Ray loads the crossbow and fires again.
In his haste, somehow Ray loaded his crossbow backwards.
Amanteia (29/29 hp)
Argus (35/40 hp, +2 AC [4 minutes])
Graven guardian (?? damage, hasted [2 rounds])
Dellan (29/34 hp, 1 str damage)
Raybin (22/27 hp)
Bold may act.
Amanteia has given up hope of saving her spells.
Argus waves Amanteia back. "I know it's unlikely to hurt it, but I've got this. Use your crossbow. Save your spells for the final fight!"
He swings again at the super-statue.
Amanteia and Argus bring it closer to death, but the guardian finally finds its way past Argus's defenses and opens three gushing wounds in the half-orc .
Much of the statue has been demolished, but it continues to repair itself.
The battle of attrition continues.
Amanteia (29/29 hp)
Argus (8/40 hp, +2 AC [4 minutes])
Graven guardian (?? damage, hasted [1 round])
Dellan (29/34 hp, 1 str damage)
Raybin (22/27 hp)
Bold may act.
Ray grumbles to himself about smelling burnt toast, then loads and fires again.
There are too many bodies between Ray and the guardian; the bolt sails wide.
Amanteia (29/29 hp)
Argus (14/40 hp, +2 AC [4 minutes])
Graven guardian (?? damage, hasted [1 round])
Dellan (34/34 hp, 1 str damage)
Raybin (27/27 hp)
Bold may act.
Seeing the guardian make a pincushion out of Argus makes Amanteia doubt that he does indeed "got this", but she moves into a better position and loads her crossbow anyway.
Argus swings again with the hammer.
"Back up!" Argus calls to Dellan. "We're going to have to surround it. I was hoping to hold it here but its defenses are too high."
As if to punctuate the half-orc's point, the guardian opens two more holes in Argus , then visibly slows down. It is still extremely dangerous, but at least it is no longer impossibly fast.
Amanteia (29/29 hp)
Argus (3/40 hp, +2 AC [4 minutes])
Graven guardian (?? damage)
Dellan (34/34 hp, 1 str damage)
Raybin (27/27 hp)
Bold may act.
Ray grumbles and fires the crossbow once more at the statue before dropping it and pulling out his silver longsword.
Argus's wounds stitch together again, in a process that has repeated itself several times over the past 30 seconds.
Amanteia (29/29 hp)
Argus (19/40 hp, +2 AC [4 minutes])
Graven guardian (?? damage)
Dellan (34/34 hp, 1 str damage)
Raybin (27/27 hp)
Bold may act.
Amanteia fires the crossbow, then reloads it.
Argus swings the hammer again down onto the statue before risking an opening to backpedal a few feet, making room for the others to attack it as well.
Amanteia and Argus send shards flying again. The damage to the guardian continues to repair itself, but it is broken almost beyond recognition at this point. It can't be long now until it is down for good.
It steps forward and stabs twice at Ray, but the first is poorly aimed and the second is easily swatted away.
Amanteia (29/29 hp)
Argus (19/40 hp, +2 AC [4 minutes])
Graven guardian (?? damage)
Dellan (34/34 hp, 1 str damage)
Raybin (27/27 hp)
Bold may act.
Ray lashes out with the silver sword in both hands, knowing it's unlikely to be any more useful than the crossbow had been. Better aim, at least, he thinks as he brings it down on his attacker.
He then takes a step back in hopes of leading it further into the garden for a flank.
Ray's sword misses the guardian completely and totally f~#@s up one of the topiaries that the gardeners clearly spent a lot of time on. You hear a muffled "oh come on!" come from the restrained shabti.
Dellan sends more shards flying off of the guardian. You aren't sure how it is even standing.
Amanteia (29/29 hp)
Argus (19/40 hp, +2 AC [4 minutes])
Graven guardian (?? damage)
Dellan (34/34 hp, 1 str damage)
Raybin (27/27 hp)
Bold may act.
Seeing Ray's plan, Argus puffs out a breath and holds off, hoping the occultist knows what he's doing.
