""Ruuuunt. We can stay here and read as long as you want once we're done with the snake woman."
"All, right, all right. Later then. Shall we check out the room across from thw library? And there is the door in the corner of this room. Probably a closet."
With his longsword in one hand, Forest moves to the accused closet. While Vale can tell them where they need to go and he wants to get a move on, Forest suspects the flying lady who escaped from the farm is hiding around here somewhere, so they have to be thorough.
Vale confirms the door in question is not a closet but is in fact a stairwell leading up to one of the towers. It still needs to be checked but this way everyone can be prepared. You open the door and find the stairwell as told. It is a narrow stair able to accommodate the group in single file.
Do you go up? How many? What order?
Runt shakes her head and turns away from the stairs.
"I think we need to make sure the others down here are taken care of before we ascend or they may stumble across the mess we made and sound an alarm."
The group stacks in the hallway before the double doors. Runt looks it over and then pushes the doors inward. They open onto a room full of demolished tables, broken crockery, and rubble. There is nothing living or dead in the room.
Group status
Kuthona 21st, Early winter
0810, temperature and weather unknown
Kizzy 46/56(46); -2 levels,
Forest 76/92;
Zherxikas 54/54;
Camil 60/60; false life 15/15
Runt 69/69; false life 13/13, magic vestment, heroism 150mins, heightened awareness 150mins
Isabella 30/62;
Vale 26/62;
"Let's try those double doors. Vale, what's behind them? I assume the little door in the other corner is another stairwell?"
"The door in the back of the dining hall leads to the kitchen. There is a single door that leads to the pantry from there. There are not other entrances to the kitchen or pantry." Vale says before giving a general run down of the rest of the room. "In the west wall there are two other bedrooms like the ones on the east side, they were for guests to the fort. In the northwest corner, the fort melds with the mountainside so the door there is just a closet. We have not checked the two stairwells to the other towers which are in the south-east and south-west corners. And of course the big double doors to the south lead outside to the courtyard." He pauses for a moment to see if there are any questions. "Upstairs is were Commander Lamatar kept residence, there is a small temple to Erastil, a meeting room for group discussions and plans, and the map room. Of course, the big issue is how many ogres are we dealing with in any of these rooms we have not looked at.
"Oh, right, the courtyard. Well, best not to head there just now. We should clear the kitchen/pantry and the bedrooms, then head up. Unless someone wants to check the closet first too?"
I would suggest the first thing we do is heal up Forest, Vale, and Isabella. We need all of them healthy if we encounter more ogres or something worse, like sneklady things. So hold on... Kizzy starts tapping Forest with the CLW wand...
Then Isabella, ignoring the likely protestations.
She turns to Vale;
...now, I beleive Forest has some more ogres to kill. But lets clear out the pantry and extra bedrooms down here then head upstairs.
roup status
Kuthona 21st, Early winter
0810, temperature and weather unknown
Kizzy 46/56(46); -2 levels,
Forest 92/92;
Zherxikas 54/54;
Runt 69/69; false life 13/13, magic vestment, heroism 150mins, heightened awareness 150mins
Isabella 57/62;
Vale 57/62;
It took only 3 charges to get Forest up to full health.
With that, Runt heads for the kitchen, listens at the door, and pops it open.
Kizzy follows behind Runt and the warriors, ready to unleash a battle cry and inspire courage, just in case.
The two ladies followed by the others check out the kitchen and the pantry. Luckily it had not be despoiled though it was destroyed. All the furniture and half the cabinets were busted and the various mugs that had been hanging on pegs had been shattered all across the floor. In the pantry, the only thing not touched was a single barrel of pickled fish.
It is a little known fact that ogres cannot stand the smell nor the taste of pickled fish.
Group status
Kuthona 21st, Early winter
0830, temperature and weather unknown
Kizzy 46/56(46); -2 levels,
Forest 92/92;
Zherxikas 54/54;
Runt 69/69; false life 13/13, magic vestment, heroism 130mins, heightened awareness 130mins
Isabella 62/62;
Vale 60/62;
, +6 if monster related
Nope!
Runt fires up a detect magic and gives the room a scan.
The one thing I can agree with ogres on... pickled fish... yuck! Kizzy grabs her nose and makes a face.
"Good hiding place then."
Having said this, however, Runt is in no hurry to sift trough a bunch of smelly fish and continues her scan for magic.
No magic is found in the kitchen or the pantry leaving the only magical items to be those few wielded by the two larger ogres.
We start opening doors to the west, one at a time, searching each room, until we find something. If nothing is found we head up the main stairs.
The team searched the remaining rooms on the ground floor and found nothing but busted furniture. Finding nothing they gathered at the foot of the main stairs and prepared to go up (if you have prep spells, fling them now). At the top of the stairs it opens onto a wide hallway where two could easily walk abreast. With Forest and Vale in the lead, Vale pointed to the first set of double doors and said just loud enough for the group to hear, "That's the chapel to Erastil. The next set of double doors down the hall is the meeting hall we called the tribunal. That door at the end of the hall is the door to Commander Lamatar's quarters." You hear laughing from the eastern doors further down the hall. Everything else is silent.
