Haldan's fire lands true this time. The quasit's laughter turns to a scream as it is immolated! The cook sees her chances crumbling, but her resolve only hardens.
Round 5:
Charlie: Go
Dendillion: Go
Chark: Go
Tiny: Go
THE COOK!: TBD
Haldan: TBD
Cook: 7
Tiny unleashes another flurry of claws.
Tiny grins as he once again raises the cook's shield.
Action 1: Inspire Courage
Action 2-3: Telekinetic Projectile
Dendillion continues to both serenade the group and fling cutlery, this time at the cook!
Tiny can't connect as the cook matches him move for move. She wasn't looking and Dendillion seizes the opening, nailing her with more cutlery!
Round 5:
Charlie: Go
Dendillion: Hit
Chark: Go
Tiny: Miss
THE COOK!: TBD
Haldan: TBD
Cook: 16
Chark tries to cook The Cook again, this time with a ball of yellow-white flame she conjures into her hand.
She then whips up a disk of force.
Chark's spell hits the cook. The burns are starting to take their toll, but something has made the cook fanatical and she shows no signs of surrendering.
Round 5:
Charlie: Go
Dendillion: Hit
Chark: Hit
Tiny: Miss
THE COOK!: TBD
Haldan: TBD
Cook: 23
Charlie fires an arrow off at the cook as Goliath knocks over a few more chairs bounding across the room.
Status:
HP 36/41
AC 20 (22 w/ shield)
Wooden Shield 12/12; [AC Bonus +2: [Hardness 3] [HP/BT 12(6)]
Focus 0/1
Hero Points 0/3
Goliath
HP 27/32)
AC 17
Charlie's arrow flies overhead. His x-axis aim was dead on, and he knew it would have been a kill shot.
Seeing the situation, the cook tries something rash. She slashes once at Chark:
for
Then once at Goliath:
for
Then rushes to stand on one of the tables.
Round 5:
Charlie: Miss
Dendillion: Hit
Chark: Hit
Tiny: Miss
THE COOK!: ATK
Haldan: Go
Round 6:
Charlie: Go
Dendillion: Go
Chark: Go
Tiny: Go
THE COOK!: TBD
Haldan: TBD
Cook: 23
Goliath moves to cut the cook off as he swipes at her legs. Charlie continues to send a few arrows near the table. "KK..keep on her."
HP 36/41
AC 20 (22 w/ shield)
Wooden Shield 12/12; [AC Bonus +2: [Hardness 3] [HP/BT 12(6)]
Focus 0/1
Hero Points 0/3
Goliath
HP 27/32)
AC 17
Charlie's arrows finish off the cook. she drops to the ground like a ton of bricks, her cleaver clattering loudly.
The party looks around, and doesn't find much of note.
Hermann starts gathering up a series of cutting utensils.
"What are you doing, my good man?"
"I thought of a new act called: Missed by a Hare. It's where I throw a bunch of knives at you."
"AH! I see, so you would throw them at me and just miss with every shot? That's BRILLIANT!"
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"Yeah, sure. We'll call that plan B."
Haldan walking away and stuffing knives in his bag, ignoring the last thing Hermann said.
Under his breath...
"Yes, think of the suspense we could build with this. Possibly even flaming knives. We'll have to think of a way for the target to not go up in flames. Hmmm, yes. This could be very good, indeed."
What now performers?
Chark, ignoring the rabbit, searches the kitchen thoroughly. She tucks away a handful of unchopped carrots and parsnips, and finds a hearty fish stew bubbling in a cauldron, which she willingly shares with her party members.
After the short repast, she fusses over Tiny a bit, refocusing as she patches the dwarf up.
Charlie and Goliath come back in closer to Tiny as he sets up the next door. "You g..g..going to be alright?"
The western door opens into a long hallway with a slew of doors on the western wall, and just a few on the eastern. The closest eastern door is the only one you can tell is equipped with a lock (though you can't tell from here if it actually is locked.)
Dendillion quietly moves in through the opened door and into the hallway, gesturing for the group to wait. He gravitates towards the door with the lock, inspecting it first for traps and then to see if it is indeed locked. Assuming it is, he'll retrieve a set of tools from his bandoleer and put them to use opening it.
