ESSEL THEANA!
ASHOK RAVAN!
ROWENA MCANNIS!
MYDRAVOS "THE HARBINGER"!
SVEN THE SHIELD BEARER!
EALSEALF GREENLEAVES!
GREENSCALE KOBOLDS!
ROUND 1! FIGHT! OOH OOH AH AH AH!!
Essel calls upon her blood, invoking the pact she made that flows through her very veins, to protect herself.
Ashok readies his sling with a lead bullet for ranged attacks as soon as the green kobolds come within a hundred feet...
Ro readies her sling for ranged attacks on the first kobolds to come within 100 feet...
Mydravos walks forward slightly and calls out to the little lizards I don’t believe we should fight my little friends, fighting us will only lead to your demise, as we are blessed by the gods themselves. Surely you wish to live another day!
Mydravos walks forward slightly and calls out to the little lizards I don’t believe we should fight my little friends, fighting us will only lead to your demise, as we are blessed by the gods themselves. Surely you wish to live another day!
[dice=diplomacy] 1d20+8
Without any sign of imminent aggression, Sven merely prepared his shield for combat should it break out. He hoped that they would listen to the tiefling.
The kobolds advance cautiously, shaking their little spears at the adventurers...
”Oi! Nay need to fight. Wave those spears somewhere else.”
As the kobolds draw nearer, perspective reveals the adventurers true size in comparison, and like pygmies that realize distance has tricked them into charging giants, they begin to slow their trot until they stop about sixty feet away, and oggle the party with some trembling and trepidation...
Gleep zoom glack!! Zip zip ZOOOOM!!!
”Anyone know what the buggers are saying?” Sven asked, glad to see that the reptilian advance had halted.
Mydracos backs up next to Sven I have no clue but they seem afraid of ya atleast, maybe fear will keep them away.
Mydravos pulls out his mace and hefts it yelling at the top of his lungs Fear us you little insects, we will break your bones and bleed you dry!
Essel smirks, "I guess they think we're bigger than expected." she summons magic to her fingertips, creating a few arcane signs in the air around her hand, but doesn't commit to any spell yet.
Chuckling, Ashok moves a few feet forward, grin replaced by stern countenance. He closes his eyes a moment, looking at the kobolds with his third eye chakra, seeing the red glow of base selfishness that radiates from their auras...not strong enough to blaze the infrared of true evil yet...
To his allies, he whispers: I shall play along, my friends...
To the kobolds, in a loud and commanding voice: COME FORWARD, LOWLY LIZARDS OF TIAMAT! THROW DOWN TRIBUTE BEFORE THE MIGHTY HERALDS OF APOCALYPSE, LEST WE CHOP OFF YOUR HEADS AND USE YOUR SKULLS AS DRINKING VESSELS!!
Grinning back at the others, eyebrows raised, the Hindi paladin whispers: Was that good?
Not very scary, pretty boy... Rowena teases Ashok, shaking her head and leaning on her earth breaker.
Apparently, the kobolds DO think it scary, for they visible quake in their scaly armor, growling and yammering hysterically at one another...
Blix noogs!? Blix noogs!?
Essel calls out in Draconic, "Wux tiliw filki jaseve, wux vucot."
Essel calls out in Draconic, "Wux tiliw filki jaseve, wux vucot."
** spoiler omitted **
The six Greenscale kobolds decide to make a "tactical withdraw"...
”Well done. The wee ones flee. Let’s press on before they find their spines. Or something larger than us to bring with them.”
"Agreed." Essel notes, keeping an eye on the kobolds as they pass.
Mydravos nods, looking to ashok with a grin, you know skulls really do make fine things to drink out of, you should try it just once.
”Really? Seems like there’d be many holes to fill. Wouldn’t they leak?”
the key is using it backwards and using the eye sockets for handles, though they skull must be partially cut to accommodate this. Mydravos starts to draw an illustration in the dirt with his tail.
Essel coughs sharply, trying to keep them on track.
Mydravos’ head picked up Yes, Yes, this is wasting time we can talk alternative uses of bones later, we have more pressing matters to attend to.
Frightened by the size of the Champions of the Gods, the Greenscale kobolds give the party a wide berth in the Courtyard, shaking spears again only once the distance made the explorers look tiny again...
The adventurers continue toward the Ziggurat, passing a burnt farm. The barn is still burning, sending gray plumes of smoke up into the sky. Charred skeletons and roasting livestock can be smelt from as far as 30 paces...
Passing the farm Mydravos looks on making a mental note, I don’t think the little kobolds did this.
But other than this he is content to continue walking along.
Night has fallen by the time the champions reach the Ziggurat. It looms ahead, blocking the stars as a great silhouette. A spectral, bluish flame that gives little light nor heat leaps and dances atop the ghoulish edifice, and the closer one gets to the place, the more often bones and skulls of men and beasts can be seen here and there, and greater grows a stench of death...
”Blood n’ death n’ flames. Something tells me to conquer this place, that is where we must go.”
As soon as the party comes to within about 300 feet of the southern side of the Ziggurat, the pale blue glow of the flickering ghost-fire is bright enough to show that there is a dark square opening in the side of the topmost of five tiers.
The great Ziggurat towers to a height of 100 feet at the topmost (fifth) tier. The base tier is about 240 feet square; the second tier about 200 feet square; the third is 160 feet square, the fourth is 120 feet square; and the uppermost tier is 80 feet square. Each tier rises 20 feet. The black doorway in the south side of the top tier is about 10 feet square.
A broad (10-foot-wide) stairway ascends the south side of the Ziggurat to the dark entrance, flanked along its ascent by two rows of spears with humanoid skulls impaled on the upright spearheads.
As you draw nearer, the speaking and scuttling of rats and other vermin can be heard...
"Ugh. I hate rats" Essel comments, "Do we want to start now, or wait until morning?" she asks.
Mydravos is going to look at the structure and after staring, turns to his comrades. “something like this may cause us problems throughout the night, whether we go tonight or not. I say now, so as to not have to worry about sleeping next to this monstrosity. “ (he smiles a toothy grin at monstrosity)
”Aye. And so the wee kobolds don’t regain their courage while we sleep.”
If there is no other argument for continuing on Mydravos will draw his mace and start to climb the steps up the structure.
Ashok follows Mydravos...
Rowena follows Mydravos and Ashok...
Ascending the stairs, Mydravos comes to the dark square doorway into the top tier. Just within is a 10-ft-square landing at the top of a 10-ft-wide stairway descending into the dark interior of the Ziggurat...
Mydravos will start to walk in leading the way, his mace out in his hand.
A stairway, 10-ft-wide and 10-ft-high, descends into the interior of the Ziggurat. The walls and ceiling are of tightly fitted mortar of sandstone. The stairs are hewn from the gray stone that makes up the bulk of the Ziggurat.
Torches in sconces gutter fitfully, staggered at 20-ft intervals to light the stairway. It descends some 30 ft down to a 10-ft-square landing, where another flight of stairs descends around the corner to the left.
Standing like a sentinel with its back to the far wall of the landing is a small suit of plate armor with a helm shaped like a wolf's head, holding a small halberd in its gauntlets...