"The same demon those cultists we slew below the city worshiped? Were...were we deceived by those people we caught in here?!" Arloric asks, suddenly looking worried.
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Merlin takes a look around downstairs also.
Kelly comes up to the group on the stairs. "What's down there?"
Aberus rubs his chin thoughtfully and says, "It's possible, I suppose, but ... they didn't exactly look the part."
He turns to face Kelly. "Rotting plants and a symbol of Baphomet, among other things."
Kelly comes up to the group on the stairs. "What's down there?"
"The mark of a demon lord, one whose faithful we encountered in the caves beneath the city."
He looks at Aberus.
"Didn't look the part? Is that not the point if you're a secret cult of demon worshipers?!"
Aberus shrugs. "They had one sword and one brain between the three of them, and they were trying to collect runoff water from the roof. Either the cult of Baphoment is in dire straights, or they were exactly what they seemed to be."
The light in Uriel's eyes dims, and he shakes his head. "There's definitely some lingering evil here, but nothing strong. No antipaladins hiding under the table, certainly." he says, cracking a rare smile. He proceeds down into the room.
"There are ANTIpaladins?" Arloric asks incredulously. "While I can see how evil gods would create their own warriors to equal your kind, that has to be the least creative name for them possible."
Uriel shrugs. ”I’m sure that whatever foul horrors empower them have their own names they use, but I don’t care to learn them. Knowing that they’re a mirror image of all that is good in the world is enough for me.”
"Well you'll have MY sword at your side when you face them. Even if I am no paladin, people like that are the ones who poisoned the faith of my people and wounded the world. I would no more allow their vile venom to spread than you would."
Uriel descends into the room. As he closes in on the table, the goat's mouth in the symbol on the wall seems to move, and it lets out an eerie, echoing voice, saying, “Ahh... I hope you are among Iomedae’s slaves... I would hate to think of mere peasants wasting such a personal greeting from Lord Baphomet!”
The six-armed figurine on the table suddenly shudders and moves - not like an animated statue, which would move smoothly and cleanly, but like some kind of clockwork automaton. Its arms swing down and the swords in its hands cleave through the bottle in front of it.
A massive cloud of vile green gas fills the downstairs room.
A moment later, the pile of rotting vegetation stirs, and a hideous plant monstrosity erupts from the mass of foul green.
Battle Order
Uriel, Kelly <--
Plant-thing
Merlin, Telerin, Aberus, Arloric
Hearing the descriptions of the room, Kelly steps back a bit from the door, a look of anxiety clouding her face. But the moment she hears the sounds of fighting from below, she visibly forces herself into action, drawing her large kitchen knife and running down into the basement to help defend her friends.
Know Arcana
This is a magic mouth effect, harmless but if there is anything here it has been alerted to our prescence. she remarks.
Without hesitation, Uriel brings his blade down on the plant-thing.
You are showing on the map as being upstairs. The gas is only downstairs. If you moved down, you take the effects below. If you stayed up, you weren't in the gas and it doesn't matter.
The gas clings to Merlin's lungs and he starts to wheeze, his breath making a significant noise each time it comes in our out.
Uriel brings his blade down on the plant, which brushes aside his sword-strike with its flailing vines.
The plant lets out a hideous shriek!
Battle Order
Uriel, Kelly
Plant-thing
Merlin, Telerin, Aberus, Arloric <--
Merlin gets sick on his boots...
Aberus rushes down the stairs, shaking off both the gas and the chilling scream as he closes in on the plant creature.
He swings his morningstar but it goes wide and fails to connect.
Kelly coughs a little but seems generally unaffected by the gas, but then the scream leaves her reeling.
Arloric doubles over coughing as the gas fills the room, and the scream of the plant monster only makes it worse.
"What IS this?!" he cries. "Demon-corrupted weeds?!"
The poison gas cloud is not related - it was created by the trap that was set off by the magic mouth - but the plant is immune to poison so the gas doesn't affect it.
Telerin isn't sure what to do and decides to keep her guard up in case the plant does anything odd. (Botting Telerin; total defense.)
Battle Order
Uriel, Kelly <--
Plant-thing
Merlin, Telerin, Aberus, Arloric
If you remain in the gas cloud downstairs, you must save every round.
His stomach churning from the plant-thing's scream, Uriel manages not to hurl, but can't concentrate enough to take another swing at the creature.
Kelly staggers through the cloud, ears ringing, until she gets to clear air on the far side.
"This thing is a mandragora!" Arloric manages to choke out to the others. "It can only scream a few more times today. We must use fire! That is the only thing it will not easily resist! We must kill it quickly. As a plant spawned from demon blood, it is immune to tricks of the mind and body!"
He punctuates the explanation with a swing at the mandragora.
;
Kelly makes it to the far side of the room while the creature lashes out at Uriel. The plant's trunk splits hideously and a sharp maw erupts! It attempts to latch on to Uriel!
As the plant batters Uriel, Arloric slashes it with his longsword, but it just knocks off a few leaves.
Battle Order
Uriel, Kelly
Plant-thing
Merlin, Telerin, Aberus, Arloric <--
Aberus takes another swing at the plant-thing with his morningstar.
Aberus swings at the plant but his morningstar whizzes to one side and smacks into the ground.
Merlin likewise misses with his scimitar, and the smoke continues to have weird magical effects upon him!
The smoke seems to scorch and smolder Merlin!
She begins to concentrate on her connection to her ring and uses it to cast magic missile at the plant as an elven arrow of force shoots from her hand
"BLAST!" Arloric cries in frustration as all he manages to do is prune the monster.
Battle Order
Uriel, Kelly <--
Plant-thing
Merlin, Telerin, Aberus, Arloric
The fighting continues fiercely and the bottle shows no signs of slowing down its smoke cloud. Likewise the plant continues to rage and flail with its long tendrils. At least it isn't shouting any more.
[b] Does it look at least beat up? [/ooc]
Uriel continues to feel nauseous. Putting a hand against the wall, he shakes his head to clear it.
Realizing she can't really escape the smoke, Kelly stays still, waiting for the dizziness and ringing in her ears to stop.
Arloric, still wheezing, shouts at the mandragora.
"COME ON, YOU ABOMINABLE WEED! I'LL PULL YOU OUT BY YOUR THRICE-CURSED ROOTS!"
The plant monster, undeterred, lashes out at Uriel again.
Its branches smash into the paladin, bypassing his guard as he retches, and leaving him scratched and bleeding.
Battle Order
Uriel, Kelly
Plant-thing
Merlin, Telerin, Aberus, Arloric <--