When Calendula strikes the wall, a block of stone grinds up from the floor, blocking the hallway from which you entered. The eerie sound of raspy howls and claws on stone echo down from the northern corridor.
The sounds grow louder as four howling sinspawn emerge from the northern tunnel, brandishing ranseurs!
"Yes, like that," Nime says with a smile as Calendula follows through. "I think you're supposed to be angry when you do it as well. She is the Runelord of Wrath after all."
"I'm always angry," murmurs Calendula. "Don't suppose you could spare some healin, Blue?"
The oracle frowns. "I'm sorry about that, Calendula. I got distracted and I shouldn't allow that to happen." She steps close and places her slender hands on the woman's shoulders before closing her eyes and beseeching Shelyn for healing.
She then leans in close and kisses the woman's forehead. "It was thoughtless of me to leave you in such a state. I'm sorry," she whispers.
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As the sinspawn emerge, Rudrik moves into position to block them and swing his massive, overcompensating for perceived inadequacy phallic representation sword. While he advances he spins the blade improbably, making a full circle while barely keeping contact with his fingers on the hilt, the momentum carrying the huge blade around yet never quite leaving his grip in spite of its heft. Something about it just doesn't seem right, almost like a juggler's trick.
Freshly healed, Calendula charges in, her arm stretching behind her. She comes to a halting stop ten feet from a sinspawn and her arm spins around, following the momentum.
Her sword careens towards the thing's neck!
"I wish they'd wait a moment..." Shenuska mutters as she wills her companions to move a little faster.
"I don't think this would've helped if I was quicker, but certainly can't hurt now," Theo remarked as he gestured towards the sinspawn, focusing on the ground just ahead of Rudrik. Eyes flaring with fire-like golden energy, the ground suddenly became slick with a thick layer of grease, intended to trip up the magically-created monstrosities.
Three of the sinspawn slip and fall on the patch of grease Theodric summons. Shenuskas speeds up the party, then Calendula and Rudrik sprint into melee. The bloodrage slices the head off of the sinspawn still standing, while the half-orc slices the next one in line.
That one stays prone, biting and clawing ineffectually at Rudrik's legs. The other two stand and stab Calendula with their ranseurs.
"I'll slip around behind them," Maga Szuul says. He pulls an extract off of his belt and drinks its contents. The alchemist disappears from sight.
"That's not good," Nime mutters to herself as the alchemist vanishes. She then gives another heartfelt prayer to Shelyn to protect her friends.
Shenuska concentrates, allowing her eyes to slip into a different kind of sight.
Rudrik gives a shrug (as much as one can in adamantine plate armor) and hammers his sword home at the prone sinspawn before him.
(natural 1 misses)
Rudrik finishes off the downed sinspawn with two thrusts of his sword. Shenuska opens her mind's eye, seeing Maga Szuul still near the group.
Calendula stumbles on the greasy floor, but gets a clean hit in, grumbling and complaining the whole time.
As Calendula dispatches a sinspawn with a powerful slash, Theodric moves in to try to finish off the last one. He takes a hit from its ranseur and fails to return the favor. The last sinspawn drops its polearm and attacks Theo with claws and teeth, but the sorcerer's mage armor keeps its attacks at bay.
Shenuska can see Maga Szuul drinking another extract.
Rudrik moves to support Theo, bringing his sword to bear again in a quick slash.
Shenuska waits, confident that her companions have the sinspawn under control and waiting for the alchemist's inevitable betrayal.
Theo had long been able to transform his hands into claws, but he tended not to use them much since he felt the spear was more reliable. Now, though, he could feel the draconic energy burning in his blood stronger than ever.
Almost without thinking, Theo dropped the spear. The skin of his hands quickly turned into golden scales and lengthened slightly before wicked claws grew from each fingertip. Even as the transformation was still underway, he lunged forward to sink the new weapons into the sinspawn.
Rudrik and Theodric finish off the last sinspawn with their attacks.
A second glowing ranseur appears on the south wall, and a new set of eerie sounds echoes from the northern tunnel...
