| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Clancy glances at the others, then back toward Istevan. "I mistrust this idea of a death cult, but at this point they have broken no laws or committed any evil acts that I've seen. This place reeks of evil though, and I believe they are up to no good. Let us go forward and investigate further before making any decision on how to approach them. Perhaps someone could scout ahead a bit? I would likely give away our position with my two left feet." He grins ruefully.
Degan will scout ahead to the north, listening for any sound other than the drums. Such as voices of the drummers.
He will go about 60' ahead of the party, then report back.
Degan sneaks ahead into the northern chamber. The thief is almost overwhelmed by the hot stink of rot rolling from the chamber before him. Sickly yellow roots hang from cracks in the walls and ceiling, and the floor is overrun with thick patches of black moss and scabby lichen. Across the chamber crumbling stairs rise to a stone balcony above. Sputtering torches hang about the lower level, casting weird, flickering shadows throughout the chamber.
Three men stand on the balcony. Hunched and bent from massive tumors and growths, the sentries wear tattered cloth hoods, stitched with grandiose sigils and hung with the bones of rats. They are armored in patchwork chain and ring mail, and wield spiked, banded staves. Each carries a quiver of javelins at his waist.
Two of these men keep watch on the chamber below, while the third beats slowly on a massive drum in front of him. They haven't noticed Degan spying on them yet.
"Well... I guess we won't be able to surprise them on approach -- or approach them without having javelins thrown at us -- but an arrow or dagger through that drum should at least delay or halt whatever ritual they are performing."
"Now that we know where these cultists are stationed I can direct my bats to attack them. It will buy you enough time to reach the balcony and engage them face to face." Miring chimes in.
Having reported back, Degan prepares to hide behind the warriors.
"They have a good defensive position. Shooting the drum seems a good way to get their attention, and maybe lure them out of that position to come after you.
I mean, come after us. Not just come after you. But making them leave a defensive position would be good, wouldn't it?"
"Wait, you want me to take a shot at the drum?
Okay... let me know when. If I have a line of fire to them, they have a line of fire to me, so let's get that distraction in place first."
Degan gets out his crossbow.
Clancy nods in agreement. "I'll be ready with a spell to help, when my magic is needed." He adds.
Once you are ready, Mirinde sends her bats shrieking towards the cultists as you prepare to fight!
Degan moves up and shoots at the drum with his crossbow!
Seeing Degan take a lousy shot here Mirinde knows the drum must be destroyed...so she calls upon her dark magicks to do just that!
Mirinde's magic missile slams into the drum, tearing through the hide covering and destroying it! The three cultists shout in alarm as they grab javelins from their quiver and hurl them down at the elf. Two fall harmlessly around her, but one javelin scores a critical hit, driving Mirinde to her knees! The cultist takes advantage of the opening by quickly hurling a second javelin into the elf!
See, now that's what would have happened to me if I hit the drum - lucky that I missed!
Degan scurries back the corridor to get out of sight of the cultists.
Picking out the cultist who was drumming, Istevan looses a crossbow bolt:
Mirinde quickly dives back around the corner still bleeding profusely, "See if you can draw them closer. I have something special planned for them," she hisses, waving her bats to continue slowing down the cultists!
Clancy quickly calls on Justicia to heal the wounds suffered by Mirinde.
The cleric feels magic surge through him, though the diametrically opposed beliefs of the elf counter some of the healing he musters...
Clancy looks at the healing and shakes his head. "Let me try that again." He murmurs and then tries again, sweat breaking out on his forehead as he continues to push, though he can feel the magic pushing back until finally he breaks through, and Justicia grants his prayer...
= Failure! +1 Disapproval to 2
= Failure! +1 Disapproval to 3
= Success! Take 2 dice of healing, Mirinde!
Istevan's crossbow bolt goes wide as Mirinde falls back into Clancy's healing hands. Degan darts to cover as well.
It quickly becomes clear that the cultists mean to retain the high ground. "We must push forward. I'll draw their fire!" Zathra shouts. With a roar, the warrior rushes out of the corridor and starts making her way up the stairs.
As expected, the three cultists orient on her, hurling javelins at the warrior woman. She bats two of them aside, but one of them sticks into her shoulder. She snarls, ignoring the pain.
"Dammit!" Istevan swears. "Zathra, wait for me!"
Istevan charges out and up the stairs, shaking his head ruefully. I really thought that would work...
Clancy shrugs at Mirinde and Istevan. "Looks like we're going in." The armored cleric takes up his warhammer and moves up the stairs behind Istevan.
Mirinde allows the meat shields...err...her fellow party members to advance here as she again calls upon her eldritch might here!
Degan darts back into view and fires at a cultist.
As Istevan and Clancy start to mount the stairs, Mirinde annihilates one of the cultists with a barrage of magic missiles. He falls, four smoking holes burned in his chest. Degan grazes another cultist as Zathra runs up to him to slice his brow with her polearm, momentarily blinding him!
The blinded cultist jabs wildly at Zathra with his barbed spear. She parries the attack. The other one stabs at her as well, scoring a critical hit!
The cultist’s strike shatters Zathra’s nose in an explosion of blood! She roars in pain, her sense of smell temporarily ruined!
