The following morning, after some prodding by Jobe, Rhianna makes a slight alteration to her usual spell preparations , then joins the others for breakfast. As she eats, she makes occasional notes in a notebook that she produces from a pouch, muttering quietly to herself as she does so. Jobe sighs loudly, then looks over toward Royl with his beady black eye and says, "So... what are we fighting again?"
"Cursed, you say?" Rhianna's eyes widen, and she almost bounces on her toes. "What an opportunity! Yes, of course! Let me see it." She kneels on the ground in front of the axe, while Jobe flutters nervously to settle next to her, continually fluffing his feathers. She produces a small goblet from her pack, pouring a splash of wine into it, and then draws a long, wine-stained owl's feather from the puch at her waist. "Di upeyo na," she murmurs, then stares into the wine for a long moment.
Jobe sighs loudly, then looks over toward Royl with his beady black eye and says, "So... what are we fighting again?"
Roylenna sighs, obviously not happy to remember a not-happy time. "I am no expert on the walking dead, and I did not enter the crypt, anyway. We were badly out-numbered, and some of them were huge.
"We were camped about a mile from the entrance we later found, but there could easily be more ways in. My friend, a half-orc, was on watch in the darkest part of the night when something snuck up on him. He saw it and had time to yell, but when the dead thing hit him, he froze, unable to move or yell any more. The rest of us, four in all, rushed to his aid and the thing ran off.
"Two of our number ran after the creature while the cleric and I waited for the paralysis to wear off. The cleric did not agree that we should pursue and returned to camp. He held to his principles very strongly and is a good man, do not judge him harshly. We did not. My friend and I followed the warriors' tracks, eventually coming to a pair of large doors, barely open, where they debated their course of action.
"One of them was a wild orange-haired dwarf that insisted we follow and attack - his opinion narrowly prevailed - and we endeavored to open the doors farther to avoid a... bottleneck? at the entrance. Once the door was opened, he charged in, but the rest of us could begin to make out the sheer numbers - dead children, adults, humans, halflings, at least two giants . The dwarf's axe struck mightily, but he was unable to reach the giants and they struck him, killing him almost instantly." She gets very quiet. "When he realized the odds were so poor, the half-orc began to try to close the doors again, to prevent the giant dead from coming out. When the dwarf fell, he was too far in -- we could not reach him. We... we... we had to leave him!"
Tears are evident in her normally smiling eyes. Straightening her shoulders, she finishes with, "The half-orc made a mighty shove against the door to close it as far as he could and, in one motion, spun, picked me up, and began to run for his life - for both of our lives. I do not know if the dead pursued or if he outran them, but they did not trouble us again that night."
She stops, staring down at her hands.
"The priest, kind man that he is, was so upset to have lost an ally, but he pointed out that his meager abilities would be no match for such a gathering of undead. In choosing to avoid that fight, he had been correct." Sighing, she looks up, looking right at Jobe, "The dwarf made his choice and died as he wished, axe in hand, but it still hurts to have lost him." Looking around the table, she adds, "He is not the last ally I have lost in my travels and I fear that I will lost more. If you have doubts of what lies ahead, now would be a good time to speak up."
Her own cheeks wet from tears Ka'kara gingerly puts her hand on the halflings shoulder, "Their spirits watch over us now. The best way to honor them is to avenge their deaths......like we did with the goblins."
What was the name of the dwarf and his clan ? He did not seem to have a good sense of tactics ... And what was the name of the half orc ? If I ever meet him , I'll stand him a beer for having saved the life of one of my favorite halfling .
Finishing his breakfast with the others Badru listens quietly and intently to Roylenna's tale. When she finishes her tale he smiles softly, "Ka'kara is right little one. Death is merely the beginning of a new path. One which we must all take in time. Your friends are under the protective gaze of Saranrae. She will watch over them until such time when we rejoin them."
Badru stands up from the table and stretches a bit. Eyes twinkling at the thought of the adventure ahead, "Now let's gear up and make these walking dead know that you can't take the life of one of Roylenna's friends without consequence!"
Rhianna opens her mouth to say something, an expression of disappointment on her face, but Jobe snaps at her ear, turning the words into a small squeak of pain. "Not now," he says, then tucks his head under his wing.
