[dice=arcana]1d20+6
"That thing is a darkwood cobra so don't let it bite you." Aiming the wand as being up close is not a goal of his. Growling as the spell fizzles again. "And the damn thing doesn't let magic touch it easily."
Indeed, the missile fizzles again and it resumes its attack on Edward.
Maybe it’s ...rusty?
Round 3 You’re all up again.
Nodding, "Avoid the bite. Got it." Edward then swings again at the wooden snake, hoping to fare much better than last time.
And yet again he fares as equally as well as he did the last time. The paladin sighs in frustration at his level of incompetence.
So far, the only damage it’s taken has been from Ty’s opening dagger throw, and that only 1 point worth.
Ty's eyes dance around the room as he tries to think of a way to gain some sort of tactical advantage. Deciding on a plan, he speaks as he attacks.
"Okay, everybody back away a little bit. Carefully. It will come after one of us, and then we can surround it." Ty follows his own advice.
|
Richard's astonishment over his last swing is evident in his facial expressions as well as his comments "Wow, I only thought I nicked it. That thing is really tough."
Richard ponders his next move and wonders how he can aid the party in defeating this wooden creature. He can use his blessing spell to assist everyone's attacks. If the party decides to stay and continue the fight, that is his plan. He can't recall if his studies have included anything like this before - and he fears that if they decide to search elsewhere it will simply follow them.
Ty's plan sounds better than anything Richard can think of, so he quickly agrees "Sounds good Ty. Hopefully we can figure out a way to kill this thing."
Conri’s missile slams into the snake, inflicting the first real damage as splinters go flying. The rest of you take a step back, forcing it to drop to the floor as it pursues Edward, losing its height advantage.
And the cobra continues its role as the world’s worst guardian.
Round 4 You’re all up again. Ty is a 5-foot step from a nice flank now.
Ty steps back to his original position lashes out with his blades.
Edward moves and steps in front of Richard, in an effort to flank the creature.
I assume he meant the bless spell. And yes, +2 for flanking.
Ty and Edward both chip some wood off the snake.
Conri left to go.
Smiling as the magic actually works and he is able to do something useful. Getting into the swing of it and not wanting to burn though the magic he has. Wands can be bought later.
Again, magic slams into the wooden snake, sending splinters everywhere. It tries to respond in kind.
It fails.
Round 5 All are up.
2 hp left
Edward swings again...
...and lands a solid strike as the snake splinters into multiple wooden pieces. Looking to the others as he sheathes his sword, "Well done, all. Now we can get back to the business at hand."
The room itself is empty and featureless, save for a door in the eastern wall with arrow slits to either side.
Ty heads over to check the door, which is locked. As he begins to work the lock...
From either side if the door, a skeletal arm reaches through, grasping at Ty, and one scores a shallow wound across his forehead.
Edward is soon able, however, to thrust his sword through and debone the undead. With no further attacks, Ty is able to snick the lock and reveal a central, spiral staircase leading both up and down, though how a supposedly mobile siege tower can have a basement is mildly confusing. The skeletons had rotting leather armour and nothing else of value.
|
|
Richard ponders the concept of the staircase going down as well as up. Strange, I expected the stairs to only ascend. These things that are happening are not what I expected. I will need to look for Sarenrae's guidance more often that I initially thought.
"I suggest we go up the stairs first. I don't see any rubble from the initial tremors inside the stairwell, but we should be careful nonetheless."
"Yeah, up," Ty agrees, a little dazed. First from the surprise skeleton attack, and then from wondering if the inside of this tower is what he expected from the outside.
Nodding, "Up it is, my good man. Let us go." Edward then starts up, leading the way, sword remaining in his right hand while his shield remains in the left.
The stairs here continue both up and down. Four doors lead off from this room, one to each of the four cardinal directions.
"Sounds like a plan. The top it is."
[dice=CLW Wand]1d8 +1
You make your way up three more flights of stairs to arrive at the fifth, and top, floor. Like the stairwell on the ground floor, this square room has only one door, located in the west wall, with a dark arrow slit to either side.
Peering through the arrowslits, you see two humans, their flesh horribly decayed, standing motionless twenty feet from the door. The door is not locked.
"Let's have a look, shall we?" Looking through the arrow slits, Edward works to discern what type of creatures they are.
= 20
Basic zombies.
Assuming he does not find any traps on the door, Ty will silently finger-count to three and fling open the door for the party rush inside.
As soon as Ty opens the door, Edward will move in and prepare for combat.
Ty pushes the door open and you’re all up first.
Edward moves in and strikes at the nearest one.
Edward’s strike takes down the greenish zombie, leaving one other for the rest of you to handle.
Another vicious blow, though the zombie still stands.
Ty also darts in and targets the zombie's important organs, hoping that they still serve the same function even after death.
Ty is successful and the second zombie wordlessly tumbled to the floor.
The walls of this room have been cleared of all coverings and decoration; instead, a vibrant mural provides artistic interest. In the mural, which tells a story in several stages, a man bearing a symbol of an inverted pentagram stands proudly in front of a throne wearing a cloak that seems to billow in an unseen wind. Further on, the same man leads warriors in battle against a frail-looking man wearing the Eye of Aroden in a room that looks a lot like the shrine down below. Next, there is an image of a skeletal figure, still wearing the same cloak, sitting on the throne previously depicted. The painting, while recognizable, is also quite amateurish.
Two doors lead out of this room, both bearing a coat of arms carved into their surfaces.
Watching the three of them make quick work of the undead and then looking at his hands. I suppose its good to be with competent people.
Looking at the mural, "So shall we continue up?"
Both doors offer silence.
(Edward? Hey, his perception is better than Ty's)[/ooc]
In this room, there are two torches embedded in the wall, each covered with a cloth, and emitting only a small amount of light. In the centre of the room stands an elegant dining table, complete with six chairs. The room continues around the stairwell, and faint light flickers from that direction as well.
Sheathing his sword, Edward scans the southern room. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary initially, he moves past the stairwell, deeper into the room while keeping an eye out.
As you make your way into the room, a voice calls from the darkness to the east. ”So, finally, somebody has breached the seal. Alas, you do not appear to be rescuers from Cheliax, so I can only assume you to be treasure-seekers, or else spies from Absalom. Come further in. I wish to learn of the world outside these walls.”
What Edward first thought was an armour stand straight ahead turns out to be a human skeleton wearing armour, standing in the corner of this obvious throne room. A rich purple carpet leads up to a dais fashioned from obsidian tile. Three covered torches would provide light to the room, if not for the cloths. On the dais sits a large throne, and on the throne, a skeletal figure wearing a white tunic and a red cloak (and closely resembling the figure in the mural, save for the tunic rather than full plate armour) sits at his ease, a massive sword leaning against the side of his throne; four other skeletons, wearing polished breastplate and armed with longswords, stand as an honour guard.
Richard feels that the “man’s” interest in the outside world is actually genuine. He realizes that the talking skeleton has likely been shut up in here for hundreds of years.
But Richard also gets the impression that the skeleton is stalling you for some reason.
Edward draws his sword instinctively, observing the situation. Taking a couple of cautious steps forward, "We are neither spies nor treasure-seekers, I assure you. So what is it you wish to know of the outside world?"
”Did we succeed? Does Absalom lie under the flag of Cheliax to this day? Has the day of Aroden’s return come to lead Cheliax to rule the world?”