Runt drops off her dog on the lower level in their base room and uses her Figurine of Onyx Dog to summon a more useful mount. One that won't run from a fight!
On the new floor she moves up to the corner to get a look before opening any doors.
Runt looking around the corner sees one remaining door in a stonewall, not the interior wooden walls. As Vale confirms as he steps up to the chapel doors, it leads out onto the upper battlements.
Group status
Kuthona 21st, Early winter
0840, temperature and weather unknown
Kizzy 46/56(46); -2 levels,
Forest 92/92;
Zherxikas 54/54;
Runt 69/69; false life 13/13, magic vestment, heroism 120mins, heightened awareness 120mins
Isabella 62/62;
Vale 60/62;
"Where would a commander take up residence, Vale? Where is your war room, or the closest thing?"
Kizzy moves forward so the front line will be in her area, should she need to inspire. For a moment, a very brief moment, she wished she had learned to be sneaky, but that just wasn't her.
"The best quarters were Commander Lamatar's, straight ahead. The war room is probably the tribunal, the meeting room there, we called it the tribunal." He points to the double doors to the east. Commander Lamatar's is the door to the south.
"Shall we invade the Commander's quarters?"
"Commanders"
Orges are big... If I were playing an ogre, I would make my grand entrance to slay the heroes through either of these double doors - Just saying...
The team stacks before the old commander's door readying to see if the ogre chieftain has occupied the room. Two voices can be heard discussing something behind the commander's door. Also, this close to the thick doors, Isabella can hear laughing and talking behind the double doors to the tribunal.
Commander's room:
"When do you want to kill Jaagrath?" comes a soft but deep rumble.
"Wait till all of this is over, my dear. Lord Breakbones would be upset with us if we killed his warchief. There will be time." says not as deep of a rumble, perhaps feminine.
Tribunal:
"That one's almost empty,"
"We'll have to take it down to the pits and roast it up good."
Forest readies himself to kill - hopefully - the ogre leader.
Runt reaches over and opens the door giving the others unobstructed view and access to the room. The room is large its walls decorated with fine longswords, stuffed animal heads, and a map of the Hook Mountain environs. A large oak table surrounded by several chairs has been smashed to splinters, and an immense bed has similarly been ruined. An open cabinet that once contained several bottles of wine has been crushed as well, and broken bottles and the faint scent of wine linger around its ruins. Two ogres stand in the room, a male, with what resembles a bear trap for teeth, to the west and a female straight across from the door.
Are the furniture or any other areas considered difficult terrain? Does the Onyx dog also get an action (i.e. would Runt be able to take a standard action while her mount moved)?
Casts a blinding glittery dust on the two ogres before Forest and Runt charge in...
Zherxikas' spell seems to have full effect on both ogres.
Runt casts divine favor and guides her onyx dog to the other side of snaggle-tooth.
Kizzy will let out her battle cry then begin her song to inspire courage.
Battle Cry = +1 morale bonus on attack rolls and a +4 morale bonus on st vs fear
Inspire courage= +1 competence bonus on attack and weapon damage rolls and +1 morale bonus on saving throws against charm and (not stack, but if Battle cry suppressed- fear effects)
"Rargh! Ogres! Get ready to die!"
Vale moves in so that he flanks the metal toothed ogre with Runt.
Round 1
Kuthona 21st, Early winter
0840, temperature and weather unknown
Group effects: battlecry +1 morale to hit, +4 morale ST v fear; inspire courage +1 comp to hit/dmg
Zherxikas 54/54;<<<
Forest 92/92;<<<
Runt 69/69; false life 13/13, magic vestment, heroism 120mins, heightened awareness 120mins<<<
Isabella 62/62;<<<
Kizzy 46/56(46); -2 levels,<<<
Vale 60/62;<<<
Male ogre
Female ogre
Runt 69/69; false life 13/13, magic vestment, heroism 120mins, heightened awareness 120mins<<<
Add Divine Favor +3 until round 11
runt lines up a swipe and a backswing now that she is in position.
Both of Runts attacks land causing the metal mouthed ogre to roar in pain.
Round 1
Kuthona 21st, Early winter
0840, temperature and weather unknown
Group effects: battlecry +1 morale to hit, +4 morale ST v fear; inspire courage +1 comp to hit/dmg
Zherxikas 54/54;<<<
Forest 92/92;<<<
Runt 69/69; false life 13/13, magic vestment, heroism 120mins, heightened awareness 120mins, divine favor 10 rds
Isabella 62/62;<<<
Kizzy 46/56(46); -2 levels,<<<
Vale 60/62;<<<
Male ogre -32 moderately injured
Female ogre