The Tomb of Pnakost (IC)

[Zaydos]

The noon sun stands high over head. In every direction desert stretches as far as the eye can see, broken only by distant hills and mountains. To the north-east your target looms, a mile tall standing like a mirage in the distance. It is still more than a day's travel by foot, assuming that these horrible badlands function according to rules of space and dimension which your previous experiences can tell you they do not.

Gilgast's forces cannot be far behind, and the day of the solar eclipse is fast approaching. Canyon country lies ahead, gouged by ancient magic or rivers long since dried, and beyond that the ruins which surround the Tomb.

A bird-like call can be heard in the distance to the south, either the draconic hunters that pursue you or just some 'natural' predator of this place.

[Techwarrior]

"There it is, the Tomb of Pnakost. Hopefully the tales of the wonders within weren't exaggerated."

[Menteith]

And hopefully the dangers were. We've enough trouble as it stands. No helping that now, I suppose...do you think we'll make those canyons by nightfall? We might be able to throw off our pursuit if we can reach some cover.

[Gurrdurr99]

Do you think we'll be there soon? This heat is irritating. And I think my dragon's getting bleached. I rather did enjoy the freshly de-boned look it had. Oh fie. I should have known better than to listen to Ragnos; staying in my little corner of the kingdom with a small serving staff of skeletons would have been fine! But no, I had to go on an adventure. Fie and damnation.

[DeadHunter]

Therius spoke with a voice that was deep and rumbled like thunder. I agree, this high ground does us no favours. We must head for the canyon on the way to the ruins. By nightfall or not we must make the canyon. Out here we're exposed. Structure and darkness will be a welcomed ally.

[Menteith]

Master Spiritchaster, I confess that I have only a basic knowledge of the undead, but is your dragon still capable of flight? If it could provide overwatch for us, and let us know of any pursuit from either the ground or sky, it would be invaluable. Any in this place should be clearly visible from the air.

[DeadHunter]

Or it could serve to give away our position. Does it even have eyes? He sniffs and bears his teeth. The smell alone could get us killed.

[Gurrdurr99]

Firstly, Master Therius has a point - the sky is clear, and I specialize in Necromancy, not illusion - hiding this bag of bones would be a feat in and of itself. Secondly, you will notice the lack of flesh and sinew on the skeleton. Nice and clean. Master Quickfingers, were there flesh on the bone it could fly, maneuver, and all of these things because that is what fleshly dragons do. Since it lacks flesh, it cannot. Besides, it is wholly mindless and would be unable to comprehend or communicate anything it saw, even if it could fly. Now let us be off, I don't fancy being caught by Gilgast's forces and having them get all offended because I purchased the corpse of what might have been his kin.

[Techwarrior]

"Well perhaps, good necromancer, if you weren't using your dark powers to raise semblances of the dead we wouldn't have that little problem. I agree though, we should hurrry to the canyon with all speed"

[Menteith]

I see; I was but hoping. I might be able to get it disguised and in the air myself....but that does little to help us if couldn't observe and report to us. Breaking line of sight in the terrain ahead sees like our best option - at the very least, it would be nice to be out of the sun for awhile.

[Gurrdurr99]

Andurik keeps strolling forward. Master Nightblade, if I didn't use my "dark powers" to "animate semblances of the dead," I wouldn't be a Necromancer in the truest sense of the word, and I prefer my minions to be of use - you must admit it would serve well as a creature of battle. Master Quickfingers, much agreed. Andurik picks up the pace slightly. That being said, all of this prattle isn't getting us any closer to the Tomb, so, as I have stated, let us be off. I do not wish to encounter whatever is making that blasted shrieking.

[Techwarrior]

"Oh, by all means, you would not be a necromancer in any sense of the word, and the dragon will be of some use in combat. I'm just suggesting that perhaps searching for dark power all of your life was not the best way to go about things. I'm sure if you had applied yourself in other areas you might have even been able to help other people out against Gilgast's forces. Instead of robbing tombs for you own purposes."

