After all the pounding the queen bug dies in a ichor splattering mess. You hear a shrieking ripple tear through the swarms above.
You proceed into the room beyond the queen.
A long, rippling crevice of nauseating mauve energy splits the southern wall of this otherwise empty cave, a tear in reality through which roiling clouds of mist churn and twist. The edges of the rift pulse and writhe, widen and contract, almost as if it were an organic thing. The temperature is noticeably hotter here than elsewhere in the caves, and the air carries on it the foul stench of burning flesh.
As you watch a few more of the small vescavors fly in through the rift.
"I thought that thing out there was the mother, but this looks like a giant demonic bug birthing canal."
You are fully convinced it really is a giant demonic bug birthing canal.
I knew it.
"Ecck!" Xandarian considers. "Well, she'll never see us coming. And if we survive, we tell nobody."
Kevin looks closely at the rift for a few moments.
Uelarik will assist Kevin in studying the rift. "What is it?"
Tanrov waits to see what they come up with offering a few words of assitance
Everyone but Kevin is befuddled by the strange looking thing.
Kevin figures out is in an abyssal rift. You figure it could let in things from the Abyss.
Kevin shakes his head and says "This isn't good. It's an Abyssal rift and can let things in from the Abyss. How do we shut it down?"
Uelarik shrugs his shoulders. "It is likely beyond our means to close the rift. We've completed what we came here - we should return to the army."
"Maybe", Xandarian posed, "if we had a way to collapse the hive. That might prevent demons coming through for a while."
If you could collapse the cavern, that would work. However, unless you have some other ideas how to get this sealed off, you might as well get back to the army.
Molitor tosses a rock at the rift.
Which bounces off the wall.
He shrugs at the others "That's why I mostly just hit things..."
"I have no way to collapse the cavern, Uelarik if you have nothing lets get back to the army before something we can't handle comes through the rift."
Tanrov looks at Uelarik but seems ready.. eager even to leave.
He looks himself over and notices his injuries and casts cure moderate wounds on himself
As I can't see you have any non-suicidal methods of collapsing the cavern, you head back to the army and continue on your mission.
You advance on to the outskirts of Drezen. You army pushes up against a force. It consists of two armies, one of tieflings and one of cultists. Neither is a match for your Paladin legion, so you crush both.
Scouting out a bit you realize that to be able to actually lay siege to the city, another enemy army of demons on a flanking hill has to be eliminated. You sic your Paladin legion on that and crush it as well.
Lastly you encounter an army of ghouls in the cemetery, and again, your paladins are able to smash them.
After studying the situation you realize that's there must be a corrupting source which is making so many ghouls spawn here. Some observation shows you that there's a vault at one end of the graveyard which radiates most of the corruption. If you don't eliminate that, you're sure the ghouls will come back.
Molitor boosts his AC with a mythic barkskin before we do any grave digging.
Urgeon frowns at the thought of entering the graveyard vault. "My friends, I suggest that we rest before we try to find and destroy the corrupting source. I am still depleted after our encounter with the hive."
"Yes rest and then we shall find the source of these abominations and put them down for good, in Pharasma's name." declares Tanrov
"With a smidgeon of help from Cayden Caliean, of course", grinned the cleric.
I should have been clear. It's been a couple days since the hive.
This is a pause for long term buffs or plans before you go in.
Uelarik will update his spells as follows:
. . 3rd—fireball (DC 22), haste, haste, summon monster III
. . 2nd—create pit[APG] (DC 17), create pit[APG] (DC 17), flaming sphere (DC 21), flaming sphere (DC 21), web (DC 17)
. . 1st—grease, mage armor, magic missile, protection from evil, silent image (DC 16), magic missile
When the others are ready, he casts mage armor on himself and follows them down.
Tanrov will cast divine favour on himself and go down as well
Xandarian casts light on a torch and follow his comrades down.
Molitor checks the door to the vault for traps.
(+2 for traps)
You can't imagine anyone would trap a burial vault.
"Looks clean....."
Map is up.
Xandarian turns to the paladin before he opens the door.
"Kevin, can your evil-detecting senses give us a direction to the undead inside at this range?"
Kevin says "More than likely the walls will block any emanations but I will take a few moments and see what I can see." Kevin then takes a few moments and then tries to detect evil.
You're in the World Wound. Detecting an absence of evil would be pretty amazing.
"Open ze door please so we may stop this curse." Tanrov says gesturing with his earthbreaker.
Xandarian sighs, "Cayden, I hate this place." The cleric open the crypt door for the inquisitor.
The door is locked.
Tanrov steps forward.. "Move please!" he says firmly and then swings at the door with all he has
This does a significant amount of damage to the doors as it strikes with an echoing loud BOOM. However they do hold. Maybe another swing will take them.
"Since we are knocking loud...."
Molior hits the door with his +1 adamantine morningstar.
(pwr attack, mutagen, adamantine)
The door is locked.
But of course it is, thinks Xandarian, sticking his fingers in his ears as his companions rail against the crypt door.
The adamantine morningstar shatters the remains of the door, leaving an open doorway into the vault. The ground before you is littered with bones. There's no apparent threats.
Molitor tosses back an enlarge person extract and draws his greataxe.
Kevin moves in through the opening made by the others and checks the far doors to see if they are locked.
They are not.
Tanrov follows Kevin through ready to assist if needed..
Uelarik casts a light spell on his crossbow and follows the others in. He detects magic on the room.
When the others are ready Kevin opens the doors.
Xandarian nods to the paladin, choosing not to draw a weapon, but hold his holy symbol in his hand.
You open the door to reveal three figures standing there tapping their feet as if waiting for you.
1:This hunched, bat-winged horror moves with an uncanny grace, its glowing eyes and long tongue presenting a frightening visage.
2,3,4: This humanoid creature has long, sharp teeth, and its pallid flesh is stretched tightly over its starved frame.
knowledge religion to identify