), a tincture of concentrated wolfsbane and a magical cauldron.
On the magister's body, in addition to the wand, you find, a scroll, a potion, some diamond dust, a dagger (not magical) and a cloak (magical).
On Havelyn's body, you find, magical full plate, mwk heavy steel shield (not magical), magical longsword; magical headband; mwk dagger (not magical).
Further, as one of you goes to inspect Havelyn's body, as your fingers touch his armor, you see it begin to transform before your eyes. It is no longer a shining suit of plate armor. Instead, it becomes black and baroque, adorning with the infernal iconography of Lord Asmodeus. You are all possessed of the knowledge it has become a suit of +1 dastard full plate.
Daidalos' enchanted eyes dance over the found magic items, trying to analyze their properties. "We have a few minutes, let's claim what we can before moving on."
Once everything is identified, he goes upstairs (though not without backup on the off chance anybody is still up there) and likewise looks for valuables and magic.
Timo smiles as the suit of armor magically transforms. "Simply beautiful," he thinks to himself. He then glances at the door. "Maybe later." Timo then rises while the others search the area and calls out to the rest of the party, "Take your time. I'll take care of whatever comes through that door." Timo then makes his way back down the hall, making sure to stand over the body of the fallen guard. He holds his blade ready, waiting for anything to come through the door.
You do indeed find keys on the mage (that fit his doors and lockbox) and on Havelyn you find a master set to the entire watchtower.
1. Cauldron of Brewing
2. Scroll of Dispel Magic
3. Potion of CLW
4. Cloak: Unknown
5. +1 Longsword
6. Headband of Alluring Charisma +2
On the upper landing is a large hallway. Two ornate double doors allow access to the west. A smaller door to the south leads to another room. A trapdoor and ladder likely lead to the roof. The hallway itself is rather plain and lit only by four torches mounted on sconces.
The guest room (45) is well furnished but empty of anything of value or note.
The double-doors lead to the Lord's Council Chambers (46). This large chamber is austere and conservatively appointed. There is little more here than a heavy wooden table and a few chairs. Lord Havelyn’s personal banner hangs on the western wall – a Mitran sun crossed by sword and key. Pushed into one corner of the room is a large stout chest of oak banded with iron.
South of the meeting room is the Lord's Private Chamber (47). This plainly furnished room is the residence of the commander of the watchtower. It seems to be as much a shrine as a bedchamber. There is an oil portrait of one of the most beautiful women any of you have ever seen, surrounded by carefully tended candles. Nearby is a holy text of Mitra, well-worn and cared for with the Havelyn family crest on the spine.
Daidalos opens the lockbox and looks through the entire upper floor for magic.
The lockbox in the magister's quarters opens. Inside is a pouch containing 120 gold pieces and a book. The book is titled (in Common) "The Heart of All Flame" and is bound in the crimson, scaled leather of some indeterminate reptilian beast. The tome is locked with a folding latch on the side. It seems one of the keys from the magister's body will open it.
4th – fire shield, ice storm, stoneskin, wall of fire
3rd – dispel magic, flaming arrow, fireball, fly
2nd – bull’s strength, burning gaze, flaming sphere, protection from
arrows, pyrotechnics, scorching ray, web
1st – burning hands, dancing lantern, expeditious retreat, mage
armor, magic missile, sleep
0th – standard plus spark
Morthos brings forth negative energy of his own and uses it upon himself.
Seeing how that barely manage to cover up a scratch or two, he tries again...
And with that, he finds himself at least a bit better off than he was.
From the other side of the door, Timo hears shouted commands and calls for help.
"Get the captain!"
"But the commander ordered him imprisoned!"
"And the tower is under attack, get him out! And get the men up here."
"Barricade the door until we have reinforcements!"
You hear the sound of furniture being moved and slowly piled up on the other side of the hallway door. The furniture has to be found on other levels and brought up, so it's slow going.
Affyria will heal Raven, as well as herself, before heading up to the commander's quarter to have a look around for herself.
Nothing radiates as magical on the second floor. In terms of items of note or curiosity, there is the locked chest and the "shrine" about the portrait.
Daidalos, after the satisfaction of finding the spellbook, moves upstairs opens the chest with his keys, looking over it first to ensure it's not trapped.
It is definitely NOT trapped. Unless it is. Daidalos got some dust in his eye. Ow.