[Zaydos]

Another bird cry sounds loud and clear across the country side. You have no time to contemplate its source, though, as a massive pillar bursts from the ground beside the bone dragon. Easily ten feet in height, a corona of darkness runs up and down the pillar and it is crowned by what looks like five fat fingers and a massive thumb. As suddenly as the stone arm rose forth the rest of the creature surges upwards. Rising to a height of more than forty feet, the massive creature of stone stares down at the assorted travelers, dark energy swirling about it only to be occasionally lit by a flash of what looks like lightning or mystical force. A wave of supernatural menace washes outwards from its towering form, and somehow you sense its intentions are anything but friendly. Ianril finds himself barely able to calm his nerves even as his lightning reflexes ready himself. Dorian and Andurik too manage to resist the crashing surge of terror, Therius, though, is not as lucky and finds his muscles trembling as he faces the giant beast. Beneath Dorian his steed, Silver, trembles urging to bolt.

Ianril and Dorian won initiative, followed by the monster, then Andurik and Therius.

Therius and Silver are shaken for 6 and 9 rounds respectively.

Very simple grid
{table=header]_|A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
13||||Mon|Mon|Mon|||||||
12||||Mon|Mon|Mon|||||||
11||||Mon|Mon|Mon|||||||
10|||||||||||
9 ||||Ske|Ske|Ske|||||||
8 ||||Ske|Ske|Ske|||||||
7 ||||Ske|Ske|Ske|||||||
6 ||||||And|||||||
5 |||||Ian||The|The|||||
4 |||||||The|The|||||
3 |||||||||||||
2 ||||||Dur|Dur||||||
1 ||||||Dur|Dur||||||[/table]

Each space = 5-ft.
Yes I arranged people mostly at random.
First 3 letters of names were used to mark who was where. Terrain is in effect an infinite featureless plane, at least for a few miles, so not very interesting. If you move off just continue the numbering. Higher numbers are West, lower numbers are East if you'd prefer to use cardinal directions.

[Menteith]

Ianril scans his memory, to see if he's ever heard of such a creature. As he does so, he reaches his most familiar magic, enjoying the feeling of the world slowing around him. He reaches into his pack, and pulls out a strung bow, impossibly large considering its origins. He briefly - but carefully - arms, and looses an arrow at the creature's torso.

Out of Character
Makes a Knowledge check (to gain the benefits of Knowledge Devotion, increasing his hit bonus and damage against targets he identifies), casts Haste as a Swift action, uses his Move action to retrieve his Composite Longbow from the Handy Haversack, and attacks the creature [roll0] if it hits he'll spent an inspiration to boost damage [roll1]

[Techwarrior]

Guiding his horse around the others, Dorian whips his bow around and fires a stream of arrows.

OOC
I auto-succeed on my ride check to guide my warhorse with my knees, so I get a full round. My horse is taking a move action to get to H9, going around everyone, so I'm unaffected by her movement.

Mounted Combat Ride check against the first attack made against Silver
[roll0]
Edit: isn't better than her AC, so disregard that I guess.

Dorian takes a Full-round action to Full Attack the thing, whatever it is, with Rapid Shot, I should be in range of Point Blank Shot, so have adjusted my numbers accordingly.
Attack 1 [roll1]
Confirm [roll2]
Damage [roll3] (+11 more if it qualifies for Disruptive Strike, I.E. has SLA's, Spells, or Psioinics)

Attack 2 [roll4]
Confirm [roll5]
Damage [roll6] (+11)

Attack 3 [roll7]
Confirm [roll8]
Damage [roll9] (+11)


Edit: Wow, so many low rolls...

[Zaydos]

Ianril's arrow thuds into the creature, chipping away at the stone but it seems to be little more than annoyed. Durian rides forward, loosing three arrows in rapid succession into the creature; his first arrow knocks a large piece of stone away and the next two steadily chip away at it.

The creature roars out in anger and rage, and the darkness around it extends covering the dragon and Dorian, into shadow. Its fist swings down striking the horse easily knocking it aside like a rag doll. It's arm continues towards the skeletal dragon striking into its ankle. It's other arm hammers down upon the skeleton's skull chipping away at the bone.

OoC
The creature took at least some damage from each hit. The horse was hit for 32 damage which should be enough to knock it out :smalleek:. The skeleton was hit for 34 and 28 damage (62 damage total).

The area within 4 squares of the monster is now shrouded in shadowy illumination (concealment; 20% miss chance unless you can see in magical darkness). This means of what's on the chart of A to J is shadowy illumination on rows 13-10, A to I on rows 8 and 9, and C to G on row 7.

Ianril
While you haven't encountered such a creature before, you believe it is an earth elemental tainted and twisted by this realm. You've heard stories that some do exist in the Badlands, viciously killing living creatures for sport and spite. They're supposed to be rare, and ancient, summoned ages ago by the rulers of the old empire. If the stories are true this is one of the smaller ones.

Very simple grid
{table=header]_|A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
13|x|x|x|Mon|Mon|Mon|x|x|x|x|||
12|x|x|x|Mon|Mon|Mon|x|x|x|x|||
11|x|x|x|Mon|Mon|Mon|x|x|x|x|||
10|x|x|x|x|x|x|x|x|x|x|||
9 |x|x|x|Ske|Ske|Ske|x|Dur|Dur||||
8 |x|x|x|Ske|Ske|Ske|x|Dur|Dur||||
7 |||x|Ske|Ske|Ske|x||||||
6 ||||||And|||||||
5 |||||Ian||The|The|||||
4 |||||||The|The|||||
3 |||||||||||||
2 |||||||||||||
1 |||||||||||||[/table]

Each space = 5-ft.
Yes I arranged people mostly at random.
First 3 letters of names were used to mark who was where. 'x' marks an area of shadowy illumination. If you move off just continue the numbering. Higher numbers are West, lower numbers are East if you'd prefer to use cardinal directions.

[Gurrdurr99]

Oh for- bleeding hell. Andurik clenches his hand, igniting it with dark, crackling energy before he touches it to the skeleton's rear leg. Now get that thing. The cracks recede slightly before the skeleton launches a flurry of fang, wing, claw, and tail at the creature.

OoC

First Andurik casts Inflict Critical Wounds on the Skeleton to heal it a bit [roll0].

The Skeleton then full-round attacks.

Bite [roll1]
damage [roll2]

Claw1 [roll3]
damage [roll4]

Claw2 [roll5]
damage [roll6]

Wing1 [roll7]
damage [roll8]

Wing2 [roll9]
damage [roll10]

Tail Slap [roll11]
damage [roll12]

Not sure how blindsense factors into cover, and now I am glad I made that skeleton.

[Techwarrior]

From last round's Haste if that's fine by you, and I act after Ianril. Otherwise ignore this.
Attack [roll0]
Confirm[roll1]
Damage [roll2] (judging by that shadowy stuff, he does qualify for Disruptive Strike, otherwise subtract 11.

When it's my action.
Dorian rolls to the ground, trying to avoid harming himself.
Ah crap, I'll heal you after taking this guy out Silver, I promise. He then fires off another series of arrows, willing them to strike this creature down.

Ok, this'll be a doozy. Full round action to shoot at the elemental thing. First attack is going to be a Dispelling Strike with Charged Dispelling, if that fails to dispel, I'll do the same combo on the second arrow, but if the first one succeeds I won't use those on the second attack. Sniper allows him to see through all concealment granted by spells and such, so I didn't make miss chance rolls, correct me if it doesn't qualify as a spell or spell-like ability.

Ride check to avoid fall damage DC 15 [roll3] Need a 2 or take [roll4]

Attack 1 [roll5]
Confirm[roll6]
Damage [roll7] (judging by that shadowy stuff, he does qualify for Disruptive Strike, otherwise subtract 11 from my attacks.
Dispelling Strike CL check [roll8]
Charged Dispelling damage (1 die per level of dispelled spells, up to MS level, use what's appropriate)
[roll9]

Attack 2 [roll10]
Confirm[roll11]
Damage [roll12]
Dispelling Strike CL check [roll13]
Charged Dispelling damage (1 die per level of dispelled spells, up to MS level, use what's appropriate)

Attack 3 [roll14]
Confirm[roll15]
Damage [roll16]

Attack 4 [roll17]
Confirm[roll18]
Damage [roll19]

[DeadHunter]

OOC
I'm afraid I've got to make this in two turns due to the distance so I might as well flank. Then charge. Following the order of course.

Therius makes a run to the outside past Dorian. Then charges in, swinging his axe into the earthy creature.

Turn 1: Run to outside.

Turn 2: Charge Attack
Axe Attack: 1d20+19 [roll0]
Damage: 3d6+19 [roll1]

Gore Attack: 1d20+14 [roll2]
Damage: 1d8+13 [roll3]

[Zaydos]

Within the shadows the skeletal dragon attacks its aggressor, even as dark energy fills in some of the cracks within its skull. Its teeth sink in even as its bone tail smash's against the column that is the creature.

Dorian raises his bow again and looses another four arrows, the first three striking into the stone, even as the creature brings its limb swinging back into the elf with rib cracking force. The darkness seems to flicker for a moment, but the magical force behind it is too strong for his arrow.

The bull-man maneuvers to get into striking distance readying himself for a mighty charge.

OoC
The skeleton missed three times.

Dorian hit three times but was also struck by the AoO he provoked for firing while in melee range for 35 damage.

Therian maneuvered around the battlefield.

It is now Ianril's turn and then the elemental's once more.

Grid
[SPOILER]{table=header]_|A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
13|x|x|x|Mon|Mon|Mon|x|x|x|x|||
12|x|x|x|Mon|Mon|Mon|x|x|x|x|||
11|x|x|x|Mon|Mon|Mon|x|x|x|x|||
10|x|x|x|x|x|x|x|x|x|x|||
9 |x|x|x|Ske|Ske|Ske|x|Dur|x||||
8 |x|x|x|Ske|Ske|Ske|x|x|x||||
7 |||x|Ske|Ske|Ske|x||||||
6 ||||||And|||||||
5 |||||Ian||||||||
4 |||||||||||||
3 |||||||||||||
2 |||||||||||||
1 |||||||||||||[/table]

[Menteith]

Ianril grits his teeth, and tosses aside the bow. He promised himself he's look for it after the fight, and charged at the creature, readying his polearm as he ran. He quickly skirted close enough to slash at its hide, and without missing a beat changed direction and distanced himself.

OOC

Drops bow (free action), moves to B8 (20ft of move used), then to B10 (30ft of move used). As he moves, he draws his Guisarme as a free action, and Spring Attacks the shadow, spending Inspiration on the hit roll, and if it hits on the damage roll. to hit, [roll1] for concealment (misses on a 1-20) and if it hits [roll]2d4+2d6+8 for damage. After the Spring Attack, he'll move 40 feet due west.

[Menteith]

OOC
Apparently the Forum Dice roller dislikes having multiple die types rolled at the same time. If you'd like, I can edit the post above, but I know that editing stuff that contains rolls can be an issue. Let me know, and if you want me to edit the previous post and delete this one, I can. Anyway, on with the damage rolls; If it hits, [roll0] + [roll1]

[Zaydos]

The guisarme scrapes the creature, leaving a trail of sparks across the creature's stony body as he springs backwards a blur of motion. The creature is becoming obviously wounded at this point.

The towering sandstone creature brings its stony hands down onto the skeleton twice shattering ribs and knocking loose a large bone from the skull.

Therius charges the beast, the creature striking him with its back hand even as his axe cleaves away at it, dislodging a chunk of rock in the back even as his horns gouged a deep hole in it. The creature is beginning to look unsteady.

OoC
Menteith were both d6's electricity? Or was one sneak attack or something else similar? Shouldn't matter you overcame DR regardless.

The dragon skeleton takes 40 and 35 points of damage.

Therius eats its AoO for 36 damage.

[DeadHunter]

Therius takes a serious hit but takes it in stride. Grraahhh!! The roars of a veteran of battle ring out as he unleashes his fury upon his opponent, fearless of death.

Axe Attack 1: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

Axe Attack 2: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3]

Gore Attack: [roll4]
Damage: [roll5]

OOC
That was a significant amount of damage :smalleek:, kill it fast!!

[Gurrdurr99]

Blast you to hell, you wretched chunk of rock! Why won't you die!? Andurik repeats the process, attempting to rejuvenate his dragon further. Slaughter it! The skeleton lets out a chilling rattle as it lunges once more.

OoC

One more Inflict Critical Wounds [roll0] followed by a full-round attack.

Bite [roll1] damage [roll2] conceal [roll3]
Claw1 [roll4] damage [roll5] conceal [roll6]
Claw2 [roll7] damage [roll8] conceal [roll9]
Wing1 [roll10] damage [roll11] conceal [roll12]
Wing2 [roll13] damage [roll14] conceal [roll15]
Tail [roll16] damage [roll17] conceal [roll18]

Edit: Not bad regen, and if past rolls are anything to go by, most of those hit. :smallredface:

[Zaydos]

The dragon wails on the creature once more, chipping off stone. The blows are light, but they add up.

OoC:
All but one hit :smallsmile:

DeadHunter: You included two turns in your first post and this is still only your second turn so you'll have to wait till it gets another go. Thankfully it got a lucky hit in last time (PA eats its attack bonus).

[Techwarrior]

Dorian backs up, wincing at the pain, and fires another slew of arrows, hoping this will take the elemental out.

5 ft step back to H8 :smalleek:
He's taken an AoO this round, so hopefully I don't get one. Full-Attack on the elemental.

Attack 1 [roll0]
Confirm [roll1]
Damage [roll2]

Attack 2 [roll3]
Confirm [roll4]
Damage [roll5]

Attack 3 [roll6]
Confirm [roll7]
Damage [roll8]

Attack 4 [roll9]
Confirm [roll10]
Damage [roll11]

[Zaydos]

As the four arrows strike into the shadow cloaked stone it crumbles and falls to the ground. Rubble crashes with might thuds into the dirt, leaving small craters of impact. The aura of menace dissipates. Things seem safe, for now.

[Techwarrior]

"Well, that was interesting. And painful, definitely painful. Are you all okay?"

Dorian drinks a potion of cure light wounds healing [roll0].
He then administers one to his horse Silver. [roll1]

"Do any of you have any kind of healing magic? I've only got a few potions."

[Menteith]

Ianril retrieves and stows his discarded bow. I'm fine. Unfortunately, my talents don't lend themselves toward healing....as for that that was, I believe this was a corrupted elemental of earth. They were summoned and bound in ages past by the inhabitants of this land - and this one is one of the smaller ones.

[Gurrdurr99]

Well, not much I can do for the rest of you, but as for my poor poppet here, I can at least fix him. If I tried to do the same for you, you'd likely turn funny colors and die. Andurik clambers onto the Skeleton's back, not voicing or displaying any discomfort. Dark energy begins to channel from his hands into the dragon skeleton, and it slowly begins to repair. I suppose that for most mortals, this would be uncomfortable. Lucky me. Looking at Dorian, Andurik sighs. Best patch your horse up as best you can, and then we should move. I don't want to stay here any longer than necessary.

[DeadHunter]

Therius grabs a large piece of the elemental in his hand and crushes it in his grip, turning it to dust. Blasted being. He looks towards the others and responds. No magic, no potions. But no matter, night is coming. We must press on. Hopefully we can make the canyon without more of these. He shoves a piece of the being with his foot and begins to press on. Trying to show no sign of his injuries.

[Techwarrior]

"For once, I find myself agreeing with you Necromancer. We should move out yesterday."

Dorian mounts his horse, and begins to ride towards the canyons once more.

