When Dacknar kicks in the door, Rakdon quickly draws and fires an arrow at the same guard the barbarian half-orc strikes. The shaft flies true as pierces the guard in a weak spot of his armor just below his collarbone. The duergar staggers back one, hand clasping its throat and likely making gurgling and other sounds of shocked surprise. But fortunately Unmei's spell keeps anyone from having to hear such disconcerting death noises.
Moving around the guard so anyone else can get in. Dacknar brings his sword down on the guard once again.
Unmei's dagger slings past Dacknar's ear and strikes the duergar in the throat, ending his life. With the first guard out of the fight, Dacknar steps up and lashes out with his sword at the second. But this foe has had a chance to ready himself and manages to parry the blow with his war pick.
The guard recovers, pivots off his back foot and slips past Dacknar's sword to land a solid blow along the half-orc's ribs. Using the momentum of his attack he shifts a step to the side to keep the lurking Bhoors within his vision. Unfortunately this shift puts him right in line with Rakdon's bow and the half-elf sinks a feathered shaft into the duergar's arm.
As Dacknar steps further into the room he can see to his left just beyond the partially ruined and collapsed wall another duergar, and dwarf and bulbous floating head with four undulating eye stalks. Fortunately all of their attention seems to be focused on the mechanical beholder that sits partially assembled on the big workbench that fills much of the adjoining area. Of course any one of them could turn around at any moment....
Bhoors redoubles his efforts and attacks the goons.
As the dagger sails past his ear, Dacknar glances back at Unmei and raises an eyebrow and points to the ruined and collapsed wall. Then brings his sword down on the guard.
Bhoors lands a hit on the second guard as the duergar tries to duck back toward his allies, not really understanding why his shouts can't be heard. The first guard already bleeding and staggered falls dead when Unmei's second knife lands right in the soft spot at the base of his neck.
With the first guard out of the action, Dacknar is forced to readjust his swing onto the second. Unfortunately his footing isn't quite right and the barbarians heavy sword misses the mark.
Another of Rakdon's arrows finds a weak spot in the gang member's armor which causes the guard to silently howl with rage and then he suddenly blinks out of sight.
Moments later the bulbous floating eye with its four eye stalks turns in your direction from beyond the broken wall and notices the struggle.
"Alarm! Alarm!" It shouts. "Invaders are among us!" This startles the other two, causing one to drop a tool and the other to turn wide eyed toward the door where you stand.
Bhoors looks at the floating eye monster. "Poor thing has four jimmies and no hands."
Dacknar catches the faint smell of blood and the sound of armor scraping.
"You can't hide from me."
And swings his sword at the area he thinks the guard at.
Unmei slips through the entrance, grabbing her dagger from the first fallen duergar while her duplicate and the fierce half-orc with a really big sword draw the attention of the guards.
Dacknar manages to sniff out the second guard and is rewarded with the gratifying feel of his sword sinking deep into the invisible duergar's flesh. Moments later the foe is visible again as it drops to the floor dead.
Bhoors tries to mock the eerie looking gazer, but it is unaffected by the bard insults and instead it lashes out with a frost ray that blasts from one of the undulating eye stocks.
The third guard draws its own war mattock and charges into the room swiping at Dacknar. The foe manages a hit on the barbarian, drawing blood from a long gash along his left leg. Rakdon fires at the charging guard but the arrow flies wide and shatters against the far wall.
The scraggle-bearded dwarf who was actually working on the mechanical device, ducks around the workbench and toward the door opposite the secret entrance uninterested in joining the brawl between you and the other guards.
Shoot at the one engaged with Dacknar
Bhoors moves in on the floating eye thing.
Dacknar getting slashed on the leg. And the pain from the cut along his ribbs became too much for Dacknar to maintain control. Opening his mouth letting out a silenced roar, Dacknar fulfills the reason why people fear the raging Barbarian that goes into a Frenzy. With his anger fueled strength Dacknar swings his sword at this latest threat.
Rakdon and Unmei both strike quickly at the last duergar guard. It is Dacknar who ends the creatures existence in this world. With a silent growl, the big barbarian runs his sword through the guards midsection, then with speed unexpected from such a big warrior, slides the blade free, spins and simply severs the duergar's head from its shoulders.
Moments later Bhoors slides beneath the gazers freezing blast and then closes in for his own attack. His first strike misses badly but his second skewers the floating eye and yellow-green gore rushes out along the bard's blade as the creature lets loose with an ear-piercing scream. Badly wounded, but not dead, the creature tries again to freeze Bhoors with its frosty ray.
The dwarf disappears through the door to the south, his shouts of intruders echoing through the complex. Soon enough there are additional barks and shouts as three kobolds followed by another duergar come bursting into the room. To the east a pair of goblins carrying short bows enter on the other side of the workbench.
