Ebba continued her attack, trying to pierce the creature's extremely tough skin.
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Tonny doesn't realize what's happening until his feet are firmly anchored to the icy floor by his companion's spell and then released again. "Oh! Well, that's one way to keep us from losing our footing I guess! Everyone remember your extracts!" The scholar cracks his whip over his companions' heads as he tries to remember something useful about these moving statues.
"As Professor Muzmu would say, use magic to cut through their hide! And try not to get clawed in the process - he was always a stickler about that point!"
Grimacing from cold and looming panic as she glances at her scimitar then at the stony creatures and tries to keep her composure. "We don't have have magic weapons!" She freezes in place from indecision as the ice around her and the stony creatures erupts into a mass of entangling vines around her and the far too close kapocinth, her fears realized as the creature, unable to move, lashes out. Her armor weathers the worst she's still clawed.
As the entangling vegetation recedes Adriana decides to (foolishly) stands her ground to keep the stony creature focused on her to keep the creatures split between targets.
Ingolf opens a long cut on the already injured gargoyle, leaving it half-dead, but both his spirits and Ebba fail to connect.
Tonny identifies the creatures and gives good advice to the party while Adriana casts a spell.
She succeeds to avoid attacks and is favored by the gods.
Jonah puts two arrows in the air and one lands on mark, leaving one of the gargoyles in a bad state.
One of the kapocinth gargoyles goes for Adriana.
It cuts on the woman's left arm, and is about to impale her, when Tonny's opportune intervention deflects the horn with his whip!
While the other one attacks Ingolf.
Despite Tonny's good advice, the other gargoyle manages to strike the gnome through his rage.
Ingolf and his spirits desperately attacked the gargoyle, which was quickly wearing him down.
Sensing her master's desparation, Ebba redoubled her efforts, trying to penetrate the creature's stony hide.
Jonah keeps shooting at the same enemy trying to wear it down. if it dies he will switch targets. unfortunately his aim is off with the mess of combat happening....
Ingolf's spirits, Ebba's tusks and one of Jonah's arrows combine to send the red Kapocinth defeated to the ground!
Tonny swings his whip, defending both Adriana and Ingolf from the remaining gargoryle.
The druid cures Ingolf hoping to ensure that they don't fall.
Only partially furious with herself for standing her ground as once again large claws strike and tear at her, Adriana can feel the surge of power from her spell and lunges forward to strike back at the stony creatures.
Splits brings some well needed healing on Ingolf that recovers clearly.
Adriana then imbues his scimitar with sacred bane magic and slashes all through the gargoyle's chest opening a deep gash!
In pain from the attack and seeing the gnome healed, the gargoyle turns back to attack the inquisitor.
Adriana dodges the two claws, while Tonny's opportune advise and swift whip deflects the head from biting, but the gore stabs deep on Adriana's belly nevertheless.
Ingolf appreciated the Splits' healing, even if he was too enraged to express his gratitude. He attacked the remaining gargoyle, desperate to take it down before it dropped him.
Ebba attacked the last gargoyle, determined to save her master.
Deftly activating the wand, the druid hopes to keep Adriana up.
"We almost have it."
Joonah keeps shooting, trying to make use of having one of the more reliable magical weapons in the group
Ingolf swings once more, and while he and Ebba are dodged by the gargoyle, this one does not expect the spirits that give it a good slam back.
Splits follows with some healing for Adriana, whom is also supported by Tonny's whip.
Directed by Tonny's knowledgeable advice, Jonah's two arrows find their pursue, lodging both at the kapocinth's neck, who opens its mouth unbelieving what just happened, as the magical ammunition just kills her.
The last gargoyle goes down dead.
The kapoacinths each wear a ring of inurement to protect themselves from the room’s chill, and a coral unholy symbol of Kelizandri (worth 100 gp).
Deprived of its guardians, you can face the orb that exhales the freeze in this air. The orb is protected by an ice cage.
