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Torvi hammered the first Husk into the ground. The long dead skin of it's face sloughed off the bone where it had met her Dorn-Dergar. As the first Husk tumbled backwards, the next two moved forward. Torvi realized that the one in the back had a reach weapon, and was trying to skewer her from ten feet down on the staircase. It had a difficult time maneuvering to do this, however, and she was able to avoid both attacks.
Dice:
Torvi moved forward into the staircase, invisible. She found the Husks waiting on the spiral staircase below the level the party was on, between that level and the ground floor of the gatehouse. They were in single file, meaning that one was within five feet of her, and the next was within ten feet of her.
Attacking the first, she struck a glancing blow across it's helmet that didn't seem to inflict any real damage. Ungor lept forward into the staircase. Squeezing into the space behind Torvi, he tried to bite at the Soulless Husk, but was unable to reach over Torvi's shoulder with his head.
Dice:
The group moved forward. The Husks were waiting in the spiral staircase at the far end of the gatehouse, about ten feet below the level you were on.
Torvi looked around briefly before walking back down the spiral staircase. She could see a trapdoor leading to the roof, and another arrow slit where the bones of the archer she had slain laid. There was little else of interest. The group paused in the main room of the gatehouse for some time. There were small noises of adjusting in the spiral staircase, and then a deathly quiet.
Torvi and Karri encountered no further resistance at the top of the stairs. Ungor heard movement coming from the spiral staircase, but as of yet had no sight of the enemy.
I will be traveling from Thursday until Sunday, and will likely post once during that time.
Torvi moved up the close spiral staircase quickly. She found an alcove about ten feet above, caught the Skeletal Archer inside, and vanquished it with a stroke of her Dorn-dergar.
Atash watched as the undead outside repositioned. The group knew about three different potential threats. First, there was an undead captain who had crossed the courtyard to the other gatehouse. Second, there were three Soulless Husks. They had been spotted to the Southeast, and had entered the first floor of the gatehouse the party was currently in. Ungor could hear movement at the bottom of the Spiral staircase to the Southwest. Finally, there was at least one more Skeletal Archer. It had fired from an arrow slit located above the spiral staircase to the Northeast. It was probably one floor above the party.
Torvi's mace sent the archer's bones scattering across the floor. It's crossbow went off, the bolt shattering on the inside of the wall and spraying splinters through the air.
Ungor felt the door open easily. Atash had already been at work here. Squeezing his large frame through the door, he moved forward into the tower. To his right, Ungor saw a spiral stair. In an alcove just beside this stood one of the archers who had been shooting at you. It was a skeleton, the flesh picked clean from bones bleached white by the sun. One hand held a crossbow, the other scratched at Ungor ineffectually. Ungor found himself in a narrow, long room which stretched from one end of the small gatehouse to the other. He saw no other enemies inside. There had been multiple archers firing at the group, one of which had been on a higher level. The rest of the party followed behind Ungor.
Dice:
The group hurried over to the gatehouse. They were just as fast as the Soulless Husks, so they made it to the doorway first. Charging forward first, Ungor was exposed to crossbow fire from the tower beside the gatehouse. One of them had enough altitude to get a good shot over the battlements on the wall walk. An arrow stuck into the bear, but it didn't penetrate deeply enough to cause any real damage.
The group watched as the Soulless Husks moved towards the gatehouse. You noticed that they were not very fast, even when running at full speed. They had a slow, shambling gait. On the other side of the gatehouse, you saw another undead warrior. This one bore heraldry and moved more like one of the living. It moved North and West, towards the other gatehouse.
Dice:
Siege Ballista Rules: Large Exotic Direct Fire Siege Weapon AC 3 (-5 Dex, -2 Size) Hardness 5 80 HP Disable with 2d4 rounds and DC 20 Disable Device check Space 5ft
The normal penalty for firing a weapon with which you are nonproficient is -4. If only a single medium creature uses this weapon, they take an additional -2 penalty for using a weapon that is too large for them. A second creature who assists in crewing this weapon removes this penalty. A large creature can use it without penalty. This weapon can be reloaded by two creatures if both spend a fullround doing so. A large creature can reload it with one fullround. This weapon can be moved 10 ft if two medium creatures each use a move action to do so. Battlements provide cover to creatures who are loading or moving. However, you do not have cover during the round in which you fire the Siege Ballista.
Karti clung to the wall and made no progress. Ungor picked up Torvi and held her 15 feet in the air.
