Takemiryu moves his arm around to exercise his shoulder. "Very good, Kellsti. It's as good as new."
Finding the peep holes hidden in the wolf heads, he says, "Well, well, well. What do we have here? Looks like there's something on the other side of this wall." He tries looking through the peep holes into the adjoining room. He then pulls on the wolf heads to see if they will come free and give him better access to the holes.
Seeing that Zerryd managed to disable the trap, he says, "Nice work Zerryd, now can you get it unlocked as well? How about those keys we found on the fake Auldegrund? Maybe they opens these doors."
Zerryd shakes his head to Takemiryu. "You injure me, my friend. What kind of self-respecting rogue needs keys?" He pulls out his lockpicks and goes to work.
Zerryd's blue-ish face turns a slight reddish-purple, as he stammers, "Well, sometimes...every now and then, you see...I come across advanced mechanisms. Perhaps those keys would be best." He smiles and waits for someone to pass him the keys.
While he's attempting to find a key that fits the lock, he says to Kellsti, "Dorlivin just mentioned a sacrifice to Alocer. Didn't you say you recognized Alocer's symbol on your invitation?" Turning to the dwarf, "Dorlivin, can you tell us more about this ritual to Alocer?" Zerryd continues trying keys till he finds the right one.
"Only little harm done" Dorlivin says to Jaithe with a smile.
Takemiru pull on one of the wolf heads and it gives way to in 8 inch wide opening and a better view inside.
Zerryd fails to unlock the door.
Dorlivin thinks a moment and responds. "I am not too sure about Alocer. I do know that the plan was to hunt you all in the morning. A sick and twisted individual Auldegrund is"
Edicts: hunt those who are capable of thinking for themselves, gather like-minded hunters into groups based in hunting lodges, burn places of worship devoted to Erastil or corrupt those who follow his faith
Anathema: sleep in a place sacred to Erastil, willingly harm a lion, grant a merciful death to a creature you have wounded
"Alocer is not a nice type of a character. A duke of hell he would rank as a demi-god in terms of raw power. We really don't want to cross him. His 'portfolio' is that of beasts, hunters and traditions. I suspect if we mess up the hunt, then our host may not remain in his good books." she adds with a laugh.
"He destroys places sacred to Erastil, and believes in hunting intelligent game. That would be us."
Zerryd shudders when Kellsti talks about Alocer. "Oh, he sounds perfectly charming." He returns his attention to the door.
Assuming none of the keys fit, Zerryd raises his feathered eyebrows as the door remains stubborn. He decides to try one more time with his lockpicks.
Now that he has the hang of it, he moves to each of the other doors. If locked, he tries his lockpicks.
Like a good rogue, if the doors were already unlocked, Zerryd makes a good show of making it seem as if he's the one who unlocked them.
Feeling much better about his skills, Zerryd holds up the keyring to Takemiryu and smiles. "As I was saying, who needs keys?" But the group notices that he tucks them away, just in case.
Takemiryu rolls his eyes at Zerryd's antics with the locks. "Use the keys already. We don't have all night."
Looking through the now larger opening, Takemiryu sees a room with what looks like a summoning circle, a door leading out, and a desk with a heavy metal key on it. He relays what he sees to his companions. Takemiryu then considers the 8 inch opening and the key on the desk inside.
"The key I see on the desk may be useful. Maybe it opens the door that Zerryd couldn't unlock. Hold on a minute; I'll go get it."
Those watching, notice Takemiryu's form begin to contort and shift. His clothing and all his equipment is slowly absorbed into his body as it shrinks in size until only a tiny fox remains. He then squeezes through the opening and darts across the room to the desk. Putting his head through the loop holding the key, he returns to the hole and squeezes back through.
Standing next to several unlocked doors, Zerryd wonders aloud. "Why so much concern for keys?" He quickly adds, "When you have me?" He wiggles his nimble strix fingers and smiles.
Nonetheless, he watches with interest as the kitsuni changes form.
Zerryd unlocks the other unlocked doors.
As soon as Takemiryu paws hit the floor, the candles begin to smolder and in a puff of smoke a horned devil appears in the room.
It levels its glaive at the fox, "I’ll make a trophy of your head to bring back to decorate my den in Hell!"
Round 1-Bold May Act
Takemiryu
Kellsti
Devil
Jaithe
Zerryd
Kellsti joins the rest of the group. "That doesn't sound good, come back... quick."