The icy bars of the cage can be broken with a successful DC 18 Strength check or by 12 points of bludgeoning or slashing damage. Fire deals double damage.
The orb must be one of the storm seeds.
Destroying a storm seed immediately severs its tether with the energies of the central ritual. This destruction though would dangerously release the energies of the seed.
Shutting down the tether without destroying the storm seed requires either a successful DC 20 Use Magic Device check or a successful casting of dispel magic (CL 10th). Reactivating a storm seed requires ritual magic involving the sacrifice of a sentient being.
Destroying the barrier at the central chamber requires destroying or deactivating all four storm seeds.
Ingolf healed Adriana and asked, "Does anyone know anything about this orb?"
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“Hah... hah... whew!” Tonny pants a bit before catching his breath. “Oh man, that was close! You all are amazing!” Carefully the scholar picks his way across the icy ground to examine the strange artifact.
“Oh, Adriana!” The scholar waves excited from the end of the cavern. “Your scimitar is still on fire, yeah? It’ll cut through this cage easily! But be careful not to hit the orb inside or it could explode. Um, can someone dispel magical energy? I could try to manually disrupt it, but...”
Jonah has no magical skill ot help, but he perks up when Tonny talks aboout manually disrupting the orb
How dangerous would an explosion be if Adriana were to hit it? or better put, how dangerous would it be if i were to shoot the orb once we're out of the room?
Guided by Tonny's advice, the group shatters the ice cage with a long job of smiting. Once that is done, as suggested by Jonah, the group comes back past the entrance and the hunter starts shooting arrows at the orb.
Once after another, the metallic tips scratch the surface of the object until at last the magic source bursts in a myriad freezing particles!
Fortunately the group was well away thanks to Tonny's knowledge and guidance.
With that done, the group can go back to the corridor going south, or to the platform in the central chamber.
After the orb broke, you heard something coming from this section entrance. Like a big mass hitting the ice ground.
"Anyone else hear that? sounds like something big crashed to the ground. came from the entrance. keep your guard up, let's go see what that was.
Jonah will keep his bow ready, watching for another new threat coming in from the entrance
"I did. We should be aware that things might be different." He grasps the wand, "Who needs healing magic?"
"I didn't hear anything, Ingolf replied. "I could use some healing though." He gladly accepted the magical healing from Splits' wand.
Without the freezing coldness of the orb, a gelatinous inhabitant of the dungeon that was frost into the ceiling and passed unnoticed to the group, is now released from the freezing encase.
Sweeping along the ground while the group debates what might have happened and Splits heals Ingolf, and probably Adriana as well, the frost and gelatinous creature makes its presence suddenly noticed.
This seems a stronger version of a gelatinous cube, unique in the sense it is covered in frost in addition to the normal characteristics of its type.
Professor Gurtle would certainly be ecstatic to have a piece of this to study it closely.
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"Oh dear." Tonny glances back at the small room behind him, then back to the large transparent cube advancing towards them. "It's a gelatinous cube, though it seems to have been here long enough to become chilled. Maybe it's less acidic now. But, um, let's not try to find out. Spread out so it can't engulf us all, and leave yourself room to jump back if it tries. Oh, and try to not let it touch you or you could become paralyzed." Carefully the scholar starts walking across the frozen floor, staying close to the wall in case he needs to catch himself.
"Tonny, what about the power of electricity? There won't be any adverse effects I hope."
He gives an unseen sign to Lightfoot, It is dangerous, stay back.
Tonny is able to tell back to Splits the gelatinous cubes are usually immune to electricity.
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The druid asks everyone to gather around, "I can ward us against its acid or frost. Come here and Gozreh will provide you shelter to its biting ice."
Jonah lets the others get the protective spell, as he plans on not getting anywhere near the cube.
"no electricity. what about arrows? do arrows work?! he calls to Tonny.
Not that he has much esle to try, so he fires 2 arrows at the thing
Tony gives opportune advice to the team.
Splits casts a resistance spell and uses his move to touch everyone before coming back to his spot.
