[3.5]Tomb of Horrors, but one of many threads to come... =P

[TheOasysMaster]

Bailona was Summoned into the Tomb of Horrors by the same spell that brought Hassadur. Though she didn't know him personally. They are of the same species, and using the same fantastic abilities that Eduardo's animal companion has shown, she has made her way into Acererak's throne room...
Scores of massive columns hold up a ceiling tiled in dark stone. Across a gulf of darkness, something glitters with orange light.
To the side, cinders, ashes, charred bones and skulls, and the crisped and blackened remains of gear, clothing, arms, and armor are strewn about a huge, glowing orange gem.
Along the south wall, a stark black dais holds an obsidian throne inlaid with silver and ivory skulls. A crown and scepter rest upon the throne. The crown is golden, while the scepter has a silver end, and one of gold.
But, being a snake, Bailona does not care about such things.
She is hungry, and food kneels before the empty throne.
She slithers forward, having cast Greater Invisibility upon herself, and her instincts do not tell her to make use of Silence or Dimension Door...
Though she doesn't know it, Bailona is stalking the same hidden figure Eduardo has seen hiding in the duel with "Ikam", "Isam", or whatever his name was...
Crouched on his knees, the figure appears to be meditating...
A skin tight suit of leather, chainmail and bands constricting him from head to toe, with a single glowing white slit where the eyes would be, and glowing runes at his joints.
Bailona's mouth opens wide, gaping to sink her fangs into food's neck, killing him quickly...
And in a blur of motion, the straight edged blade, with glowing runes, has shed its sheath and removed her head, sendign her body and eyes spinning in different directions across the floor in a spray of blood.
"Good, good..."
The throne is no longer unoccupied.
Acererak sits upon his throne.
Robed and hooded, he stares down at the armored figure before him, smiling, his face hidden in shadows.
"The suit works. Perfectly. My dirty little secret..."
The helmet splits into quarters, the upper havlves sliding along the skull, revealing a mirrored band across the zombie's eyes and the bottom halves folding along the cheeks to reveal a muzzled mouth, with snapping and bloodied teeth chomping at the metal restraints.
With a shudder, and a ripple of white lightning across the suit, the confined zombie sags to it's hands and feet, gasping.
"Speak."
A voice struggles throught the snarling hungry sounds of snapping teeth and spitting drool...
"Your blood creation..."
"Yes..."
"He's taken up residence inside your Cavern of Mist's..."
"And the siren?"
"She'd been replaced by a Crypt Chanter..."
"Kneel lower. And stop looking at me. Eyes on the ground. Why is it that I only seem to employ hapless incompetents? WHY?"
Acererak's voice echoes derisively through the chamber...
"I was forced to attack her with this blade you have forced upo-"
"Cease. Yes, I understand..."
"I believe your new creature will be a difficult if capable obstacle for them..."
"What is it to you?"
"Why did you do this to me? All the others you left to their fates-driven mad, toruted, maimed, resurrected as your sick slaves, why?"
"Because it amuses me to see you fallen so low... At one time, you would never kill... And now, with this suit... You are my perfect engine of destru-KNEEL LOWER!"
White lightning rips across the figures body, and he writhes in pain...
"By my name, it is perfect... Truly, I had outdone myself..."
"Why..."
"Silence. I have orders for you..."
"Yes..."
"You have done well... But there are still more things you must do for me..."
"Why?"
Acererak laughs, a chilling sound that fills Bailona's corpse with negative energy, and her ashen scales begin to gain colour again...
Her muscles twitch.
"I'm not going to reveal my WHOLE plan to you! A failure!"
"Yes..."
"The Vampiress. The mad one... She had escaped?"
"Yes, one of the adventurers banished her through the arch in the Hall of-"
"Good. Good. And the boy?"
"I didn't harm hi-"
"His constant questions were irritating..."
"What do you plan to do with him? And the rest?"
"Nothing. They are not my concern. Well, unless I get bored again..."
"And the Vampiress?"
"Not. My. Concern."
"What is your bidding, my Master? Shall I destroy the adventurers? The barbarian? The sorceror? The dwarves? The assassins? Perhaps the druid?"
"No."
"Then wh-"
"Don't let the lich escape."
"What?"
"Don't let the lich escape."
"You don't want me t-"
"I'll deal with them myself if they manage to come to far..."
"They may not even make it into the Throne-"
"They will. They are capable."
"So, leave them?"
"Yes, but don't let the lich escape. He's a star attraction here, and would be nearly impossible to replace."
"Yes..."
"And he knows... He knows too much... He must remain here."
"Yes..."
"Everything is going according to plan..."
"Will I be freed when I've..."
The voice trails off as the suit closes in a flash of white lightning, the zombie-man screams inside the suit.
A pitiful sound.
"WHY?"
"Your questions bore me. Do as I say..."
"WHY?"
"WHY?"
No reply from Acererak, he's gone.
The man staggers to his feet, the resurrected Bailona slithering to her side, her skin bleached white, eyes glowing blood red.
"Let them come."

"Let them come."
These words, uttered in Acererak's Throne Room in the Tomb of Horrors echo in the dark spaces between the columns...
...and the echo throughout the world!


Elsewheres...

"Lord Moradin?"
"Yes, Abbathane?"
"Thy messenger..."
Moradin fixes the dwarven defender with a piercing glance, but Abbathane goes on...
"...thy Favored Soul?"
"Yes..."
"Ye didnae send 'im ta any o' the other gods, did ye?"
"No. No, I did not."
"But what about reinforcements? We cannae defend this rock alone!"
"I know. Rest easy my s-"
"HOW!??!"
Abbathane gestures from the walls that crown the outcropping of the planar mountain...
All around, the feet of the mountain is ringed in an unending sea of undead, unto the horizon, where twin suns are setting...
"The information my Favored carries is better in the hands of the mortals who will save us all, Abbathane..."
"But what if 'e fails?"
"He WILL fail! Abbathane's wounds won't let him survive the journey. He will die in the Tomb... This way, we haven't lost anyone... Important."
Moradin looks away as he says this, gazing across the wall...
"Acererak's corruption touches not only the dead... But our choices to defeat him... In a way..."
"The sacrifices we make, make us more like him. Like 'em."
"Yes."
"So what can we do?"
The undead surge forward, their wights rising up in winged droves to finally blot out the setting suns.
"AXE!"
"My lord?"
Moradin says nothing, hefting his weapon in his hand.
"What can we do?"
"We do nothing."
"I cannae do nothing!"
Moradin smiles.
"You're right, Abbathane. We can NOT do nothing. We stand fast... And we let them come..."

Harald's Thrush, a Human Village in the southern forests of the Continent...

For the last three nights, the dead have rushed Harald's Thrush...
A farming village of atleast eight hundred Light-living souls...
Pushed out by the sheer stubborn tenacity of these people, they are ready for more...
From the rising of the sun into it's setting, pits have been dug, and stakes raised in three rings around the village, with mounds raised between them.
A young boy, wearing a pot as a helmet, and known for his unusually sharp eyes(he's got some elf in him, though his father doesn't know it) keeps watch.
And Harald's Thrush waits...
Farmers turned soldiers holds swords that had been sickles not even a week ago...
...the blacksmith who'd made shoes now makes hammers into axes.
Spades that moved the manure of the horses have been employed in digging graves while the horses will let the archers, using recurved bows for hunting, to sortie out and bring down the more intelligent of the undead from a safe distance.
But the true might of Harald's Thrush lies in it's longbowmen.
They take to the thatched tops of the buildings, casually stringing bows nearly as tall as they are and checking goose feather fletchings.
The white arrows make confirming kills easier.
"Tonight, I'm gonna take forty! Yessir! Forty right here!"
"Fiddy o'er here!"
"You talk big for someone who one missed the wide side of a barn, Mr. Deansson!"
"There was a mighty fierce wind and you know it!"
They laugh in the dark.
Not to hide their fear, but because they know they might never get a chance to do so again...
Nobody knows where the dead are coming from, though one of the elders says there was once a great battlefield here...
...and perhaps he's right...
Tonight, the dead wear armor.
"Aim for the heads and legs boys. If they're crawling, or just plain dead..."
"They'll just keep comin'..."
"Let them come, we're ready."
"Let them come!"
"Let them come!"
Atop the buildings, the cry is raised.
"Let them come!"[/QUOTE]

The Necrovalley...

Far north, beyond the ring of mountains that crown the pole of the world, in the frozen ice that caps the planet, is a black patch of black earth, where no ice freezes and no snow falls.
Two-hundred and fifty kilometers across, it is a dry, and sometimes humid place, where the dead rule.
At it's center is a deep valley, as if a massive god, a giant amongst the primordials had taken a sword, and scored the earth with it's point.
In this valley, the Valley of the Necromancers, the rising sun never shines, for a great black tower, ensures eternal night...
The tower is a massive construction, with a city at it's base, tunnels, roads and bridges connect it to the valley floor and walls, like a loving growth.
A hundred armies have sieged it, surrounding the entire valley...
A hundred hundred armies have besieged it together, and always they were turned back or joined the Valley guardians who were risen to defend it, this Valley of the Necromancers.
For in the valley is the highest concentration of undead to ever be found on this place, a safe haven for those would practice the necromantic arts.
It's Master, the Master of the Tower keeps the Valley in check, year in and year out, like a kind father, he and his predecessors have long toiled to make it a safe place of discovery and research...
Very much at odds with what one might expect...
...but this is the truth, and a thousand shambling zombies showing up as a 'greeting' does not change this...
Pausing in his writings, the Master of the Tower, finally hears his aide's cries.
"Master Daeaphus! The undead have turned on us! They fight one another and are hunting us down!"
"Most troubling this news is..."
Daeaphus is well pleased with the aide.
He will turn out nicely. A suitable replacement.Looking at Daeaphus and his aide, Farndo, none would suspect either of these men could call upon dead stones to serve them...
Daeaphus, nose smudged in black ink, is in his bathrobe...
That for them, life and death had no mysteries, and that together, they'd gone further in teaching their powers and skills than any who'd gone before them.
Farndo alone had secured four librairies worth of information in the last year alone.
And now, a loose dracolich was burning it all.
And for what?
"What of the acolytes?"
"We'd managed to evacuate to the upper levels, and are moving upwards to the light, but..."
"Spit it out man!"
"We're not going to make. We're cut off in every direction."
"We've been betrayed."
"Yes, I tried to contact Vecna, but there's been no answer... His spells and wardings are still working, but they have weakened."
"Then our benefactor is in as much danger as we ar-"
"That doesn't change out situation."
"What situation?"
"Our defenses have turned on us, and our powers are gone."
"What?"
I hadn't even noticed...
The Master of the Tower's back straightens.
"Open that chest."
Hidden beneath a pile of scrolls and manuscripts, the Master hadn't opened it in years, way back when he was a different man.
Before the Valley.
"I don't know what you could possibly have in-what in Vecna's name!"
A shimmering blue sword, it glows with a fiery light.
Taking the blade in hand, Daeaphus kisses his old friend. Set apart after the events that took place in a kingdom known only as, Below.
"One more time..."
"Master?"
"Farndo. In my desk, is a ring of epic mass teleportation."
"I see."
"It will kill you by the time you've evacuated everyone."
"Yes."
"In my youth, I was a paladin of great renown..."
"I believe that."
"Today, I think I will be again."
"You will make sure the wiser undead don't reach the holding cells?"
"Yes."
"There are too many."
"Let them come."


The Temple of Gruumsh...

[Translated from Orc...]

The doors splinter under the weight of the umber hulk's newly risen bulk, but the orcs ignore it.
"I remember a time when we fought with the weakling Humans, the smell Dwarves, the accursed Elves, and all manners of our enemies against the undead!"
"ALL THINGS THAT ARE NOT ORCS ARE OUR ENEMIES!"
Again, the double doors, are smashed, sending the bones and gems that decorate skittering across the bloodstained floors.
"NO ALLIANCE!"
"WE DON'T FIGHT WITH NO FAIRIES!"
There is a roar.
Even when they're breathing their hot, foul breath on the doors of our most sacred temple?
"EVEN THEN!"
YES! NO ALLIANCE!
YES! THE ORCS WILL TRIUMPH!
The umber hulk peers through a crack, it's empty socket seeing nothing, so it resumes bashing itself against the temple doors.
"And what will the undead DO to our god Gruumsh, who gives us conquest and victory!?!?!"
"What are you getting at?"
"YEAH! What's your game?"
"Gotta point there, talky-man?"
"We, the orcs, worship Gruumsh-""As is PROPER of so FINE a race!"
"...and if we're all hungering for brains and fearing sunlight? Nobody will worship Gruumsh! And then what will he do?"
The orcs silence, going from various shade of green to terrible pale variations.
Gruumsh does NOT know mercy...
To arms! To arms!"
The Orcs go to war!"With Elves!"
With Men!"
To arms! To arms!"
But they are many!"
With Dwarves!"
"With all manners of creature!"
"TO ARMS!"
"I thought you'd see it my way..."
"LET THEM COME!"
The door smashes again, and the orcs turn, weapons raised, the council over.
"LET THEM COME!"
The chieftain, making final adjustments to his war-paint smiles grimly.
"Yes, let them come."


