The other wrathspawn hesitates only slightly to gauge its attackers, then falls on the dog, tearing the beast to shreads with its wicked claws before turning on Slidell and lashing him. Wrathspawn attacks celestial dog. If it does enough damage, subsequent attacks target Slidell. (1d20+6=18, 1d4+4=6, 1d20+6=18, 1d4+4=5, 1d20=3, 1d6+2=4)
Slidell Fort save: (1d20+1=19)
Slidell starts to cry out as the summoned hound receives an obviously fatal blow and starts to fade in a shimmer of light. But his cry turns into a shriek of pain as the monster whirls in a heartbeat and strikes out at Slidell, drawing sparks from his mystic shields and managing to seriously gouge the skinny mage's left shoulder.
Slidell staggers, but manages to catch himself with his staff before he stumbles. There is a shimmer of silver light from his cloak clasp, and he shakes his head as the poison tries to take effect. With an effort, the mage looks up, pale but undaunted, into the horrors hate-filled eyes.
"Nice try splitjaw, but I don't easily fall for the same trick twice."
He regains his balance, and resettles his staff in a defensive position.
"Now. Let's try this dance again,..."
And Vesh's dagger plunges into the creature, which falls to the ground.
"That's better,..."
Vesh's movements draw Slidell's attention from the gruesome corpse, and back into the battle. Stepping carefully, Slidell begins a chant, and the air near him drops a few degrees as wisps of frost and blue light begin to coalesce in his hand. In a moment he he holding something that resembles a small, glowing, snowball.
"Scuze me," He mumbles to Vesh as he steps nearer, and after taking careful aim, hurls the glowing snowball towards the creature facing Mal.
Slidell to hit/dmg Orb of COld(lesser): (1d20+3=11, 1d8=3)
Salome feels a wave of nausea pass over her, followed by another and another. Her mind clouds and her eyes darken. Breathing heavily, she grabs her ankh. "Guide me, Sarenrae, and protect me from evil," she intones. Her eyes narrow and she jabs at the beast with her scimitar. "Take that, jimmarra!" she shouts. It looks like her aim is true, but...
Attack w/ penalty (1d20+2=22)Confirm crit (1d20+2=3)
Damage (1d6=1)
Fort save (penalty and bonus canel each other out) (1d20+5=21)
Ehlissa's eyes widen in alarm as she sees a 'Slidell Special Snowball' flying about.
That crazy wizard will be the death of someone! Hopefully not us...
Attack, damage (1d20+8, 1d8+3=[10, 8], [4, 3])
Wincing from her injuries, she works in conjunction with the group's resident priest to hamstring the creature. She grunts in satisfaction as her blade bites deep.
Seeking softer prey, it slinks between the two women, hoping to corner Vesh by the wall...
Vesh sees the creature slink between Ehlissa and Salome towards him. Knowing that Slidell is at his back, he sidesteps back and to his right so that he is now standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Slidell, facing the Wrathspawn. He fires his last magic arrow at the advancing creature.
Vesh vs. Wrathspawn #1 (1d20+7=16, 1d6+3=9)
EDIT: the attack roll should have been 15 (it's a +6 to hit, not +7), not 16.
Seeking softer prey, it slinks between the two women, hoping to corner Vesh by the wall...
Vesh sees the creature slink between Ehlissa and Salome towards him. Knowing that Slidell is at his back, he sidesteps back and to his right so that he is now standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Slidell, facing the Wrathspawn. He fires his last magic arrow at the advancing creature.
Vesh vs. Wrathspawn #1 (1d20+7=16, 1d6+3=9)
EDIT: the attack roll should have been 15 (it's a +6 to hit, not +7), not 16.
'Thank Desna' Mal dodges the creature's deadly blows and returns the kindness with equal fury.
Sli: for some reason I have you at 5hp. I must have missed something...
Slidell winces as his shot goes wide, with a slicing arc, and splats onto a wall, causing a large icy patch to form where it hit. He looks at Vesh.
"Oops?" He smiles wanly. "That was only a warning shot!" He cries towards the Wrathspawn. "You won't get another!"
"Especially since that was my last good spell,..." He mutters just loud enough for Vesh to overhear.
He fires his last magic arrow at the advancing creature.The arrow strikes the creature full in the chest. It stops dead in its tracks and appears to look first at the bow, then at the shaft protruding from its heart. After a moment of contemplation, reality sinks in and the wrathspawn collapses in a heap.
