"That's not going to help you much, mummy-man." Caladius' broadsword gleams in the lantern light as he brings in crashing down in a flashing arc on the crown of Vethamer's head. The confident eyes of the spellcasting mummy fill with fear and the sword comes crashing down to split his head like a melon -blood, bone and gray matter splattering the walls and everyone nearby. He then takes a 5ft step south to stand adjacent to Sabinus, his eyes locked with the tiefling next to him.
Enko waves the pint of oil at Sabinus. "When you've found him, I will mark him," he says simply. He then moves up 5' and attacks the tiefling north of him. The oil-carrying hand smashes an elbow into the tieflings face, followed by a snap kick to the side, both strikes doing serious hurt, but the tiefling stands straight again, still some fight left in him.
Bonedog1 mindless pulls at the sticky goo to bite at the deadly Ranger, uncaring how badly it's hampered when an enemy is so close. Caladius easily side-steps the biting undead.
Mummy1 (Vethamer) continues to make a bloody mess in the corner.
As Enko jumps to his aid, Lucon will swing his truncheon around in an arc, hoping to fell the fiend(rogue 3) before he can sweep behind him. The swipe missing as the tiefling rogue ducks under the blow.
Tiefling Rogue3 swings the mace at the harried carpenter, the threat of the bonedog on the other side of him enough for the strike to get through, cracking Lucon painfully on the shoulder.
(Pavaleen) The floating black morningstar swings at the dwarf woman again, but she turns the attack aside with her battleaxe. "Vethamer!" a sad and frustrated cry rings out from empty space. Suddenly a soft glowing light shoots from the back of the room into Tiefling Rogue3, sealing most of his hurts, and shouts some instructions, "Kill my enemies!"
Sabinus will move to the square directly south of Enko's new position, and say quietly to Enko, "If you see my bat hovering in one place, target the space beneath him." Sabinus will then target his sleep hex on tiefling rogue1, next to Caladius. The rogue's eyes start to droop heavily, but then, miraculously, he shakes off the hex. Tycho the bat flies northward and inconspicuously hovers over... an empty piece of floor to the north.
T Rogue1, has difficulty swallowing as Caladius stares him down, but has enough gumption to continue the battle, bolstered by his leaders voice. He tumbles southward to regain his flank on the ranger, dodging Caladius's attack of opportunity, and swings a powerful blow into the rangers ribs, perhaps cracking a few, able to use his skills at harming those who are distracted.
Amon winces as he imagines the tide of battle, each shout and thump and slice painting a grisly picture to the worries halfling.
"We'll see who destroys who!" Partially ignoring the magic morningstar, the dwarf simply says, "Tch." The magic frustrates Ava, but she knows better than to dwell on a fruitless activity. She quickly sets her sights northward, charging forward to Lucon's side and swinging her axe at the tiefling beside him. The tiefling rogues elation at getting healed suddenly vanishes as the axe bears down on him, nearly able to dodge the blow but not quite fast enough. This time the injuries putting him down and out.
Bonedog2 against tries to into Lucons flesh, but the carpenter is able to get his shield in the way, chipping some of the undead dogs teeth.
"Beware, flying morningstar! It's magic, more than that I know not." The Viscount doesn't see any signs of the cleric in the midst of battle, but on a brighter note, his acid orb landing on the tieflings abdomen with a hiss of melting leather, causing the enemy to curse in pain.
Janiven moves south slightly, peering at the part of the battle she can see, which isn't much, and growls her frustration.
Suddenly a globe of darkness appears over the three thugs being guarded, Shilcer and the unnamed others. Janiven and Amon both loose their projectiles into the darkness at the movement, but the darkness obscuring the results of their readied attacks. There is the sound of a scuffle from inside the globe.