Eduardo peers into the fog, walking in a slow circle and putting his years of training to work, assessing the situation.
Eduardo is lost...
He has no idea where he is, other than that he's still in this accursed Tomb, and he can't see anything...
But he's pretty confident that his location is south of the end of that hallway...
Each step he takes splashes and echoes in the mist, and Eduardo can't help but feel as if something is watching him.
As he moves around to fix his bearings, the mist closes around him again and again, until he finds a stretch of stone.
Back to the wall, Eduardo steels himself against whatever might be watching, and speaks a quiet enchantment, masking his life force from undead that might be lurking close by.

Looking north and south, Prescott sees a wooden door, like the others he's seen before and to the south, a metal one, with designs upon it.
Dranga shakes her head, "If anyone, maybe Welby or Pharrah..."
Daina sways and shrugs.
"I lost my spells..."
The boy holds his hands out, empty.
"Sorry."
Daina points a wavering finger in the boys face.
"You. You stay. You stay here. Right here!"
He nods mutely.
"Dranga. You watch him. And Harley."
"Why?
"Because you're useless! Pete! Toss us over!"
"Prescott! Should I go after Welby!?!?!"
Maki looks back at Daina and the kid
"You are not going anywhere! Stay here! "
Then he turns to Quin
"Quin! Heal me! And yourself first! I dont know what waits for us beyond here but i would rather face it with all of our strenght!"
Daina tries to grin, "Are you going to make me, Maki?"
As Thoradin prepares to jump over the pit he hears Maki's comments, "Quit cryin' like a eight year old girl with a skinned knee ya big daft basta'. We need ta find those other two that have disappeared."
"Hey I'm not kidding here... Do you want to end up like Harley? You can barely stand! Next time you die you might not come back. And if you do well... You remember what happened last time dont you?... Stay here and protect the kid. You can fight all you want after we get this thing and Quin can get you back into shape..."
She growls.
"I am NOT a babysitter."
"I am NOT a baby!"
She scowls.
Pete slips his way around the others and goes to Prescott. Dropping his sword and pack, he picks the loremaster from the floor, and if he offers relatively little resistance, walks within a step of the pit and hurls him underhand to the hallway on the eastern side of it. "Haaur!"
Pete reaches for Quin with a grin. If the cleric doesn't struggle much he hefts him a few times, getting a feel for the weight, steps again to the edge of the pit and casts him to the far side and a little to the right of Prescott. "Heeeeh!"
Pete grins and looks around for more things to throw.
Now Dranga grins, "I am NOT useless! I can Dimension Door us across!"
"Right now the boy has more chance to protect you than you got to protect him! Dranga! What spells do you have besides Demention Thor?"
"Maki's got a point Thoradin, we can hardly go chasing after Eduardo and Pharrah in our state!"

[Human Paragon 3]

The hunters become the hunted...

The Master of Death stoops down and examines the floor of the tomb. He is not alone here. Others have passed this point, and remain in his presence, potentially just a few feat away, shrouded in mist.

There would be a trail. There was always a trail. Eduardo scours the floor, looking for telltale signs of activity. The undead had a peculiar way of moving about that Eduardo had come to recognize. A pattern to their movements, certain signs--old blood and rot.

The Master of Death is a hunter in the mist. He hears his prey. He will find them.

OK, after all that, I'd better roll well on my survival check!

Pharrah is out there somewhere, as well as two other individuals, who I am guessing are undead. There is also the massive creature that grabbed us to begin with. If I find no other trail, I should at least find that one, given his shear size and the fact that he is evidently made of blood.

OK, here we go, tracking with survival! (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#track)
[roll0]
:smallbiggrin: There it is.

[Elfstone]

First off all, does Quin get the death watch for holidng on to the telescope for long enough? Second, who got level drained, and is still around.

[Misaat]

First off all, does Quin get the death watch for holidng on to the telescope for long enough? Second, who got level drained, and is still around.

Me and you both got level drained You got zapped two levels by the Crypt chanter and i got one from the crypt chanter and one for the ooze

[Elfstone]

Me and you both got level drained You got zapped two levels by the Crypt chanter and i got one from the crypt chanter and one for the ooze

No.. I made my save... Check the post, it was edited. Oasy had the wrong bonuses...

[Misaat]

No.. I made my save... Check the post, it was edited. Oasy had the wrong bonuses...

Oh ... then heal me and Daina XD

[TheOasysMaster]

The water lapping at Eduardo's boots isn't water...
It's blood, but it doesn't act like blood...
It sticks to his boots, crawling up and around his heels, knowing and marking him...
"Found you!"
Combined with his deathwatch, Eduardo comes to a horrifying conclusion...
"sWeEt VeNgEaNcE, fEeD aNd KiLl!"
The voices, are one and the same, coming from the massive undead that makes up the blood that coats him and the interior of this cave of mists...
Looking over his shoulder, he can more bloody strands like the ones that grabbed him and Pharrah moving across the stone wall, until is obscured in a weaving of bloodied mesh...
"Master... Please, just don't move..."
Based on the evidence he's heard and seen, Eduardo comes to the conclusion that this blood thing had been hiding amongst them from at least before the Laboratory...
And had even gotten ahead of them-taking refuge inside one of the large vats.
Then, exhibiting it's ability to change shape, it had used Pete in some fashion to follow through the mirror, and then hiding amongst them, had gotten ahead of them again...
For some sort of vengeance...
But why?
Who had Welby and Quin wronged? Who could possibly have a quarrel against them?
"Eddie! Pharraaaaaaaah! You in there?!?!?"


First off all, does Quin get the death watch for holidng on to the telescope for long enough? Second, who got level drained, and is still around.
No! It's a cursed telescope it just shoots a miniature disintegrate ray from the eyepiece when the nobs are turned to 'focus' it! A few charges left...
And Daina and Maki were level drained...




Dranga opens up a Dimension Door, beckoning for the boy, Daina, Thoradin and Pete to come with her.

[TheOasysMaster]

With hesitation and deliberation on the part of fellow party members, Eduardo and Pharrah may have to find their own rescue...
But with Welby here, things might be different...

Enter Round 3 Gaurd Juris,
The rest are in Round 2

[Misaat]

The water lapping at Eduardo's boots isn't water...
It's blood, but it doesn't act like blood...
It sticks to his boots, crawling up and around his heels, knowing and marking him...
"Found you!"
Combined with his deathwatch, Eduardo comes to a horrifying conclusion...
"sWeEt VeNgEaNcE, fEeD aNd KiLl!"
The voices, are one and the same, coming from the massive undead that makes up the blood that coats him and the interior of this cave of mists...
Looking over his shoulder, he can more bloody strands like the ones that grabbed him and Pharrah moving across the stone wall, until is obscured in a weaving of bloodied mesh...
"Master... Please, just don't move..."
Based on the evidence he's heard and seen, Eduardo comes to the conclusion that this blood thing had been hiding amongst them from at least before the Laboratory...
And had even gotten ahead of them-taking refuge inside one of the large vats.
Then, exhibiting it's ability to change shape, it had used Pete in some fashion to follow through the mirror, and then hiding amongst them, had gotten ahead of them again...
For some sort of vengeance...
But why?
Who had Welby and Quin wronged? Who could possibly have a quarrel against them?
"Eddie! Pharraaaaaaaah! You in there?!?!?"


No! It's a cursed telescope it just shoots a miniature disintegrate ray from the eyepiece when the nobs are turned to 'focus' it! A few charges left...
And Daina and Maki were level drained...




Dranga opens up a Dimension Door, beckoning for the boy, Daina, Thoradin and Pete to come with her.

You mean a "Demention Thor" . So... Is Quin on the other side now?

[Elfstone]

Quin was moved by Pete.

Quin obeys Maki wordlessly and casts Restoration on him, holding his holy symbol while he does so.

[Misaat]

Quin was moved by Pete.

Quin obeys Maki wordlessly and casts Restoration on him, holding his holy symbol while he does so.

I thought restoration was a Touch spell... And you are on the other side of the pit XD (Dunno how THAT happened ¬¬)

Also what happened man XD Who did Welby and you kill? XD

[TheOasysMaster]

Indeed, Quin and Prescott are on the other side of the pit.


And Restoration IS a Touch Spell...

[Misaat]

How long is the pit btw?

[TheOasysMaster]

Ten feet by ten feet.

[Misaat]

Ten feet by ten feet.

10 feet?!... Maki jumps to the other side. Even without a running start he makes it to the other side Because of the Haste bonus

"Im telling you for the last time! PLEASE Wait here! You'll have lots of chances to be usefull in the future but only if you can live long enough... "

Saying that he jumps to the other side of the pit.

[Elfstone]

Quin Delays an action to do so once he comes over?

[Misaat]

All right! XD Btw is it greater Restoration or just restoration... Because then i would need two of them XD

[Ditto]

So between dimension door and Pete's trollthrowing, everyone can cross in 1 round. Quin can also use his standard action to Restoration Maki in this round. For round 2, Prescott's going to charge forward after Welby with Winky... who's joining me? Headlong rushes are always a good idea!

As everyone is quickly shuttled across the pit, Prescott stands and hastily rushes after Winky. "Yes, onward! Let's find where they've been taken. Welby, we're right behind you!" The dancing lights seem to form a trail of Winkys along their path as we move into the mists.

[Elfstone]

Just regular. Be happy with one level, He'll get the other next round.

[Misaat]

All right then

While Quin heals his zapped strength Maki Sheates his Falchion and takes out the Bastart Sword that Daina gave him before. He holds it in front of him and speaks the words.

" FLAME ON! "

And the sword catches on fire!

[TheOasysMaster]

" FLAME ON! "
Aaaaaaaargh!


For round 2, Prescott's going to charge forward after Welby with Winky... who's joining me? Headlong rushes are always a good idea!
Nope. Round 2, Prescott ended up on the other side; for Round 3, he can start running.
Maki and Quin can start running Round 7, since Quin has to heal him, and Restoration takes 3 Rounds.

Agreeable?

[Verisimilitude]

Pete drops his torch in his backpack before shoving it to Daina and the kid. He points to the floor. "Sxhaa aHeh. A baa baAuhka, sA. Baueh Baueh." He wiggles his hand at them and picks up his sword. Then he accepts the dimension door.

[TheOasysMaster]

The kids eyes widen in fear...
Then understanding dawns.
His eyes narrow.


Seriously. If you guys let a SINGLE child so much as scrape their knee...
I will guilt trip you guys into handing in your dice.
:smalltongue:

EDIT:

"Sxhaa aHeh. A baa baAuhka, sA. Baueh Baueh."
Translation?: Stay here. I'll be back, soon. Bye bye.

[Misaat]

Aaaaaaaargh!


Oo like you coulda come up with something better! XD

[TheOasysMaster]

Oo like you coulda come up with something better! XD
It's fine...
As long as all present except that DC is superior to Marvel in EVERY SINGLE WAY!
:smalltongue:

[TheOasysMaster]

I've another question about my sheet.... do I currently get the +5 natural bonus to AC of a troll? You didn't mention it one way or another when I asked about the spell, and I'm not really sure if this falls under being trollkin and carrying true ancestry or if it's just a physiological thing that the spell does imitate.

...acquire the physical qualities of the new form while retaining your own mind. Physical qualities include natural size, mundane movement capabilities (such as burrowing, climbing, walking, swimming, and flight with wings, to a maximum speed of 120 feet for flying or 60 feet for nonflying movement), natural armor bonus, natural weapons (such as claws, bite, and so on), racial skill bonuses, racial bonus feats, and any gross physical qualities (presence or absence of wings, number of extremities, and so forth). A body with extra limbs does not allow you to make more attacks (or more advantageous two-weapon attacks) than normal...

[Ditto]

More or less agreeable, sure. I thought my first round was cast dancing lights and get thrown by Pete at the end of the round. Second round, stand up and start running. If I didn't start running til round 3, I feel like there's an action missing...

[Human Paragon 3]

Guys!

Bring Pax.

It's magic and silver.

You might need it.


Oaysis:
Clearing up what Eduardo has come to understand--correct the below statements if they are wrong.
1) The blood on the floor is part of a gigantic undead, or a shapeshifting undead who can become gigantic.
2) One of the voices I have been hearing is the voice of this blood-based undead.
3) The above mentioned undead has resisted my hide spell, or is somehow not subject to it (perhaps because it's everywhere, all around me, and I am standing in it).
4) I am currently in physical contact with the undead.
5) Healing potions contain positive energy which hurts undead.

[Ditto]

Half of the group can move at 60 feet per round for the next few rounds anyway, so you needn't burden yourself with a pile of adventurers. :smallamused: And yes, Thoradin or Maki should totally pick up the nifty weapon.

Thoradin & Dranga can move on round 3 as well with you, and y'know what I'm feeling like being the first to back up Welby in particular will perhaps go a ways to improving wizard-sorcerer relations. Old man says chaaarge!

[TheOasysMaster]

More or less agreeable, sure. I thought my first round was cast dancing lights and get thrown by Pete at the end of the round. Second round, stand up and start running. If I didn't start running til round 3, I feel like there's an action missing...

If Pete throws you on round 1 and Dimension doors with Dranga on Round 2, he won't be able to start running until round 3. And Maki and Quin are busy using restoration. Even if you can start running on Round 2, would you? Without the rest of us, I mean.