She managed to scramble the last few feet over the top. The bell continued to ring, but
Karti managed to scramble over the top. Ungor moved over so that he was behind the taller of Atash's illusionary walls.
Ungor followed behind. He was able to squeeze his massive frame onto the wall walk, though he would have a hard time using the battlements as cover from the tower above once he moved out from behind Atash's illusionary wall. To make room for the others, Atash moved onto the turret with the siege ballista. Ready strung, he saw a supply of ten bolts laying in a corner of the turret. He had a good view of the field below, and could see the three Soulless Husks he had noticed earlier. They were making for the gatehouse. Atash realized that he had become visible while the others scaled the wall.
Karti managed to scramble halfway up the wall. Ungor was still turning around, regaining his bearings after the sudden assault.
Torvi realized a quarrel was sticking out of her left arm, near the shoulder.
The group heard a bell going off faintly in the gatehouse. It was not very loud, and you doubted the sound would travel far. You realized that no more arrows were coming your way, at least for the moment.
Still invisible, Atash moved back out. Scaling the vines, he worked on fastening a rope to the battlements atop the wall. Once secured, he whispered to the others using message. When he let go of the rope, it became visible. Torvi went first, the others close behind. Intent on climbing the vines as fast as possible, the group moved quickly to the base of the wall. As they reached it, crossbow bolts thudded against Torvi. Atash had been watching, and saw that they both came from the same tower.
Dice:
Atash crept from one door to the next, working with his thieves tools. He unlocked the door from each wall walk to each gatehouse. Then he walked back to the ladder, climbed down into the courtyard, and unlocked the double doors to each gatehouse. Then he rejoined the party and suggested that they make straight for the vines and try to climb them as fast as possible.
Atash looked at the Arrow slits closely. They were high up and the space behind them was in shadow. In the past, he had been able to detect undead because they had stood behind arrow slits that were broken open. Though an eagle might see something behind these, Atash could not. Perhaps if he was on the wall, right next to one, he would have a better vantage. Inspecting the ladder, Atash noticed that it was in very poor shape. It held his own weight, but he could not trust it would do the same for the rest of the party. From atop the battlement, Atash could see onto the wall walk. Fortunately, there were no undead in the area immediately surrounding the siege crossbow. Perhaps they waited inside one of the gatehouses. In the West, Atash could see Pyrsa’s Main Gate. The Keep was out of sight from atop the wall. The near gatehouse had a door on the edge of the wall walk. It was closed. A large set of double doors was also present at the ground level for each of the two gatehouses. It was reasonable to expect that there would be doors into the gatehouses from each wall walk, though whether any would be open was another question. There were probably also trapdoors atop the towers flanking each gatehouse.
To the Southeast, outside the courtyard, Atash saw undead laying on the ground. There were three Soulless Husks, perhaps pretending to be corpses. It seemed that the undead were more wary of an attack from without than from within the courtyard.
Atash crept forward, silent as a spider. It was apparent that the defenses here were in a state of disrepair. Though the walls had once had battlements, many of them had crumbled and cracked with the years. Despite the damage inflicted by the long years, a siege crossbow was ready strung atop a turret. It was aimed outwards.
The rest of the party were left in a small shed. They huddled behind cracked doors and waited while Atash explored. An old ladder leaned against a wall. It would be easy enough to climb.
Across from the ladder, Atash noticed thick vines that had grown in a section of the wall. They had broken stone and created holds for hands and feet.
Two imposing gatehouses stood on the far side of the narrow courtyard. Arrow slits on the sides of their towers faced both inside the courtyard and without. If there were undead waiting behind them, Atash could not tell.
As Atash's pit wore off, you gathered again. The ancient guardians were no more, and before you a set of stairs led up. On your right, a door opened onto a small room. Chains hung from one wall. A long hallway led off into darkness, sloping gently up. Following it, you saw that it had tracks worn into it. At the end, another door hung ajar. Atash peered out carefully and saw a small courtyard. There was a large siege crossbow strung beside a small tower. Though he saw no undead, there were sure to be some beside the well maintained instrument of war. Without any cover, he could go no farther. Returning to the room where you had fought the golems, the party tried the stairs. Through a hallway that grew increasingly narrow, they led up to the surface. The party found themselves inside a small tower set into one of the walls, just inside Pyrsa's Main Gate. Before you lay Pyrsa's First Ward. In the distance, you could just barely see the Keep.
