Will do, not a problem.
Search Posts
COMBAT ROUND 1 CONTINUED Zo squeezes off a shot with her crossbow as the rat advances towards her. She grazes it lightly in the rear haunches before it buries its teeth in her leg. Ignacious begins casting a summoning spell as soon as he hears the commotion. "What the?" Rhade mutters out loud. Rhade moves straight to that door ahead of him and opens it so he can see what's going on in the room next to the one holding the kobold statue. He sees the familiar harpy dining room overrun by white dire rats, and his friends fighting them off desperately! Cordelia swings her scimitar is small arcs, trying her best to keep the nasty beasties from hurting her any more. Father Meghdad charges through the door which Rhade just opened. Instantly sizing up the situation, he moves up to the nearest dire rat (the one under the table) and guts it with his scimitar. He calls out, "I thought you were supposed to wait until we explored the eastern room, before opening random doors!" Quickly shifting his stance, Gregori brings the point of his sword down on one of the filthy little creatures. With a master stroke he decapitates the foul-smelling creature. COMBAT ROUND 2
Gregori forces the door open with his shield, sword at the ready. With a heavy push, the paladin pushes the door out of the way. Beyond is a small closet which stinks of decay and putrid animal odors. Six giant white rats the size of large dogs are crouched around a carcass of some kind, squeaking and fighting with each other. As one they turn and face the intruders, prepared to defend their lair to the death! Initiative!
In the other room, Rhade examins the statue, but does not notice anything unusual about it. It just seems to be a statue. Through the unopened door, Rhade, Ignacious, and Father Meghdad hear the loud thud of wood being forced followed by loud, bass-rodent shrieks.
COMBAT ROUND 1 The rats launch themselves with terrifying speed and agility out of the room. Unable to react in time, Zo, Cordelia, and Gregori momentarily are taken flat-footed and can't strike at them in time. The dire rats bite at the surprised adventurers, foul, yellow teeth snapping at their arms and legs. The rats attacking Gregori snap at his legs, but thankfully his armor is stout enough to ward off the blow. Cordelia and Zo are not as lucky. Two of the rats, one of which is just under the table, snap at their exposed legs and find soft flesh.
Rhade motions with one hand for the others to stay put as he sneaks forward so he can get a closer look through the archway without being observed. Rhade carefully peeks into the room. It is rather nondescript, with trash littering the corners like most of the rooms in this ruin. The only thing of note is a small statue of a kobold, which stands in its center. The kobold stands on two feet and holds out a crude stone sword. There is only one door which leads to the west, presumably to the harpy-dining room.
Zo checks the door but fails to find any traps.
With Rhade in the lead, followed by Ignacious and Father Meghdad, half the group leaves the harpy-infested dining room and heads back through the hallway to the south. They turn to the east and make their way through the bedroom and into the closet which adjoins it. Rhade scouts ahead, wary of the kobolds in the north-eastern corner room. When he pokes his head around the corner, however, he is greeted by an empty chamber. It contains rubbish and refuse, but no kobolds. The only other exit to the room seems to be an archway leaving to another room to the west. Unless it is just a closet, it should lead to a room directly next to the dining room. Back with the other group, Zo hears some skittering coming from the southern-most door to the west. It sounds as if multiple animals are scurrying about inside. Animals with four legs and padded paws.
Rhade glances down at the floor for tracks. There are no kobold tracks in this room, although around the edges of the melee combat area, you do see a few footprints which must be the harpies'. They go to and from the chimney but don't seem to leave the room.
There are five doors leading from this room, all of which seem to be quiet. There are two doors to the east and two to the west and one to the south. The last is the door that you came in through.
Zo takes everything out of the box and checks it for a false bottom or other hidden compartment, but does not find anything.
Zo takes the chest from Rhade, glances at the table, then thinks better of it and sits down on the floor to examine it, unrolling a collection of shiny prods and picks from her haversack beside her. Zo quickly glances over the box, looking for the tell-tale sign of traps or hidden catches. Not finding any, she goes to work on the lock itself, which is quite formidable. After a bit of fiddling, however, there is a satisfying click and the lock opens. Inside the box you find a number of moldy outfits of the same style the "dinner guests" are wearing. Underneath is a sack with 300 gp, four pairs of turquoise earrings worth 500 gp each (pair), and four unmarked potions which radiate faint conjuration (healing) magic.
"What's this?" Rhade says as he removes a brick from the fireplace... The bricks easily are removed from the back of the fireplace, revealing a small, hollowed-out space containing a small chest. It seems to have a decent lock on it.