Round 0:
Eduardo gets taken

Round 1:
Eduardo and Pharrah start DOING things...
The others start talking

Round 2:
More talking, but Maki, Prescott and Quin get tossed across
Dranga proposes a Dimension Door

Round 3:
Dimension Door will bring the rest across the pit, or Pete can toss more
Eduardo can do more things, and Welby has arrived to the rescue
Quin starts healing Maki
Prescott starts running?

Round 4:
Prescott arrives
Quin is still healing
Everyone else arrives on the other side of the pit
Eduardo, Welby and Pharra...

Etc, etc,


Guys!

Bring Pax.

It's magic and silver.

You might need it.

And yes, Thoradin or Maki should totally pick up the nifty weapon.
No meta-gaming!
You guys have to go rescue Eduardo and Pharrah! Can't waste time picking up every dropped thing!
:smalltongue:


Clearing up what Eduardo has come to understand--correct the below statements if they are wrong.
1. Correct, particularly the last statement.
2. BOTH of the voices.
3. Indeed, the undead is literally everywhere-Eduardo is covered in it, and standing in it...
4. Hmmm, I suppose Eduardo technically IS touching it...
5. Yes. I suppose.

Can I have some Actions PLEASE!

[Human Paragon 3]

Eduardo sniffs the air, and reaches into a pocket, withdrawing a potion of cure serious wounds.

Pharrah, he replies to his apprentice, if you believe you can deal with this situation, do so. Otherwise, I'm going to step in.

Uncorking the vile, he decants it, pouring its contents onto the floor around him and rinsing away blood from his boots. He watches as the positive-energy laden liquid mingles with the undead blood, and waits for Pharrah's reply, or her next action--some proof that she can address this situation without his help.

[Elfstone]

Well, admittedly, Quin would recognize the power of the weapon and snag it. He did always want that Mace, and Pax is a suitable replacement. I'd say he snagged it or had it taken. He is a dwarf in love with loot. His actions in round 8 would be to ask Dranga to check out his scrolls from the coffer.

[Misaat]

Actually maki Jumped to the other side. Now he is just waiting to be healed

"Dammit... I hope Eduardo and Parrah can hold on a little longer..."

[Human Paragon 3]

IMO it would be meta-gaming not to take it. The only reasons none of the characters would have picked up Pax (a powerful magic weapon for fighting undead) before running off to rescue the scythe's owner, would be A) They purposely want to leave it behind for Daina and the kid, or B) the players forgot about it because, unlike the characters, they aren't staring at it lying on the ground in front of them. The characters would see it and take it. It would be stupid to leave it behind.

[Ditto]

If we had to spend an entire round talking, then yeah that timeline works.

So Eduardo pouring the potion is his action for round... 3? And Welby will arrive in the room this round? Next round, Eduardo & Pharrah go first, then Welby (already present), then Prescott & Winky (arriving in the room). Just want to be sure I have the sequence straight, I'm sure you'll describe what Prescott/Winky see when they walk in.

[TheOasysMaster]

Well, admittedly, Quin would recognize the power of the weapon and snag it. He did always want that Mace, and Pax is a suitable replacement. I'd say he snagged it or had it taken. He is a dwarf in love with loot. His actions in round 8 would be to ask Dranga to check out his scrolls from the coffer.

Actually maki Jumped to the other side. Now he is just waiting to be healed


IMO it would be meta-gaming not to take it. The only reasons none of the characters would have picked up Pax (a powerful magic weapon for fighting undead) before running off to rescue the scythe's owner, would be A) They purposely want to leave it behind for Daina and the kid, or B) the players forgot about it because, unlike the characters, they aren't staring at it lying on the ground in front of them. The characters would see it and take it. It would be stupid to leave it behind.


I am in the habit of tracking where items have been dropped and which pockets and bags are open and what Pete has palmed and heard and so on. I just can't think of any reason why Pete would want to take a necromancer's +1 silvered scythe. That doesn't sound meta to me.
No, the scythe remains where it is. We're not going to assume one of your characters picked it up after Gaurd Juris mentioned OOC. If he hadn't, it would have been left there.
And unless one of you can truly, in character, justify going back for it, it shall there remain.
On one part, Eduardo has every reason to be very unhappy with his party members if they ever do arrive to assist him...


If we had to spend an entire round talking, then yeah that timeline works.
For Return, talking will only be a free action if it's a basic sentence, around six words.
Otherwise, it'll be a Standard Action that can induce an Attack of Opportunity...
I'm personally going to try and reduce NPCs monologue in the middle of combat.



...then Prescott & Winky (arriving in the room). Just want to be sure I have the sequence straight, I'm sure you'll describe what Prescott/Winky see when they walk in.
Precisely...

Pharrah doesn't respond.
"Ack! It's burns!"
The blood recedes from Eduardo, until he can see no trace of it within the fog.
"Who's that!"
Welby sounds suspicious.
"Eduardo! Pharrah!"
"KILL HIM! KILL THE BRAT!"
"HELLO! ANYBODY!"
Still no sound from Pharrah...

Winky leads Prescott down the corridor, lighting his way.
As they splash through the bloodied doorway, Winky cries out.
"I HOPE they're alright, Prescott!"
At the end of the corridor, they come to a shapeless wall of mist, unable to see what lies beyond...
"Hmmmmmm..."

Daina points a stern finger at the boy.
"Stay."
Dranga shakes her head.
"Daina, you've GOT to stay... What if Harley..."
Daina curses.
"Fine. Take Thoradin and Pete up to Prescott, and when Maki and Quin are ready to go, I'll keep watch here."
"C'mon guys!"
"I wanna go! I've been around this pl-"
"Quiet. Stay. Here."

Suddenly, Eduardo hears a rushing sound...
The water parts, and he senses Hassadur's presence near him.
The snake has found him!

[Human Paragon 3]

My action?

[Ditto]

"Winky, you're sure Welby went through here? Detecting any evil?" Not excited to dive through a misty wall, Prescott pauses a moment to use his wand of Detect Magic in hopes of learning whether this shaped fog was a threat. Still about to dive through a misterious wall, just not excited.

Can we hear Welby, Eduardo, or blood-thing from here?

[Elfstone]

Quin uses a free action then. "Dranga, can you look'a meh scrolls?"

[Mo_the_Hawked]

Thoradin

"Well if we're goin' after 'em we need to get a move on."

[Human Paragon 3]

Based on his IC statement, I would guess that he's willing to take the fastest possible route to the action.

[TheOasysMaster]

My action?
No, wait for them to catch up, and we'll start Round 3...


Quin uses a free action then.
Is Quin beginning to cast Restoration?


Can we hear Welby, Eduardo, or blood-thing from here?
Not really 'hear' or 'see', but Prescott can sense that there's something flitting about before him...


Based on his IC statement, I would guess that he's willing to take the fastest possible route to the action.
Fair enough.

"Uh, not right now Quin..."
The Dimension Door snaps shut, and reopens almost directly behind Prescott-a close shave...
"ICANsenseevilitsoverwhelming!Twistedandfreshlikean openwound!"

Okay, I just need to know whether or not Quin is beginning his Resoration, and who's the target.
Choose your Actions for the next Round...
Map Incoming...



http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd57/OasysWebmaster/battlejoined.jpg

[Misaat]

You know just because you are both dwarfs doesnt mean you have to make THE SAME ACCENT XD

[Human Paragon 3]

Dwarves are all short, Scottish vikings. Deal with it.:smalltongue:

[Ditto]

Feel free to let me know what Detect magic reads ahead. I'm charging through regardless, but well-informed is well-prepared! I guess how far I move and my standard action will depend on what's on the other side.

"Well, that's where the others are - I think I can see Welby there! - so we're going too. Come on!" Prescott is the first to stride through the misty aperture.

[Verisimilitude]

Pete pulls in his rope and wraps the rest of it diagonally across his torso and tucks it securely through itself. Then he reaches up and pulls himself into a crouched position on the ceiling directly above where he was just standing on the floor.

[TheOasysMaster]

Am I right in thinking that there are three light sources in the hallway; the everburning torch over by Daina and the kid, Quin's Ioun stone, and Winky?
Yes.
And the Mist appears to extend it's own light as well, making visibility within five feet possible.


The blood around Eduardo suddenly pulls away...
It crawls back from him in strips and strands, until he's entirely devoid of it...
Silence.
Prescott comes up behind Welby, who whirls around to see the wizard and his familiar.
"YOU! Can you do anything about this?"
Dranga looks up at Pete, and then begins her own spellcasting.

[Ditto]

I also have a pile of Dancing lights, which all look like Winky, bopping around. There's plenty of light, insofar as light helps us see in the mist.

What do I see here, Fearless Leader? Welby and Winky and I - we can see Eduardo clearly, then? I thought vision was obscured, when posting from his POV...

[TheOasysMaster]

we can see Eduardo clearly, then? I thought vision was obscured, when posting from his POV...
Oh, no. No sign of him at all...
And as far as Welby and Prescott are concerned, the mist simply continues on...
Each character can see in a five-foot radius around them...

[Ditto]

Still curious if Detect Magic is showing anything. If Eduardo or Pharrah are within 60 ft, their equipment should be pinging on that so I can at least get a range and direction to them... my options are again limited here, without more information. Hrm.

Are we standing in puddly water? Or is this blood?

Let's see what Knowledge might turn up?
Kn: Arcana [roll0]
Kn: Dungeoneering [roll1]
Bardic Knowledge? :smallbiggrin: [roll2]

[Ditto]

Well, I'm sure he'll get around to it. He might've left one back at the stairway from the ooze room, but he's been kind of busy for the last few rounds. This isn't darkness, though, it's concealment like obscuring mist or whatever.

[TheOasysMaster]

At his feet, Prescott notices that the water is in fact blo-
No, wait...
It appears to be clearing up-with the blood drawing further and away, south into the mist...
"Straaaaange..."
Prescott has heard of strange mists within dungeons and possessing magical powers as varied as the spells he himself knows...
But he can't come up with anything usefully specific...


Still curious if Detect Magic is showing anything. If Eduardo or Pharrah are within 60 ft, their equipment should be pinging on that so I can at least get a range and direction to them... my options are again limited here, without more information. Hrm.
More information?
:smallsmile:
That's the POINT.
But using the Detect Magic will be a Standard Action...


So Winky hasn't set everything on fire in a magical darkness countering manner. Shame. I wonder when and why he stopped doing that.
He's done it in the hallway...
Hasn't had a chance to try and light up the mist though...
...it probably won't help though...

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd57/OasysWebmaster/OfficialMap-8.jpg

[Ditto]

Prescott used Detect Magic on the otherside of the mistwall before crossing over. That was his standard action last round. Since he can't drum up anything more just by Thinking Really Hard (it was worth a try!), I suppose he'll continue concentrating. Nothing better to do with his standard action unless something pings...

I figure if the Detect works through the mist, it would have worked last round, OR I would notice that 'gee, this wall of mist is blocking Detect Magic'. If it worked last round, and Pharrah/Eduardo are within 55 feet, I might know. Since stepping through the mistwall doesn't seem to have produced any negative effect yet, besides temporarily messy boots, then I will continue concentrating if last rounds' actions didn't leave me with any better idea of what's going on with the mist.

"Have you seen or heard any sign of them, Welby?" Prescott's dancing lights float forward several feet, probing to see if they could clear his vision at all.

[TheOasysMaster]

The lights don't help at all...
In fact, they begin to fade from sight...


Prescott used Detect Magic on the otherside of the mistwall before crossing over. That was his standard action last round.
TRUE enough.
:smallsmile:
So, this would be his second round of such concentration...

Prescott detects magical auras in two concentrations...
The first concentration forty feet away, south of him, is dominated by a strong aura of conjuration...
And the second concentration is fifty feet away from him, to the southeast, with the most powerful magic aura being of necromantic origin...

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd57/OasysWebmaster/clue.jpg

[Mo_the_Hawked]

Thoradin

Thoradin grabs a hold of Prescotts shoulder, "Perhaps ya should let me be in front of ya. Stay behind me, just give me nudge where ya want me to move."

Thoradin draws his axe and shield and stands in front of the mages.

Mo is around. He just doesn't work at a computer so he can't post ten times a day. Also does my dwarven darkvision have any effect.

[Ditto]

"I think I found them! Two auras - probably Pharrah 40 ft south, Eduardo 50 ft south by east. My lights can lead you... I need rope..." he says, looking to Winky and Welby, the folks present who can already fly and thus move unimpeded by whatever precipitous drop-off might hide in our puddles further out.

I have a plan! It might even work if the bloodwater doesn't interefere! :smallbiggrin: Are my balls being negated, or just disappearing from sight because I can't see them? If they are still active, I'm going to direct one each to swirl around the two aura-blobs I sense with Detect Magic, and lights 3 & 4 will stay nearby to lead Winky/Welby to the same positions.

I hate asking an NPC and my familiar to do the scouting, since horrible horrible death probably awaits, but they're already flying... If either are averse to this, I will take my scroll of Fly and do it myself.

Would knowing the location of the aura-blobs allow me to cast Levitate on them from here?

