Brunar whispers over his shoulder, "Aye, ye continue on?
"Yeah, let's clear some rooms."
Brunar continues to move forward at a combat shuffle with his guard up until something poses a threat or there is a door.
Once the huge doors are opened the party finds a wide dark passageway heading off to the north.
Holding the light high once again, Sandy motions for everyone to gather into a close formation, as Brunar and Kiril lead the way
Their footsteps echo down the long empty hall as they begin a slow careful march into the unknown. After they have gone one hundred and fifty feet without finding anything of interest, they come to a passageway, much smaller (only ten feet wide) that tees off on the right, while ahead of them there is another pair of two ten foot wide doors on the right, just a short distance to the north, passed the tee.
In the dim shadows beyond this, the party can see that this northward going passageway ends in a turn to the right, and is still twenty feet wide there, but on the left, in the corner is yet another set of two ten foot wide doors.
Brunar whispers back, "Aye, headin' for the large set of doors just past the T."
Brunar seems to take a leadership role and leads the rest of the group past the tee intersection, and to the large set of doors on the east wall of the passageway.
They look safe enough, and with Gwendolyn’s help the doors are shoved open.
A foul odor assaults the group when the doors open, and in the large room beyond, a green monstrous form, with its back to the doors is hunched down, squatting, picking through a pile of bones.
One long muscled arm rises, long clawed fingers scratch at the monster's head behind its ear, and it keeps picking through the pile with its other hand, oblivious to the intruders.
Brunar looks at the creature and shrugs. He stops to see if he feels the party push on him or do they start backing up because whatever it is, it looks dangerous.
"Oh." Kayne stops up short as the group comes upon the creature, and he clears his throat very quiet. "Oh my. We might want to back out very slowly," he whispers, taking a step backwards. "This is a troll. It's no good news, especially when we're already tired."
Brunar waits for everyone to backup before he does but keeps watch of the troll just in case he smells Kiril ... ;-)
Kiril moves with Brunar, a trained instinct from fighting in shield lines. He backs up when the dwarf does, not saying anything.
Once everyone backs out, Brunar backs out slowly and closes the door shut slowly and quietly as possible, even more so than when they entered.
Flint snaps his fingers when his allies art beginning to withdraw from the troll, trying to get kayne's attention. "got any fire or acid magic? I've got an idea!"
Kayne turns to Flint and raises a finger to his face. "Shh! No, not a great deal. I could spray it with fire perhaps twice. It may not have occurred to you, but retreat is likely our best option."
Not wanting to be the first one the Troll sees after what could be Flint's irrational thinking maneuvers himself accordingly but doesn't let the women first to be seen either.
The group makes a collective, silent,
*gulp*
and backs away from the open door slowly, as the sound of the debris being thrown about as the Troll searches for something continues
Flint pauses in the hall, whispers to Kayne, and smiles
Flint whispers to the others with a big grin on his face. His eyes are wide, eager, excited. His usual reserved or surly manner nearly lost entirely.
"Let's get some sleep, come back, and fight it!" If it weren't for his ribs still feeling a bit tender from before, he'd have charged in there right now.
Kiril nods in agreement, "And we'll bring fire."
"My company killed a troll once, we circled it with tower shields and shot it full of fire arrows. Still lost a lot of people. They might be big but they aren't slow. It was a flurry of claws and teeth til it's last breath." A mix of pride and loss in his voice.
Brunar nods, "Aye, I agree, let's rest and then hunt er down. It is better to fight it on our time and not its. Shall we go back to a room we have already been?"
"yeah, upstairs where we cleared out those bandits. Over the pit with the board? Good, safe hide out I think. Except from us, I mean. We kicked the crap or I'd those bandits! We'll fare better then them, yea?"
Flint will then lead the way, whistling through the empty, eerie halls
Kiril follows, keeping alert.
Brunar nods and extends his axe for Flint to lead the way, "Aye, since you know thee way, lead on." Brunar also follows and keeping alert.
Flint leads the party back up the stairs, through the room with the dead spider, and then to the east, to a pit in the middle of a tee intersection. With everyone’s help the party manages the long, stout boards that are used to cross the pit, and then pulling them back onto the side they have moved to, the party feels relatively safe from any wandering intruders.
From the tee intersection, it is a short walk to a set of rooms, some hidden behind secret doors. A corner of one such room, with only one door leading in is selected for the group to take a much needed rest.
Gwendolyn, Sandy, and Kirstyd unroll blankets, and settle in close to one another, agreeing that as a group they will take the second watch, after a good sleep.
Kiril, Flint, Brunar, and Kayne set out their back packs, and rest, when it seems like sleep is taking hold of them, they wake the girls, who are well rested and ready to stand watch while the boys get some sleep
Kiril wakes to find Kristyd curled up under his arm.
When everyone is well rested, Sandy takes a moment to prepare spells for the day.
Brunar helps Sandy with anything she may need help with before quickly packing his stuff, and making sure he is nice and neat to the best of his ability in the current circumstances. After he packed and making sure Sandy no longer needs any help, he speaks up, "So is it Troll poundin' time or are we going to avoid it?"
Kiril looks surprised--but not that surprised by his visitor. He gets dressed and geared up. "What we got for fire? He's not going down otherwise."
When Flint wakes, he makes faces at Alighieri and chuckles to himself until everyone has roused.
"I have torches!" Flint says, adding to the conversation. He then points to Kayne. "And we have him!"
Clearly he believes a spell caster can summon magical fire.
Kiril takes on a more militaristic tone, "Right then, you two are on fire duty. If you see its wounds start to close up, hit it with some. Brunar you'll go first, I'll back you up with my pike. If you take too many hits I'll get up in its face to cover you. I think that ought to be the core of our tactic. Anyone else have any ideas?"