- Caladius
- Enko
- Bonedog1
- Mummy1 (Vethamer)
- Lucon
- T Rogue3
- Pavaleen
- Sabinus
- T Rogue1
- Amon
- Ava
- Bonedog2
- Corneleous
- Janiven
- Thug4
- Thug5
- Shilcer
"You know, that tickled a little and I don't have time to dance around with you, you little bastard Bastard."
Caladius whips his sword in a tremendous horizontal slash, the sword singing as it slices through the air.
"Amon! Janiven! Hold on, I'm coming!"
|
Silly priest. Devils serve us; they're not for worship! Show yourself. I'm blocking your path to freedom; let's see what you're made of
Taunt!
Scan for telltale signs of the invisible dobadder.
If the priest's location is known- attack him. If not, attack the remaining rogue with acid dart.
Move action, picking up his staff.
Can the unseen servant sweep up one of the darkness arrows?
"Look for the moving spots of oil," says Enko.
Enko tosses the pint of oil at the area where Sabinus' bat is circling.
Ava grips her axe as she makes a move to flank the wolf, bearing another attack from the magical morningstar.
"You know, that tickled a little and I don't have time to dance around with you, you little bastard Bastard." Caladius whips his sword in a tremendous horizontal slash, the sword singing as it slices through the air. The swords momentum is hardly slowed as it creates a huge slash through the tieflings torso, right at the level of his sternum, slicing through muscle, bone and sinew as if it were paper. Leaving the tiefling to fall over in his own time, Caladius turns and rushes to the aid of Janiven and Amon, "Amon! Janiven! Hold on, I'm coming!" The bonedog snapping at the rangers hamstring as he moves away, but misses by a large margin. Arriving in the hallway, Caladius see's into the globe of darkness, as one tiefling clutches feebly at multiple projectiles stinking into his chest, clearly he's not going to last long. The other two tiefling are both unbound, and grappled together in mortal combat, one is Shilcer, the other a previously bound tiefling thug.
"Look for the moving spots of oil," says Enko and tosses the pint of oil at the area where Sabinus' bat is circling. The oil strikes the stone underneath the hovering bat, and shatters, oil spraying in all directions... except some of the oil seems to spatter into... nothing. Just stuck in the air, as if to an invisible wall. You hear a low curse from the oil-spattered, but still invisible, Pavaleen.
Bonedog1 turns its focus onto Lucon, seeing as Caladius has exited the scene, managing to dodge around the shield despite being the sticky substance, and the shield, taking another small bit of Lucon's flesh.
Lucon bellows in pain at the Tiefling's blow, smiling with grim satisfaction as Ava fells it in kind. Spitting out a little fiend-blood, he brings his truncheon down hard between the eyes of the nearby dog2. Although the blow isn't as devastating as it could have been, it's plenty strong enough to shatter the boney skull into several pieces, and the undead creature collapses.
(Pavaleen) The morning star lands one last blow to the dwarf, delivering a brutal blow to her side before winking from existence. The voice of Pavaleen, sounding slightly desperate, cries out, "Time to end this!" and the pressure in the room seems to change suddenly, and a wave of dark energy suddenly erupts in all directions, its outer edge even moving out the door to wash over those outside the room. Caladius watches as all three tiefling thugs cease their struggling, falling over as if dead, the spell of darkness dissolving completely.
Believing they've located Pavaleen, Sabinus targets the area with a hex, but he's unsure if it was successful or not... but it didn't seem well aimed.
Amon screams horribly as the dark energy passes over him, it's damage compounded by even more of his life force being diverted to Lucon and Ava. He staggers, nearly falling on his face but manages to keep his feet. "I'm sorry... I can't hold the link!" he cries to Lucon and Ava, and then clutches his hands to his head as an answering wave of healing white energy erupts from Amon, it's warm glow reaching every member of the party, but passing by the downed tieflings. Amon seems restored by the healing energy, but still weak.
Ava grips her axe as she makes a move to flank the wolf, bearing another attack from the magical morningstar, but the bonedog stymies her movement, and so she just swings strongly, doing some damage --but her sharp axe not doing nearly the damage it should have to the skeletal creature.
"Silly priest. Devils serve us; they're not for worship! Show yourself. I'm blocking your path to freedom; let's see what you're made of." The Viscount shoots an acid dart northward, towards the oil blotches hoving in the air, but the magic projectile doesn't seem to hit anything.
Janiven rushes into the room, eyes a little wild after the devastating unholy energy which struck her, and says in a bizarre echo of Pavaleen, "We must end this!" Scanning the room quickly, she fires an arrow northward, towards where Pavaleen might be, but the arrow smacks into the the far wall --meeting no resistance on the way.
Shilcer and the other two thugs remain unmoving.
- Caladius
- Enko
- Bonedog1
- Lucon
- Pavaleen
- Sabinus
- Amon
- Ava
- Corneleous
- Janiven
Bonedog1 will bite at Ava, or whoever melees it more recently to it's turn.
Janiven will try to find and shoot Pavaleen.
"What the- he just killed his own men!"
Caladius dashes back into the room, up to the corner where the others had been focusing their attention. He looks around for Pavaleen and tries to level a heavy swing if he's able.
"By the Thrice Damned House of Thrune, where is he?"
Lucon will peer into the gloom, trying to catch a glimpse of the moving oil. At any sign of Pavaleen he'll drop to his shield and grapple their attacker with a running tackle (provoking, but should tie him up for now)
"We will find you, goat!" Ava calls out through clenched teeth.
Ava staggers from the blow of the morningstar, the waves of positive and negative energy making her nauseous as they wash over her. She steels herself again, taking her battleaxe in her left hand as she draws her silver warhammer in her right.
"If steel won't do..."
"Your actions only bring you pain," says the monk almost sadly.
Enko tumbles to the right of the still hidden Pavaleen and attacks with an outstretched leg.
Hit by the wave of negative energy emanating immediately below, Tycho wobbles unsteadily and drops a foot before being buoyed by Amon's channeling. Seeing Tycho's distress, Sabinus yells, "Tycho!" His relief when Tycho steadies himself moments later is palpable.
"What the- he just killed his own men!" Caladius dashes back into the room, up to the corner where the others had been focusing their attention. He spots the cleric and tries to level a heavy swing, catching the tiefling cleric a solid blow across the shoulder, blood flying.
"Your actions only bring you pain," says the monk almost sadly. Enko tumbles to the right of the now revealed Pavaleen and attacks with an outstretched leg. Pavaleens armor and natural agility absorbing the blow without much trouble.
Bonedog1 tries again to bite at Lucon, but fails miserably, Lucons scarely noticing the attempt through his armor.
"By the Thrice Damned House of Thrune, where is he?" and then he spots the exposed tiefling dropping his shield and rushing forward to grapple him, not noticing the futile attempt at a bite from the bonedog1.
Grappled, and struggling against Lucon, Pavaleen howls in fury and after failing to free himself from Lucons grasp, unleashes another blast of unholy power. "Unhand me... you oaf!" he sputters, struggling to free himself.
His work done, Tycho withdraws, brushes past Sabinus' head, and flies into the next chamber to a hopefully safe distance. Sabinus moves 10 feet closer to the now visible Pavaleen, silently glaring and with his left hand outstretched. Pavleen is definitely affected by the hex, eyes locked onto Sabinus, and quaking a little, as if suddenly very cold inside.
Amon bears the second wave with pain, but much less it taken out of him since he cut off the links to the others, and he can't help but grin to himself as he channels once more, this time feeling even better than before.
"Found you, goat!" Ava calls out through clenched teeth. Ava staggers from the earlier blow of the morningstar, the waves of positive and negative energy making her nauseous as they wash over her. She steels herself again, taking her battleaxe in her left hand as she draws her silver warhammer in her right. "If steel won't do..." with her flanking buddy gone, Ava settles herself with just pulverizing the undead dog with the warhammer, causing it extreme damage, and nearly felling it.
This time Corneleous is determined not to miss, pulling his wand of magic missile and unleashing a bolt of power which weaves it's way through the throng and crashes against Pavaleens armored chest.
Janiven, seeing Pavaleen well in hand, rushes northwest, skirting around the bonedog to come up behind it, creating a nice flank with Ava. Along the way she drops her bow, and draws a gleaming blade, and despite the natural resistant of the bonedog, manages to chop it in half at the spine, finishing it.
Shilcer and the other two thugs remain unmoving.
- Caladius
- Enko
- Lucon
- Pavaleen
- Sabinus
- Amon
- Ava
- Corneleous
- Janiven
"Ow! Stop doing that, you bastard Bastard! Lucon! Hold him still! Good, just like that..."
Sighing, Caladius realizes that striking out at Pavaleen while Lucon holds him runs the considerable risk of Caladius' blade biting into the carpenter as well. Not really sure how else to minimize the risk to his friend, Caladius punches out at Pavaleen quickly with the pommel of his sword.
Posting as soon as I get out of the car! Edit incoming...
Enko changes his stance to a more martial one and delivers a series of kicks at Pavaleen.
"An Oaf, am I?"" he bellows red-faced, with a note of triumph on his voice."
Ava braces herself against the negative energy, once again feeling the unnatural sensations of wounds appearing and healing over in an instant. She feels like a ragdoll.
"Your time's up, tiefling!" Ava says, walking towards the struggling cleric, dropping her weapons to the ground. She cracks her knuckles as she approaches, flexing her neck. "Did you really think you had a chance? I guess it doesn't matter now."
Ava will take a brief glance around and take a head count.
"Ow! Stop doing that, you bastard Bastard! Lucon! Hold him still! Good, just like that..." Sighing, Caladius realizes that striking out at Pavaleen while Lucon holds him runs the considerable risk of Caladius' blade biting into the carpenter as well. Not really sure how else to minimize the risk to his friend, Caladius punches out at Pavaleen quickly with the pommel of his sword, knocking the tieflings head around like a rag doll.
Enko changes his stance to a more martial one and delivers a series of kicks at Pavaleen, but has to take care with his friends all so close, and neither strike lands.
"An Oaf, am I?" he bellows red-faced, with a note of triumph on his voice. Lucon maintains the grapple and pulls Pavaleen into a tight headlock, drawing a little squawk of protest from Pavaleen.
Grappled, pinned, beaten and now barely struggling, Pavaleen ceases his efforts to escape, and tries a different tack, "Ok, ok! You win, I'm beaten! Let me go and I'll give you some invaluable information!"
Matters seemingly well in hand, Sabinus will cackle to maintain the misfortune hex and he'll cast detect magic and look at Pavaleen and then around the room. He can definitely sense magic, mostly centered on Pavaleen, but elsewhere as well.
Amon moves cautiously into the room, peering around the corner at the goings on, "Everyone ok in here?"
"Your time's up, tiefling!" Ava says, walking towards the struggling cleric, dropping her weapons to the ground. She cracks her knuckles as she approaches, flexing her neck. "Did you really think you had a chance? I guess it doesn't matter now." She punctuates her statement by slamming her fist into Pavaleens distraught face, rocking his head back and knocking him out cold.
The rest of you relax and hold, all your enemies either dead, or unconscious as in the case of Pavaleen.
Lucon winces slightly at Ava's punch, letting Pavaleen drop perhaps a little too gently to the floor. He mops his brow with a stained hankerchief before walking over and picking up his shield. He plants the tip between two flagstones and leans over the brim, resting his head nonchalantly on his arms. He lets out a low whistle. Is... Is that the last of them, do you think?" glancing at his companions and to Janiven.
"Justice for Torm and his family." he says, in a tone that suggests he's trying to reconcile the bloodshed to himself than speaking out of any real conviction. He grimaces. "I can scarcely believe we all came out in one piece."
Ava blows across her knuckles, shaking her hand out as Lucon drops Pavaleen to the floor. As the tiefling is laid out, her facade falters, an expression of grief spreading across her face. She steps back, staggering slightly, and sinks down to the ground silently, her face disappearing beneath her long black locks.
Lucon looks confused for a moment, but recollection does not take long to strike him. "Ava..." the words begin to form on his lips... Who?
He shakes his head rubbing the back of his neck as he looks desperately to the others, clearly not well experienced with such matters. "He is beaten, my old friend. He cannot hurt anyone now." he says, placing a meaty hand on her shoulder.
"She was here, Lucon..." Ava's voice is small and distant. "She was here..." She looks up at the carpenter, tears welling in the corners of her eyes. "For twenty seven years there was no sign... "
She grits her teeth, her anguished expression a mix of anger and sadness. "She was here the whole time. If I had known, if I hadn't been so blind..." her fists curl into little balls. "I'm such an idiot..." Ava voice disappears as she fights back the tears, closing her eyes tightly.
Lucon answers her look of grief with a half-smile of blatant incomprehension. He glances about at the others before offering her his grime-covered hankerchief, it unfolds stiffly, hard and brittle as stale bread, and marked with sweat and sickly-brown splatters of blood. "It's... it's okay." he manages, sorely wishing that his wife were here. "We can help, Ava."
Ava takes the handkerchief, staring blankly at the crusty fold of cloth. Slowly she turns her gaze upwards, back to Lucon, finding comfort in his nervous smile. She lets out a sigh, a smile coming to her face. "What am I doing?" she laughs. She reaches up towards Lucon, rising as he helps her to her feet. "And in front of everyone too..." she wipes her eyes and takes a deep breath.
"Thanks." she says, looking him dead in the eye. "The years may have changed your appearance," she says, smiling warmly, "but they haven't changed your heart... old friend. You're just as hopeless as ever."
She hands Lucon his handkerchief back, having calmed down once more. "Now lets bleed this place for all it's worth. Starting with him." She gestures over to Pavaleen.
"Ava," says Enko respectfully, "His holy symbol is a focus for his powers. We should remove it. And...I am sorry. We are here to grieve with you, and help you overcome sorrow."
Caladius looks around with a face of stone as emotions bubble up and spill over throughout the room. "I'll... I'll, uh, just... go check on Shilcer."
Did I miss something? I missed something.
He scratches his head and gives Amon and Janiven a confused look as he passes by them. Once back in the hall, he kneels down beside Shilcer and checks for any signs of life at all.
Shilcer, and the other two thugs, are dead. They weren't tough enough to withstand the initial channel and survive. Shilcer seems to have been trying to help though, partially locked in combat with one of the thugs while the globe of darkness covered them.
Ava quickly and professionally removes all of Pavaleen's equipment, Sabinus pointing out several magic items. Namely two potions of differing types, a wand, the breastplate and the morningstar at his waist. He also has an ornate key in his pocket, until you relieve him of it, of course.
There's a large chest to the north, and a desk with papers scattered on it. One is an itemized list of the locations they've robbed, as well as a list of each of your names, and some of the other Torchbearers back at the hideout, along with some of your family being named as well --Lucon seeing his entire family listed. Corneleous finds a sheet listing many of the Ornelos family assets. There's a list of the names of many of Sabinus's coven. One note in particular, stands out.
Ava nods at Enko's sage advice, her face returning to its usual blank and unreadable expression. "I appreciate it." Ava says, looking down at her fist. "But this was a one time thing. I won't lose my composure again." Her voice seems to carry a sense of determination, as if making a promise she intends to keep.
"The Council..." Ava mutters to herself. She turns around, passing the note to the others. "Does that sound familiar to anyone?"
Turning back to the pile, an envelope catches her eye. She retrieves it, opening it carefully as the others look over the note.