[TheOasysMaster]

Mo is around. He just doesn't work at a computer so he can't post ten times a day. Also does my dwarven darkvision have any effect.
I only need one a day.
:smallsmile:
And no.
There's light, the fog merely obscures vision.
Heat vision and x-ray vision would probably work fine.


Are my balls being negated
lol


just disappearing from sight because I can't see them?
Seriously though, this is the case...


If they are still active, I'm going to direct one each to swirl around the two aura-blobs I sense with Detect Magic, and lights 3 & 4 will stay nearby to lead Winky/Welby to the same positions.


I hate asking an NPC and my familiar to do the scouting, since horrible horrible death probably awaits
:smallwink:
Yeaaaaaah, like I believe that one...
:smallannoyed:


If either are averse to this, I will take my scroll of Fly and do it myself.
That'll be useful!


Would knowing the location of the aura-blobs allow me to cast Levitate on them from here?
...must be able to see or touch the target, and you must specifically choose that target. You do not have to select your target until you finish casting the spell...
I see what you're thinking...
...but even though Prescott technically knows something or someone is there, he's gonna have to get a little more information about his targets...

"No need for rope! Just use the light to lead me-and then to lead me back!"
Welby is gone.

On Eduardo's end, a ball of light suddenly bursts from the fog, dancing about his head.

[Human Paragon 3]

Woeful spellcraft check to identify the ball:

[roll0]

When should I post action?

[TheOasysMaster]

(d20+4)[12]
Dude! More ranks is Spellcraft!


When should I post action?
Uh, now would be good.


As far as Eduardo can tell...
This strange dancing light must be some demonic apparition of the undead! He's under attack!

[Human Paragon 3]

Nice try, but I would know if the light were alive, or undead! All I know is it's a floating, unidentified light. It may well be some form of attack, but it's not a creature, and I would know this!

Eduardo is suddenly shocked by the appearance of a floating orb of light. He watches it, ready to repel any attack made by the apparition.

Can I see the blood monster? And can I hear any of my allies? Welby was yelling earlier, did I hear that? If the blood monster is within 30 feet of me, I detect it via deathwatch.

[TheOasysMaster]

Nice try, but I would know if the light were alive, or undead! All I know is it's a floating, unidentified light. It may well be some form of attack, but it's not a creature, and I would know this!
lol
You rolled a 4!
Elan would be so proud!

Eduardo can see no sign of any blood near him...

[Ditto]

Heh, they look like Winkys... he's probably wondering why Winky isn't alive at the moment. :smalltongue:

[Human Paragon 3]

Eduardo raises the holy mace as if to ward off any attack from the apparition... or anything else. He peers around him, trying to parse out the movements of creatures, living and undead, he detects with his unholy sight.

Suddenly he starts. As he turns around, he senses the presence of a creature not 10 feet from him. Shifting his gaze from the light to the creature and back, he walks slowly and deliberately toward the nearby life sign.

Standard action: total defense.

Move action: walk toward the closest non-Hassadur creature until I can see it. I might want to speak to it, depending on what it is.

[Elfstone]

Quin Targets Maki with Restoration. Also Free action to"Dranga, the sooner we know, the better"

[TheOasysMaster]

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images//mm2_gallery/88268_620_106.jpg
Too late, Dranga has already completed her transformation-a razor boar snuffles it's nose behind Prescott and Thoradin, urging them to move aside.


Also Free action to
Dude, if you do it TWICE, it adds up to more words...
=P
And post in Durasteel, FIVE is being killed.


The light eventually fades from Eduardo's line of sight as he follows the stone wall to see a man hiding, peering through the darkness, toward the north.
He looks at the Master of Death with bloodshot eyes...

I think, it may be time to reroll Initiative for Round 5...

[Elfstone]

Lol, was wortha try.

I promise, tomorrow, im sooo busy right now. I have most of a post for the other SW game. Will get one for Durasteel.

[TheOasysMaster]

[roll0] Quin's Initiative Roll
[roll1] Maki's Initiative Roll
[roll2] Pete's Initiative Roll
[roll3] Eduardo's Initiative Roll
[roll4] Prescott's Initiative Roll
[roll5] Thoradin's Initiative Roll

[Human Paragon 3]

You said it was undead, right? I roll a knowledge religion check to see what kind of creature and how powerful it might be. I suspect this may be the shape-shifter!
[roll0]Well, looks like Eduardo has no clue what this is unless it's a 3HD zombie or something!
Eduardo wordlessly returns the man's gaze, examining his soul, or the lack thereof.

[TheOasysMaster]

Round 5 Initiative Order

The Blood Monster/Bob/aNa
Welby
Pharrah
Daina
Maki
Eduardo
Prescott
Thoradin
Quin'n'Dranga

Eduardo has never seen this kind of undead before... But the way his jaw is slacked, and his eyes dart in his head, makes him remember Snake...
He looks vaguely familiar...
...a corpse he'd seen before?
He extends a bloodstained hand, that emerges from a dirty, bloodstained red coat.
Smiling a bloodied smile.
"Hello..."
Welby bursts through the mist, "Hey! Eduardo! Bob!"
'Bob' looks up at the grig with a predatory glint in his eyes.
"Hi, Welby. Where's Quin?"
Welby's eyes narrow.
"Your voice... Eduardo..."
"RUN!"
Pharrah, black sword in hand, emerges from the smoke, slashing through Bob's outstretched arm in a fantastic spray of blood...
Snarling, she tries to push the Master away, putting herself between Bob and him...

Outside, Daina picks up Pax.
"Huh, wonder if he'll need this..."

[Human Paragon 3]

Run? I think not.

Eduardo steps back and slips his hand into his breast pocket, where the dark sapphire lies. This blood zombie, or whatever it was, could change shape, become enormous and who knew what else? Pharrah was certainly afraid of the thing, and that was enough for Eduardo to know that the creature needed to be dealt with swiftly.

Stop.

He holds the gem in his hand and speaks the words to halt the undead where it crouched. He brings every ounce of his willpower to bare on the gem, making it serve him.

Five foot step if I am within Bob's each, followed by halt undead with no save allowed.

Willpower to overcome gem, using my Divine Fortune feat and spending a rebuke attempt for +4

[roll0]
If this succeeds, I have something important to say in character!

[Ditto]

Are we still having trouble hearing not-far across the room? For what it's worth, I can continue tracking Pharrah for the moment so I'll keep the light-guides following everyone. For Winky's sake, anyway.

[Misaat]

Maki Waits in full defense Action till Quin finishes healing him.

Holding his sword in front of him on a defensive state Quin waits as the Cleric restores his powers...

[TheOasysMaster]

Run? I think not.
Nice...


(d20+24)[42]
And yeah...
Bob has no hope...

[roll0] Will Save for Eduardo


Are we still having trouble hearing not-far across the room? For what it's worth, I can continue tracking Pharrah for the moment so I'll keep the light-guides following everyone. For Winky's sake, anyway.
To be addressed...


Maki can feel the healing magic working...
Restoring his power and strength.

'Bob' freezes, and Pharrah staggers back holding her dark blade toward him.
"Kill him. Quickly. One shot."
Underneath Eduardo's power, Bob's ability to hold himself together begins to weaken-blood flows from every orifice and wounds are beginning to open across his skin...

Prescott has heard the comotion, and Winky makes a loud cry as he bursts through the fog to greet Eduardo, Pharrah and Welby.
"OVER HERE!"

With all of his dancing lights, detect magic, Winky and the sound, Prescott should be able to lead Thoradin, Dranga and Pete safely to Eduardo's location...

[Human Paragon 3]

Striking him will break the enchantment and free him. We should all attack at once. I wanted to wait until more help arrived, but it looks like "bob" won't hold together that long.

Are you ready?

Eduardo holds up the mace and motions for Pharrah to do the same with her sword.

Welby, whatever your strongest attack spell is, use it.

When everyone is ready, Eduardo will Coup de Gras the blood zombie.

[TheOasysMaster]

Deep within himself, Eduardo finds he's grasping a greater understanding...
Better comprehension...
Of death.
A Master of Death in truth.


When everyone is ready, Eduardo will Coup de Gras the blood zombie.
This is a Round 6, kind of thing...
Wait for Prescott and Thoradin...

By the way, Welby will most likely want to use Fireball... Kill it with fire and all-leave no traces...

"I'm ready!"
Winky's light intensifies, and if one strains their ears, the moisture in the air is actually hissing around him...
Pharrah moves slowly, standing behind Bob, "Ready."
She doesn't look at Eduardo as she readies her blade to strike.
"Any suggestions? Fireball? Disentegrate? Orbs?"

[Mo_the_Hawked]

Thoradin

Thoradin moves aside to the boar through, but moves with it protecting it's flank from any would be attackers.

[Ditto]

Hearing Winky's shout and the sloshing about of the others, Prescott points in their direction in case Dranga & Thoradin hadn't heard. "There! Let's move!" He hastily scoots forward to the south-east location that's so popular, pulling back 2 of his lights to lead Thoradin along.

Dranga & I should outpace Thoradin due to haste, and each have a standard action left to spend.

[TheOasysMaster]

Wait, Pete has Actions... I need his first...

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd57/OasysWebmaster/willheembracehisdarkfate.jpg
Meanwhile, the spell completed, Maki should be as good as new, his strength restored in full!


If this succeeds, I have something important to say in character!
I'm assuming you still 'have something to say'?

[Verisimilitude]

As Prescott strides into the glowing mist, Pete looks back to Quin and grinds his teeth together in frustration. He knows the cleric is conjuring divine power and now is no time to interrupt. He looks on a moment longer, beyond the cleric, and observes the place where he last saw Daina and the kid. Then he creeps to the inside corner so that from the chamber to the south only part of his head is visible on the ceiling. From there he peers south as the other three advance, trying to keep them in sight as they fade into the mist ahead. Once they vanish completely he pulls back, concealing himself from the sight of those to the south, though in the distant light of Quin's Ioun stone he still casts a shadow that stretches east and indicates his presence. Waiting in silence he grips the little longsword and focuses on the feel of the space around him.

[Human Paragon 3]

Nope, I said it. I just didn't want anyone to break the spell before we could get into position!

[Misaat]

" All right! Lets go Quin! "

Maki goes forward to join his companions, Flaming sword in hand.

[Elfstone]

Quin Calls on his God once more for Divine light and heads off after the others.

Light of Venia. And move toward the others. Equivilent of Daylight spell.

[TheOasysMaster]

Daina lets the scythe support her weight as she talks quietly to the boy, but remains as alert as can be expected...
She hasn't forgotten where she is...


Dranga is a large quadruped with a speed of 50 ft and a light load of 1038 pounds. Prescott and Thoradin could have gone along for the ride. Not that it matters given the distances involved. We're not exactly in Moria here.
True enough, but with Bob not going anywhere anytime soon...

Maki and Quin follow the corridor, and after having seen Pete, hiding by the wall, they are faced by an impregnable wall of mist...
Quin's light hardly pierces it, and no sign of the others remains...

Deep within the cavern of mists, Bob kneels in a circle threatened by a massive boar, a fierce Dwarven Defender, a wizard and his celestial familiar, aglow with power, a sorcereror prodigy and the Master of Death, and his apprentice...
Pharrah strikes first, letting the sword slam through 'Bob's chest, while Winky attempts to immolate him with a fierce burst of intense light.
Blood bursts from the sword wound, jetting again over Eduardo's robes...
"BURN!"
"Why is he still alive?"




Now might be the time to make a desperate Check of some sort before you deliver that coup de grace...
Eduardo, technically, has two.
Everyone has Actions

Quin, Maki and Pete hear all this.

[Human Paragon 3]

I have no idea what you're talking about, so here's a d20 roll!

[roll0]

[Ditto]

Pharrah, Winky, Dranga & Eduardo get an extra attack and bonuses from Haste, don't forget!

I'll play the knowledge game, in case there are any very famous bloodmonsters known to the lore of the land.
Kn Arcana [roll0] Dammit Knowledge Arcana, *again*? I am a LOREMASTER!
Kn Dungeoneering [roll1]
Bardic Knowledge [roll2]

[Verisimilitude]

Pete puts his feet on the floor and curtly bows his head to the cleric before gesturing with his blade to the southeast. "Uss."

[Ditto]

Both Quin and Maki are hasted. Quin's base speed is 20, never impeded by armor encumbrance (dwarf!), so that put him at 50 feet I think. Maki would be 30+10(barb)+30(haste)=70.

[TheOasysMaster]

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd57/OasysWebmaster/thingsjustgotbad.jpg

Drawing on his knowledge of monsters, Prescott is pretty confident that this won't work...
Some monsters simply can't be killed with physical violence, one such as this...

In other words, this monster cannot be coup de graced...

Bob dissolves, breaking down into a bloody mess, mixing with the water around their feet...
"Oh... No..."
Raising her hand, Pharrah begins to back out of the widening red pool, until she's swallowed by the mist, then, speaking words of magic, a fierce gust of wind cuts through the fog, parting it up to the door...
"Everyone out! Out! We have to go!"
"Wait, what? What's going on?"

[Human Paragon 3]

What? Eduardo is confused.

Where can we run where this thing cannot follow? It's been with us since the Hall of Spheres, tracking our movements, changing forms, dogging our every step! Running away won't help. We have it at our mercy, now is the perfect time to strike!

[TheOasysMaster]

That is a LOT more than six words...

Dranga snorts as the blood begins to spread further and further through the water, sticking to her fur...

[Human Paragon 3]

True, but I think I could say it, or a slightly shorter version of it, in two rounds time. I think it needs saying, at any rate. I can shorten it to "Where can we go where it cannot follow? Now is the time to strike." It would take about 3 and a half seconds to say that...

BTW, did I or did I not hit it with my mace?

[TheOasysMaster]

True, but I think I could say it, or a slightly shorter version of it, in two rounds time. I think it needs saying, at any rate. I can shorten it to "Where can we go where it cannot follow? Now is the time to strike." It would take about 3 and a half seconds to say that...

That's fine.
Perhaps, Eduardo should lead by example...

[Human Paragon 3]

For real. I still wanted to hit it with my mace along with Pharrah's attack. Instead of a C.D.G. I'll full attack it.

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

Damage

[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]

And saving throws if they hit:

[roll6]
[roll7]
[roll8]

[Ditto]

Looking somewhat helplessly at Winky, Prescott says, "I'm for regrouping. Quin and Eduardo are best equipped to handle this!" Now that they way is clear, and Pete, Quin, and Thoradin could find them without encumbrance, Prescott booked it northward again toward dry ground.

I don't really know why Prescott walked over there. What's he going to do, bop the bloody eldritch horror with a quarterstaff? That'll totally work. I'm contributing! :smalltongue: Best to just give Eduardo combat bonuses and leave him to it. He doesn't know Bob, either... and I didn't finish reading the previous threads yet.

I've also been sensitive to keeping my sentences short in combat. It's definitely a good thing to keep under control after we've been used to speechifying at each other for a while like back in the mummy room.

[TheOasysMaster]

The first strike of the mace does the job...
The spreading pool of blood gathers up in the center of the grotto, dragging in all the mist and water into a towering column of swirling red...
With a scream, Bob, aNa, whatever Acererak had twisted the failed adventurer into, explodes, tossing the party left and right across the ground...
Leaving only a shallow dirty pool of bloodied water...

[Human Paragon 3]

Wow... really?

That seemed... too easy.

Did you add his will modifier to the save?

Eduardo groans as he sits up, dripping in dirty, bloody water. His bones are tired and his muscles ache. His clothes reek of dirt and rot. And his head is swimming with visions of horror.

Is everyone OK?

[TheOasysMaster]

Welby Bolger I don't know what's happened to Monodominant... I DO hope he returns soon though... He might miss the ending!
Quin Rockshield 6238 EXPerience Points
Maki, the Barbarian 6935 EXPerience Points
Eduardo, Master of Death 8252 EXPerience Points
Pete Palkleth 5165 EXPerience Points
Prescott Wilmen 5993 EXPerience Points
Thoradin Stoneheart 4973 EXPerience Points

Bob's Will was never that high in life...
Why would it be in undeath?

[Elfstone]

Daaaaammm The Master got alot of XP.

My only question is, is that enough to bop Quin to lv 13?

Anyway, have we officially Vetoed the group spirit of shrouds from the DMG II?

[TheOasysMaster]

Anyway, have we officially Vetoed the group spirit of shrouds from the DMG II?
:smallsigh:


Daaaaammm The Master got alot of XP.
I'm pretty sure he just levelled, which is ironic, considering.
But he did technically 'finish off' two undead all alone.

[Human Paragon 3]

That brings Eduardo up to 12, with only 7,800 to go for 13, so if we get XP again, it's not out of the question for Ed to reach 13.

Oaysy: I took Extra Turning and retrained Divine Justice into Animal Devotion (Complete Champion).

[Ditto]

You're the undead smashingest fellow around, with a mace of undead smashing. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth! :smallbiggrin: Unless it's a This Is Not My Final Form situation... but the doorknob into the next room is probably poisoned, so that's probably unnecessary in this place.

Clearly, the XP hero in this lot is Maki the Barchairian. I think you multiply by two when you Do Great Deeds with improvised weapons, right? That's totally a thing.

[Human Paragon 3]

Cue Michael Jordan:

It's not the shoes!

Except in this case, it is the mace.

[TheOasysMaster]

Pharrah struggles to her feet.
She moves toward the exit stiffly and glowering darkly.
Welby, who'd also been knocked flat by the torrent of blood, exclaims his disgust, while Winky, who can't really get dirty burns a bright halo around Prescott's head.


Can I have some roleplaying content please?
:smallsmile:

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd57/OasysWebmaster/theninja2.png
The Mysterious Warrior




http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd57/OasysWebmaster/theninja.png
Alternate "The Mysterious Warrior"

[TheOasysMaster]

Nope, it forms a shallow pool about twenty feet across.

[Human Paragon 3]

Eduardo looks around, making sure the threat has been eliminated.

Spot: [roll0] Deathwatch on. Is the puddle of blood totally dead? Any new threats in the room?

[Misaat]

I didnt lvl Up!!! T-T i was hoping the chair thing to give me an extra boost XD. And im so close too 65140 and i need 66000 for lvl 12 XD

Maki starts to walk towards his companions slowly.

"I guess that's over then... Man i wish i could have joined you before"

[Human Paragon 3]

That sucks!!

[TheOasysMaster]

That sucks!!


I didnt lvl Up!!! T-T i was hoping the chair thing to give me an extra boost XD. And im so close too 65140 and i need 66000 for lvl 12 XD
Bah, he can level up with an XP reward!

Scanning the ground, Eduardo confirms that the pool of blood is just that...
Blood.
And he sees nothing unusual in the blood coating any of them either.
A job well done!

"Quin! It was Bob! He came back as a... A blood zombie!"
Pete, Quin and Maki are witness to a very foul smelling and looking group of adventurers making their way from the cavern...
Pharrah growls something inaudible, while Dranga, merely snorts a bloodied and furry snout at Maki's leg.
"Maki! Good to see you're all better!"
Nobody managed to escape Bob's destruction...
Even to Pete, being a troll, and naturally stinky-they all smell!

Daina waves from across the pit weakly, "Hey!"

[Elfstone]

Quin turn to the boar "Dranga, is now a good time for those scrolls?"

To the Master he says "I would say that those restoration scrolls might come in handy now. Daina could use one."

[Ditto]

It's cool, we'll let Maki go first into the next room and take care of it. Because we love him so much, and not because we're afraid of the tapestries and floortiles, surely. >_>

I like the whitebackground picture better! Blackbackground makes the fellow too washed out, detail isn't fine enough.

"What - *who* - was that? It seemed to know you. Was that the same creature that Pete saw?"

[Misaat]

" Daina! "

Maki says getting closer to the pit.

" You can come over now with the kid! "

Then he turns to his teammates.

" Can one of you levitate her or Make an ice bridge or something so she can pass? "

[TheOasysMaster]

Dranga spits blood and fur from her mouth as she returns to her dwarven form.
"Euch. Disgusting! Yes, I'll have a look..."
She uses a cantrip to remove most of the gore, but is convinced her hair will never be clean again...
"What's the plan now?!?!"
Dranga takes the scrolls form Quin, and begins to peruse the scrolls in greater detail...
Pharrah holds another scroll case out to Quin, with the tip of her fingers, careful so as not to cover him in filth as well.
"This was in that coffer too... It's a map."

[Misaat]

Dranga spits blood and fur from her mouth as she returns to her dwarven form.
"Euch. Disgusting! Yes, I'll have a look..."
She uses a cantrip to remove most of the gore, but is convinced her hair will never be clean again...
"What's the plan now?!?!"
Dranga takes the scrolls form Quin, and begins to peruse the scrolls in greater detail...
Pharrah holds another scroll case out to Quin, with the tip of her fingers, careful so as not to cover him in filth as well.
"This was in that coffer too... It's a map."

You know what would be a great idea! To take that blood monster and convine it with Poison! That way everytime someone swallows some of his blood he would need to make a save!

Anyway i also made a post at the end of last page (I hate it when that happens XD)

[Elfstone]

"A map? Highly unlikely... Id keep it but I doubt it is any use. Our Goal is here, in the tomb. The God's would have warned us otherwise. Perhaps something to investigate later, but for now we need to find the lich and the get the hell out of here. Fast."

[Misaat]

"A map? Highly unlikely... Id keep it but I doubt it is any use. Our Goal is here, in the tomb. The God's would have warned us otherwise. Perhaps something to investigate later, but for now we need to find the lich and the get the hell out of here. Fast."

" Dont we need to defeat it too? "

[TheOasysMaster]

I like the whitebackground picture better! Blackbackground makes the fellow too washed out, detail isn't fine enough.
Switched!


You know what would be a great idea! To take that blood monster and convine it with Poison! That way everytime someone swallows some of his blood he would need to make a save!
But then he would have lost his stealth abilities!


Dranga hands the scroll back to Quin.
"Darkness, See Invisibility, Web, Fog Cloud, Resist Energy, Protection from Arrows..."
She takes a breath.
"...and Summon Swarm. No time to try 'em out Quin-Raise Harley and Restore Daina!"
Daina waves again, "Are you guys done over there? Which way to we go? North to that wooden door? Or south to the steel one."
Welby, once again decides to ignore Prescott's question, and instead decides to try and clean himself up.
"Dirty..."
But having completed her perusal of Quin's scroll, Dranga fills him up to speed.
"That was Bob! He was a self-proclaimed 'expert'... Disappointing really. He came into the Tomb with us... Acererak must have 'claimed' him..."

[Human Paragon 3]

Good idea. Daina was in poor sorts. We should sweep the grotto for secret doors. Study your scrolls... make sure everything is square here... I'll see to Daina and we'll re-convene at the intersection, where we fought the crypt chanter.

I still have that regeneration scroll if you need it, Quin.

Eduardo walks back the way he came, alone and in silence, making his way back to Daina.

He feels an odd sensation welling up inside him. Arcane words run through his head, and he has to resist saying them, as if they were his morning prayers. A cantrip to clean his clothes and hair. The spell to call up a shield. The words that would summon a celestial mount. A beguiling enchantment that makes men your friend, and a spell to craft illusions.

This is not what Eduardo has studed, not a part of the death delver's path. But he had seen himself using these spells once. In a mirror.

Are you there?he says under his breath, probing his own mind for intruders.

[TheOasysMaster]

BOLD!

For all his inward thoughts, nobody responds to Eduardo...
Daina smiles.
"You look like a mess," she teases. "I held on to this for you."
She holds up Pax on the other side of the pit.
The boy kicks at the edge, and she shushes him back.
"What an inconvenient place to stick a pit..."
Daina nods.
"He's got an interesting story to tell us, Eduardo..."
Hassadur circles around Eduardo's feet, retaking his placed by his master's side.
The boy takes a step back, but he meets the snake's gaze.
He tries to look at the Master...
...then thinks back at it...
"If you want to hear it..."

[Misaat]

Wait wait wait. Daina? Dont you mean Parrah? Because im pretty sure Daina is on the other side of the pit... Unless Eduardo can Wind Walk XD

[Human Paragon 3]

Misat- I walked over while dranga was checking out scrolls, and then jumped across. You should come, too!

Thanks you, Daina. I was afraid it was lost.

He manages a half smile.


Yes, of course. Are you from Half Moon Row?

He makes a running start and jumps back over the pit, then takes out a scroll of regeneration, working its magic as he listens to the kid's story.

[Elfstone]

As far as I know, Quin Raised Daina.. Right? That was his only Raise. Unless he can convert one, hes out.

Quin has Maki sit still while he completes his task of healing the barbarian to his normal abilities and casts Restoration upon him once more.

[Verisimilitude]

Pete makes his way west, stepping through the puddle of blood at the doorway as others have and brachiating to the far side when he reaches the pit. When he arrives he takes his time before sheathing it to wipe away any splatters of filth or water on his longsword. As he cleans he listens to the boy's story and examines the contents of his pack.

[TheOasysMaster]

Did Daina or the kid use/take anything from the backpack yet?
Only one way to find out...
EDIT: If looting Harley is the plan, think carefully-he's come back once, and most likely will again. And if someone can scrape up a Raise...


As far as I know, Quin Raised Daina.. Right? That was his only Raise. Unless he can convert one, hes out.

Ouch... could we get that announcement IC as well?
Seconded

The boy nods.
"Lived there as long as I can 'member..."
"Tell Eduardo what happened..."
"We were playing by the woods, where we always do... And Luc, Emlee and Phran were the big 'uns who watched over us..."
"Woods?"
"Yeah-a forest, of green trees and stuff... It changed..."
"How?"
"The green trees shrunk up like raisins, and dropped all their leaves-and they sank into the ground leaving sand... And these other dead black trees took their place!"
"We'ren't you afraid?"
"No, we wanted to go home... But we were tired, and Luc said we could walk on the path to a place to sleep... But there had never been a path before.
Emlee found it, and they led us through the black trees. It was quiet.
There were nearly twenty of us, going through the black treees, and they led us to this hill, with black and white stones."
"What happened when you stepped onto the hill?"
"They told us to leave our pets and animals behind, they couldn't sleep on the hill...
I'd been blacking out-everything was fuzzy and words and sounds were weird...
A big hole opened up, and there was a hallway, and they led us inside."
"How did they get pass the traps."
"Traps? I don't know-the doors would open without touching them, and shut behind us. I kept falling asleep and walking..."
"What do you remember?"
"A SLEEPING MONSTER!"
He shudders at the memory.
"And there was a big, giant hall of spheres... And another one filled with 'columns'..."
Daina nods.
"Columns. How did you escape?"
"I didn't want to walk around anymore... I started asking where we were going, what was happening. Why we were tired?"
"They kept saying it was 'the end', and i though they'd tell me..."
"And then."
"I decided to stop and go to sleep."
"When I woke up, there was a door to my left, and a mist to my right..."
"I heard noises in the mist, so I stayed away, and I couldn't open the door..."
"How did you su-"
"I saw things in my head! Monsters! And scary stuff! Whispering things!
I was hungry and thirsty, and then a big red blur smashed the door to pieces and dived into the mist! I heard screams and yelling... And then you guys came!"