He slings his massive backpack onto his shoulders, strapped with multiple weapons.
"How about not provoking the nasty giant that can tear us to shreds and close its own wounds?" Kayne's voice is dripping with sarcasm, and he waves a hand as soon as anyone looks at him. "Of course. That would be foolish, wouldn't it? Very well."
"Aye, foolish indeed but fun and if we don't get 'em now, it can hunt us when we are not at our best." Brunar takes up the lead and waits for everyone to be ready before moving out leading the group back to the place where they saw the troll.
Kiril follows Brunar.
The party rises, gathers their belongings, and when Kayne is sure that Algheri has been fed and watered, the group makes haste for the second level of the dungeon.
Following Brunar’s keen memory, and with some help from the map that Sandy and Gwendolyn have been trying to make, they arrive in the corridor just before the set of double doors where they last saw the troll
In the dim light beyond the range of Sandy’s spell shining from her staff, you can see that the doors are both closed.
When Flint sees the doors to the room containing the troll, he grins broadly and gives a couple quiet snaps of his fingers. He does this to get everyones attention before waving everyone a bit closer to him, in an improvised huddle. In a whisper loud enough to carry only to his group (or those with VERY keen ears), he begins a pep talk.
"Alright. You all heard the plan, ya? Couldn't have came up with better myself. But there's more we need to all do. Each and every one of us needs to be awesome." he grins, looking each person in the eye (he guesses when it comes to Kayne).
He pulls out his torches, handing them over to Sandy and Gwendolyn as he talks. "Trolls are tough, but in the end, I'm tougher. Got it? So if any of you do happen to take the cowards way out by dying, I'll make sure I carry your stories proudly into history. Don't worry, if you get yourselves killed, your legacy will be well cared for."
Flint finishes his pep talk with a wink. For good or for ill, Flint intends on telling the story of any who die this day. This may provide further incentive not to die.
"Sandy. Can you make sure we always have a fresh, lit torch on hand?"
As the team gets ready to breach the door, Flint extends a single small fist (The largest in the room as far as he's concerned) toward Brunar. He holds it out, very bumpable. "Hey," he whispers. "Don't Elf out. You got this." he says reassuringly.
"I don't know whether to be more or less concerned at this point," Kayne says. He heaves a sigh and flexes the hand under his gauntlet. "That said, it is an opportunity to exercise my full power... Very well. Let's give this a try. But don't hesitate to fall back if you're getting the worse for wear, particularly if we run out of healing magics."
If anyone gives the warlock a second glance at the odd compassion, he shrugs. "It would be something of an inconvenience if I needed to go find new help--er, companions--for this expedition."
Flint will have a lit torch in his main hand and his rapier in his off hand. When they breach, he'll enter the room yelling "YAAAAAR!" like he's repelling borders on his ship. He'll stay behind Kiril and Brunar for now.
Brunar holds up his shield and axe, and whispers, "Everyone ready? If so, someone not entering first, please open the door?"
Kiril gestures for Flint to open the door, and readies his pike.
Gwendolyn hands off the torch she is handed to Kristyd, telling her to stay close, but not too close, to Kiril, while she steps close to Flint.
Gwen and Flint shove on the two doors, opening them
The room is as was, with piles of refuse scattered around, but something is new. In the dim shadows beyond the light of the torches you think you see two dwarven men, bound and gagged lying on the floor to the north.
The troll cannot be seen by anyone with normal vision
Flint yells a battle cry
Kiril just readies an attack with the pike, guarding Brunar from anything charging out of the dark.
Brunar searches the room but does not see him, he whispers to Kiril but keeping his attention forward, "I don't see it Kiril, do you?"
"Well s@*+. Someone transformed the troll into two dwarves." Flint jokes.
He enters the room with his torch, providing light as he advances with Kiril and Brunar.
Kayne follows the others, leaving Alighieri in the hall for now. His rapier is drawn in one hand, and his gauntlet is crackling with arcane energy on the other.
Not seeing the troll right away the party advances into the room slowly.
Suddenly something rushes from the right. It squeals like a stuck pig, and snorts loud burst of air through its nostrils
*Hork Hork Hork*
The Troll is upon you and gains initiative for this round, attacking Brunar and Flint
Brunar is bitten, but his armor saves him from the savage raking of the troll’s claws. Flint is not so lucky
Gwendolyn screams a battle cry and rushes at the troll, her shield high and hammer swinging
Kristyd also charges in, a dagger in one hand and a torch in the other
Sandy gasps and speaks a healing spell as she runs to stand behind Flint
Brunar – takes – 13 damage (6)
Flint – takes – 10 damage (7)
Troll – takes 4 damage (80)
"OI that stung!" Seeing that the beastie has reach, Brunar does not back off to heal but attacks back with his battle axe, "ARRRRR!"
He hits and gives the troll a gash but nothing that will down the troll in the first exchange of blows.
Kiril thrusts with the pike as soon as the troll crashes against Brunar's shield, then immediately stabs again, aiming for its face but missing.
Seeing the hit Brunar took, Kiril moves out from behind him, presenting himself as possible target though not actively trying to draw the troll's attention yet.
Kayne lets out a hissing tsk and curses at the party. "I can't hit just the troll with you fools in the way!" For the time being, he unleashes just a single blast from his gauntlet, saving the fire until the others at least have a chance to get out of the way. "Clear out long enough for my strike!"
Flint's face is nearly pulped into gore by the creature's massive claws. Blood sprays, but his newly healed face (From the dwarf Sandy) turns back to the troll as soon as he's able.
With a halfling squint of determination, he doesn't fall back. Instead, he stands his ground and attacks with torch and rapier!