Otoro continues the assault, pressing forward and trying to wash the fiend out of its rubble again.
"Then we'll send you back to the Abyss like you deserve," Bireli challenges the demon as he charges in flank it between Otoro and himself. He thrusts at the demon and raises his shield.
Puddins tries to heal Demonica with Battle Medicine
She then steps in and swings at the foul fiend!
"Whoah D! That scar looks really cool actually! Badass!"
Henry runs in and tosses his dagger into the creature's neck before it can bite Demonica again. "Damn near took her arm off!"
HP 35/35
AC 17
Spells: 1st 4/4 | 2nd 1/3
Focus: 1/1
Demonica looks frantically at Puddins. "Are you sure? It feels bad."
Nevertheless she moves in and swipes at the creature once, then tries to get her magical groove back.
|
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Henry peppers Droxur with needles formed from his dagger, eliciting a yelp of pain. Droxur manages to avoid Demonica's swipe, however, then lunges at her, blaming Demonica's faulty translation skills for his failure to secure shinies to smash!
His jaws sink into her once again, his jagged teeth rending at her flesh! He's unable to connect with his claws, though, then he skitters into the corner.
--------
Otoro offers some healing water to Demonica.
Otoro then blasts away.
"Enough you fiend!" Bireli shouts as he stabs at the demon. He raises his shield and encourages Henry. "Show this lout what he gets for his poor hospitality! You can do it!"
+
"Puddins, how bad does it look?"
Demonica brings her sword down on the creature, magical bits of debris joining the attack.
She swirls around, letting magic flow through her.
"Ummm maybe too much of a good thing now? I am sure we can patch it up once we kill this thing."
Puddins casts Weapon Surge and swings twice at the fiend.
"As long as we are all still alive after this Puddins." Henry calls out as he sends his dagger in again.
HP 35/35
AC 17
Spells: 1st 4/4 | 2nd 1/3
Focus: 1/1
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Bireli just barely nicks the creature , but Droxur dodges right into the path of Demonica's massive sword, which smashes him into the ground. In a poof of noxious vapor he disappears!
------
The door to the north opens to reveal a short hallway bending to the east, with two more closed doors (one to the north, one to the east).
After they are patched up and rested, Bireli leads the way. "Nothing else to it but to press on."
"I guess so." Demonica examines her face in the reflection from her sword. "How bad does it look? Really?"
She follows Bireli.
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Opening the first door in the newly reveals a small room. An ancient bed stands against the north wall with a new mattress and blankets upon it. Next to the bed stands an ancient writing desk and chair, both appearing withered and rickety. Near the southern doorway sits an iron-banded wooden chest with a steel padlock keeping it secure. A single flickering torch sitting absently on its side on its side lights the room, and a rapier leans against the side of the desk. A small coil of brass and wood lies on the bed, and another on the nearby wooden chest.
"No worse than when you wake up in the morning, Sissa," Bireli says and flashes her a grin that does not actually reach his worried eyes.
When they open the door and he spies the brass coils, he pauses. "Is that thing going to shock me if I touch it? He reaches with his sword to try to nudge the coil off of the chest before waiting for an answer.
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As Bireli prods at the coil with his sword, it unwinds into the form of a clockwork snake with a sharpened gear spinning in its mouth and leaps to attack!
Another serpent comes slithering out from under the desk!
Bireli is able to dance out of the way of all four attacks, however.
-----
Otoro moves forward and reaches forward and blasts yellow.
"What did you awaken Bireli?" Henry whips his dagger's shards at the snake.
HP 35/35
AC 17
Spells: 1st 4/4 | 2nd 1/3
Focus: 1/1
"I'll try not to hit you Bireli!"
Demonica strikes at the little snakes climbing on her brother.
She feels the magic flowing through her.
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Otoro and Demonica are not able to make contact with the quick little serpents, but Henry manages to spray one of them with some needles!
The spray of needles badly damages the yellow serpent, but it continues slithering! Meanwhile, the third snake slithers off the bed and joins the others at Bireli's feet!
---------
"Hold still Birelli! Stop squirming!"
Puddins casts weapon surge and swings!
She swings again at the little snakes!
”I don’t kn—I’m not squi—ah!” Bireli tries to answer through the verbal, magical, and physical barrage around him. He stabs at the damaged snake and steps into the room.