[TheOasysMaster]

Very well. I'll roll for it.
...the kid has a lot to say.... 12 rounds of dialogue? That's my guess... So let's say Pete uses 4 of the first 5 rounds to search the pack. 24 seconds with his bonuses should be enough to double check his own inventory, right?
Wait, what is Pete looking for? Blood on his pack? Bob's final bid to escape? Or is he searching through Harley's stuff?
I'm a mite confused.

[TheOasysMaster]

The kid has hours if that before he's comatose from dehydration, and I think we should save the regeneration scrolls for unavoidable combat injuries, not the child's internal organs. Especially while we can still save him without magic.
No problem, Daina and Pharrah have given him food to eat and water to drink.

Pete's pack hasn't been disturbed or touched.
All is as he left it.

[Human Paragon 3]

If Eduardo understood the boy's tale correctly, that meant that the children's caretakers took them to the Tomb to serve them up to Acererack. Could they have been his agents all along? Or perhaps under the effect of some enchantment of the Lich's?

So your caretakers and guardians took you here and left you in the Tomb? How long have you known these people? And are they still here?

[TheOasysMaster]

"I don't know if they left... And I've known them forever!"
Daina understands Eduardo's line of thinking...
"It's possible they could be working for him... But it's also possible part of the enchantment was to use the older ones to make the younger ones more willing..."
And then she thinks.
"Something still doesn't seem right... Why children at all? Wouldn't adults be better agents or thralls?"

[Human Paragon 3]

It makes perfect sense,replies the Master, if your goal is to lure adventurers to the Tomb.

[TheOasysMaster]

"Oh. So... It's a trap."
She thinks.
"The whole thing is a trap... Whoa... So, again, why?"

[Verisimilitude]

Pete sheathes his longsword and hesitates as he stows it in the bag of holding. That is one brave kid. Before closing his backpack again Pete secures his torch and quiver to his belt. He returns his backpack to its place beneath the cloak as he continues to listen to the others.

[TheOasysMaster]

Oh well. There goes a lengthy RP interaction. You have to be really careful starting hydration with children. Limit their intake rate and account for what they lose from the vomiting that will follow. Even with ideal solids full recoveries are rare at the weight loss percentages you see after that many days of fluid deprivation. It's a frightening process for the caregiver.
Yeah, I know.
I've heard how after a long fast you're supposed to take small portions and not gorge yourself-or one can actually die.
Pharrah and Daina know this.
And you can trust Daina not to steal your stuff.
=P
Or atleast that you won't know its missing until you actually need it!
XD

Quin's healing magic is powerfull...
Maki's strength flows through into him, filling his being with power.
He quickly begins to reach his former health.

[Human Paragon 3]

An astute question, and the right one, but I'm afraid I don't have the answer. Near as I can figure, it is for no reason other than his own amusement, but it could be a proving ground, as Pete has offered.

Perhaps he has need of powerful bodies or powerful spirits to fuel is dark magic? We know he is hatching something against the will of the gods. Powerful necromantic spells often require blood and spirit-stuff for their completion. We, and every other doomed adventurer who has made his way here, could be unwitting pawns in Acererack's bid for world dominance. We just don't know. But Acererack must be stopped.

[TheOasysMaster]

"I totally agree with y-"
Daina faints, smashing to the dungeon floor with a resounding smack.
The boy cries out in dismay, "Help her! She's sick!"

[Human Paragon 3]

The scroll!

Eduardo almost forgot to use the restoration scroll... He jumps into action, assessing her with a healer's eye, and reading the scroll of restoration, in hopes it might cure what ails her.

My deathwatch should tell me if she is at negative, 0, or above 0 HP. I will make a heal check to see if she is suffering from a disease or wound... And read the scroll.
[roll0]

[TheOasysMaster]

(d20+9)[10]
You are REALLY having bad luck with these rolls...

Daina is fighting to stave off death, and Eduardo's eyes realize that she's been bleeding out-one of her wounds have opened!
As the restoration magic courses across her body, it removes the scars, Acererak's Touch, leaving fully healed skin, but Daina remains weakened, and hurt...
The scroll has restored her life force, but not her life's blood.

Alright, Daina's good-she just needs to down some potions and she'll be ready to rock and roll!

[Misaat]

"Thanks Quin! Ill be right back"

Maki jumps back to the other side of the pit.

"Hey how is everything going over here?"

He says to his friends.

[Human Paragon 3]

We should cross to the other side of the pit.

Daina, can you make it on your own?

Things are calm over here, says Eduardo, to the barbarian. Daina could use some healing, but everything else seems fine for the time being. I was debating whether to take an hour to meditate, or head out with the spells I currently have prepared.

[TheOasysMaster]

"Hey, Maki! I'll be ready to go once I get some potions in me. I've got a few in my pack... Is anybody going to take care of Harley?"
She points at Pharrah, who's Wall of Stone spell has effectively blocked up the bottomless pit.
"I'm sure I can now..."
She begins to down potions quickly, and her health slowly returns.
"Where to next!"

[Human Paragon 3]

I told Quin and the others we would meet them at the crossroads there, he gestures to the east. Perhaps Quin can raise Harley?

Eduardo walks down the hallway and stops at the crossroads. There, he sits resting and meditating, waiting for the others.

I think I'm going to take an hour to replenish my Delver spells, if that's cool with the others.

[TheOasysMaster]

"Fair enough."
Dranga, still convinced she will never quite be quite clean again, nudges Quin.
"Could I have a look at that map?"
Pharrah joins the Master, sitting next to him as a direct copy of his seating position, meditating.



I think I'm going to take an hour to replenish my Delver spells, if that's cool with the others.
I'm good.

But seriously... North to Wood? Or South to Steel?

[Misaat]

" Ok we have the one of the missing kids at least... That should do... Wonder when we are gonna find Shudu's Ancestor's bones though. "

[TheOasysMaster]

Daina scoffs, "I think Shudu was on a wild goose chase..."
She begins to restring her bow, and counts her arrows.
The boy takes a seat next to Eduardo, watching Hassadur warily, adopting the same position, mimicking him and Pharrah.
Eduardo realizes that he's probably never seen real magic before...
...can Eduardo remember his first time?

[TheOasysMaster]

"Maki! Just HOW strong are you?"

[Misaat]

" Dunno. Not the strongest of my tribe i think but pretty sure the strongest one here... Why? "

Maki walks towards Welby

[TheOasysMaster]

"That door is made out of steel! Maybe other ones in here will be made of more precious metals! Do you think you could carry one out if it was made of gold?"

[Ditto]

Wall of stone for a 10 foot pit that Pete can still lift us across, eh? Overkill, man! :smalltongue:

Slipping across to Daina and the boy, Prescott listens attentively to the boy's tale with Winky at his side. He must've been living this hell for... what, almost a week now?

Following Eduardo's quick restorative action, Prescott nods reassuringly at the pretty thief and turns his attention to the doorways north and south. "Well, if I recall what you've told me, you entered the tomb from the north. Let's try that direction first and hope it leads outward..." He draws his wand of Detect Secret Doors and begins probing up the corridor to the north.

[Human Paragon 3]

Note: before I regain spells, I will convert my remaining spells into heals in the presence of Winky. If anyone needs healing, I have a little bit of extra after I am healed up.

[TheOasysMaster]

Wall of stone for a 10 foot pit that Pete can still lift us across, eh? Overkill, man!
Imagine how that would have panned out if something were chasing you...


He draws his wand of Detect Secret Doors and begins probing up the corridor to the north.
Eduardo and Pharrah are meditating.
For about an hour, if there's anything anyone wants to do...

Anyways, no secret doors.

Sigh...
Okay... I think you guys should take an eight-hour rest...
...I'm not going to say why... But yeah.

[TheOasysMaster]

Was that IC?
No.
DM to PCs.

[Misaat]

" I suppose it deppended on the size of the door but cmon a gold DOOR? isnt that a little too fancy for Acerak. He might as well have a diamond Toilet! "

Then he whispers to him.

" By the wat Welby. I need you to show me. What is it that you do when you cast a spell? "

[TheOasysMaster]

"The same thing everyone else does! But I don't need a spellbook... The magic is in my mind! My soul! My blood!"
He sneers.
"It's what sets me apart from lesser spell casters!"

[Human Paragon 3]

In that case, Eduardo has some stuff he wants to do when he is done preparing spells! There's a skull and a snake I need to have conversations with.

[Misaat]

" Right... Acererak is a Wizard isnt he?... and he needs a Spellbook... But you two surely have something in common? Something you need? "

Maki waits for an answer.

[TheOasysMaster]

You double posted Misaat.


In that case, Eduardo has some stuff he wants to do when he is done preparing spells! There's a skull and a snake I need to have conversations with.
Actually, it's three skulls.
Let's get to work then!

In the meantime, I will ensure that the PCs don't forget what is at stake.

Also, all spellcasters need to roll saving throws to avoid going insane in the middle of a rest or sleep.

"Actually, I don't know if he's a wizard or a sorceror... Probably a wizard, they are more into research and techniques than sorcerors are... But definitely... If you take away a wizard's spellbook, the next day he'll be screwed..."
He thinks.
"But if you need to take one out right at the moment-you have to break his concentration."

[Human Paragon 3]

Even if we rest inside a CoP:E?

I'm stepping out for a couple hours. Be back later.

[Misaat]

" Is that soo. And if you where to cast a spell now. What motions would you need to do? Would you need something to make it? I remember Parrah saying something about a spell poochie or something like that... "

[Human Paragon 3]

poochie

http://www.simpsonstrivia.com.ar/simpsons-photos/wallpapers/poochie.gif

[Ditto]

Prescott will scan to the end of the south corridor as well, and along the west and eastern passages they've already traversed while he's at it and has the charge active still.

I'm all for recharging. My spell selection could be improved, considering we've been dealing with undead and oozes and earlier in the tomb it was constructs and rock things.

What's this insanity stuff? I don't care for that! :smalleek: I have Rope trick available for us all... is there any Tomb-problem with extradimensional hideyholes like there is with teleportation?

[TheOasysMaster]

The hand motions, the words and the components depend on the spell! Some are simple, and others are long rituals!"Welby laughs aloud.
"Spell pouch! It holds spell componets-the little charms and things that help the magic 'work'". If you take away a spellcasters material components, break their fingers or keep them from talking-you can stop them from spellcasting. Though some wizards can find a way around that if they're strong enough..."


The south corridor contains one secret door, along the east side. There are none along the east and western passages.


Even if we rest inside a CoP:E?

What's this insanity stuff? I don't care for that! I have Rope trick available for us all... is there any Tomb-problem with extradimensional hideyholes like there is with teleportation?
Spellcaster's minds are assaulted during the rest, by whispers in the night. I haven't gotten any of the PCs, but other NPCs have succumb in the past.


Tomb-problem with extradimensional hideyholes like there is with teleportation?
Only one way to find out...
:smallamused:


Pete suddenly undergoes a rapid change in perspective, returning to his human form as Dranga's spell ends.

[Verisimilitude]

He sneers.
"It's what sets me apart from lesser spell casters!"
Pete gets the impression that Welby is going to shave his head, grow scales, and lead library and temple burning public rallies when he grows up. As if the world wasn't twisted enough.

Pete jogs west to confirm that Harley has not been disturbed and that the door to the room full of oozes is still shut.

[TheOasysMaster]

Harley's body has been tightly wrapped in cloth, with ropes and chains, leaving only the ruined face, covered with a shirt. Bells have been tied to the fastenings.
The door is securely shut.

+100 EXPerience to Pete.

[Misaat]

" All right... "

Maki says as he puts up his sword.

" Cast something! "

[TheOasysMaster]

"Fireball?"

[Misaat]

" Emm something with a little less.... murdering potential if possible "

[TheOasysMaster]

Welby begins the strange muttering and intricate hand gestures Maki has seen him do before.
His hair stands on end.


http://download904.mediafire.com/x5kqls3ucakg/fb9zk3zswbc193s/Official+Map.jpg

http://download904.mediafire.com/x5kqls3ucakg/fb9zk3zswbc193s/Official+Map.jpg

MASSIVE Map...
See how far they have come...

Roll Initiative Misaat!