(if another check is needed)
(if another check is needed)
(if another check is needed)
(if another check is needed)
Finally he takes a few steps back to let Tiny lead the way.
Everyone's nerves begin to fray a bit as he works, but Dendillion eventually pops the lock, but after a fair bit of time.
This small cell looks like many of the others in the hermitage, but it is remarkable for the bloody corpse that stretches across the small single bed. The figure, a human male, is dressed in the gray robes of the other hermits, and also wears a gold sash decorated with a badge depicting an open book. A stack of books sits on a small bed stand, and an imposing mural of Gozreh that depicts the deity as a raging elemental looks down from the southern wall.
Chark comes in, feeling a mixture of sorrow and schadenfreude for the cultist. She kneels beside the corpse to investigate further.
Tiny nods to Charlie "Still feelin' better than that time the other circus tried to fire me via a ballista, wasn't sure my elbow was ever going to better after that landing."
Charlie chuckles as he remembers the ballista incident. He humorous moment quickly disappears as he spots the bloody body on the bed. "How could they do all of this?" As the group investigates the body and room he peeks in one of the many side chambers.
Chark's quick examination deepens the mystery. She makes two conclusions:
1. This hermit does not bear any markings of twisted worship. The defaced symbol of Gozreh is completely absent.
2. The wounds come from tridents, and they come from many directions. This man was killed by the weapons of multiple people striking at the same time.
As Chark works, the rest of the party goes about their business within the room.
Dendillion eyes pass over a pair of texts he secretly hoped were magical, based on their impressive design, but are not. The texts, The Manual
of City‑Building and The Order of Numbers seem out of place here.
Tiny finds something else, a secret door!
(Scout)
(Search) Medicine
(Detect Magic)
(Avoid Notice)
(Search)
Odd, Chark says. I suspect this poor soul wasn't actually part of the cult. Perhaps in the wrong place at the wrong time, or someone trying to fake their way through.
Haldan checks the secret door for locks and traps.
Tiny wonders out loud "Tridents, not exclusively aquatic, but they sure bring the sea to mind, and thus Gozreh... those books make me think of Abadar though. Let's see what's behind this wall though."
Tiny decides to play it serious and point out the secret door instead of leaning against it for comic effect.
Haldan doesn't find anything untoward about the secret door. There is however, some sort of bruhaha on the other side of the door. It sounds like someone smashing the place.
Wait! Chark whispers as a thought occurs to her. Weren't these the books Nellyn was talking about when we were in the chapel of Abadar?
Charlie peeks his head in. "G...g..great find." He looks at the title. "Those were the ones he was l..l.ll.ooking for." As Tiny points out the secret door Charlie moves over to try and push it open. "Here?"
"Good catch, Chark. I'd nearly forgotten. Let me grab those and we can return them to the Abadaran priest for the reward," Dendillion says. "If we're not going to sell out our shows, we might as well earn the coin elsewhere."
When Charlie points at the secret door the bard nods. "Let's see what secrets await us."
This library must once have been magnificent. Tall wooden bookcases still line the room’s walls, but many have been pulled over, spilling books of all types and sizes over the carpeted floor. Statuary busts decorate a few cases that remain standing, but others have toppled and shattered. Shredded paper and torn parchment cover the ground. Tables where hermits must once have studied ancient lore are flipped on their sides or upside down, their legs broken off. Archways to the north and south lead to reading rooms that have so far been spared from the damage to the library.
Two strange creatures, of a type you saw attacking Nellyn, are trashing the library; they only reason the reading rooms are intact is that they haven’t yet gotten around to smashing those furnishings. As soon as the door opens, they attack!
Round 1:
Charlie: Go
Haldan: Go
Dendillion: Go
Hostiles: TBD
Chark: TBD
Tiny: TBD
(Scout)
(Search)
(Detect Magic)
(Seek, Keen Eyes)
(Search)
Charlie whistles as he sends Goliath ahead a bit to block the path. Charlie follows behind as he hunts the red eyes creature. "Wh...what are they?" He looks at them in horror.