Rakdon's arrow slams into the shoulder of the first goblin eliciting a loud angry squeak from the little creature. Unmei targets the gazer with her dagger and sends the steel blade whirling into the things ugly eye. Moments later it falls to the floor dead.
Dacknar in his blood lust, makes his way to the last Duergar and starts swinging.
Bhoors redoubles his attack.
Forced in front of the leader, the three kobolds fall like wheat during the harvest to Dacknar and Bhoors. But they do their job and the absorb the first blows of the party leaving the leader free to focus his efforts on the raging barbarian. He growls and suddenly doubles in size as he swings his war pick at Dacknar landing a blow that solidly strikes the half-orc in the chest. Fortunately the barbarians raging state allows him to shrug off some of the damage, but still the enhanced strike grabs Dacknar's attention.
From the other side of the room the two goblins thinking a spell is imminent, snipe at Unmei's duplicate. Both attacks miss the mark, the arrows clattering against the opposite stone wall.
Looking at his wound in his chest. Dacknar looks up to the over sized Duergar and smiles.
"The bigger they are the easier they are to hit."
And to prove his point Dacknar first swings his sword at the enlarged Duergar and with his back swing Dacknar tries to chop the legs out from under the Duergar.
Rakdon skewers the wounded goblin who falls to the floor dead. The second goblin, seeing first seeing the kobolds cut down like wheat and then his companion quickly fall decides it isn't worth it to stick around and flees out the door he came through.
Unmei's dagger sticks in the Duergar's armor, but doesn't get through to cause any harm. On the other hand, Dacknar's sword finds the weak spot and the barbarian opens up a huge gash along the enlarged leader's side. He follows this up with a back stroke that further rips into the duergar, snapping armor links and rending flesh.
But the tough duergar is still on his feet despite the pummeling. But reeling from the fierce attacks, his aim is off and he heavy blow goes whistling past Dacknar.
With delight in his blood lust Dacknar continues to strike against the over sized Duergar. Dacknar being a whirlwind with his sword slashing this way and that, with glee in his cold black eyes.
Unmei's second dagger bounces harmlessly off of the duergar's tough armor, but it manages to distract the gang leader just enough to create an opening for Dacknar. The barbarians blade severs the duergar's right hand and then pierces his heart with the follow up blow. The oversized enemy falls to the floor dead. The room fills with quiet and the scent of blood from the many dead scattered around the underground hideout.
As Dacknar's blade plunges his blade in the chest of the duergar and watches the duergar drop, sliding off his blade.
Dacknar still in his blood lust spins looking for the next one to kill, anyone to kill. But seeing Unmei's smiling face and her pat on his back, the blood lust washes away and the exertion takes it's effect upon Dacknar. Lowering his bloodied blade point to the ground he leans heavy on the hilt. Exhausted he lets out a deep sigh.
"Well that was fun, but now I am ready for a nap." he says as blood seeps from his many wounds.
"We should check pockets and toss bodies in the filth to at least kinda scrub the scene."
Your search of the bodies reveals little of value among the gangland lackeys. In additional to poorly maintained weapons and armor, they carry a total of 25 silver shards and 60 copper nibs among them all. The leader carries a few more coins, five dragons and 16 silver shards. More importantly he carries in a small pouch attached to his belt a gray ovoid stone with streaks of black. The stone matches the description given to by Laeral as the Stone of Golorr.
There appears to be little else of value in the large room except perhaps the odd looking mechanical beholder sitting on the workbench.
After several minutes dragging the bodies to the door and dumping them in the flowing sewer, they slowly drift down into the main channel, disappearing who know where within the system.
Exits exist to the south, where the dwarven mechanic ran off or to both the east and west.
Still breathing a little hard "We should chase down that one that got away before he brings back friends.
Looking at the metal monstrosity he pokes at it with his sword.
"How much do you think that the Temple of Gord would pay us for this thing?"
Unmei spends a little time tinkering with the clockwork construct on the workbench. At one point, she flips a set of switches and the thing bursts to mechanical life. The eyestalks wave back and forth while shooting various dazzling colors of light as it ticks and whirls. After about a minute the life-sized device starts to slow down and then with an odd TWANG! sound grinds to a stop.
"Oh, the toy is broken now. I guess we should take less for it."
"Well I think we were looking for the missing lamplighter."
Looking into the room where the dwarf ran into, you see little here but an empty stone cellar. An iron door is set into the east wall. A dilapidated stone stairway runs up the south wall to where a wooden door sits open to the outside.
"What we can do is that I can plunge that sword over there into this metal do icky. And then we could place a symbol or mark of those wizards that wear the red robes from Thay. Any of you know how to make the symbol? "
"Lady said the lamplighter is likely not coming home. I think this rock is the prize. Let's get clear and out of the crap."
"Na, just thinking we could blame this attack on someone else. Would be funny to have this gang sweat some if they thought that the red wizzs were after them. Do you have a better group in mind Unmei?"