Southern Forests of the Continent

Dark is approaching...
The horses had already been taken, and with his wife in the overturned carriage, it looked pretty dismal for wine merchant. Dane Sparren.
Never in his life he would have imagined he'd be standing atop a carriage fending off the undead with a mad-man.
"Come and get some you grey bastards!"
Case in point.
The 'mad-man', armed with a rapier and knife fends off a reaching arm, dancing back and forth across the carriage's doors, while Dane uses the man's bows to pick them off with an arrow to the eye.
He'd taken seventeen this way.
"A wine merchant you said you are?"
"Yes, I didn't."
"Ah."
"I assume you didn't know who I was when you decided to rob me."
The mad-man grins, "Nay, I didn't... But I would never haved guessed anyways!"
Dana had put on quite a bit of belly of late...
"I'll have you know..."
Eighteen.
"Well done!"
"Thank you, kindly. I'll have you know, that in my youth..."
The mad-man pierces a reaching zombie through the skull, hastily dispatching it, before leaping back to the shattered wheel.
"...yes, how long ago was that?"
He laughs, and Dane fumes, sending two more arrows out into the shfiting mass...
There must be nearly a hundred of them.
"In my youth, I was a scoundrel... Much like you are?"
"Reaaaaaaaaaally, now... Well, that is interesting!"
"Yes. I achieved some notoriety with my bow, I was called the Sparrow!"
"Ah, Dane Sparren you said your name was."
"Yes."
"I've heard of you... How did you become a merchant."
"I met my wife."
"Ah. That is a good thing then."
"Indeed. Happiest day of my life. Like today!"
The mad-man spares a look at this merchant-scoundrel, Dane Sparren as if he were the crazy one.
"My good fellow, I daresay that you've forgotten that both of our horses are dead, we are surrounded by undead and you're running out of arrows. Your wife is beneath us, and... I need not daresay that I need not go on!"
Dane chuckles.
"Today, my wife gave birth to our firstborn!"
"Ah! That makes today VERY good!"
"Yes."
"Boy?"
"A girl. Eyes like her mother."
"Splendid."
"What's her name?"
"Bardara."
"Ah, so where is the little one? With the maids?"
The mad-man laughs again, nearly falling into the rotting arms of a waiting zombie.
"No, she's with her mother."
"Aha, well that's excell-Ah."
"Yes."
They look at one another a moment, and then the mad-man hurls his knife into the gobbling throng around them.
"There's less of them behind us-you can maybe reach the trees."
He holds out a vicious looking hand-axe.
Dane raises a brow.
"It was to split your head open if you made my trouble."
"Ah. Very good."
"Yes."
They smile, and Dane takes the axe, smashing at the latch holding the door shut beneath them.
"Eileen! Let's GO! Send up the child Bardara!"
A squirming bundle is offered up, and Dane takes her in a hand.
"Let me see her!"
Carefully, the mad-man takes the baby into his left arm, and carefully fends the reaching arms off with desperate jabs.
"She is beautiful. So small."
He thinks a moment, "Take the bow with you."
Dane holds his wife closely, her golden curls stirring her hair with blue dress, torn and grasped at by the zombies.
"What about you?"
"Bah! Let them come-go!"
"Thank you!"
"Think nothing of it! Let them come!"
Dane's wife takes Bardara in her arms, kissing the mad-man on the cheek once.
"Go!"
Leaping, Dane brings the axe down upon a zombie's head, bursting it like a melon. He lands in a crouch, with the bow and quiver hanging from his back.
"Come on!"
As they flee toward the woods, the cry rises, following them into the night.
"Let. Them. Come!"

[Misaat]

" What the...! "

Initiative: [roll0]

[TheOasysMaster]

A Ray of Frost sends ice across the ceiling, and Welby cheers.
"And there you have it! A cast spell!"

[Misaat]

And what was the initiative for O.o

" Got it... Can you do it once again? "

This time Maki looks Carefully at Welby's movements...

Spot:[roll0]

[TheOasysMaster]

"What's the point of this Maki? I can't just waste my spell you know-I only get so many!"

[Misaat]

" We are gonna rest now anyway arent we? You might as well use the practice... come on only 1 more time "

Maki stands ready.

[Human Paragon 3]

After completing his meditation, Eduardo stands and stretches.

Daina, do you still have those three skulls? I would like to speak with one of them.

As Daina hunts down the skulls, the Master begins the 10-minute ritual required to speak with the departed spirit.

I only prepared it once. The other two skulls will have to wait. Just assume I pick out a skull at random for the ritual.

[Elfstone]

When Daina returns Quin has her stay still while he heals her completely with the magic of his god.

Yay infinite out of combat healing.

He hands over the map to Dranga when it is requested.

Then, he takes a few minutes to consecrate the ground around them to Moradin.

Finally he announces that while he still has much magical potential left, he is unable to Raise any more people.

[Human Paragon 3]

Can you raise Harley after you've rested and prayed?

[Elfstone]

"Of course."

[Verisimilitude]

Pete lingers for a moment, looking on Harley's broken and bound form. Then he cautiously searches the hallways leading north and south from the now covered pit.

[Human Paragon 3]

As Eduardo builds the eldritch symbols around the skull necessary for the completion of his ritual, his eyes fall on Harley's bound corpse.

He looks to Quin, resting and praying beside him.

Quin. Moradin is no friend of the undead. I presume you've studied the foul things as much as I have. Why do you think our fallen comrades have been affected by the Tomb's magic in such different ways? The dwarf Trevor rose as a simple zombie, as did the Gargoyle. Bob became a dust zombie. Bob a blood zombie. Harley... who knows what he will become?

Why? It vexes me.

[Ditto]

Seeing Pete's scanning pattern, Prescott shares the presence of the secret door to the east in the south corridor. "Don't forget to check those doors for traps... let's hope there's not another rack of vorpal blades behind them."

[Elfstone]

"Yes, I have. I specialized in their destruction and protected myself against them as much as I could" as he gestures to his glowing blue mithral armor. "My theory is that something in the heart of the Tomb, perhaps the Lich itself, has suffused the place with enough energy it begins to affect the living, or the past living. For the same reason we can not heal without protection we can not leave bodies whole. The negative energy builds up until it has enough force to reanimate the corpses, I believe. A very efective psychological weapon."
Quin has +1 Soulfire Mithral armor. Thus no level drain, no ability drain, and no negative energy damage.

[Human Paragon 3]

Yes, I came to the same conclusion. I am wondering why it affects individuals differently. Why did Trevor became a zombie, but Snake became a dust zombie? What was there lurking inside Bob that turned him into such a powerful, eldritch horror? Is it something within the spirit of the departed, or is it a choice that the keepers of the Tomb make?

[Elfstone]

"I would say it is as random as the energies that sustain them."

[Human Paragon 3]

It doesn't seem random to me. The strength of the undead seem to be escalating as we journey farther into the Tomb. It suggests one of two scenarios. Either the evil energies that power their transformations are increasing the closer we get to Acererak himself, or some intelligent and malevolent Overpower is customizing the creatures we face, continually making them stronger, yet within our power to defeat.

Ah, there. Ritual is complete.

Speak spirit!

[Ditto]

"Winky, perhaps you should keep watch over Harley and keep the Tomb's influence at bay. Do we think the hall here is secure? I have Rope Trick wand that should allow us to rest out of the way from any hallway hazards, and may serve to further insulate Harley."

[Verisimilitude]

Pete turns to Prescott. "Rest? So soon after we awakened from that interminable nightmare?"

[TheOasysMaster]

Obligingly, Welby casts the spell again-this time a scorching ray that melts the ice in a blast of steam.
The hand motions and words are noticeably different, but Maki thinks he can see an inverted relationship...
Fire...
...and ice.

[roll0] To determine which skull it is.


Pete makes a search check at range of the next five feet of floor, walls and ceiling before advancing, repeated until the north-south hall is fully searched or until searching reveals something of note. That's 172 search checks (including the north and south walls and the ceiling over the pit) and something for Pete to do for the first quarter of Eduardo's hour of meditation... I don't mind taking 10 on them if you don't, if only for the sake of not posting 172 rolls. So in other words, a search result of 39 for every surface of the north-south corridor, please.
Thorough.

I'm gonna award Maki 450 EXPerience points.
And 200 EXPerience points for everyone else.
Man, it's nice to come back from a break and seeing posts!
:smallsmile:


Trevor became a zombie
Just for the record, Trevor became a 'special' zombie, but being knocked into a pit, couldn't show how special he was...
:smallsmile:


When Quin has completed healing her, under Winky's protection, Daina heartily thanks him, bowing.
"I promise to make offering to Moradin as soon as I can. You and your god, have my thanks, Quin."
Dranga thanks Quin, and takes some time to peruse it herself before looking to her own spell books.

Pharrah peers over Eduardo's shoulder as he works...
"I've got my own theory, Master... If I may put it forward."

Pete's search while thorough and utterly complete reveals nothing new.
From north to south, he find nothing worthy of mention-except the door which Prescott had detected, and notices that the floors have been swept clean.
Not that nobody had walked on them, but in the recent week or so, they've been utterly rendered clean enough to eat off of.
When he reaches the steel door, he can tell right away this is a thick monstrosity, at least three inches thick with a large three digit combination lock where the knob would usually be.
...

Winky murmurs assent, and whizzes over to Harley, patrolling over the fallen adventurer from head to toe as he hums.
It's a song from the celestial plains Winy came from, and it enthuses them all, even though the words are a little bit garbled from the archon's own inflections...


+1 Circumstance Bonuss on all Skill Checks as long as Winky sings...


The skull shudders to life beneath Eduardo's touch...
"Ask, and I will answer, as Acererak has commanded me."

[Misaat]

Yohoo! Just 410 to go!

" Thanks Welby i think i got it now... "

Maki now walks towards Dranga.

" If what i saw with Welby was what i think... "

" Hey Dranga can i ask you something? "

[TheOasysMaster]

"No problem! Just remember; no matter how long you train-I can kill you by wiggling my fingers, speaking Gibberish and crumbling bat poop!"
He laughs madly again.
She slowly opens an eye, ending her spell recitations, to fix the barbarian with an icy glare.
Odd how her voice can carry such scalding heat.
"It had better be good..."

[Human Paragon 3]

I'd love to hear your thoughts...

The skull's response interrupts their conversation.

In a moment.

What is your relationship to Acererak?

[TheOasysMaster]

"I currently have no relationship other than that which was established before my death."
"'Was', Master. 'Was', not 'is'."

:smalltongue:

[Misaat]

" Im Sorry to bother you ^^U . But i was wondering if you could help me with something "

Maki says as he pleads.

" Remember when you turned Pete into a Troll? I was wondering if there was a spell that did the opposite of that or something that had an effect like it? "

[Human Paragon 3]

Eduardo sighs.

What was your former relationship with Acererak?

[TheOasysMaster]

"He was my captor and over-saw my torture."

Damn. You're asking the wrong question...
:smallsigh:
This did NOT go as I or Acererak had planned...

[Human Paragon 3]

Exactly what did he instruct you to do and say?

[TheOasysMaster]

"He instructed me, and indoctrinated me with lies and stories to deceive any and all who entered his Tomb. Adventurer's are a predictable lot."

Dranga's eye twitches.
"Undo? Like a spell that can turn a barbarian into a frog?"

[Human Paragon 3]

The Master frowns.

Except my spell compells you to tell the truth. So his effort is wasted.

[Misaat]

"He instructed me, and indoctrinated me with lies and stories to deceive any and all who entered his Tomb. Adventurer's are a predictable lot."

Dranga's eye twitches.
"Undo? Like a spell that can turn a barbarian into a frog?"

Maki doesnt catch on to the sarcasm.

" Right just like that one! What kind of gestures would you need to do to use a spell like that? "

[TheOasysMaster]

The skull doesn't respond. The Master hasn't asked a question.

[TheOasysMaster]

Maki doesnt catch on to the sarcasm.
=D

Should I do it? YOU decide!
Your next encounter-Maki the Hopping Barbarian!

[Human Paragon 3]

Damn! This skull is good. Why am I picturing him talking like the rock alien fro the Neutopia episode of Futurama?

Do you have anything of value to tell me?

[Elfstone]

Im assuming Quin's concecration went well? If so, hes going to start praying.

[TheOasysMaster]

The skull thinks.
"No, not anymore."


Im assuming Quin's concecration went well? If so, hes going to start praying.
It went perfectly.

[Human Paragon 3]

Eduardo sweeps away the pentagram he penned on the tomb floor, ending the spell.

Useless, he spits.

I'll hear you now, Pharrah, says the Master, obviously dissapointed.

[Elfstone]

Quin begins to meditate on the adventure so far and starts to pray to his god fro strength and courage for the job that must be done. Once a sufficient connection is raised, he asks how his lord fairs and if there is anything he should know to better execute his will.

[Misaat]

" Please Dranga i know you are upset but i really need your help. This might help us defeat Acererak! I have one more favor to ask... Can you make a fake Acererak? "

He whispers to her.

[Verisimilitude]

His initial inspection of the northern and southern hallways complete, Pete turns to Prescott again. "Did you scan for secret doors in the next chamber?" Pete follows the eastern hallway to the grotto and looks it over from the hall before walking in a circle near its center, torch held high, observing the appearance of the floor, walls and ceiling.

[Ditto]

Overhearing the first part of Maki's conversation with Dranga, Prescott volunteers, "I have such a spell prepared, Maki. I could show you how it's cast - but I doubt you'll want me to complete the incantation!"