Blood running down the side of her head, Torvi struggled to her feet. As the stone statue moved to pound her once again, she suddenly shifted her weight. As the golem's immense weight came bearing down, she caught it on the chin with the tip of her Dorn-dergar. It's head exploded, sending bits of broken stone and dust scattering across Torvi's bloodstained armor.
Dice:
Hiding at the edge of the pit and popping out just long enough to snipe, Atash continued to inflict damage. Unable to reach Torvi with its long mace, the stone golem resorted to using it's forearms like clubs. Still reeling from her fall and struggling back to her feet, Torvi was caught hard by the massive weight of the statue as it slammed into her.
Dice:
Torvi hit the golem hard across the head. She found it difficult to attack around the edge of the pit, and had to lean out to get a good angle.
Then she took a tumble.
Atash kept his balance as he moved to the edge of his own pit. Surprising the golem, he splashed acid across a weak point. The golem wobbled and nearly fell back to the bottom of the pit. It was near halfway up. The golem then grabbed ahold of the wall with one hand to steady itself as it dropped back down. Being over ten feet tall, and having twenty feet of reach, it was able to reach the top of the thirty foot pit with its long mace. It struck at Atash. The ratfolk was able to take cover using the edge of the pit, avoiding the attack. The ground beneath him, however, was broken open by the stone statue's spiked mace.
Dice:
Working in tandem, the party brought one of the monster's down. As it fell, Ungor clutched at it's throat with his teeth and tore off a chunk of stone. Within, you could see that it was hollow. Bright sparks of magic flew from inside the creature, and then dissipated. Ungor felt a sting like vinegar on a sore, but as he turned to look at the acid that soaked his flesh, he saw that he was unharmed. Turning your attention to the remaining golem, you found it near the bottom of the pit. It's feet were on one wall, it's shoulders pressed against the opposite. Inch by inch, it was climbing slowly out. Dice:
Taking advantage of Ungor's monstrous size, Karti closed in. As he did, the golem stepped back and whirled it's mace with terrible speed. Ungor felt it crack across his skull, and then watched as the ground beneath him burst asunder.
Dice:
Torvi moved forward, but found it hard to both avoid opening herself to attacks and generate the power needed to actually damage the golem. Ungor, on the other hand, was able to cleave through yet more stone. Though he pulled with all his might, he was unable to close to grappling distance on the mighty statue. He was, however, able to force it into a defensive stance and avoid retaliation while he repositioned. The golem on the right raised it's mace to strike at Ungor once again, only for the ground beneath it's feet to disappear. Reacting too slowly, it dropped suddenly out of sight. Dice:
Ungor moved forward, his claws tearing into the statue on the left. Karti kept close behind him, his Giant Sticker ready to parry incoming attacks. Both statues attacked Ungor. As their heavy maces drew close to the ground, they suddenly sped up, as if the stone was calling to them. With Karti's assistance Ungor avoided both attacks. The maces of the golems broke the ground where they struck it, heaving jagged points of stone up from below. Next round, you knew, those same spots on the ground would erupt with spurts of acid.
Dice:
The group prepared, Ungor opened the combat. As soon as his spell took effect, the statues lowered their maces. Just as an avalanche moved quickly, so did the two golems. Their maces lowered and they stepped forward almost as soon as Ungor's spell touched their stone frames.
Dice:
RE Horn of Karena The new creature summoned by the horn is as follows: Knight of Karena
Flame-Blessed Charge (SU): Charge attacks by a knight of Karena deal an additional 1d6 points of Fire damage. This is not multiplied on a crit. Summoning is a standard action. The Summoned knight lasts for 1 minute. You can sell the horn for 1300 GP.
The group settled down for the night. The rain continued on for some time as you nodded off to sleep. In the night, you dreamed of King Justin, sitting high on his throne. Age had bent his back, but his head was unbowed. Beside him, the Flame burned eternal, casting deep shadows across a jagged face. Before him, seated in his decrepit hall, sat the dead. Unbreathing, unblinking, their armor glinted red. Justin's own eyes gazed steadily across the room, but you could not see what he watched. Late in the night, the rain stopped and the air grew cold. You were blessed that no evil overtook you in the night. By morning, the door to the outside world was frosted shut, though with determination you could probably open it. Returning once more to the underground caverns you had previously explored, you made your way to the stone statues. It had been Torvi who noticed the subtle lines at their feet, which had told her that they were not attached to the floor. Anyone who wanted to pass between the statues would have to walk directly underneath the spiked heads of their two long maces, held outstretched and crossed between them. These long hafted weapons would outreach the ones you carried.