Zo takes a cursory glance at the skeletons out of curiosity, being careful not to disturb the plates, to see if there are any indications of how they died. The bones here are from human bodies that have been dead quite some time. You guess these were excavated from a grave, how long ago you can't tell.
There are actually two doors to the east. Zo listens to both of them, but does not hear anything at all.
Rhade notices that a few of the bricks in the back of the fireplace look like they've been removed lately.
Rhade notices that a few of the bricks in the back of the fireplace look like they've been removed lately. Looking up he sees the chimney climb up for about 20 feet before hitting the open air. It is choked with debris and protruding stonework from the collapsed upper floor. The harpy must have really squeezed itself through to get past.
Ignacious scans the room for a few moments, concentrating while he weaves his spell.
Ignacious:
Nothing in the room detects as magic. Zo takes a look at the table and its settings, paying particular attention to the skeletons. Strangely, it is the plates that catch her attention.
Zo: The plates are not made of gold at all, they are covered in yellow mold! Your knowledge of the Darklands pays off as you correctly identify this subterranean hazard. No one should get near them, as the mold releases spores that can choke the life out of you!
Pulling out his wand, the halfling points it at the harpy. With a few words it discharges it gold and silver missiles which streak at the creature in the large fireplace. It shrieks momentarily as the spell slams into it, but the disruption is not enough to stifle its song. "Shhh!" Zo reprimands Rhade and Iggie crossly, before returning her attention to the lovely sound. Father Meghdad moves past the disabled harpy and comes around the table just in front of Ignacious, holding his shield and scimitar up, "Stay behind me sir, you don't want to get too close to those sharp claws!" Hurt by the spell and seeing her sister drop lifeless to the ground on the far side of the room, the sole remaining harpy seizes her chance and climbs up the chimney, her claws scraping the brick. Showers of mortar and brick rain down into the now empty fireplace, ricocheting off the walls.
ROUND 2 Iggie takes a step backwards (five foot step away from the Harpy) and attempts to blast the offensive harlot with Abadar's dissolving spirits! The blast impacts on the wall above the harpy's head, dissolving the stone and sending showers of pebbles onto its bird-like head. "Not her ... but like her," Zo sighs, as she settles into her place at the feet of the heavenly creature, a look of serenity not untouched by sadness on her face. Father Meghdad shoulders his way past the paladin and enters the harpy's lair. "You shall not keep us from our holy duty, beast!" he hollers in his loudest voice. He misjudges his opponent's position, and his scimitar swings wild, a blow easily avoided by the harpy. The harpy still crouched in the large fireplace continues its siren song, not perturbed that one of the humanoids has escaped its compulsion. The creature near Father Meghdad and Gregori winces from the pain of its wounds. It backs up slightly so as to be out of reach of the cleric's scimitar and instead focuses its attention on the paladin. The intervening doorway combined with the paladin's skill and armor turn away all blows, and Gregori escapes injury for another moment. Cordelia once again draws up the power of her celestial lineage and targets the more distant harpy captivating her companions. Her shot is blocked again and she curses loudly. "Then we just have to make this quick!" Gregori yells as he moves into the gap left by the harpy and strikes again, this time harder than the last. The creature is taken aback by his violent advance and tries in vain to block it. The paladin's longsword buries itself deep in the creature's sternum, its life's blood bursting forth and covering the human in carnelian ichor. "Really is that what this place is called? Funny I was wondering why my dad would be anywhere near any place without a major population..." Rhade mutters back confused as he tries to listen to the singing. Initiative for Round 3:
The Paladin curses loudly. "Damn! She's ensorcelled! Cordelia, is there anything you can do?" "Sweet sounds of silver! That music is heavenly!" Ignacious moves through, past his companions and even walks directly past the harpy who ignores him completely, making his way most of the way to the fireplace where the heavenly sound is emanating from. Zo suddenly stops thinking about tactics, and her face takes on a distant, puzzled expression. "That sounds like.... But she died so long ago.... It can't be," she murmurs as she approaches the fireplace to look up the chimney. Shield and Sarenrae's holy scimitar in hand, Father Meghdad steps out in front of the creature. "Go back to the Abyss, spawns of darkness!" The blade cuts a deep gouce in the harpy's leg and it screeches in pain. The harpy makes a mighty swing with its club, aiming at the Father. To its surprise, it misjudges the angle and the club bounces off the door frame and smacks it full in the face. Its nose is bloody and looks broken and the harpy looks very unhappy. Immensely frustrated it continues swinging wildly at the cleric and manages to scratch him its back talons. On the far side of the dining room, the second harpy continues its captivating song as it drops down out of the chimney and sidles towards its