Prescott doesn't hear the whispered part about a fake-Acererak, obviously, but he does have Baleful Polymorph prepared and won't after resting. I think I've got my my spell selection all updated for after we rest. I'll attempt a rope trick after I finish conversing.

[TheOasysMaster]

"Alright, so you and I came here after Bob, Snake, Trevor and James had been killed..."
She counts them on her fingers.
"James hasn't transformed as far as we know-but if he died outside the Tomb, maybe he doesn't 'count'. Nobody told me how he died, but the gargoyle came back multiple times apparently... So, I suppose that is the 'WHAT?' in the system..."
She pauses, thinking again.
"But then it gets interesting... Bob and Snake were transformed, but not Shudu and Jake... And Quin described that Bob, Snake, Trevor and James had been 'punished... So, I'm thinking, that maybe the zombification has to do with who's willing to come back! We should see Jake and Shudu eventually..."
"But why are they getting stronger?"
"How are they getting stronger? Trevor was a push-over, and Snake was difficult, but Bob, was no problem..."
"He was always useless..."
"If anything-they're getting smarter..."

Dranga's eyes widen.
"Fake Acererak? What are you talking about?"
Hearing Prescott's offer, Dranga hopes the mad barbarian will leave her to her books.

The cave appears to be a mixture of natural, and extended work...
The ceiling and floors were dug out to make more room, but after having searched the lowers wall, Pete finds nothing of note...

"...so, in conclusion, I don't think its possible for Harley to be taken by Acererak-since he's dedicated to this task, whereas others have shirked the duty, or actually taken a way 'out'.

As Quin slips into his meditative trance, a tortured voice reaches out to him...
"Quin..."

[Misaat]

" All right . Thanks for your Help Presscott . Sorry for disturbing you Dranga ^^ ! "

He turns and leaves to the other side of the room waving at presscott to come over.

" Now can you show me the gestures? "

[Elfstone]

Quin continues meditating, searching for the voice once more sending a questioning thought to ascertain the orginator of the mental though.

[TheOasysMaster]

Quin sees him in his mind, a Favored Soul of Moradin...
The dwarf's helmet is rent on the side, and his armor is burnt and covered in claw marks, and most of his beard is missing.
He shudders through the fog of Quin's trance.
"Moradin has faith in you Quin, and he is well pleased in your steadfast service. He asks that you stay firm a little longer..."His word wheeze out, and break with each syllable.

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/cd_gallery/81361.jpg

[Elfstone]

Reeling mentally, Quin replies "Brother, I thank you for you message. I hope you will be able to overcome those that we shall face and we will meet once this is over. May the fates be with you."

[TheOasysMaster]

The Soul shakes it's head, sagging to its knees.
"We. Will. Not..."

[Elfstone]

Then may you feast forever in the halls of our lord.

[TheOasysMaster]

"Beware, Acererak is-"
He doesn't finish-a splinter of bone sprouts from between his eyes, then his throat, and the center of his chest.
Finally, a massive shard bursts from his belly, and he begins to fade, as conciousness returns to Quin...
A hollow death rattle fills his ears, overpowered by a cruel chuckle.

[Misaat]

That's it?! After all the Hype just ... Hang in there?! Man i would be pissed if i was a Thoradin follower

[TheOasysMaster]

That's it?! After all the Hype just ... Hang in there?! Man i would be pissed if i was a Thoradin follower
Acererak won Initiative.
:smallamused:

[Verisimilitude]

Pete nods approvingly at the expanded cave. Then he goes to a dry patch of stone, cleans his gloves, face and feet, and puts on his boots and longsword. As he does so he reflects on the events that have brought him to this place and his duties now that he is here.

After a few minutes he returns to the others and waits quietly while The Master of Death completes his meditation. Pete thinks deeply on the discussions that follow, but refrains from public comment.

[Elfstone]

Bah.. Unless anyone needs anything from Quin, he will most likely rest for 8 hours. Everyone chill with resting?

[Misaat]

Dammit Ditto was on all day today I just had to wait for Oasys's reply XD. Anyway ill be out for a few hours. Peace!

[Ditto]

"I'd not underestimate our foes - this Bob was defeated handily, yes, but I would credit Eduardo's prowess versus the undead and his weaponry rather than detracting from Bob's ability. He was fragile in the end, but certainly potent. His actions stalking us recently demonstrate a cunning enemy."

"Yes, so... a little something like this..." To Maki, Prescott gestures with his fingers and speaks the incantation for Baleful Polymorph. "...and with another flourish, I would transform my target into a rabbit. Or a newt. Or the like." He relaxes his hands, careful not to complete the spell.

I'm going to be out for most of the weekend, til Sunday night. If folks are game for using a Rope Trick to rest, Prescott will attempt to do so. Feel free to act that out if that's all that is holding the group up.

[Misaat]

Is Maki's theory correct? Oasys?

" Great Thanks! "

"Now only one thing left"

Maki Walks towards Daina.

" Hey there! How are you feeling? ^^ "

[Human Paragon 3]

Completing his meditations, Eduardo turns and faces Hassadur, staring the serpent in the eyes and holding his gaze. What secrets were hidden within this creature, this most extraordinary snake's mind?

After the extended rest, Eduardo casts Speak with Animals again.

He speaks an incantation, and his countenance becomes snakelike once again. A series of soft hisses issue from the Master's lips as he addresses the serpent.

Translated from snake:
<Hassadur. You have served me well, and I have come to understand your value. I have questions for you, about your nature.

Tell me about your home--I have promised to deliver you there, and I'd like to know it better, so that when the time comes, I can help you find it.>

[TheOasysMaster]

Is Maki's theory correct? Oasys?
Not distracting enough...
They're making their Concentration Checks

"A lot better now, Maki. Thanks for asking-what's up?"

It's hard to describe Hassadur's words that he uses to share his home with Eduardo, but there's no doubt he paints a very vivid, and disturbing image...

An entire universe, dominated by snakes.
Everywhere, in every climate, across every planet.
Snakes of all size...
From the kind Eduardo could hold in his hand to great world snakes that crush worlds and travel from star to star...
A plane of snakes, where survival is the highest law...
Evolution has demanded that this plane's inhabitants developed great intelligence and magical abilities in order to exist, constantly fighting to remain one step ahead of a bigger snake, and eat as many as they can.
Hassadur came from a jungle planet...
In dense foliage, he hunted his brothers and sisters and were hunted by them, as well as his father and mother...
It'd been a good life.
Hassudur had carved out a respectful territory, filled with capable mates to take advantage of...
It had been a very good life.

[Elfstone]

Oasy! Your back!

[Misaat]

I read tomorrow! You lied you lieeeeed!! XD

" I heard before you learned a couple of magic tricks while in here... The other's knowledge is too advance for me to understand... But since you just started... Maybe i can pick somthing up from your form... What kind of thing did you learn to do? "

Says Maki while paying close attention to her movements...

[TheOasysMaster]

"Well, most of my spells Dranga shared with me are low-level, and I kinda need 'em..."

She can't and won't help you man...
Daina's gonna need those spells.


I read tomorrow! You lied you lieeeeed!! XD

Oasy! Your back!
Yup, wedding.

[Human Paragon 3]

Translated from Snake:
<I have seen how you open doorways between the dimensions so you can travel... How did you learn to do this? And what other magical techniques have you learned?>

[Misaat]

" True. But i dont need you to cast any of them. I just want to know how is it that she taught you those things. "

Maki says while listening attently.

[TheOasysMaster]

Eduardo sees images of Hassadur's hatching...
From birth, his particular species hatch with the ability to cast Invisibility...
As he'd survived and grown, other abilities had become available to him, first, a particularly dangerous brand of poison, and then more potent spells...
Hassadur's personal technique-of-choice was the use of Dimension Door to effectively patrol and enforce his territory, and also proved useful when hunting...
Eduardo sees some of the snake's genetic history... Magic courses in the very being. Those who hadn't managed to adapt and use their magic well enough, died off.

[TheOasysMaster]

'Well, she and I had been training for weeks... I started off with one spell, and then another... Each spell according to its specific casting needs."

[Misaat]

" Weeks uh... "

" I see it takes a long time to master even the simplest of spells... In order to learn how to break their concentrations ill need to practice for a while until i get the hang of it... "

" Well thanks i think i got everything i needed to know "

" All that's left is to start training "

Maki puts himself in front of a wall.

[Human Paragon 3]

<Could you use your powers to turn somebody else invisible? Or bring another with you through the dimension doors you open?>

[TheOasysMaster]

"Glad to be of help!"

<Yessssssssss. One or two...>


You guys about ready?

[Elfstone]

Need to pick new spells, but almost. I assume Quin gets no more "MediMessages"?

[Misaat]

Maki is ready to kick some undead tail! Too bad i could level him up before facing Acererak XD

[Human Paragon 3]

I am just about ready to advance time, as I don't think 8 hours is enough time to train hassadur to teleport people with handle animal.

[Ditto]

Also ready to advance time, planning to Rope Trick as indicated. We'll see how that goes! :smallbiggrin:

As everyone's getting settled following the confrontation with bloodbob, Prescott draws yet another wand from his stash and casts Rope Trick. This should provide us a small respite from the walls and floors and everything in between lashing out at us... there's room for everyone in this little extradimensional treehouse."

[TheOasysMaster]

Also ready to advance time, planning to Rope Trick as indicated. We'll see how that goes!

To rest for eight hours or to move on without resting? Pete is ready to stand watch or to start working on the three doors. Either way. I'm just waiting for an IC decision before acting.

Maki is ready to kick some undead tail! Too bad i could level him up before facing Acererak XD


Need to pick new spells, but almost. I assume Quin gets no more "MediMessages"?


I am just about ready to advance time, as I don't think 8 hours is enough time to train Hassadur to teleport people with handle animal.
You could just tell him to.

The rest passes uneventfully for those who use Prescott's Rope Trick, and those who opt to stay out.
With new spells selected, weapons sharpened, and wills hardened, they are ready.
Daina points to Harley's still form.
"Quin, could you bring him back for us, now?"
Pharrah, having completed her meditations, is talking to the kid, about something, while Dranga and Welby are checking up on their reserves of spell components.
"What are we gonna do now, Prescott?"

[Ditto]

Press onward, Winky. All we can do, for now... an exit and an end to this lich's threat do not lie behind us." He smooths his robes and settles his bandolier in place before the group assembles to move. "Shall we look to the north as I suggested last night? Or perhaps the hidden doorway first?"

[TheOasysMaster]

"Hidden doorway! Let's see what Acererak wants to hide..."

[Verisimilitude]

Pete returns to the indicated secret door. He flicks the razor from his sleeve and exchanges it for the thieves' tools in his pocket. There he waits for a signal to proceed.

[Misaat]

[SPOILER]

"What are we gonna do now, Prescott?"

The same we thing we do every day Winky... Try to destroy Acererak!

It's Winky and Presscott . Winky and Prescott One is A Wizard the other is a Magical celestial being!

Maki after thinking for some time walks towards the Master of death.

" Hey Ed! You are going to be using that Mace on the Undead's we find along the way right?"

[Elfstone]

Quin nods and sits before Harley before beginning to chant in a low voice and call for his god's power. As he does so a light envelopes the both of them for several minutes before vanishing, with Harley healed.

[Human Paragon 3]

It has been incredibly effective so far, so yes.

Eduardo thinks for a moment.

Suspiciously effective. It makes me wonder, in a dungeon where every surface has been meticulously cleaned to remove all evidence of activity, why Acererack would leave such a potent weapon lying around--one that would be doubly useful against him.

[Misaat]

" Its the same logic as why he didnt just made the roof fall on top of us as soon as we entered. Its just funnier that way... Anyway i was wondering if you would let me borrow your Scythe? "

[Human Paragon 3]

I'd be happy to. It's silvered, so it will be able to hurt vampires we come across, and a few other undead as well... lycanthropes... he muses.

Good for tripping enemies as well.

[Misaat]

why did you have to mention the tripping part? Now ill be lucky if Oasys gets a single skeleton for me to trip XD

" Thanks . I'll make good Use of it "

Maki sling the Scythe across his back.

[Human Paragon 3]

If one enemy is tripped by Pax, I will consider this campaign a rousing success. I tried and failed to trip that gargoyle a couple times. Damn my average strength and poor rolling.

[Verisimilitude]

With Harley raised from death, Pete begins working on the secret door at his side.

[TheOasysMaster]

Harley's return from the dead is heralded by a burning cry from his lips.
He grits his teeth as Quin's casting fills his body with life and power, healing burnt limbs and with Winky's help banishing all scars.
Nodding in thanks to the cleric, Harley stumbles a bit as Dranga fills him on what had gone on while he was gone.
Then he goes to work, reclaiming his tools and packs...
Working alongside Pete, Harley agrees that there doesn't appear any obvious traps visible, and watches as Pete picks the lock.
Nodding impressed, Harley turns the knob, and opens the door into the hallway.
Pete dives out of the rush of water vapour like mist that hisses forth from the room, and for a moment Harley disappears in a fog of grey.


http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd57/OasysWebmaster/bobstilllives.jpg

[Misaat]

" Wow Harley is really in on this Whole dying thing... he just entered the mist alone... "