Rhianna opens her mouth to say something, an expression of disappointment on her face, but Jobe snaps at her ear, turning the words into a small squeak of pain. "Not now," he says, then tucks his head under his wing.
Her tale ended, Roylenna is staring into the middle distance between her and Badru, not appearing to really see him or hear the others' responses.
After a long moment and with a visible effort, she takes a mighty breath, closes her eyes, and lets it out slowly. She looks around the table, her smile returning once more, "My apologies for such a sad tale. I hope Tika records it so I do not have to share it again. I look forward to writing a much happier ending with you, my new friends."
Rhianna:
I hope Tika records it so I do not have to share it again.
Tika is indeed writing it down.
Happy New Year everyone! May this year be better than the last :)
After a night's rest and much telling of stories you once again set out on your journey. This time it is not interrupted and after about a day's march you find yourselves outside a large and ominous-looking cave. Four humanoid skeletons and the rotting (and partly eaten) remains of two ogres litter the cave floor. Set back in the far wall is a set of ironbound wooden doors, both ajar.
Just before going in Tika will use the two scrolls of magic weapon she has to enchant the weapons of two of the party
Use Magic device
Artival had enjoyed getting to know the party during their journey. Some of the group, it appeared, had adventured together before, with mixed results. Hopefully things would work out much better this time.
Just before entering the cave mouth, Artival casts the spell of protection he has mastered.
Noticing Artival's protections, Rhianna does the same for herself. With a swift movement, she pricks her fingers on a small needle and smears the blood down her forehead, murmuring, "Kro ypeyo," then produces a small piece of cured leather, rubbing it between her fingers (smearing it with a touch of blood as well), and chants, "Kokrefo tou." Her skin seems to harden and take on a deadened, grayish look, and then a shimmering overlay appears across her body, barely seen except when she moves.
Artival was interested in watching the obvious wizard go through her preparations of casting her spells. "What was that blood for, Rihanna" he asked, with a bit of a horrified expression on his face upon seeing the blood used as her component. He thought to himself how happy he was to not need to use regular materials (or blood!) to draw out his spells.
Rhianna smiles brightly, the smear of blood still visible on her forehead. "The sanguine humor is perhaps the most efficacious bonding agent for negative energy expressions intended to link to organic and functioning biologies," she replies. "As the false life spell serves as a kind of 'bridge' between the negative and positive energy waveforms, the ambient arcane spectral variant and the caster's own inherent expression respectively, blood serves as a useful ingredient to build the desired manifold." She seems to appreciate the chance to lecture, and the short speech is punctuated by gestures that almost seem to conjure up a piece of chalk between her fingers.
As they travel, Roylenna is distracted from time to time until finally she says, mostly to herself, "Thorak! Yes, Thorak. And Grond. Where is Grond today?"
That bit of personal business done, she brightens up considerably and spends much of the rest of the trip being her normal sunshine self, telling the others of her previous travels down this road. "Oh, it was about here that we were attacked by the weird pig I mentioned earlier - it was so funny, how Thorak came running up, mad that we had left without him and ready to take it out on this creature. See, he came running up, his huge axe in his hands, orange hair flying, ready for a massive, two-handed, over-the-head chop, and one of those paralyzing tentacles reached out and just ever-so-gently brushed his cheek. And he froze - not immediately, but his muscles couldn't push the axe through the air far enough to hit the creature. There he stood, angry as all get out, muscles straining but unmoving, watching us fell the beast and begin to butcher it. He did not think it was funny, of course, and I was worried when it happened, but looking back, it is humorous now."
She gets a wistful look then, "In fact, I think Grond was paralyzed in that fight, too. We faced two foes that could freeze your muscles, no, there was a third, too, in our travels, and they always managed to freeze him in his tracks. I think it bothered him more that he could not protect me than that he was in so much danger in that state." She makes eye contact with whoever she's talking to at this point, "He and I always looked out for each other -- we were a very odd pair, but we knew where we stood with each other. I really hope he is doing well for himself, wherever he has gone to."
...
"Oh, I see," Artivals gets out in a strangled voice, trying not to laugh listening to Rihanna's response. She sounded a bit like a couple of his wizarding family members. "Sanguine...manifold. Interesting," he repeats, the only two words he could remember from her discourse.