Slidell looks at the collapsed creature, the bow in Vesh's hand, and finally at Vesh himself with a raised eyebrow.
"Nice shot."
Mal dodges the creature's deadly blows and returns the kindness with equal fury.
Mal's foe withers under his furious assault and jumps towards him, claws flailing and teeth gnashing. He dodges its outstretched arms only to fall victim to its fang-filled maw.
"Malcolm!"
Slidell starts to lunge forward, and almost falls again. With a curse he leans on his staff to catch himself, holds out a pointed finger and cries, "Thyrori!"His hand is covered in an instant with pale blue spots of light coalescing into frost, and a familiar pale blue beam shoots from his finger towards the wrathspawn.
Doing her best to shield herself and Malcolm from the onslaughts of the beast, Salome reaches over to him and says a quick chant. CLW (1d8+4=6)
As Salome ministers to Malcolm, Ehlissa dashes past her to aid the stricken swashbuckler!
Attack, damage (1d20+7, 1d8+2=[13, 7], [3, 2])
Her longsword darts out and slices at the vile creature of the underworld!
Mal staggers back as the creature rips into him, feeling the burning poison coursing through his veins as blood flows from his wounds.
Salome's healing touch undos some of the creature's damage.
Through a haze of pain Mal charges at the offending wrathspawn with a shout of fury. He thrusts at the creature's gut, barely missing as he staggers over the rubble strewn floor.
Slidell stops his constant muttering when he hears the first 'PING'. He looks up from where he is slumped when he hears the second. He and his familiar share a glance, and he begins to move.
Moving swiftly and yet relatively silently, (from lack of armor at least if not great skills), Slidell retrieves a small bag of thick lamp oil from his pack, and refills the lantern. Standing carefully, he still winces when he leans his left arm against the wall for support.
He raises an eyebrow as he examines his shoulder. In the excitement he obviously hadn't realized how bad the wound was.
"Bad enough I reacted without thinking like a complete amateur,and blew almost every spell I have in the first fight," He mumbles, barely loud enough to be heard by those close to him, as he fishes another vial out of his cloak pocket. "But to fall over dead the next time someone sneezes on me, that would just be too embarrassing."
He pops the top and drinks it slowly, as if savoring every drop, then recaps the empty vial and places it in another pocket.
"I have one of those left." He whispers to the others. Then reslings his staff on his shoulder, and picks up his still loaded crossbow. He nods his readiness to the others.
'What was it master said, something about "Friend, Foe, or Other, the guy with the armor is there for a reason. Let him do his job, and you worry about yours".? Yep. Master can be an @$$ sometimes,..."
"I have one of those left." He whispers to the others. ...
"I have two should someone need them, " Says Vesh. Once he is satisfied that his companions are alright, he turns his attention to the bodies of the Wrathspawn.
Finding one of his magic arrows embedded almost up to its fletching in one of the creatures, he gives it a tug to try withdrawing it only to find that the dark shaft crumbles in his fingers and turns into a wisp of smoke-like dust. Frowning, Vesh looks to the other creature and is relieved that, when withdrawing Ameiko's blade, the dagger does not turn into a pile of dust. He wipes the dagger on his cloak and returns it to its sheath.
"Slidell," he says quietly, "I have a flask of oil in my pack--it won't be needed for the lamp as I have two more sunrods. Perhaps we should light the bodies on fire. What do you think?"
"We also *nn* have this." adds Ehlissa, wincing, and holding forth the glowing longsword.
"That we do," Says Vesh, "but I'm more comfortable with that in the belly of our enemies than used as a lamp, milady." He smiles and asks, "are you okay?"
Salome catches her breath and looks around. Once again, the pinging catches her attention. "How stable do you think this is?" she asks, tapping her foot on the slanted platform and looking around at the piles of rubble. "I say we burn the jimmarrae, and then get ourselves to stable ground."
"I'm fine, Vesh. Takes more than a scratch from an overgrown alleycat like that to take a Briez down. Milady is-was my mother's title. Just Ehlissa is fine." she says, not without some warmth.
"...Milady is-was my mother's title. Just Ehlissa is fine." she says, not without some warmth.
Vesh nods, "Just Ehlissa it is then."
"I say we burn the jimmarrae, and then get ourselves to stable ground."
Vesh nods at the cleric. "Let's get on with it, then." With help from the others, Vesh drags the bodies bodies of the Wrathspawn to an out-of-the-way spot and douses them with his flask of oil. Using Slidell's lamp to ignite some tinder, he lights the bodies on fire.