Mirinde is momentarily stunned as she hears echoes of otherworldly screams of agony in her mind. Fumbling for her bow she sends an arrow at another cultist...
;
Shouldering his way into melee with the remaining cultists, Istevan takes a swing at the one Zathra injured:
"You doing alright, Zath'?
Degan tries his best to hit a cultist and not an ally.
"Never better!" Zathra shouts back as Istevan cuts down one of the cultists. Mirinde and Degan both shoot the last man, and he goes down as well.
A search of the lower chamber reveals another exit to the southwest, a door covered in hanging roots and chained closed from the outside. The upper balcony is cleared of growth, though tendrils of fresh roots protrude from cracks in the low ceiling. Twenty makeshift javelins stand at the back of the balcony along with four bundles of torches, their tips smeared in rendered rat fat and pitch. A large kettledrum dominates the balcony. The skin of the drum is fashioned from tanned human flesh, dyed red and tattooed with the sign of a starburst. A human femur serves as a mallet, its head wrapped in the skin of a rat. A long hall extends north from the balcony, its far reaches disappearing into darkness.
Istevan does his best to appear sanguine -- certainly, the three freshly dead cultists at his feet do not appear to bother him -- but something about the use of human parts as tools has him feeling slightly ill. Or maybe it's just the smell of rat fat. Yeah... definitely the rats.
"Well! This is, er... exciting. Shall we see what they were... I assume trying to summon?"
Mirinde points out the door in the corner of the chamber, "It looks like these cultists were holding something imprisoned here. I say we leave it be and follow Istevan's lead here."
"What is that starburst sign on the drum skin? Was it a tattoo that the person had before they were killed - perhaps signifying an enemy of this cult - or was it applied to the drum as a symbol of this cult?
I only ask in case we should come across this symbol again."
"I believe this is another symbol of the cultists, but if you insist I can take a closer look," Mirinde peers closer at the strange symbol recalling where she had seen it before...
With the battle over, Clancy tends to Zathra's wounds, but winds up having a crisis of faith...
= Failure! Disapproval +1 [4]
= Failure & Disapproval [5]!
The cleric is temporarily disowned by his deity. For the rest of the day, the character cannot accumulate XP and may not
gain class levels as a cleric. After the time period expires, the character begins to accumulate XP again as normal but does
not accrue “back pay” (so to speak) for XP missed while he was disowned.
After several minutes worth of silent prayer - though his heart tells him that Justicia isn't listening - he tries again to heal the brave Zathra...
= Failure! Disapproval +1 [6]
= Success! (FINALLY!!!) - Probably max healing HD of 3 as that is her level and she would get that even if of opposed alignment
Clancy wonders if he is being tested... Then he shakes his head ruefully and moves to investigate the starburst icon himself.
Zathra nods gruffly to Clancy in thanks for the healing.
Examining the fallen cultists, you see the same starburst symbol that is on the drum tattooed on their own flesh. It must be a symbol of the cult of the Carnifex.
Leaving the door alone for now, you head north down the hallway. The wide hall is overrun with an abundance of vegetation: thick roots crack the ceiling and roll across the floor, where bulbous mounds of moss and lichen lay about like soft hills. Smoky torches are arrayed throughout, fastened to standing roots, staked in the moss, and wedged into cracks in the stone.
Moving cautiously, you spot the silhouetted line of seven hunched figures amid the drifting smoke and flickering shadows within the hall...
Degan hangs back, crossbow in hand. Trying to position himself for a Backstab sounds incredibly dangerous, as even if he took out one the other six would get him.
Istevan kicks a tone in the direction of the figures, calling out softly: "Hey! What team are you playing for?"
Mirinde hangs back from the others here, straining to identify the hunched figures in some way, her bow nocked and ready to fire.
Figuring that the figures are likely playing for the other team, Clancy touches the holy symbol at his neck and speaks a prayer to Justicia, requesting her protection.
+1 to Clancy's saves, -1 to attack rolls & damage (per die) made by opponents
Clancy's cautionary spell proves prudent as the figures stand up, revealing themselves to be more cultists garbed similarly to the ones you fought at the stairs. They do not respond to your attempts at parlay, instead, grimly reaching for their javelins!
"Ugh, you lot again. You know, you're really making the case for 'attack first, ask questions later.'"
Istevan stumbles his way forward, over roots and broken ground.
Degan will draw his dagger and try to hide in the shadows near Mirende, so that if anybody comes for her he can jump out and stab them.
And if nobody does come for her, he will be all the happier.
Clancy casts another spell, but he feels Justicia turning her back upon him as the magic falters...
The cleric immediately incurs an additional -2 penalty to all spell checks that lasts until the next day.
Gritting his teeth in frustration, the cleric draws his warhammer and follows after Istevan.
Combat Notes: +1 to Clancy's saves, -1 to attack rolls & damage (per die) made by opponents (lasts for 30 minutes)
Degan hides in the shadows as Istevan and Zathra stumble forward to get into melee range. Clancy's spells falters, and he feels Justicia's disapproval.
The cultists lash out at Istevan and Zathra, some getting in some good blows!
As he manages to parry or block three attacks with his shield, Istevan is almost surprised when a fourth spear scrapes along his arm: "Ugh. Godsdammit." Setting his teeth grimly, he strikes out at the cultist who struck him: