Lyria delays. Bombur takes a mighty swing at his opponent and the ogre looks quite badly hurt. Mahaffy also manages to bring the pain. The ogres retaliate, and while Bombur easily parries, Mahaffy doesn't quite get away, but takes a knock for 11 points of damage. The last ogre takes a swing at Rhianna, hitting for 10 points.
Nyak fires a couple of arrows at Seeyak, but they bounce off his tough skin.
Lyria, Tika, Ka'kara, Rhianna, Roylenna and Artival are up.
The last ogre takes a swing at Rhianna, hitting for 10 points.
Lyria, Tika, Ka'kara, Rhianna, Roylenna and Artival are up.
Tika continues with her music whilst moving up to Ka'kara and using a cure light wounds on the giant woman
Healing
Ka'kara stabs another wounded ogre in the belly and he goes down in a spray of blood. That means that only one ogre is left standing.
Seeyak takes out some kind of special arrow, aims carefully and shoots Nyak. Nyak screams in pain as some magic effect ripples along his body, but he manages to keep flying. Seeyak sneers in disappointment, turns and flies away.
Nyak is in no shape to follow so he carefully lands.
Bombur and Mahaffy are up.
Lyria raises her holy symbol, causing the all-familiar blue wave to flow over the party, healing everyone's wounds.
Rhianna: 12/22
Artival: 13/23
Ka'kara: 10/50 (18/58 raging)
Mahaffy: 23/27
Lyria: 24/24
Tika: 25/25
Roylenna: 26/26
Bombur: 47/47
Ka'kara stabs another wounded ogre in the belly and he goes down in a spray of blood. That means that only one ogre is left standing.
Rhianna backs away from the remaining ogre another 10' before raising one hand. Muttering arcane syllable, she draws a missile of force from within her and flings it unerringly at the giant.
Roylenna likewise steps away from the melee to make sure she's out of ogre-reach (but within 30' of Ka'kara) before calling on her bloodline to aid her sister-in-arms.
Ranged Touch Attack
Healing
Ranged Touch Attack to confirm
Additional Healing
A beam of green light, shot through with golden sparks, extends from the halfling's tiny hand and targets the enlarged barbarian woman, where the worst of her wounds can be seen to glow green for a moment before closing slightly.
Targeting the ogre, Artival lets loose with yet another eldritch missle.
Damage
Mahaffy will strike his ogre
Artival hits the receding figure with a pair of magic missiles, but it doesn't even slow him down. The last ogre is hurt and surrounded, not to mention abandoned by his leader, so he surrenders. The ogres are carrying a net worth of 415 gp in gold and gems.
Nyak pulls the arrow out and examines it closely. "It's an arrow of greater dragon slaying", he says thoughtfully. "I know, because I carry a few of these myself. He must really hate me. But now I'm going to have this reenchanted and serve it right back to him."
Will you kill the ogre or let him go?
Will you kill the ogre or let him go?
You know Roylenna's going to want to talk to him.
In Giant, the tiny halfling tells the brute, "We could kill you for what you've done, but we don't have to. What can you tell me that would convince me that you should live?"
Bluff (if necessary)
Diplomacy (if necessary)
Will you kill the ogre or let him go?You know Roylenna's going to want to talk to him.
In Giant, the tiny halfling tells the brute, "We could kill you for what you've done, but we don't have to. What can you tell me that would convince me that you should live?"
Bluff (if necessary) 1d20 + 10
Diplomacy (if necessary) 1d20 + 3
In Giant: The ogre is clearly uncomfortable having to talk to the diminutive sorcerer as opposed to just squashing her. "It's not fair. We collect tolls and beat up those who do not pay. Seeyak is our leader. He's part dragon and he told us that he was invincible. Then he just flies away. That's not fair. It was all his idea. I just do what I'm told. Let me go and I won't bother you again."
Lyria ignores the ogre, and concentrates on healing the other party member's wounds.
In Giant: The ogre is clearly uncomfortable having to talk to the diminutive sorcerer as opposed to just squashing her. "It's not fair. We collect tolls and beat up those who do not pay. Seeyak is our leader. He's part dragon and he told us that he was invincible. Then he just flies away. That's not fair. It was all his idea. I just do what I'm told. Let me go and I won't bother you again."
She translates for anyone interested, especially Nyak. "If we let you live, you must leave the road for a year. If we hear that you are taking tolls on the road and it hasn't been a year, we will be back." She points to the ogre she smoked - literally - earlier and says, "I was nice to him, I burned him all at once and he died fast. If I have to come back to find you, I will burn you a little at a time. Do you understand me?"