entranced victims. Cordelia spys the Harpy and calls back to Gregori, "not unless I can maybe disrupt it's concentration." She conjures a tiny ball of flame into her palm and hurls it towards the Harpy, but flies over its shoulder impacting with a dull flumpf on the back of the fireplace. Gregori Rushes forth to attack the creature, sword flashing. "Snap out of it!! We're under attack!!" His skill guides the blade true and it connects with the vile creature's chest, making a bright red mark. "Dad...?" Rhade mutters as he sheathes his dagger and holding his longsword loosely he walks after Ignacious trying to look into the room and see if he can spy his father. For a moment he wonders if stepping between the Father, Gregori and the strange creature they are interacting with is a safe idea, but then he decides that the music is simply too wonderful to miss. Initiative for Round 2:
Zo, Rhade, Ignacious:
You hear the most beautiful music coming from the room in front of you. Never in your wildest dreams could you imagine that singing could be so beautiful. You don't see what is making this amazing song, but it seems to be coming from within the fireplace on the north side of this room. Father Meghdad, Cordelia, Gregori:
The most god-awful screeching erupts from the far side of the dining room, specifically from inside the large fireplace. A second later a winged humanoid shape comes swooping out towards you. It looks like an ugly human woman from the waist up. Below the waist it looks distinctly more avian, with three-toed feet bearing razor sharp claws. She bears a wicked looking club which is aiming right Gregori's head.
Initiative:
Whether the skeletons are animated or not, they are certainly not evil as far as Gregori can tell.
There are no kobold tracks in here. The room seems undisturbed.
Gregori opens the northern door, confident that Zo made sure that it wasn't trapped. It opens into the middle of a rectangular, 30' by 15' room. A long wooden table occupies the center of this room, surrounded by a dozen plain wooden chairs. Human skeletons, wearing the rags of fine dinner attire, occupy four of the chairs. On the table in front of each chair sits a golden dinner plate, accompanied by a dusty glass goblet and dull silverware. A large stone fireplace looms in the north wall opposite you. The room has four other exits: two to the east and two to the west. Your guessing that the northern wall of the room is built right up against the mountain.
Zo goes ahead and examines the closed door, looking for traps. It's always good to have options about which way to go, especially when you might be in a hurry later. Zo takes a careful look at the door, but does not find any traps on it. It also seems to just be closed and not locked.
Reexamining the central hallway (to the west of the room you are currently in) reveals what you had spotted before: kobold tracks going between the entrance to the south and the other bedroom to the west. Zo also notices a closed door leading to the north from here. No tracks lead that way.
You can be pretty sure that the kobolds know your party is there. You have not been particularly quiet (what with the combat and all) and have been speaking to each other as well. In addition, you are carrying lights, which the kobolds can see, even if they can't directly see you now, being in a different room. You guess there are at least five of them in that room, judging from the voices.
Seeing the one-eyed woman getting away with the money, Sevegny casts a spell of command. "Approach!" the priestess intones. Sadly, Sevegny has forgotten that the One-Eyed Woman has been deafened by the dwarf's thunderstone and does not hear her. Seeing the lady heading for the door, and knowing he'll never cut her off in time, Thumparr moves towards her, pulling his weapon from his belt, and hurls his throwing axe, hoping to at least make her drop the chest. The axe hits her directly in the sternum, the force of the blow knocking her on her back, the minuscule chest still held in her left hand. INITIATIVE FOR ROUND 3:
Judging from their conversation, although it's hard to make out every word they are saying, they seem to be trapped in that room and trying to make their way back to the others. There is talk of dangerous undead and crazy men with swords and magic.
The corridor to the east Zo peers down is a very short one. Once one gets out of the room there is an immediate portal opens on a set of stairs going down. Just five feet or so beyond that doorway is another open doorway on the left (or north) side which opens into another room. The corridor ends shortly thereafter at the eastern outer wall of the castle. There is the slight sound of muted conversation and whimpering coming from the northern room. It's definitely not in Common, and sounds a lot like the kobold's pidgin Draconic, but it's so quiet that's its hard to make sure.
Ignacious does not feel anything overtly strange while lying in the moldy bed. It seems to have been left here quite some time ago and is in very bad condition. Numerous small vermin crawl around on the faded red sheets. When the dwarf sits up, he does feel extremely refreshed, however.
The non-dwarves seem to have gotten the price for the bracelet about right. It's beautifully made of gold and rubies and looks like it would fetch about 750 gp. The sorceress studies the bed in some detail but can't seem to figure out the properties of the bed. Perhaps if someone were to lie in it, they might find out for themselves?