She would no doubt provide him with unintentional entertainment throughout the trip.
"I would recommend putting the two heavies up front . Then me and Manai, Artival and Rhianna and the two small ones at the rear since there is no reason to fear a rear attack. As for actions , I would suggest a prudent approach " Mahaffy looks especially at Ka'Kara .
"If at all possible , we should make them come to us and don't hesitate to have the big skeletons come to us one at a time . Once we'll get to where Thorak met his doom , I'll change position with Badru to check for traps but there should not be ones before."
"Once we'll get to where Thorak met his doom , I'll change position with Badru to check for traps but there should not be ones before."
In a small voice, "Thorak didn't make it ten paces past the doors."
Ka'kara seems oblivious, as usual, to Mahaffy's subtle attempts to dissuade her from rash actions but she does nod at his suggestions to have both her up front and have the enemy come to us, "We can surround our enemies much better out here and from what Lenna says they will give chase. Lenna, will you be making me a giantess again for this battle?" The wide grin and gleam in her eye indicate she both very much enjoys her giant form and greatly looks forward to the upcoming conflict.
The cave is dark, so dark indeed that it seems to devour the very light that you shine into it. As you gingerly (excepting Ka'kara, of course) approach the doors, you glimpse a number of six foot tall wooden spides adorned with five or sex shrunken heads each tethered to the posts by their hair. Somewhere in the distance you hear shuffling feet approaching.
for Artival's Init.
Artival steps into the unpleasant darkness and pulls the magical mace he recently was given. The party's light source was almost no use in these strong shadows. He steeled his resolve and prepared for the expected onrush of evil.
initiative
Initative
Initiative
Roylenna will cast Dancing Lights as soon as they are close enough to place them in the cave. When she hears the shuffling feat, she will cast Bless. She will cast the Enlarge Person on Ka'kara immediately thereafter.
BT:
Badru checks his gear for the third time before heading to the mouth of the cave. He stands at the entrance awaiting the others before heading in, shield and scimitar at the ready.
Unable to see into the cave to her satsifaction, Rhianna pulls a small jar containing a single firefly from her pouch, tapping it lightly against her staff and murmuring, "Veli 'tou," making a small clucking sound with her tongue on the second syllable. The firefly disappears in a small burst of sparks, and she replaces the jar in her pouch and raises her hand toward the sounds of oncoming feet.
With the oppressive darkness pushing in Ka'kara lets the javelin she was thinking about readying slide back into it's sheath. Instead she slides the wrap off her greatsword and preparing for the onslaught.
Well, the good news is that the zombies go on 0, so you all beat them. The bad news is that I still haven't figured out how to make the maps.
Here is a map of the small part of the dungeon (in 10' squares) that you can actually see. As you see, the totems surround the entrance and will provide cover. Now the question is whether Ka'kara and Badru will want to stand behind or beyond these. With Ka'kara enlarged you will be a bit cramped trying to keep behind them. Or you could try to cut them down before the zombies arrive.
I presume that the rest of you will try to stay back, but you may do as you please. Just indicate where you want to be and I'll try to get a battle map up shortly.
Artival headed for cover seeing the creatures coming in the group's direction.
"Stay behind me Artival. You don't want these things to get ahold of you."
"You don't have to tell me twice, Badru," the sorceror said as he headed for cover from the approaching rush of evil.
Tika activates her bard song (inspire courage) and moves into a position that keeps the warriors between her and the Zombies
"I think we should not commit overly to fighting in here, Badru. Let us strike and draw them out into the sunlight."
Mahaffy will be on the side near Badru
"We shall give these disquiet spirits the rest they long for."
"We shall give these disquiet spirits the rest they long for."
"Sister, we need to strike and withdraw. Tease them out, if you will. We do not want to fight them in their cave anymore than you would crawl into a badger's burrow to face him."
Ka'kara gives a quick nod, "I remember Rana...."
BT:
With some help from Ainvar (have another, will you), here is an updated map. The zombies have moved, so it is your turn. Do your worst!
Artival steps so he can get a clean line of sight on the creatures, and looses a bolt of electricity at one of the larger zombies.
Lightning Attack
Damage