"Oh, isn't that nice of them," Nime says in an off-hand manner as she sees the second symbol appear. "They're keeping score for us."
She moves closer to those in melee, ready to offer healing if needed, and pronounces another blessing upon the group.
The skittering noises presage the arrival of two oversized, eight-legged monstrosities! They stare ravenously from their three beady eyes, their gaping maws dripping with green venom.
"Shriezyx. They hate fire but have a poison and web spinning." Shenuska calls out. "This one is for you Theo!"
She steps over to Calendula and lays a hand briefly on the woman's shoulder.
"We rely on you Calendula - never change from who you are."
"Oh," Nime says with a tip of her head. "They just look like big spiders to me." She reaches out and places a warm hand on Rudrik's shoulder.
"Thanks again, Nime," says Rudrik.
He sheathes his sword and fetches his alchemist's fire from his bag .
"With pleasure," he said back to Shen, his claws fading as he retrieved the metamagic rod.
"Huh?" Calendula replies, caught off guard by Shenuska's kind words. But as Heroism surges in her breast, she rushes forth and throws her sword arm at the closest, hoping to chop off a few legs.
Both of the shriezyx dodge the worst of Theodric's flames, but being burned causes them to shriek and cower in fear! Calendula slices off the forelegs of the most wounded monster, causing to it to fall backwards, spraying blood everywhere.
Shenuska sees Maga Szuul drink yet another extract, and this time he swells in size until he towers over all of you! The alchemist is still invisible...
Rudrik tries to hurl his alchemical fire, fumbles, and winds up dropping the bottle.
Shenuska doesn't react, but readies a spell in her mind, preparing to counter-act Szuul's magic.
Nime doesn't see an immediate way to assist her friends in the fight so she surveys the room a little more. Finally, knowing that self-care is almost as important as caring for others, she uses some of her minor healing upon herself.
Part of her seems to understand that it's a selfish action and the amount of healing she gains reflects that.
Calendula keeps her distance, repeating her strategy and mumbling about how much she hates spiders.
Calendula eviscerates the second shriezyx. As it falls, a third glowing ranseur appears on the southern iron wall and an ominous scraping sound comes from beyond, followed by a loud thump as something hammers against the far side.
"We have three points," Nime says looking from the glowing symbol to the others. "Does that mean we win?"
She moves to the iron wall and reaches out to touch the new symbol. "Is that our prize?"
"I think it's the next tougher enemy on the list," says Rudrik as he draws his sword once more.
"Oh, that's not a prize. I don't think I like this system," Nime says with a frown.
"You ready to help us yet, Szuul?" calls Calendula, bitterly holding onto even a scrap of faith.
Shenuska continues to watch carefully, waiting for the alchemist.
Maga Szuul drinks yet another extract, moving quickly now. Shenuska can see him hesitate though at Calendula's plea, a torn expression on his face.
The iron wall in the south of the chamber suddenly vanishes, revealing a 20-foot-square chamber containing a shrieking monster! This bulbous, green-skinned shriezyx is as large as a horse, its toothy maw smiling beneath three glowing eyes.
Seeing Nime standing in front of it, the shriezyx attacks with teeth and claws!
"Ow ..." Nime utters softly before dissipating into a vaporous mist.
Calendula charges at the thing with preternatural speed, thrusting her sword into its gut! Her arm snaps back with a jolting crack.
"These things keep gettin uglier an uglier."
Shenuska reaches out and claps Rudrik on his armoured shoulder.
"Go get them!" She says with a smile.
Moving up, Theo lashed out with another arc of fire.
The shriezyx shrieks in pain as Theodric's spell scorches its body! Like its lesser brethren, it is vulnerable to fire, though it doesn't seem panicked by the attack.
As Nime flows away, Rudrik rushes in to slice the creature. Calendula runs up as well, delivering a powerful blow just shy of a critical hit!
As the shriezyx rears up to attack, Maga Szuul suddenly becomes visible as he hurls a bomb! It lands right in the shriezyx's open maw, detonating in a huge burst of flame! The monster collapses, its head a smoking ruin!
