Eudocia climbs down the ladder after Gregori, Nessa, and Harrol, then draws her bow. She waits for Theodric to climb down and ready himself before using her brass key and cantrip.
Preparing yourselves before the barricades, Eudocia sees the door opened... and beyond it is a room dominated by a stone table. Three copper bowls filled with glowing coals hang from the ceiling of the long, natural cavern. The braziers fill the chamber with warmth and soft orange light. In the center of the chamber stands a block of stone that serves as a table, lined with wooden chairs. An enormous bloodstain, maybe a week old, darkens the stone’s surface.
There are exits from the room to the North and South - but both are blocked at present by closed doors.
"North or south, do you think?" Eudocia murmurs.
"This looks like some kind of twisted altar," Gregori growls. "Might as well go with North."
From what you can see in the doorway, the Southern end of the room sees far more foot traffic than the Northern side.
Gregori moves to give himself a straight line path to whatever may be behind the door once opened.
Moving as quietly as you might into the room, the party positions itself for the opening of the Northern portal... a silent nod from Gregori indicating that they were ready, and Eudocia called upon her art.
Harrol:
Eudocia:
Nessa:
Gregori:
Theodric:
The room that is opened shows two figures within it. Neither is a mongrelfolk, instead the first is a red skinned tiefling in chain armor and bearing blade and shield. The second is a fierce and cruel looking lady wielding a well made glaive. As the door swings wide she narrows her eyes and flashes a slasher smile...
Round 1: Theodric, ??, Eudocia, Nessa, Gregori, Harrol
Theodric instinctively casts a spell, coating the area under the cultists' feet in a slick substance. He retreats behind the door to gain cover, drawing his crossbow.
Insufferable cultists, devoid of all logic and good sense. They will no doubt oppose us until their last breaths, when they should flee. They are outnumbered and overmatched. Come on Gregori, get this butchery over with. he says from behind the door.
Reflex: and
Theodric's incantation brings to bear a slick of grease that spoils the footing of both the cultists revealed. He barely sees the results of his work though, eager as he is to elbow Harrol out of the way and retreat through the open door.
Both the tiefling and the cultist take a few moments to regain their footing, before the tiefling gingerly steps towards the rear of the room...
Acrobatics:
...holding his blade before him ready and grimacing with bared teeth.
The cultist gestures with a bone handled wand, and a glaive of force appears beside Theodric as though summoned from below. It lashes out...
Spiritual Weapon: for
...the weapon crunching into he shoulder.
Round 1: Theodric, ??, Eudocia, Nessa, Gregori, Harrol
Round 2: Theodric, ??
Startled by the sudden appearance of both enemies and conjured weapons, Eudocia scampers around the far end of the table to take a chance with her bow while she still has a clean shot at the woman. "En kløyvde hodet ikke lenger tomter," she murmurs as she takes aim.
Theodric recognizes the force weapon as one borne of magic divine and is confident that while it will continue to assault him, it's unlikely to take advantage of any defensive openings he could offer.
Seeing the grease tactic, Gregori moves directly in front of the door, blade up and ready."Theodric on my order, get rid of the grease."
Harrol will clamber onto the table and loose a slingstone at the cultists.
Eudocia moves into the room and releases an arrow towards the cultist, but the missile skews off her chain armor.
Gregori positions himself for a later charge, awaiting Theodric's dismissal of the grease.
Harrol ineffectually attempts to gain ascendancy over the stone table... but manages only a scuffed shin and dirtied clothes.
Round 2: Theodric, Nessa, ??, Eudocia, Gregori, Harrol
Theodric, preoccupied by the conjured weapon, raises an eyebrow at Gregori's command.
Very well, if that is what you want. He waves a hand nonchalantly, dispersing the grease as he studies the conjured glaive. He shrugs, and closes the door.
Dashing forward, Gregori brings his blade to bear against the cultist spell caster Determined to lay her low.
The cultist barely avoids Gregori's strike, the paladin's blade cutting through leather straps and scraping off the woman's chain shirt.
Nessa moves up to join Gregori in the assault...
Bastard Sword:
...though her attack is deftly sidestepped.
The cultist grimaces, before focusing her will to redirect the ghostly weapon to assault Harrol...
Spiritual Weapon:
...though it cannot penetrate the priest's defences.
She then drops her wand, and brings her glaive to bear, but the tight confines force her to lash out at Nessa...
Glaive:
...proving to be an ill advised option.
The tiefling beside her strikes out at the Ragathiel paladin...
Longsword:
...but catches him only upon the armor.
Feeling some degree of comfort at penning their foes within the northern antechamber, that calm is interrupted when the Southern door is forced and two more mongrel folk appear. One throws the portal open while the other steps through with club in hand to engage Eudocia.
Round 2: Theodric, Gregori, Nessa, Cultists, Eudocia, Harrol
Round 3: Theodric, Gregori, Nessa, Cultists
Caught by surprise, Eudocia drops her bow, whispering a quick prayer that no one steps on it, and draws her rapier. She jabs at the mongrelman but, caught as she is between the newly-arrived enemy and the table, her attack proves ineffectual.
The threat of the spiritual weapon at his heels, Harrol is able to vault himself onto the table and loose a slingstone, the bullet finding it's mark where the archaeologist failed. "Heads up, Miss Fairday!"