The lovely bracelet seems to be worth about 750. It looks to be made of solid gold with real rubies inlaid. It does not detect as being magical, but something strange catches Cordelia's attention out of the corner of her eye. Turning towards the center of the bedroom she realizes that the bed itself is radiating magic; transmutation magic to be exact!
There does not seem to be anything untoward under the bed.
Rhade: Among the trash you find a beautiful bracelet set with rubies. You guess that it's worth about 750 gp.
The party moves north from the stench-filled storage room and immediately encounters the narrow closet that Zo has already been through. It is approximately 10 feet in length and 5 feet in width and is strewn with small heaps of trash. On the wall there are empty hooks for hanging things and above your heads various strings are strung to also hang things from. The closet opens up on the other side into a decrepit bedroom with a large, mouldering four-poster bed in it. That room has two other exits: one to the west which opens into a hallway, and one to the north-east, which leads into another hallway.
Rhade can only smell the sparkling overtones of the putrid scent (part swamp/part decaying body/part stuffy box) coming off the dead bodies he is currently sharing a room with. That, and a bit of damp, musty ruined castle, of course.
] As she says this, she proceeds to utter a short Arcane phrase, scanning the room for the telltale golden glow that would signify that her spell had discovered something magical. Nothing in the room seems to radiate magic.
Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, Ignacious fires off another Disrupt Undead cantrip. This time his luck is not with him, and the spell fizzles uselessly against the castle wall. Smarting at the loss of his second silver dagger Rhade shifts his now weaponless hand behind his back and kneeling slightly slices into the zombie with his longsword. The stroke takes the monster's head clean off and it tumbles lazily to the floor. The body keels over and starts twitching spazmodically.
Iggie goes with what works and fires a Disrupt Undead cantrip at the foul mistake of nature! Once again his aim is true and the positive energy cantrip blasts off one of the zombie's fingers, sending it flying. Rhade tries to coordinate his attacks. His longsword hits true and cuts a shallow gouge into unresponsive dead flesh. Whilst trying to remain a difficult target to hit, his zombie foe manages to keep him off balance enough to seriously miss with his new silver dagger. It bounces off the creature's armor and due to a bad grip, jumps from the ranger's hand, flying over the heads of his companions and landing in the room to the west with a loud clatter. Luckily Rhade still has his longsword. The boggard zombie continues its relentless attack, swinging at Rhade and catching him in the side of the chest. Luckily he is reaching out to try and catch his flying dagger and unwittingly sidesteps the worst of the blow. Unsure what to do since he his companions are blocking his view, the Father bides his time. Despite her previous miss, Cordelia strikes again at the creature with her scimitar. Cursing her luck again, it fails to even get close to the creature. Gregori twists around trying to bring his blade to bear on the monster's tough hide, but fails to get a bite. COMBAT ROUND 6
Examining the floor, Zo tries to see if there are similar footprints in this room as well. Despite a quick look around she does not find any at all. It seems the kobolds all go the other way. She wonders why this might be. Behind her the battle with the remaining zombie continues.
Once again, the halfling wizard lobs another cantrip at the sole remaining zombie. This times it hits the creature straight in the head, momentarily disorienting it. Turning to face the last foe grimacing in pain at the blow Rhade concentrates his attacks. His longsword seems to penetrate the zombie's defenses but the blow has thrown off his aim as his dagger comes nowhere near close enough. Hoping her allies have the second zombie well in hand, Zo turns her attention to the bedroom through which she just cut, watchful in case the noise of battle attracts the attention of kobolds ... or anything else that might be waiting further inside the structure. However, she can't help but be distracted by her friends' melee nearby. Making his way back through the walk-through closet he finds the room to be another old bedroom. A large four-poster bed stands in the middle of the north wall, still with mattress and down cover. It seems to be very old and moldy, but otherwise unremarkable. The room has two other exits, one to the west which leads back to the northern hallway, and another to the north-east leading to another narrow hallway. Not realizing it is completely outnumbered, the boggard zombie continues to fight. It swings its crude morningstar at Rhade, but the ranger deftly deflects the blow with his longsword. Father Meghdad waits for an opportunity to strike a foe or aid an companion. Wondering about the loss of her Heavenly Fire, Cordelia turns and takes a swing at the remaining Zombie with her scimitar, but unfortunately her preoccupation means that the swing misses it's target. Gregori rounds on the monster with his longsword, but the over extension of his last strike puts him at an awkward angle. COMBAT ROUND 5 Ignacious Throckmorton III 19
|