Dice:
Ok, I have also heard from Ungor via Discord. As I have heard from everyone, I am moving forward. Your plan was to fight the golems, so I will put you in front of them. You will have the opportunity to open the action.
Great to hear from you both. I am still looking for a check in from Karti and Ungor.
Happy New Year Everyone! I am ready to get things back underway. Let's do a quick check in to make sure everyone is leveled up. I think we should wait to get things going until we have heard from everyone. As far as I know, you are planning on going to fight the golems next. I have a list things Ungor wants to do before fighting. If anyone else has anything they want to do to prepare for the fight, post those actions in gameplay so I know that you're taking them.
Looks like we are all set except for Karti. I am posting from my phone and am not looking up the stats for the Horn of Karen’s, but it’s something I will do. We have at least one person who is probably busy through the end of the year. I myself think it would be reasonable to wait until January, then try to restart things from a strong position. Our other option is to move things forward now, but I’m not sure that’s a great idea. I don’t have information from Atash and Karti on what they would like to do before combat (as I do from Ungor). I am also not sure we’re all in a position to pay attention to an important combat. So in my view, it’s better to wait until January and get started on the right feet. Please let me know if you feel otherwise.
Quick ready check. Who is leveled up and ready to go?
The group returned to the Mine Control Room. Ungor and Karti strapped the chest of drownstone onto Torvi's back. The dwarf found that her back could bear the load, but that the sides of the chest constantly hit against walls and doorways as the group made their way beck to the surface. As the group returned to the Sally Tunnel entrance, they could hear the sounds of rain pattering above. Peering out, the world outside was dark. A faint glimmer of grey in the West told you that the sun was setting. All around, you could hear the rain plinking off leaves and dripping onto a soft forest floor. As night fell, the group decided to sleep inside the Sally Tunnel's stairway, an area just large enough to house four adventurers.
The group returned to the elevator and moved back towards the surface. As the group stepped off the elevator, a thin voice whispered, "at last, I am free." Torvi reached for the mask, which she still held, and watched as it crumbled to dust in her hands. Another soul freed, perhaps?
Atash scurried along, moving as fast as his short legs could carry him. Though his eyes were quick and his feet soft, he saw no creatures living or dead. Only the stone of the walls, here smooth and dull, there jagged and formed with bits of ore.
The group returned to the elevator, still coughing occasionally. Karti pushed the lever down, and you descended to the third floor. Again, there was only a single tunnel. You followed it for a short distance. It turned sharply to the right. This tunnel was more like the one on the second floor than the one on the first. It was small and narrow, without space for large equipment. It went on longer than either had, however. You must have walked at least a quarter mile before you came to a small room. You recognized it as holding much of the same equipment you had seen on the upper levels, such as pickaxes and ever burning torches. Beyond this, the tunnel split into four directions. Each led to areas where mining had once taken place, though there were no wheelbarrows here. Two of these paths were short, but two were long and twisting, with a few side tunnels. The ore itself was more clearly visible than on the floors above. Perhaps this lower level was more recent, and not so much had been taken. There was little of interest here at the present, however.
Dice:
The group moved back towards the entrance with all haste. At about the same moment that the pivot room came into view, the air crystals failed. You moved quickly, holding your breath for about a minute while you continued to move away from the pivot room. At last, you tore off your masks, coughing and breathing in foul air. It wasn't until you passed the upward slope in the tunnel, between the elevator and the pivot room, that you began to breath clearly again. Atash remained stoic throughout.
Atash squeezed his way into the pile of rubble. Thought it was densely packed, the ratfolk had a knack for fitting through the smallest of cracks. He made his way forward a few feet, the others counting their breaths while they waited. After twenty breaths, Atash emerged holding a discarded breathing mask. One of the eye lenses was shattered, the other whole. The mask was giving off an Evil aura.
Torvi immediately detected the presence of evil. Ungor continued digging for a moment. Torvi continued to concentrate on the aura. There was a single moderate aura.
Ungor began to dig at the rubble. The stones were heavier than they looked, but with Torvi’s help he was able to begin making headway. Karti, who remained clearheaded, began to wonder how much more air the group had. It was difficult to gauge. The group had been walking for at least a minute, maybe more, and then Ungor had come racing down here. The entrance must be some distance back now. |