Theodric cracks the door open and, seeing the conjured weapon otherwise occupied and Eudocia engaged with two foes, sends an enchantment to ensnare the mind of the nearest cultist, hoping he proves less resilient than his fanatical brothers.
Eudocia's blow is defeated by her surprise and the mongrel easily wards it away. Harrol is more lucky, with his slung stone cannoning into the mongrel's shoulder with a satisfying thwack.
Theodric reopens the door at the sound and remaining safe behind it's arc aims his art at the assaulter...
Will Save:
...though the remarkable mental fortitude of those who dwell beneath the earth defeats his efforts once more.
Round 3: Theodric, Gregori, Nessa, Cultists, Eudocia, Harrol
Gregori swings, an awkward strike the gouges stone, sending up a shower of sparks.
As Gregori's blade fails to find flesh to bite into, Nessa uses the distration to step up and lash out with her own sword...
Risky Power Attack Great Sword: for
...finding a gap in Hosilla's defences and being rewarded with a wound upon the cultist's side.
Forced to back away yet again, the cultist's line of sight is lost upon Harrol and her spiritual weapon is quiescent before fading away. She swings her glaive low and near the ground at Nessa...
Glaive:
...again failing to strike her in the confines of her chamber.
The tiefling steps forward to maintain his assault upon Gregori...
Longsword:
...this miss even worse and meeting only air.
While at the other side of the chamber, Eudocia finds herself beset by a pair of mongrelfolk who shift to gain best vantage...
Club: for
Club: for
...opportunistic thuds landing home upon her hip and shoulder.
Round 3: Theodric, Gregori, Nessa, Cultists, Eudocia, Harrol
Round 4: Theodric, Gregori, Nessa, Cultists, Eudocia, Harrol
Eudocia falls senseless to the stone floor.
Theodric watches Eudocia fall, fear rising in his chest at the thought of what the cultist will do to her when she is defenseless. He hurries over to her prone form and casts a spell, sending a blinding spray of colors into the eyes of Eudocia's assailants.
"Miss Fairday! H-... hold on!" Harrol will scramble to J9, nearly toppling over as he leaps from the table, expending his last prepared spell to cast cure light wounds.
Will Saves: and
Theodric finally manages to overcome the resistance that the mongrelfolk's will had been showing to his art, and with a single flourish lays out both of your Southern foes insensate upon the ground.
Easily avoiding the cultist's strike Gregori retaliates, his blade coming forward in a thrust targeting the man's upper torso.
Gregori's blade opens a wound upon the tiefling and the foul creature's face shows that it is a telling one... though he manages to fight on.
Nessa presses her advantage...
Risky Power Attack Great Sword: for
...just managing to pierce her armor and add a second deep cut to the first.
Pressed for space, the glaive wielding cultist is forced to drop it and draw a less impressive weapon - lashing out at Nessa with a dagger...
Dagger: for
...managing a shallow slash upon her neck.
The wounded tiefling continues his as yet ineffectual flailing...
Longsword: for
...surprising even himself by landing a slash across the paladin's calf.
Round 4: Theodric, Gregori, Nessa, Cultists, Eudocia, Harrol
Round 5: Theodric, Gregori, Nessa, Cultists, Eudocia, Harrol
Called back from the blackness only moments after she succumbed to it, Eudocia awakens, disoriented. The flash of color above her and double-thud of her assaulters hitting the floor startles her to action. "What--? How long--?" She grabs her weapon and scrambles to her feet.
Seeing that Eudocia is alive and well, Theodric moves around the table to help the others, trying to catch the cultist distracted by Gregori's strikes.
Harrol breathes a sigh of relief as the fight turns in their favor: the ghostly weapon dissipating, Theodoric effortlessly dispatching the mongrelmen, and Eudocia staggering to her feet. He gawks briefly at the fallen mongrelmen, and realizing that they will not stir gives a breathless nod to the wizard.
Padding his way toward the cultists to the north , he lets a slingstone fly at the previously-glaive-wielding cultist.
Gregori presses his attack against the spellcaster, seeking to get past her defenses.
Eudocia regains her feet as Harrol advances and his slung-stone marks the cheek of his target with a glancing blow.
Theodric directs his art to clouding minds once more...
Will Save:
...forcing his way through the tiefling's defenses to still his movements for crucial moments.
Gregori's attempted strike does not damage his foe, but Nessa presses the assault against the spell-wielding cultist...
Risky Power Attack Great Sword: for
...sword cutting cross clavicle and flat of the blade catching the cultist in the face. She swoons and drops to the ground... unable to rise.
With the cultist's leader fallen, the tiefling continues to fight... but is unable to withstand your attentions for long - soon joining his mistress upon the ground.
"Mr. Abernathy!" Docia calls, keeping a cautious eye on the mongrelfolk at her feet. "Unless I miss my guess, these brutes are only temporarily disabled?"
After seeing the last of their foes fall, Theodric moves back to Eudocia's side, answering her question but not taking his gaze off the prone cultists.
Yes, they won't be incapacitated for long, unless we do something about it. Best to do what needs to be done--I don't have any designs on looking over my shoulder all the way back to the surface.
He holds the point of his crossbow up to the eye socket of one of the unconscious enemies, then pulls the trigger.