Turning towards the party Vesh nods his head towards the busted iron doors and the pile of rubble, "Let's go. These things reek."
Mal silently limps after the party, inwardly berating himself for his reckless actiosn in the battle.
He speaks up when he hears another ping "What is that blasted sound? I hope this place is stable; if I'm gonna die I want to die with the wind in my face not in some gods-forsaken cavern."
"Slidell," he says quietly, "I have a flask of oil in my pack--it won't be needed for the lamp as I have two more sunrods. Perhaps we should light the bodies on fire. What do you think?"
"I think that's a splendid idea." Slidell whispers back, echoing Salome's comment to light'em and leave'em. "The last thing we need is these creepies crawling back up behind us when we're facing another, or something even worse."
"She must have infused them with portions of Troll's blood or organs,... that would explain the stench at least." He mutters mostly to himself as they soak and light the bodies.
Slidell shines his lamp beam at the ruin of stairs next to them. "I guess that means we're going down, seeing as how I haven't mastered flying yet." He smirks.
He ponders the others' comments as the PINGing noises continue. He seems concerned, but not panicked.
"I think that this area, considering the circumstances, seems fairly stable." He says quietly to the others as they head for the stairway. "I don't believe that we are in any immediate danger of falling off the cliff. No. But the noises do seem familiar,... weren't there noises at the door before we opened it?" He asks with a puzzled look on his face, looking back over his shoulder at the entrance plate.
His brows furrows as he nervously takes a firmer grip on his crossbow. "I think it's possible that the noises are intentional. I think we're being led. Right to where somebody, or something, wants us."
Slidell looks at the others with a grin. "Well, don't just stand there, let's go see what they want!"
"That's a foolhardy plan; it's definitely a trap." Mal says with a grin "Let's go." and starts descending the stairs cautiously, first allowing those less wounded to precede him.
Upon reaching the rubble-strewn area, he pauses and after a moment says "Do any of you hear that? Before each ping it sounds like a rope whipping a strong wind."
"Could it be a bell perhaps?" asks Ehlissa, "and the clapper is being knocked against it by the wind?"
Salome can't help but stare at the stones and chunks of blue-grey stone strewn about the slanted floor. "So strange..." she mutters to herself, trying to take in the enormity of the room and its crumbling pieces.
"What is that?" she asks, noticing a jet black stone looking distinctly out of place -- and alone -- among the blue-grey mess and dust on the floor. "Why would this stone be here?" With a mixture of curiosity and caution, she approaches the stone to get a better look and see if she can see how or why it would be there. "Can someone shine a little more light here?" she asks.
"What is that?" she asks, noticing a jet black stone looking distinctly out of place -- and alone -- among the blue-grey mess and dust on the floor. "Why would this stone be here?" With a mixture of curiosity and caution, she approaches the stone to get a better look and see if she can see how or why it would be there. "Can someone shine a little more light here?" she asks.
"HMmmm?" Slidell Asks, dragging himself away from his own investigations of the area.
"What's What? Oh, more light? Certainly, one moment." Slidell responds to Salome's request. He makes his way next to the shrouded warrior-priest and brings the beam of his lantern to bear in front of her."What are we looking for,... or at?" He asks softly.
"Could it be a bell perhaps?" asks Ehlissa, "and the clapper is being knocked against it by the wind?"
"If it was a bell and the wind was ringing it than that would mean that we're closer to the cliffs than I thought and that there's another exit. My money's on it being someone trying to lure us into a trap."
He makes his way next to the shrouded warrior-priest and brings the beam of his lantern to bear in front of her.
"What are we looking for,... or at?" He asks softly.
Vesh approaches and frowns as the beam of light falls on the stone. Without touching the stone he begins to examine it and then examines the area around it for traps or anything unusual.
Vesh's Search check (1d20+8=22)
"Shall I look to see if it's magic? I'd rather not if you don't think it's safe. The ringing in my ears has just gone away from the last time I tried that." He says, reflexively rubbing his right ear.
"Shall I look to see if it's magic? I'd rather not if you don't think it's safe. The ringing in my ears has just gone away from the last time I tried that." He says, reflexively rubbing his right ear.
"No," says Salome thoughtfully, examining the stone closer in the light. "And I think we had better not touch it, either." She pauses, trying to remember what she can of the darker deities. "See that triangle with the dots? This is one of Lamashtu's symbols, she of nightmares and madness. They look like the eyes of her jackal face. Sometimes, she is a jackal with with bat wings and a serpent's tail, with smoke coming out of her three sightless eyes." She shudders, suddenly cold.