Amanteia knows she got lucky on the crossbow shot, so she reaches her hands between Argus and Dellan and fires a glob of acid at the guardian.
Amanteia's acid burns away more of the statue. Then it steps forward toward Argus and stabs at the half-orc twice. Though it has found much less success since its spell wore off, it does manage to find flesh on one of the strikes .
Amanteia (29/29 hp)
Argus (13/40 hp, +2 AC [4 minutes])
Graven guardian (?? damage)
Dellan (34/34 hp, 1 str damage)
Raybin (27/27 hp)
Bold may act.
Ray grumbles to himself and moves into a flank then swings at the guardian.
Ray takes a dagger to the bicep for his trouble , but he and Dellan combine to finally take the guardian down. It collapses to the ground with a crash.
The guardian's dagger has a faint but fading magical aura on it. It also wore a magical cloak.
If Ray spends some time on each of them, he determines that the dagger was magical, but only when wielded by the guardian; otherwise, it is just a mundane dagger. The cloak, however, is a cloak of elvenkind.
Ray purses his lips at the cloak. "Good for stealth. None of us are very stealthy." He glances at Amanteia. "Honestly I think you're probably best to take this. The rest of us are too clunky with our armor to be quiet in any circumstance."
Argus places a hand on his bleeding stomach and the wounds begin to stitch together.
|
Dellan touches both Argus an Ray, funneling positive energy into them to stitch up their wounds.
Frowning at the remaining scrapes on Argus, he pulls out the wand and taps the paladin once.
And another because they need all the health they can get if Mictena shows up and this wand is a cheap POS apparently.
Feeling significantly better, the paladin nods gratefully at Dellan. "Okay. L-let's get g....going."
Once the cloak situation has been figured out, he moves forward, warhammer in hand.
Amanteia considers the cloak for a moment. "I am not particularly quiet either , and I have no intention of sneaking around. If no one else wants it, I will wear it for now, but perhaps we should just sell it." She takes a look around and a half smile flashes on her face. "If we ever get out of here."
As everyone heals up and prepares to move on, a worried look comes over her face. "I... I have only a couple of spells left. I'm afraid I won't be much help if we continue now. I'm not suggesting we stop and rest, but it is important that you all know."
Argus pauses and considers Amanteia's words, frowning as he glances at the others. "Y...your spells have been inv-v-valuable thus far. I do not think we can stop, however. I s-sus-spect our fears will be founded, and we will have to fight M-mictena to return home. However, if there is a chance we have beaten her to the door, we m-must take it."
Ray grips his blasting rod in one hand and the metamagic rod in the other, weighs his options, then nods and uses its last charge for an extended shield. He then puts the rod away and draws his silver sword again.
"Yeah," he says with a shudder. "I wanna get the hell outta this place. Literally every denizen has either been our BFF or tried to murder us. I'm getting downright exhausted waiting to find out which one every time we come across someone in this craphole."
|
|
Dellan frowns, his own spells less than replete, and his ability to channel energy for the day diminished. "I do not relish the idea of us facing Mictena at less than our best," he says, then sighs and turns to Amanteia. "But I fear Raybin and Sir Argus are correct. I empathize with your depleted magic, believe me. But we must try to avoid the battle with Mictena with haste, if we can. Besides, the shabti we bound will free themselves eventually, and fighting them again would just be another depletion of resources and make it more likely we have to fight Mictena. I must agree with the others; let us press on."
Amanteia nods. "I agree. I will try to save my spells for her. Let's go."
You continue through a narrow opening, which opens up into a large clearing. Several willow trees cluster here, many with nests built in them. A particularly large one dominates the center of the clearing. Fallen leaves and baubles such as bracelets litter the ground. To the northwest, the hedge opens into a larger arbor with more trees. A well-crafted opening in the hedge with a brick walk leads south, while a torn section of hedge leads west.