Bluff
The ogre nods, his eyes bulging. Assuming that nobody is stopping him, he's leaving at top speed, leaving his club and his money behind.
She turns and looks at Mahaffy, who is undoubtedly shaking his head, "What?"
After getting some healing for Lyria, Artival began the process of checking the ogre corpses for money or other trinkets. "Remind me never to make you angry, Roylenna," he smiles toward the sorceror, bending over and rilfing through one of the ogre's possessions.
With a menacing twinkle in her eye, "That's wise because after she was done with you then you would have to deal with me.....or...more likely, it would be at the same time."
As the ogre disappears from view, Roylenna turns and slaps the mammoth calf before her, glaring up at the barbarianess. "You had me so worried! Just rushing up there with that fire-breather and no one to watch your back and that ogre ran up and hit you and I knew, I just knew...."
She takes a deep breath, looks down at the ground, and when she looks up she's smiling again. "Ka'kara, you are going to be the death of me. I think I know how my mother felt watching the younglings figuring out what they could climb and what they could not climb by trial and error. I am glad you have so much badger in you."
Looking around at the rest of the party, "How is everyone? Are there any that my gift can help with, Lyria? I am so glad you have joined us -- you are certainly a blessing to our merry little band."
She doesn't seem to be showing much concern for the rather serious shot she took from the ogre that slipped through the line, but she will gratefully accept any Lyria cares to share to ease the bruising she can already feel tightening on her torso.
Despite her heavily bruised and bloodied body she smiles easily down at Roylenna, "Ha! They'll have to do better than that for me to meet my ancestors! After all, I have my little guardian angel watching over me." She says with a tone that recalls their very first meeting.
"Guardian Angel ohhh I like that" Tika's voice drifts up from where she is once again writing notes.
Finally you arrive at Thunderhold, a bit worse for wear as it might be, but with stories to tell. Dour guardsmen look at you uninterestedly as you pass. Apparently the city has seen its share of adventurers and worse. Nyak thanks you and bids you goodbye as soon as he has had the donkeys securely stabled, leaving you free to explore and enjoy the town.
Thunderhold isn't much more than one great citadel, built in the middle of the river on a small island and looking over a waterfall. It is constantly shrouded in mist and drizzle.
In appearance, the Thunderhold is imposing yet dreary. Its stone buildings are quarried from the same grey basalt as the bedrock on which they sit, as are the city walls and the keep. The rest of the buildings are half-timbered two- and three-story structures, with roofs of thatch or shingle. The cobblestone streets and alleys are always shiny and damp, and everything in the city hosts at least a thin sheen of green moss; many buildings even have thick clumps of ferns growing on the roof. Amid the green-forested slopes and drifting grey rain clouds, the grey-green edifices of the city blend right in.
The trade road bisects the citadel through the lower city, and a massive gatehouse guards each entrance where the road rises up from the ford. A rampart wall surrounds the entire island, with watchtowers evenly distributed along it. Where the second falls spill over the edge, the island rises steeply to a flat-topped promontory. On this slab of rock sits the upper city, consisting of the craftsman’s district, the vast market, and the largest taverns. Rising from the very tip of the island and towering over the dizzying waterfall is the Angus castle and keep, the central point of defense for the entire
region.
Lyria decides to walk around a bit, telling the others she'd meet them in the inn of their choice. During the meantime, she vists the market and looks for anything interesting, keeping her ears open for rumors.
Bombur searches for any temple of dwarven gods to give thanks for surviving the battle.
[/QUOT
Roylenna will seek out a place to perch and watch people going about their daily business. If Lyria will have her, she might tag along in the market.
Being that this is a strange new city, Ka'kara will accompany the other ladies too.
As you move down the cobbled streets, a commotion catches your attention a few blocks away. From where you stand, a group of hardy-looking adventures dressed in red are apparently bearing a corpse up the street on
a crucifix. A crowd of people surrounds them, laughing and cheering. They seem to be going up the hill toward the city center and the castle on the bluff.
As you get closer you notice that the corpse is hardly human. It is about the size of a dwarf, but hairless and bloated, with twisted and feral features.
Knowledge (planes) 13:
A band of adventurers are parading their victim, greedily accepting the crowd's cheers. They stand out not least because they are all draped in crimson mantles. They are a towering red-headed Tharbrian, a slender blond human woman with sunken eyes and a pale countenance, almost defiantly sporting the symbol of Zon-Kuthon, a faintly smiling, lightly armored half-elf male, who appears to be their leader and a dirty little hunched gnome with a toad nestling in his hair who spends his time muttering to himself. Predictably most people give the latter a wide berth.