The booming voice you heard in the other chamber speaks again. "WELL DONE. EMERGE, SOLDIER, AND ACCEPT YOUR REWARD!"
A single Abyssal runestone appears in the middle of the room, floating off the ground. Once claimed, the block of stone in the western tunnel lowers, allowing you to return to the previous chamber.
Maga Szuul grunts and glares down at you, his magic having enlarged him to the size of a troll. "Thought that would have been tougher."
"Now we can go through the portal." Shenuska says with satisfaction, having claimed the second Abyssal Runestone.
Returning to said portal she examines it carefully with mundane and magical senses and only steps through when/if she determines that it is not trapped.
As the group returns to the magical portal they're followed by Nime-that-is-mist.
After a few minutes of Sheuska examining the gateway, the mist coalesces back into the lanky shape of the blue-skinned woman. "That was an interesting sensation," she says with a tipped head. "I don't mean the 'rawr, rawr'," The oracle makes a clawing motion with her hands. "But the 'floating about like air' one. It was like being everywhere and nowhere at the same time. I felt ... safe - like being wrapped in a warm blanket where no one could hurt me."
She thinks to herself for a moment before continuing. "I probably shouldn't do that very often. It's almost too appealing."
Noting that the alchemist is still with them. "I'm glad you haven't chosen to betray us yet, Mr. Szuul. Perhaps we're on a different fated path this time."
Szuul shrugs at Nime. "Maybe the time just hasn't been right yet," he grumbles. "We're still better off working together for now."
Shenuska doesn't find any traps on the portal. As you step through, a rasping whisper echoes in your minds. "Seek me... free me... become my wrathful champions..."
You find yourselves transported to a dimly lit chamber. Drifts of dust and small heaps of rubble clutter this room. A long hallway extends off to the west, while to the east a second hallway ends at a circular pillar that blocks entrance to a large room beyond save for narrow gaps to either side. A blue marble statue of a thin man with a cruel face and long hair fringing a bald pate, his arms outstretched, stands in the middle of the room, still upright despite one-inch-wide gaps that separate the statue into six components—a head, two arms, two legs, and a torso. A plaque at the statue’s base bears a single word: "Thybidos."
Those of you carrying an Abyssal runestone feel as strange presence in your minds and hear the raspy whisper again. "Speak my name and enter..."
"This seems almost too easy." Shenuska says. "Was this Alaznist or Thybidos?"
When Shenuska says "Thybidos" aloud, the stone pillar rumbles as it retracts into the ground, granting access to the next chamber.
The marble floor of this grand chamber is set with a striking design in jade and golden glass. The ceiling rises to a height of sixty feet above the pillar-lined central portion of the room, while a twenty-foot-high raised balcony surrounds this on three sides. A broad set of steps ascends to this overlooking balcony at the east end of the hall.
The steps arrive at a domed fane with the rune of wrath emblazoned on the marble floor. Twelve ivory statues of the same fierce woman wielding a ranseur line the curving walls, flanking a pool of water and a single, thirteenth statue made of gray stone. This thirteenth statue is of a man cowering on his knees, at half the scale of the women. Fresco scenes of unspeakable violence decorate the walls and ceiling, illustrating this place’s dedication to the concept of wrath. Further west, six slabs of stone seem to be set into indentations in the walls, while a wider alcove opens in the center of the vast room’s northern wall.
A ten-foot-wide obelisk of blue-gray stone stands in this alcove, its face carved with the image of a six-headed and six-times-decapitated serpent. A short Thassilonian inscription has been carved below the image, the runes glowing softly with pale blue light that flickers and pulsates.
"Within these walls lies a failed patron, betrayed by a student, now just a broken beast, faithful only to his own failures, beloved by none who survived his fall."
"Someone doesn't have an ego problem," Nime says with a raised eyebrow as she takes in the ivory statues. Her eyes go wide and one hand moves to her mouth. "Did I just say something catty?" Her expression turns dour. "I really don't like the effect this place is having on me."
She looks over the statues again before moving to the large blue obelisk. Her fingers trace over the inscription focusing on the last phrase.
"No one should suffer a fate such as this," she says sadly. "Everyone deserves love."