Ray frowns at the baubles on the ground. "I don't like this," he mutters, scanning the trees for anything dangerous.
|
|
Dellan helps keep an eye out, wondering what purpose the trees serve. They feel... structured. Not necessarily in their layout, but in their... design? He shakes his head. He can't quite put his finger on it, but they do not feel naturally placed.
You are overthinking it. You are in a hedge maze. Nothing here grows in its natural state--it is all cultivated.
He sighs and shakes his head, trying to focus.
Assuming neither Dellan nor Ray spot anything immediately dangerous, Argus slowly begins to lead the way past the willows, skirting along the outside. If he's being perfectly honest, he doesn't like the look of them either--at least not from a tactical standpoint. They feel odd. But damned if they aren't beautiful. He takes a moment to memorize one in particular, the way its long branches droop with its strange, stringy leaves, bent like a man so old he has begun to curl in on himself.
Before moving toward the willows, Ray, Dellan, and Argus each notice a couple of oddities. First, a creature you recognize as a witchcrow is hiding in a tree and looking directly at you. Second, one of these willow trees is no normal tree. It stands about 14 feet tall and almost looks like it is made from bone.
This is a bonewrought willow. Arising from the bones sloughed from mortal bodies by souls moving on to their final planar destinations, bonewrought willows grow in lonely places in the Boneyard. Despite their undead appearance, these trees are actually alive, growing in the shape of weeping willows to symbolize the loss associated with the deaths that created them. Stray soul fragments remain in a bonewrought willow, giving it a dim intelligence and a keen awareness of living and undead creatures in its vicinity.
It has DR 5/bludgeoning and cold and electricity resistance.
It has negative energy affinity despite not being undead.
If you hit DC28, feel free to ask another question.
Amanteia whispers from the back of the group. "That is a bonewrought willow. Weapons that crush will be most effective."
Argus considers Amanteia's words, then hands the warhammer back to Ray and pulls out his glaive. "I w-will use strength to overcome its defenses as b... best I can. Let us move."
Ray takes the hammer back, considers his blasting rod, but then leaves it stowed. He looks at the witchcrow and sighs. "No chance we're avoiding Mictena now. Her little crony there means she can see us. Let's just get this over with."
With that, he follows the others into the fray.
As you approach with weapons out, you hear a strange chanting coming from the tree and suddenly realize that there were two witchcrows in the tree, and one of them is getting the jump on you. Just before it finishes casting its spell, you spot it.
And then you spot three of it.
The witchcrows are quick. Before you can react, they are launching themselves into the air. Blacktail gets closer to the party but stays 15' up, just out of reach. It stares hard at Argus, and he feels its will wrestling with his own.
Argus feels self-doubt creep into his mind. If these things ever get close enough, will he be quick enough to hit them? He isn't sure .
The other witchcrow flies next to its companion, also 15' up. It too sets its gaze on Argus, hoping to weaken him even further.
This time Argus returns the stare defiantly .
Blacktail (0 damage)
Nightbeak (0 damage, 2 images)
Dellan (34/34 hp, 1 str damage)
Amanteia (29/29 hp)
Argus (40/40 hp, +2 AC, -2 attack [6 rounds], -2 AC [1 round])
Raybin (27/27 hp)
Bonewrought Willow (0 damage)
Bold may act.
Amanteia sees flying foes and immediately knows they are at a severe disadvantage. She reflexively begins the incantation for glitterdust, hoping to even the odds, but then stops herself. She has to let this play out and only use the spells as a last resort.
But! She knows mirror image when she sees it, and she has the perfect foil for that. She loads up a glob of acid and fires it at Nightbeak.
Well. It would have been the perfect foil if she hadn't missed completely.
Oh, not this again.
He fidgets uncomfortably in his armor. How is he supposed to fight these blasted things? As usual, he's a fool in a costume. No one in their right mind would mistake him for anything but a thug in a breastplate. Shelyn probably only granted him his powers for a laugh.
He drops the glaive (AGAIN) and pulls out his heavy crossbow, then begins loading it.
Ray groans and sheathes the hammer, then draws the crossbow again.
F~*!ing hate ranged fighting, he thinks irritably.