Takemiryu freezes momentarily as the devil appears out of nowhere. "Oh for fox sake! This is bad. Really, really bad." Unfortunately, in his current tiny animal form, he's a sitting duck, uh... fox.
The tiny fox takes two heart beats to give the devil an expert hunter's examination before quickly turning tail and hopping back through the hole. No sooner do his little paws hit the ground that he returns to his normal form.
He looks visibly shaken by the whole ordeal. "Turns out that wasn't such a good idea. We now have a devil to deal with in the other room, though I suspect it won't stay put there for very long. We best prepare ourselves to face it."
"Ah yes, the hunt is on." The devil shouts as the small fox leaps and squeezes back through the hole. The devil moves towards the hole and peeks through. "There you are."
The devil disappears for a brief moment before appearing in the dining hall with the PC's. "Boo"
Jaithe and Zeeryd go
"Arrrghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh[" shrieks a very surprised Kellsti.
Glad I moved out of standing just there...
Zerryd stifles a gasp as the devil appears out of nowhere. Composing himself quickly, he says, "Excellent! You've been tricked and have been flushed out of hiding." He stands to his full imposing height and studies the devil closely.
The rogue shares any information he recalls with the group. He then draws his rapier and applies Black Adder Venom.
Then, standing next to Dorlivin, Zerryd asks the dwarf, "Care to work together again?" He hopes Dorlivin takes the hint and can provide some flanking.
Zerryd recalls that it is Barbazu devil. Immune to fire. Resistant to physical damage, except silver, and poison. Weak to good.
Dorlivin nods , draws his warhammer and charges.
The devil takes a swipe as the dwarf approaches it.
The glaive cuts through the dwarf, but isn't enough to finish him off. He brings his warhammer down.
Dorlivin returns with a heavy hit of his own.
Dorlivin bleeds a little before the magic that created it, staunches it.
Jaithe is up
Dorlivin 2
Barbazu: 41/60
After recalling vital information, Zerryd calls out, "He's a formidable foe. Some resistance to most physical attacks, unless you have a silver weapon or poison. And based on what we just saw, he can reach with his weapon and can attack as we approach!" He shudders and continues, "And don't waste your time with fire spells." Looking slightly hopeful, he turns to the cleric and adds, "But he can be harmed by good damage." He then readies himself.
"But I was *so* looking forward to basking him in dragon fire" pouts the kobold.
Jaithe reacts by grabbing some cutlery from the remains of dinner and sending it at the devil.
She pulls out a scroll of Soothe to cast it on Dorlivin.
Jaith launches some cutlery at the devil, a fork sticks in his head.
**************************************************************************
The devil sneers and strikes at Dorlivin.
The dwarf freezes and then crumples into a pile of snow.
It laughs and then approaches Kellsti, and strikes with its beard.
Everyone Go!
fail, carrier, no ill effect.[/ooc]
Barbazu: 35/60
Shocked at the demise of Dorlivin and the attack on Kellsti, Jaithe steps behind the kobold and wards him in protective energy to keep him safe.
Zerryd tries to maintain his normal stoic demeanor as Dorlivin gets taken down. He quietly murmurs, "He very well may have saved our lives. Well, if we indeed live through this." Then louder he says, "Now to finish him." With his rapier dripping with the Black Adder Venom, Zerryd moves into a flanking position with Kellsti.
Rather than move away to safety, the strix stays in position to provide Kellsti the best chance to attack. In order to further aid his allies, Zerryd dips and dodges attempting to distract the devil with a clever feint.
Takemiryu blanches when the devil teleports into the main room. He looks over at the 8 inch opening he'd just gone through twice. He considers transforming back into his fox form and making a run for it that way, but decides against it. "Without me the rest of them are doomed. Plus I don't think I can get far enough away from here to avoid the same fate." "Okay friends, let's take this fiend down." Gulp!
The ranger quickly moves into a better position from which to attack and snatching up his trident throws it at the devil while simultaneously freeing the sai from his belt.
Kelli, aware that if she is dead, the world will be without a future great artist... and that ghosts cannot heal her friends.. .withdraws from the immediate vicinity of the devil.
She turn turns, and directs a lance of pure goodness at it.
◆ withdraw/guarded step back
◆ divine lance
Takemiryu moves in and stabs at the devil.
Kellsti launches a ray of positive energy at the devil, driving the devil into the throws of pain.
The devil then attacks Dorlivin taking out the Simulacrum. It then strides to be right in front of Kellsti and lands a blow with its beard.