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Bireli steps away from the serpents, stabbing into one of them as soon as he's clear before he raises his shield. The green-tinted serpent follows him into the room, leaping at him again with its spinning gear mouth!
Bireli manages to deflect it's attack with his shield, then easily sidesteps its followup!
---------
Demonica steps forward and swings her sword at Green. She then recharges her spell strike.
Otoro moves into flank, dodges Bireli and blasts green.
Henry gets ina little bit closer and tryes to pry some of the serpent off of Demonica with his dagger shards.
HP 35/35
AC 17
Spells: 1st 4/4 | 2nd 1/3
Focus: 1/1
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Demonica can't connect, but her attack leaves an opening for Otoro, who blasts the smaller serpent to smithereens! Unfortunately, Henry is unable to do the same to red, his needles impacting the floor beside it.
The remaining serpent, finding itself at Demonica's feet, leaps at her!
It continues to bely any idea that it might be a threat, however, as its gear scrapes harmlessly on her armor.
--------
Otoro starts with a strong blast, and follows with a weak one.
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"Snakes! Why'd it have to be snakes?"
Puddin's swings at the remaining snake.
Henry's seems to be having difficulty finding an opening as his dagger shards spread out in a wider pattern.
HP 35/35
AC 17
Spells: 1st 4/4 | 2nd 1/3
Focus: 1/1
Bireli stabs at the remaining clockwork automaton. "These are rather dangerous toys," he comments. "You can finish that one off, Nica!"
Demonica slices at the snake!
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Demonica thrusts down with a mighty, magically-enhanced strike....that just misses the creature at her feet, instead cracking the floor beside it. She does manage to catch the thing on her backswing, however, further cracking it.
The creature responds by continuing its feeble assault on her ankles!
Amazingly, it's successful on its first attempt!
---------
Puddins starts to lose her cool in frustration.
"Die! Die! Die!
Otoro keeps blasting.
Bireli tries to skewer the toy snake clearly designed by a sadistic clocksmith. "There you go, Nica! Once more a little harder!"
+
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Puddins, worried about hitting Demonica, is unable to cnnect. Otoro and Bireli, however, have more luck as they simultaneously demolish the final serpent.
With the serpents defeated, you can spend a little time examining this room. Teh torch lying casually on its side on the desk emits light but no heat, clearly magical. Nearby on the desk, a journal lies open to the most recent entry, which has no date. Thankfully, Demonica's adolescent obsession pays off once again, as she is able to translate the Thassilonian script :
Soon a whole new world will begin. I'm so close to being able to finally complete my grandfather's work. I've double-checked the preparations in the summoning chamber, and we should have enough food and water for the week-long ritual. As much as I would like to have had my fellow believers with me, I need them to ensure all aspects of the ritual go as planned. Without the added power siphoned from the Vloric Spires or the chaotic divine energy gathered by Ragnulf's bumbling hands, this ritual might not work. But I must have faith, with the fresh blood of decay and the Horn of Rust finally in hand, Xar-Azmak, Sin of Steel, shall rise again, and He shall reward me for being the agent of his resurrection!
The previous few pages are all in the same hand, and seem to belong to someone who has recently arrived. The author describes returning here to his grandfather's home a year after Xin-Edasseril returned to the modern era, becoming intrigued by the idea that something called the Horn of Rust was here somewhere deep under Rusthenge, and his plans to travel here with several of his followers. Since arriving, the entries are short and neat. One of them describes the elation of finding the Horn of Rust in the "grand temple". It also mentions his discovery of a secret door behind the temple's looming statue of Xar-Azmak.
Going farther back, the writing is in a different hand. It discusses the history of a skymetal workshop, the Vloric Spires, and the author's plan to resurrect Xar-Azmak. Brief mention is even made of the author having been in Dis during Xar-Azmak's ill-fated attack on that city, noting that he managed to bring back one of the demon lord's broken-off horns upon fleeing back to the Vloric Spries. Several pages in the middle of the journal contain two rituals: create undead and inveigle.
The chest, which looks like it was brought here recently, is locked.
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Demonica looks very smug about being able to translate.
Puddins will refocus and try to heal Demonica while someone else has a look at that lock.
Otoro gets set up to help Bireli open the lock.