Past the ogre's den, a tunnel leads up into a wide hall. The rough walls of this hallway are adorned with a long mural that begins with a depiction of Devil’s Platter near the northeast end of the hall. As one travels west and south, the mural slowly changes along both sides of the wall, first depicting lower forested lands before finally portraying buildings in the town of Sandpoint when the hall opens into a larger room. Along both sides, recurring scenes of a bat-winged, wolf-fanged, dragon-tailed horse trampling and eating and burning screaming humans are rendered in grisly but loving detail. Furthest to the west, the hall ends at a pair of large wooden doors painted to resemble the leering face of the wolf-fanged monster. Plain double doors exit the hall to the east.
"Let's gather what we can and get out of here. This place..." Her voice trails off as she eyes the remnants of the ogre's lair and shivers.
"I'd call it a pig stye," Vyana says with a shrug, "But that's not really fair to pigs."
---
"Someone really has a love affair with the Sandpoint Devil," the half-elf comments with a smirk.
She gestures towards the doors and turns towards Siobhan. "Ladies first," she says with a grin.
Ser Helmut runs back into the room. The crazy-eyed goblin begins sputtering about his wounds in between coughing and wheezing for breath.
Whys youses says ta run? Mees needs da naps now.
After being bandaged and given his lollipop, the sucker licking Thaumaturge begins examining the mural as they proceed.
Dat does looks reals...
The goblin is seen attempting to pick an apple from a tree on the wall ...
Giving up after a few tries, the disappointed goblin sticks his tongue out at the Sandpoint devil.
He stands there making funny faces for the interim....
The rough stone walls of this chamber are painted with fiery patterns that drift up into clouds of gray smoke near the ceiling and emerge from painstakingly detailed trampled human bodies near the floor. Black stone platforms adorned with the image of a seven pointed star sit in alcoves to the north and south. To the west, an unnerving statue of the bat-winged horse monster carved from a collection of tree burls that have been lashed together with cords looms over a blood-stained stone altar. Two smaller stone statues of the monster stand to either side of the altar. A dozen or so thin reed mats lie scattered across the floor.
The chamber is apparently empty save for a single well-dressed halfling woman. Clad in attire one might find more appropriate at high court, she turns and gives you an appraising look. "Hmm. Hello there. Would you be so kind to have a seat on the mats? We need to discuss what's to be done about your invasion of this sacred space."
His face frozen in mid "funny face" form, the Thaumaturge blinks stupidly at the high falooting halfling....
"Sacred to whom?" Vyana questions boldly, an arrow nocked to the string of her bow. She has little doubt what the answer will be, but she wants the halfla to confirm what seems obvious. "More specifically, to which god is this place dedicated?"
"We are the Devil's Disciples," the halfling replies. "We worship the Sandpoint Devil who makes its lair in this very Pit. It is not a god, though. Not yet, at least. But it is very close to apotheosis. Once it consumes a scant few more souls, it will transform into a full-fledged god of fire, rebirth, and ruin. And as its Disciples, we will be poised to reap the benefits.
"We have room in our ranks for more. Might you be inclined to join us?"
|
"I'm afraid that we won't be joining you." Siobhan replies with equal courtesy. "We are here to prevent the Sandpoint Devil from committing any further crimes against the town. I am confident that Sarenrae would not approve of my allowing the rise of a new infernal deity so I regret to inform you that you must cease and desist your activities at once and return with us to Sandpoint to be examined and if necessary tried for your deeds."
She gives a wide smile, hopeful that her perfectly reasonable request will avert any bloodshed.
Vyana tries really hard to conceal a smile at Siobhan's attempt at negotiation. She has little doubt that the situation is going to devolve to bloodshed which is never an occasion for levity, but her friend's attitude always brings her a measure of joy.
Ser Helmut burps....
"So be it," the halfling says with a shrug. As she reaches for her bow, the two smaller statues of the Sandpoint Devil suddenly lurch to life! They snarl and bare their fangs. Gargoyles!
Assuming that a battle against gargoyles was going to be a significant challenge, Vyana invokes a spell of protection upon herself before loosing a single arrow at the stubborn halfling woman.
[ooc]Current HP: 74/74
Ser Helmut reaches into his pockets while grinning at the halfling's defiance.
Exploit Vulnerability
Retrieving a slightly chewed lump of bubblegum (everyone knows that halfling's hate bubble gum), the Thaumaturge Strides right up to her a bites!
Com'on, Von! Mees saves sum fer ya!
Viviana turns her back to the halfling and whispers "Cover me." to her allies before raising her hands to the air, showing she means no harm.
She puts her body in between her allies who would destroy their enemies, hoping they will delay their assault for one last shot at a peaceful resolution.
Sure it means if it fails she'll be devoured by gargoyles... That just means she can't fail!
She slowly strides up towards the halfling and says Perhaps we can yet work this out?"
She does her best to ignore the gargoyles who terrify her. She forces a friendly, charming smile to stay on her face as she closes the distance. She (attempts) to reach out a friendly hand and says "Why resort to violence? Let us try to find a way past this impasse?"
Critical Success The target is unaffected and aware you tried to charm it.