Zerryd moves in. The devil takes an opportune strike as he passes.
Zerryd finishes getting into position and delivers a blow right to the back of the devil. It teleports out of the room, leaving a sulfuric smell.
At the end of Zerryd's turn, he continues to bleed.
Kellsti does indeed shield block the assault, wincing a little as the shield pops out of existence.
Hurrying forward, Kellstri tries to staunch the bleeding wound.
Takemiryu lets out a breath of relief when he sees Zerryd banish the devil, but his mood quickly darkens when he watches the Strix bleeding uncontrollably from the fiend's slashing attack to his leg. He rushes to Zerryd's side and pulls off his belt as he watches Kellsti try to staunch the bleeding.
Takemiryu watches to see if Kellsti's efforts bear any fruit. If the bleeding persists, The kitsune moves in and uses the belt as a tourniquet to cut off circulation to the wound and give it a chance to clot.
Kellsti attempts to staunch the bleeding, but is not successful.
Takemiryu forms a tourniquet to slow the flow of blood.
Zerryd allows himself a satisfactory smile as the devil is banished. Only then does he realize he's bleeding internally, and he slumps to the ground.
Zerryd turns to Kellsti and Takemiryu. "Thank you, friends. The medical assistance and tourniquet seemed to do the trick." He stands up shakily, extending his wings for balance, and tests his legs. "Kellsti, if we can spare some time, I could probably use some healing." He pulls out a healing potion from his bandolier just in case.
Takemiryu pulls out his herbs and berry extracts and gets to work on Kellsti. He puts together a poultice and applies it to the kobold's wound.
Now that the bleeding has stopped, Takemiryu reclaims his belt and throws together another poultice that he applies to Zerryd's wound.
Zerryd's wound is closed through teamwork and Takemiryu takes some time to apply some remedies to the others.
Reading from her scroll, Jaithe sends some healing energy at Zerryd.
If given ample time, she will also read her scroll of mage armor to prepare for the next encounter
After Takemiryu applies the poultice to the wound, Zerryd feels completely better. Stretching his wings out, he nods to the kitsune, "Thanks my friend. Your cure was quite effective. I feel as good as new." He pauses and adds, "Well except that devil that will haunt me for a while." He replaces his healing potion in his bandolier.
As Jaithe pulls out her scroll, Zerryd stops her. "My thanks, dear lady, but thanks to Takemiryu's healing skills, I'm ready to go. Please save your scroll for now." Zerryd smiles at all the aid his allies are willing to provide.
Looking around the room, Zerryd moves to the previously locked door to the NE. He suggests, "Since this had been locked, perhaps it's more important?"
With the group's permission, he'll open the NE door, with both his rapier and hand crossbow drawn and ready.
The kobold assesses her companions... and herself, trying to work out who needs her help the most.
Takemiryu points to the hole in the eastern wall and muses. "Perhaps now that the devil has been banished I should have another look in that back room? There's a door leading out the other side and a desk with a key and other material on it. Looks like it could be Auldegrund's inner sanctum from which he keeps an eye on the goings-on in the main room." No sooner does he say this that a shiver runs through him. The thought of being trapped in that room alone with whatever other dangers it might hold suddenly held little appeal to him. "Then again, perhaps not. I suspect that Zerryd's door there probably leads to it eventually, so with a little patience we'll get there in good order."
As they prepare to head through the NE door, Takemiryu makes a snapping noise with his tails. He'd just remembered what Dorlivin had said about Auldegrund coming through the locked main door upon his return. "Hold on fellows. Before we leave this room, let me set a few small surprises to welcome Auldegrund and his friends when they come in later."
The ranger starts pulling out the snares he'd prepared that morning and sets them out in the room, hiding them as best he can. "Please note where I've placed these snares. It would not do for one of us to accidently step onto them, especially those..." He points out the locations of the Biting Snares. Indicating the Stalker Bane Snare snare he placed near the NE door, he says, "That one is fairly harmless, but it makes a different sound when triggered. It should let us know when Auldegrund is about to head into the back area after us."
Takemiryu stands after laying down the last snare. "Very well. My preparations are complete. Let's proceed." He grips his Trident in one hand and the Sai in the other before heading through the NE door.
Kellsti looks on impressed with the herbalism on display. "That is very well done. I might have to learn some of that... and the aroma... divine!" she smiles.