You could either inquire more about what is happening. You catch as much as that the city lately has been plagued with an infestation of murderous creatures emerging from the sewers, that there is a bounty for them and that these adventurers are the heroes of the day, saving the city from the offending creatures.
You could either stick around to ask some questions or proceed to your lodgings to come back later. The best lodgings are at the Market Tavern, and you can get a room or several at the normal cost. It will take a few hours to Gather Information, and you will need to make a Diplomacy check as well as specify what you are interested in.
Always interested in a new story or tale Tika begins to ask around trying to get as much detail of the situation as possible and if she can getting eye witness accounts of what happend as well.
Diplomacy
Ka'kara nods a greeting at the red-headed Tharbrian and if he seems seems friendly enough. She will introduce herself and ask what lead up to this crucified creature and the celebration of their victory.
Ka'kara nods a greeting at the red-headed Tharbrian and if he seems seems friendly enough. She will introduce herself and ask what lead up to this crucified creature and the celebration of their victory.
The red-headed barbarian gives Ka'kara an appreciating look, then smiles. "Name is Yelm, and we are the Crimson Mantle, although I don't like to be restricted by fancy clothing. We found that creature in a back alley. There isn't much fight in them but they know some nasty tricks. For now we're enjoying our victory."
Mahaffy is along for the ride but is content to stay silent .
Collecting information is not one of Artival's strongest points, but he decides to keep himself useful by buying rounds for the group at the local tavern.
Agreeing completely with his assessment of clothing Ka'kara grins, "A victory well earned, is a victory worth celebrating. We ourselves faced down four ogre bandits and a flying dragon-man on our way here. We're looking for a good place for our own celebration, any suggestions?"
Lyria will listen a bit to the conversation with the other group, then move along and wander a bit in town, trying to discover what's going on with these creatures and any other recent happenings. She'll also be interested in job offers. If anyone would like to come along, she'll gladly accept.
Agreeing completely with his assessment of clothing Ka'kara grins, "A victory well earned, is a victory worth celebrating. We ourselves faced down four ogre bandits and a flying dragon-man on our way here. We're looking for a good place for our own celebration, any suggestions?"
Yelm replies with a wide grin as he eyes Ka'kara up and down appreciatingly. "That would be the Market Tavern. I expect we will be celebrating all evening. I would be happy to spend the time together with a... sister." Judging by the way he looks at her, the Tharbrian connotation of "sister" is a little different than in Common.
In the midst of the revelry you are beckoned aside by a man and ushered into a side room, where you meet an tall, robust man with brown hair and a well-trimmed beard. He greets you cordially.
"Well met, travelers. Allow me to extend a welcome on behalf of the citizens of Thunderhold. I am Arb Angus, Lord of Eamonvale, and I have a proposition for you."
"Your arrival is ill timed, yet fortuitous, for while you have come during trying times, I believe you may be able to assist us. Thunderhold has been troubled by a plague unlike we have known before, a plague of evil creatures who walk like men but kill and plunder without remorse — demons, I am quite certain, froma world beyond our own. While I have known them to exist, I never dreamed that they would appear in the streets of the Grey Citadel."
"The Mist Watch is able to safeguard the citizens and their property for the most part, but the origins of the problem are a mystery. I have offered a bounty on slain demons, and a few adventurers, such as this group (he nods towards the revelling Crimson Mantle), have been able to collect. Yet I fear that killing a few demons will not bring an end to our troubles. While my people need victories like this afternoon, I need someone who can finish the job."
"A separate circumstance has arisen as well. A wizard who lives here in the Citadel has disappeared. The timing may or may not be coincidental; she vanished just prior to the first appearance of the creatures. Knowledge of this may aid you in your investigation; I pray that your success may return her to us unharmed."
"I am prepared to offer a reward to anyone who can successfully identify and eradicate the source of the infestation. Of course, the original bounty still stands: 50 gold ducats for every demon slain. Find and eliminate the source of the threat, and another 2,000 ducats will be yours, as well as my gratitude."
"What say you?"
"Where did the wizard reside that has disappeared? Have the demons that have been captured been in the general vicinity of the now gone wizard's home? It could be an experiment gone horribly wrong," Artival ponders, wanting to know more about the situation.
Lyria will ask a few questions:
"Do you think the wizard could have caused this by purpose or by accident, or is she just a victim of this... curse?"
"What are these demons? Does only one kind of them appear?"