Success The target is unaffected but thinks your spell was something harmless instead of charming touch, unless it identifies the spell (see Identifying Spells on page 303).
Failure The target’s attitude becomes friendly toward you. If it was friendly, it becomes helpful. It can’t use hostile actions against you. If you use a hostile action against the target, the spell ends. You can Dismiss the spell. After the spell ends, the target doesn’t necessarily realize it was charmed unless its friendship with you or the actions you convinced it to take clash with its expectations. If it doesn’t realize you charmed it, you could potentially convince it to continue being your friend via mundane means.
Critical Failure As failure, but the target is helpful.
Viv walks up to the halfling and tries to charm her, but the halfling's will proves too strong. "I do apologize," the halfling says, "but this is the only way."
Vyana's arrow goes wide as she blurs herself. Siobhan moves in front of Viv to protect her as Helmut and takes a big bite out of the halfling's arm. "Argh! You little pest!" she shrieks in pain as blood flows from the wound.
The woman bites down hard on her tongue as she steps away from Helmut, then she exhales a cone of burning smoke on the goblin, Siobhan, and Viv!
The two gargoyles move up in between the halfling and Helmut and attack the thaumaturge.
Critical Success: The creature is unaffected.
Success: The creature takes 3d8 fire damage.
Failure: The creature takes 6d8 fire damage and is sickened 1 by the agonizing pain of the burns.
Critical Failure: The creature takes 6d8 fire damage, is sickened 1 by the agonizing pain of the burns, and becomes cursed. The victim’s burns never fully vanish, and the cursed creature takes a –2 status penalty to all attacks from the constant pain. Healing doesn’t alter the appearance of the burns or lessen the penalty, but removing the curse does.
Now that diplomacy has most certainly failed, Vyana takes more careful aim with her bow and sends a enchanted arrow directly at the fire-breathing halfling.
Ser Helmut smirks as the initial attention given by the halfling barely even....
Wincing from that last strike, the green goblin holds his breath!
The scorching hot Thaumaturge is smoking!
Looking quite green about the burn scorched skin, Ser Helmut goes to blue all you can eat halfling's buffet!
The grinning goblin lips his freshly juiced lips at the halfling.
Ser Helmut then Strides back next to Vyana.
She bees a bit chewy.
Not only did her attempt at peace fail, the cursed woman blew burning smoke all over her!!!
Her lungs on fire and added coughs of pain cause Viviana to grinds her teeth and retaliate as she moves away, sending pieces of metal flying back.
The halfling grunts in pain as Viv's needle darts pierce her flesh. Vyana's arrow flies true, catching the halfling square in the chest. As she doubles over in pain, Siobhan swiftly dispatches her with a slice from her scimitar.
Helmut greatly demoralizes one of the gargoyles. His teeth rip at the creature's stony flesh, even though it resists some of the physical damage. He then scurries back to Viv's side.
The gargoyle turn their ire on Siobhan since she is the closest foe. They lash out with teeth and claws! Several lucky hits find gaps in the champion's defenses.
As much as she wants to just finish the gargoyle off, Von looks too injured for Viviana to feel comfortable doing so. She reaches out with some of Shelyn's blessing and helps ensure that she has the strength to push on.
With the halfla down, Vyana turns her aim towards the stony opponents.
Ser Helmet cheers the ladies in in their continued pursuit of gargoyle bashing!
The Thaumaturge digs into a pocket, produces a slightly rumbled scroll and casts it on himself.
Bees rights dere. Mees guts were on Mees shoes.
With a pair of perfectly executed critical hits, Von and Vy dispatch the gargoyles!
Viviana flips through the notebooks and with each page she turns, her sigh grows heavier. "This is... so much hatred for one person to carry. It's no wonder her heart turned so dark. I can’t imagine living with that much venom inside. It’s heartbreaking."
Looking up at her friends she adds, "Let’s hope we don’t ever let our own hearts turn this way."
Ser Helmut winces.
She gots any clean shoes?
|
|
"Come on Viv, leave those alone." Siobhan says gently, before making a pile of the notebooks in one corner of the room and using the halfling's shortbow (which is amusingly tiny for someone normal sized) to light them.
"There, all that negative energy is released now." She offers cheerfully. "We must be close to clearing this place out now! Let's push on. Chop chop!"
She offers Vy the bow as she passes. "We'll get you the rune moved over soon Vy. Then you'll be even more awesome!"
There are no other exits from this room, so you retrace your steps back to the hall and head through the eastern double doors.
This large, L-shaped room is lit by several sputtering lanterns hanging from hooks driven into rough stone walls. The flickering light lends a surreal element to a mural that decorates the entire eastern wall. The mural depicts a sweeping view of a coastline as seen from a rocky plateau. At the center of the plateau is a large pit from which the smoky form of what appears to be a winged, burning horse with a dragon’s tail is rising. Dozens of small handprints decorate the walls near the floor, surrounding the image of the pit with what must be dried blood. Large wooden double doors, each painted with images of the same winged creature, stand to the north of the room, while a smaller door to the north bears no decoration at all.