"I do hope that devil can't regenerate, otherwise we might be facing a fully healed creature again.... its ability to teleport is going to cause us problems... I can just feel it."
Going through the previously trapped door, the PC's find themselves in a narrow corridor that leads to another door.
The door, being untrapped and unlocked, easily opens into a well lit cave.
A cave roughly twenty feet in diameter overlooks a larger cavern to the south. This area features a wooden table surrounded by six chairs and is well-lit by flickering flames that appear to burn from the tips of stalactites. Many tools are strewn on the table around a fearsome centerpiece: a bear trap set around a humanoid skull. To the north, two wooden frames hold stretched leather painted with images of a lion-headed man breathing fire and riding a dragon-legged horse through city scapes of tormented people. To the south, a five-foot-wide ledge winds around a large sunken area, also lit by dozens of glowing flames flickering from stalactites above.
Kellsti confirms that the lion-headed man is the depiction of Alocer.
be human skin
Kellsti locates a small wooden container sitting behind the northwest rack. It contains a few supplies: four scrolls of heal (2nd level) and four scrolls of restoration.
On the table is also a Specialist Snare Kit worth 85 GP.
If you so wish, you can climb the 20 feet down into the pit or could continue to skirt the edge of the cavern.
"I'm not keen on trying that pit unless we have to..." sighs the kobold.
"This looks like some type of arena.."
She carefully checks the table, skull and trap for any signs of magic, before turning her gaze on the sunken area.
Takemiryu's eyes light up when he sees the Specialist Snare Kit. "Ooo, how Nice. I've been saving up for one of these." Knowing that it is of little use to the others, he takes it and drops it into his backpack. "You better take possession of those scrolls Kellsti. I'm pretty sure none of us can use them anyway. We'll consider all this as compensation for the truly terrible welcome we've received so far."
The ranger takes a closer look at the painting...
...but art and religious iconography are not his forte, though there is something about the work that sends shivers down his spine.
He too then looks down into the pit. "Looks more like a pen than an arena. Look over there; isn't that a cage? Let's go have a closer look." He then sheathes his weapons, scrambles down the side of the pit, and takes them back in hand at the bottom.
As Zerryd steps into the cave, he gazes in wonder. "This is quite the lair." He walks up to the paintings of Alocer.
Not noticing anything special, he nods to Takemiryu who collects the items from the wooden crate. When he sees the kitsune climb into the pit, Zerryd considers joining him. However, the strix ultimately decides it best to maintain a literal bird's eye view from above. He approaches the narrow ledge.
When he gets near, he opts to leap across, rather than trust the ledge to hold his weight. He takes a running start and flaps his wings to give him an additional boost during his jump.
From his new vantage point on the other side, he scans downward into the pit.
If he notices anything suspicious, he warns Takemiryu.
Jaithe carefully examines the leather. She shudders at the realization of what they are. With a sick voice, she calls out to her companions.
"The paintings on those racks. The 'leather' on those frames is actually human skin"
Zerryd keeps a Strix eye view of everything as Takemiryu explores the cave below.
Takemiryu moves around the sunken arena and closer to the cage.
A cage made of iron rods hammered into the ground sits amid several crumbling stone walls in this sunken cavern. A single iron door allows entrance to and from the cage, while a grid of iron beams caps the cage at a height of ten feet. A twenty-foot ledge surrounds the cave. The ceiling looms another ten feet above that, bearing dozens of hanging stalactites that glow with flames at their dangling tips.
Flanking the door to the cage, stands two statues with the design of lions.
As Takemiryu is about to dismiss these as harmless, the eyes begin to glow and gravely growl can be heard emanating from them.
Round 1-Bold May Act
Takemiryu
Kellsti
Red
Zerryd
Jaith
Green
Kellsti wonders what those lions might be...
She then moves around the edge of the pit, summoning her magical shield again to protect her.
"Uh oh! Lion statues ahead and they don't look friendly." He focuses his attention on the nearest of the animated statues, then throws his trident at it and retreats to a more defensible position.
Kellsti recalls that these are animated statues. They are inanimate objects brought to life by magic. They usually have construct armor, which when broken, makes them much easier to destroy.
Takemiryu tosses his trident and finds its weak spot. The hard out shell cracks, rendering it's construct armor useless.
Red takes off towards Takemiryu and swipes a paw at him.
Round 1-Bold May Act
Takemiryu
Kellsti
Red
Zerryd
Jaith
Green
Red: 17/35; construct armor
Green: 35/35