HP 36/41
AC 20 (22 w/ shield)
Wooden Shield 12/12; [AC Bonus +2: [Hardness 3] [HP/BT 12(6)]
Focus 0/1
Hero Points 0/3
Goliath
HP 27/32)
AC 17
Action 1: Stride
Action 2: Take Cover
Action 3: Inspire Courage
Dendillion follows Charlie in, stopping only to take cover behind a wall. With the fight imminent, he once more puts his voice into an inspirational song!
Charlie approaches, though he still doesn't know what he's facing . Dendillion bravely takes cover whilst encouraging the party!
Round 1:
Charlie: Close
Haldan: Go
Dendillion: Bard
Hostiles: TBD
Chark: TBD
Tiny: TBD
Stride, Produce Flame.
Haldan opts for his go to, nailing the closer monstrosity with a flaming card!
Both creatures bound forward, flanking Goliath, though only one attacks the bear. The other, the injured one, goes after Haldan in revenge.
for
MISS
for
MISS
Round 1:
Charlie: Close
Haldan: Hit
Dendillion: Bard
Hostiles: ATK
Chark: Go
Tiny: Go
Black: 9
Chark, hearing the commotion, moves into the room to see --
What in the Nine Hells are those?!?
She then graces Charlie with a bit of guidance from the Dawnflower.
Abrikandilu! More commonly known as "Wrecker deamons." their only goal in life is to break things. Their bite... can mutilate a person, leaving ugly wounds which heal over time. They hate their own reflections it is said....
Chark then advances to give Charlie a boost.
Round 1:
Charlie: Close Goliath FORT Save
Haldan: Hit FORT Save
Dendillion: Bard
Hostiles: ATK
Chark: ID + Spell
Tiny: Go
Black: 9
Tiny moves up to join the front line, dropping into his low attack stance before unleashing a flurry of claws.
Tiny's attacks are twice rebuffed!
Round 2:
Charlie: Goliath FORT Save + Go
Haldan: FORT Save + Go
Dendillion: Go
Hostiles: TBD
Chark: TBD
Tiny: TBD
Black: 9
Goliath rampages as he gets cornered by the demons, his large paws slashing across their bodies.
Seeing streaks of blood across Goliath's flank Charlie reaches out to heal his wounds.
HP 36/41
AC 20 (22 w/ shield)
Wooden Shield 12/12; [AC Bonus +2: [Hardness 3] [HP/BT 12(6)]
Focus 0/1
Hero Points 0/3
Goliath
HP 32/32)
AC 17
The wounds on poor Goliath are ugly.
He pays the demonic beast back in kind with a bite of his own!
Round 2:
Charlie: Hit
Haldan: FORT Save + Go
Dendillion: Go
Hostiles: TBD
Chark: TBD
Tiny: TBD
Black: 17
Action 1: Inspire Courage
Action 2-3: Telekinetic Projectile
Dendillion continues his inspirational tune, voice ringing out with magical potential. It washes over the party, raising their spirits as always.
He then sings a few notes, animating a piece of the debris and flinging it at the nearest demon!
Dendillion magically hurls a ruined book spine at the wrecker demon. As interested in the destruction as it is, it still lets out a grunt of pain from the blow. It clearly has a lot of fight left.
Round 2:
Charlie: Hit
Haldan: FORT Save + Go
Dendillion: Hit
Hostiles: TBD
Chark: TBD
Tiny: TBD
Black: 25
Haldan rolls onto the desk behind him to get away.
Then launches a flaming card, the only move he has left in his repertoire.
Haldan's wound isn't overly jagged, and he replies with a well placed flaming joker!
Inside the library the wrecker demon focuses its rage on Goliath, slashing with nails of steel:
for
for
for
The other keeps the party busy, randomly lashing out at anyone in his way, delighting in the chaos with near orgasmic excitement!
MISS
for
for
Round 2:
Charlie: Hit
Haldan: FORT Save + Go
Dendillion: Hit
Hostiles: ATK
Chark: Go
Tiny: Go
Round 3:
Charlie: Go
Haldan: Go
Dendillion: Go
Hostiles: TBD
Chark: TBD
Tiny: TBD
Black: 35