Ava has heard tales, more akin to scary bedtime stories than fact, about a secret ruling Council, controlling and manipulating Westcrown behind the scenes. But she, nor any she's met, have given it much consideration.
Hey salt-lips, if you're anything like I remember, and the things I've heard, you made it to Pavaleen. I hope you won, Pavaleen laughed you and your friends off when I told him you'd be coming. He was getting to be a thorn in some important peoples boots. Best you steer clear, take the money and run.
I miss you.
- L
The north western hall, which Sabinus scouted earlier, has a boarded over hatch leading upwards, and could be broken open if you had some strength and time.
The south western most hall leads to a closed hatch in the ceiling which can be unlocked from the underside if you desire. You do find the unfortunate friend of Shilcer's in this tunnel --body torn and bloody. This is the one who assisted Shilcer in releasing the skeletal dogs from the south, but Shilcer turned out to be the faster.
The rest of the tunnels show rooms for guards, recently vacated and chairs overturned as they responded to your attack. Things smell of meat, ale and urine. You find an especially rancid-smelling room which must have housed the Hellhounds, as well as a bare closet which probably held the skeletal dogs. Moving through to the south you find an entrance leading up to the old temple, the inside looking similarly disrupted and messy. No tieflings leap out to resist you, you've either killed them all, or the survivors have fled.
Pavaleen
potion*, wand*, breastplate*, morningstar*, iron unholy symbol, treasure chest key, 430 gp
Dravano the Digger
potion*, excellent breastplate, 50 gp
Ostengo
tanglefoot bag, excellent studded leather armor, dagger, scroll*, 120 gp
Vethamer
potion, excellent studded leather armor, dagger, scroll*, 120 gp
Tiefling Rogues x5
studded leather armor, short sword, light mace, light crossbow with 12 bolts, 55 gp
Tiefling Thugs x8
studded leather armor, light mace, 15 bolts, dagger, simple thieves’ tools, 20 gp
Skeletal Dogs
None
Hellhounds
None
You all who're dealing with Pavaleen take care to avoid his acid burned torso, the flesh crispy and still sizzling a little from the Viscounts acid dart. The unconscious Bastard leader looks all but dead. There don't seem to be any spellbooks located on the mummies, who turn out to be just regular tieflings who's heritage manifested as dry and crackling skin, definitely helping them promote the appearance of actual mummies. Corneleous figures they were probably sorcerers. In a bit of success, the Viscount identifies the wand as a partially charged wand of cure light wounds (9 charges left).
Enko kneels by Shilcer. "You died a hero," he says quietly. "May Pharasma judge you accordingly."
"I am not aware of a Council. However--" he brandishes a different note--"Perhaps they are behind the supply of undead dogs. They cut this organization off."
Enko examines the two 'doors'.
"I don't hear anything behind these barricades, but that is no guarantee of safety."
Janiven sifts through the documents, checking each one carefully, "They kept a list of their exploits, the fools. Much of what they took is returnable, provided they haven't pawned it off yet." She joins Enko next to Shilcer, "I believe he was genuinely trying to help, poor fool."
Arael's Second taps a fingernail against her lips as she considers the note to Pavaleen, eventually turning to Ava, "You really got to him there, with your comment about him being betrayed, we can use that, should he ever wake up. I don't know if we can afford to leave him alive, some of his magics were used even while Lucon held him fast... He's probably too dangerous."
Spellcraft potion a:
Spellcraft potion b:
Spellcraft morningstar:
Spellcraft armor:
NW door perception:
Sabinus stands awkwardly and silently, and in confusion, while Ava has her moment. He's curious what it's about, but he somehow manages to resist the temptation to ask Ava. He is happy when he can just be task directed in helping Ava sort through the loot.
"I hear something large shuffling behind the NW door. Before coming here I heard the Bastards had a giant worm that guarded a great treasure. Maybe it's behind that door?