The only furnishing in the otherwise empty room is a low wooden platform on the floor in the northern part of the chamber. It is entirely surrounded by low railing and two wooden statues stand atop it—one of the same strange monster and the other of a man kneeling down before it in a position of worship.
Viv and Vyana both notice the statues shift ever-so-slightly, their wooden forms rippling in a manner very much unlike wood...
She offers Vy the bow as she passes. "We'll get you the rune moved over soon Vy. Then you'll be even more awesome!"
Vyana responds with her best look of confusion.
"How is that even remotely possible?" she questions. "I'm obviously as awesome as it's mortally possible to be."
---
The half-elf puts a restraining hand on Siobhan's shoulder. "Hold up, Von. That's ... that's not normal. Viv? Helmy? The statues ... Are you seeing this?"
She steps to the side and draws a bead on the wooden monster "statue" before loosing a single arrow at it.
Ser Helmut is seen busily brushing his hair while pursuing the many linguistically tailored items lying about while he is slapped, berated and tended to repeatedly every 10 minutes... hopefully....
While at the L-shaped room....
The Thaumaturge blinks.
Somebody's bees too much likings da Stupids fake dragon-dog thingy.
Vyana's arrow pierces the statue, causing ichor to spurt from the wound. It shudders, and a fanged mouth opens up and shouts in pain. "Ouch! Have you no appreciation for art?!?"
The other statue opens a similar maw. "Everyone's a critic!" it declares. The "statues" expend rubbery pseudopods as they prepare to attack!
"Hold up, Von. That's ... that's not normal. Viv? Helmy? The statues ... Are you seeing this?"
"I see it too, Vy. Something's off."
Once the fight begins, she fires off some metal shards before backing up slightly so that the meat shields brave warriors can engage directly.
"I may not know art, but I know what I like - and you're not it," Vyana snarks back as she sends an enchanted arrow at the creature.
Viv punctures one of the creatures with needle darts. Siobhan's inspring presence guides Vyana's aim, allowing her to just manage to hit the creature with her arrow! It is injured but still fighting.
Both false statues slough forward, their forms becoming amorphous as they move to attack Siobhan. They both land hits, a sticky adhesive coating their bodies!
When the things move, they reveal a hollow in the floor. You hear twin hisses as a snake with a head on either side of its body rises up, two tongues tasting the air! It slithers out of the hollow to attack Siobhan as well!
"Well, at least it's not spiders." Viviana murmurs. "Stay strong, sister!" she shouts for encouragement, reinforcing her with divine energies.
Vyana turns to throw a glare at Viviana.
"How are snakes better?" she questions incredulously. Turning back to the slimey, slithering, scaled foe, she directs a slightly shaky arrow at it.
Ser Helmut reaches into his pockets while grinning at sloppy statues melting and slapping Siobhan.
Retrieving a staple gun, the Thaumaturge Strides right up to Flank and bites!
Likes da bubble gum!
When you are holding your regalia, you gain an inspiring aura that stokes the courage of you and all allies in a 15-foot emanation who can see you, granting them a +1 status bonus to saving throws against fear. At the end of your turn, at the same time you would reduce your frightened value by 1, you reduce the frightened value of all allies within your inspiring aura by 1. Your aura has the emotion, mental, and visual traits.
Helmut identifies the creatures as mimics, though they aren't vulnerable to anything in particular. Still, he improvises an anathema and moves in to deliver a powerful bite, teeth tearing at the sticky monster!
Viv heals Siobhan, who dispatches the first mimic with a critical slice of her scimitar. She turns and injures the other one. Meanwhile, Vyana lodges an arrow into the two-headed snake's body.
The mimic lands another blow on Siobhan while the snake bites at both the paladin and Helmut.
Ser Helmut glares at the two headed (delicious looking) snake!
Hey! Youses bees waitings yet turn!
The Thaumaturge turns back to the Mimic!
Brandishing the same staple gun, the Thaumaturge bites!
Sir Helmut (noisily chewing Mimic) turns to the Two head snake.
Youses turns next!
Unfortunately said sister is all out of Shelyn's blessing for today and has to turn to other methods of keeping her on her feet. She casts a spell which forges a bond between her essence and her Von's.
Afterwards, she moves past Vyana and falls in to stand directly behind her sister, should she need to get more aggressive with healing. Once in position, she says "Sister dear. You could try to not get hit up here, you know."
"Yes, Sister Dear," Vyana echoes, "More hitting and less being hit."
Siobhan lightly slashes the mimic while Helmut scores a critical hit. Vyana fires on the snake but misses.
The mimic shifts its ire onto Helmut, pummeling him twice. Meanwhile, the snake lashes out at both the goblin and Siobhan, but hits neither thanks to Helmut demoralizing glare.
Viviana is relieved Von finally manages to avoid a hit, but it appears that Helmy is starting to accumulate injuries as well. With a sigh, she shoots some metal fragments at the creature and shifts position to fall in behind him instead, planning to patch him up next.
The Thaumaturge turns back to the Mimic!
Youses not deads yet!?
Brandishing still the same staple gun, the Thaumaturge bites!
The Thaumaturge then flips off the Two headed snake!