She turns to Slidell. "I know monsters and evil beings often worship Lamashtu. Would a Runelord like Alzanist bow down to a god?"
"If so," she continues thinking out loud to herself, "it would make sense that she would worship one like Lamashtu, which would make Lamashtu very old. But I can't imagine that Alzanist would worship anyone beside herself.... I doubt the wrathspawn follow any but their creator -- Alzanist again. So who would have left it here? Who, with access to this cave, would follow...?" she trails off.
"Something else I just remembered. The ink-black of the stone reminded me. Lamashtian cults use a thick, dark liquid they call the "Milk of Lamashtu." Like similar potions, it works as both a drug and a poison. It can give followers divine strength -- or it can change their bodies. Warp them into horrible mutations, ba jimmarrae -- like monsters.
Vesh listens to Salome intently. "I'll avoid touching that, then," he says with a frown.
When Vesh suggests that he try to use his arcane senses on the rock, Malcolm takes a few steps back.
He comes back to the group when Salome speaks "Lamashtu? When I was a kid my mum would tell me stories about how the Mother of Monsters would take away naughty children and turn them into monsters. Of course she only told them to try to keep me in line." he says, adding with a grin "Didn't work too well though."
"Yes, you're right, Salome," says Ehlissa quietly, "I've also heard of this 'milk'. It's all very twisted."
"Hmmm,... Yes. I mean, It's possible that Alzanist or the other Runelords worshipped Lamashtu or other dark deities. If only for the power they thought they might be granted as part of the 'faithful'. No. Your right, Alzanist most likely worshipped only herself. It IS however, very likely that one or more of Alzanist's followers were worshippers of Lammashtu." He settles to one knee to examine the smooth rock closer, while continuing to ramble.
" 'Milk of Lammashtu'? Yuck. Doesn't sound like anything that Amieko might be putting on the menu anytime soon. Note to self, don't drink the black milk,... If it fell from above, it was probably part of a larger structure, a statue or something. If only I could,..." Slidell carefully avoids touching the stone, but his fingers twitch, betraying his desire to examine it more closely. Finally he forces himself back up from the stone, though he is still on one knee.
"Salome, do you have any recollection of stories that might have described items used by the Lamashtities in their ceremonies? I seriously doubt that someone went to all the trouble to polish up a piece of onyx or whatever and decorated it with Lamashtu's symbol, just to use it as a paperweight!"
" Though it sound like something I might do, to teach my classmates a lesson,"
" If it IS dangerous, or even useful in ceremonies to darker forces, now that this tunnel is open I would rather not just leave it lying around. Eventually some enterprising, brave, or just plain foolish youth is going to make his way down here. It would be irresponsible on our part to just leave a Lamashtu party favor here to be tripped over and taken home as the centerpiece of a new cult altar."
"Salome, do you have any recollection of stories that might have described items used by the Lamashtities in their ceremonies? I seriously doubt that someone went to all the trouble to polish up a piece of onyx or whatever and decorated it with Lamashtu's symbol, just to use it as a paperweight!"
"Followers of a diety of madness and nightmares would certainly use hallucinogens; if they had monstrous side-effects, all the better, I am sure. A god or goddess often embodies an ideal, what his or her followers strive to be. In my case, Sarenrae represents goodness, healing, and light -- qualities I aspire to and strive to make active in my life. Lamashtu's followers would strive to be like her. Being poisoned, going mad, or becoming deformed might not be bad if it means becoming more like the one you worship."
"If it IS dangerous, or even useful in ceremonies to darker forces, now that this tunnel is open I would rather not just leave it lying around."
"It is so out of place here. Black in the blue-grey. Shiny in the dust. I think someone did leave it here, and not that long ago. Has anyone seen the elf-man since we fought the goblins in the glassworks? He could have known about this place."
Eventually some enterprising, brave, or just plain foolish youth is going to make his way down here. It would be irresponsible on our part to just leave a Lamashtu party favor here to be tripped over and taken home as the centerpiece of a new cult altar."
"As you wish. But I will not touch it. Lamashtu stands for the opposite of everything Sarenrae inspires. Darkness for light. Madness for clarity. Deformity for healing. Evil and chaos for goodness. She even counterfeits Sarenrae's scimitar with a falchion."
Ehlissa frowns as she also examines the artifact. "Yes, people do sometimes get themselves involved in things that are darker and deeper than they can know." she says seriously in a quiet tone.