Jonah decides to test the cube with two arrows. He finds the large and slow creature rather easy to hit and both projectiles break through causing great damage.
As the cube advances, you can spot within it small bubbles. When it reaches Jonah, the cub blurbs, bending to hit the hunter.
But the ranger is well ready and dodges it.
The cube is now so close that it could soon engulf most of the party.
Ingolf rode Ebba past Jonah and Tonny, spreading out so the aberration couldn't engulf everyone at once, then stabbed with his Lucerne Hammer, "Hit it from all sides!"
Jonah feels a bit of panick as the cube gets closer, but he is pinned in by allies and can't step away with the slick floor. he unloads two more shots point blank, and whistles for rosemary to attack as well.
Rosemary dives in, harrassing the cube.
Ingolf manages a good strike on the cube, the lucerne hammer taking a good chunk of the gelatin that conforms it.
Tonny gives good tactical advise to Jonah who follows it with shooting his arrows.
The hunter receives a punishing slam from the cube, but then his arrows strike mightily at breaking distance, and helped by Rosemary dive in, the cube finally collapses into a melted pudding!
What seemed bubbles of air inside the cube result to be a few valuable clear crystals carried from the Elemental Plane of Water.
7x gems 150 gp each
Ingolf made sure everyone was alright, "Do you think this was the cource what you heard, Jonah?"
He listened for anything else happening.
The fight is quick and messily but mercifully over much quicker than she'd expected. Careful to keep her boots out of the slime she tilts her head a little and like Ingolf keeps her eyes and ears open for any additional danger.
Jonah pokes the cube with his flail to see if it is really dead.
"I'm not sure. this probably was what i heard, but there could be more. between this and the gargoyles, I think we need to be on high alert through the rest of these rooms. I'm going to go ahead and guess there will be more of these orbs to smash in the other chambers. best get to work, eh?
Ingolf said to the rest of the party, "I think we've explored everything off of this platform. Maybe it's time to return and try one of the others."
The team regroups and heals up, taking some time to talk about next steps. But what of the next platforms should be explored next?
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Tonny taps his temple thoughtlessly. "Well, there's still that secret tunnel we found," he offers. "Might be a back-door of sorts, like how some students would use the catacomb tunnels under the university to get to classes without having to trudge through the snow."
Ingolf agreed, "Let's explore it!"
The chill of the air falls off of him, "We should explore while the spell insulates us from the ice." The druid hopes to make use of the magic as best as he can.
The group makes it through the southern passage they found through the secret door. After a few moments of search you find another secret door at the other extreme.
The smell of ozone and mildew fills the air of this neglected chamber. Crooked bookshelves crowded with ragged tomes occupy much of the room. The cracked floor slopes toward a large, water-filled passage leading west. To the south stands a sturdy wooden door covered in shallow gouges.
It seems the cult's last servants who closed themselves in here did die longtime ago and raised back as undead monstrosities destroying all of the archives in their rage of the outcome. Four humanoid creatures with long, sharp teeth, and pallid flesh stretched tightly over their starved frames turn to look at you. At the arrival of alive humanoids they attack you with ravaging hunger for fresh meat.
The group is though much faster to react, wining the initiative.
Ingolf moved into the library and readied an attack with his polearm. He wanted to take advantage of his reach and make the undead come to him. "Undead of some sort! Anyone know what they do?"
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“They’re ghouls!” Tonny answers, color draining from his face. “Don’t let them bite you or they’ll paralyze your and then tear out your eyes and your tongue and your stomach and your spleen and your liver - or at least that’s what Professor Forstleif said. Hopefully they were just exaggerating, but... Well, better safe than sorry!”
Adriana felt herself involuntarily recoil a little - something about ghouls unsettled her more than 'normal' undead, if there could be such a thing.
Scimitar in hand she moves up to join Ingolf, keeping a defensive stance next to her smaller friend while racing through options in her mind.
"Can we burn them? Everything seems frozen in this place, will fire work?" She asks aloud.