[Zaydos]

Therius
When you crushed the stone you felt a tiny bit of metal in your hand. Looking down it has the sheen of whitish-gold, or electrum.

[DeadHunter]

As the minotaur turned to walk away he felt a piece of what felt like the familiar metal in the dust clenched in his hand, he realized the whitish gold sheen. He paused looking at his hand, then turned back towards the pile and began to gather the electrum. Take what you will. If it was flesh and blood I would decorate a spike with it's head. He notioned to the others to take their share.

[Techwarrior]

"Are we sure we can carry this and whatever's in the Tomb? No matter, I guess you can always leave it if need be."

Dorian takes no more than a couple of fistfulls of the stuff.

[Menteith]

My haversack still isn't full - I still have room in it for a little more than 30 pounds, if we're going to be storing material. More, if I leave some of my gear behind. Well, if we're going to take the time, we might as well take as much as we can. Ianril begins sifting through the remains, trying to take only the purest electrum, storing it in his bag, which still maintains its normal size.

[Zaydos]

It takes some time to sort through the tons of stone which composed the creature, but you manage to find eighty pounds of the metal.

[Menteith]

I'll be capable of carrying 53 pounds without a problem. Can someone else get the rest of it?

OOC
This puts Ianril at a Medium Load (he's carrying 23lb, and put 30lb in the Handy Haversack). His current speed is 30ft, allowing him to keep up with the group without a problem.

[DeadHunter]

Therius takes what is left and shakes his head at the others. He is fully aware of his strength and does not boast. He turns to leave, sure not to lose any more time. He tightens his grip on his black axe and points it towards their destination. Onwards.

OOC
According to my calculation a light load for Therius should be around 1,864 lb. :smallbiggrin:

[Gurrdurr99]

There you go, my dear! Almost done. The skeleton dragon looks almost as good as new, and Andurik seems pleased. Regardless, I think we can move faster if I stay up here. And I don't have to walk. Cheers! He ushers the skeleton forward towards the canyons with a loud rattle of bone. Hmm... Wonder if we'll find anything fun to make minions out of next time? Kihihi! A slightly mad grin splits Andurik's face as the dragon picks up the pace and weaves across the sands.

[Zaydos]

The miles come easy for the first stretch, Therius in his heavy armor setting the pace at 2 miles per hour. You get ten miles, five more hours of traveling since this morning bringing you to a total of eight, when you've just reached the edge of the canyons. Before you is a sheer drop, hundreds, perhaps a thousand feet, almost straight down. Ledges dot the area certain to break a fall, if only long enough to allow you to fall again.

[Menteith]

I'll be able to get us down. I can briefly change our forms to that of smoke, allowing us to fly down, though it might be problematic if a wind picks up. Alternately, I could teleport us down via dimension hopping, though I might not have enough power to move all of us all, depending on how far down this canyon is. In this place, just because we can see the bottom doesn't mean that we could reach it. I could also try and build us a shelter down into the rock, if you'd rather stay on this ledge tonight. What do you all think?

OOC
I have potentially 11 Dimension Doors available, with a 680ft range/cast. I can take 2 additional Medium creatures with me per jump, or 1 Large creature. I have potentially 10 Gaseous Forms available. This would grant every member of the party a flight speed of 10ft (Perfect) for 14 minutes. Gaseous Form is affected by the wind, and if anyone's blown away from the wall, we risk getting separated at night. I have potentially 11 Stone Shapes available, which allows me to sculpt 187 cubic feet of stone. Any of these will use a significant amount of my available slots.

[Gurrdurr99]

Hmm. If we can create our own cover, it would likely be best - I don't want to try tackling that at night.

OOC
I'm voting Stone Shape.

[DeadHunter]

I agree, we should set up camp for the night. Tomorrow I vote for the gaseous form. If we get blown it will probably be in the same direction. At least then we will be able to see our way back to regroup.

[Techwarrior]

"I don't like any of those ideas, but that's mostly my mistrust of magic. If I had to pick, I'd prefer the teleporting. I don't like the thought of floating on the whim of canyon winds."

OOC
I vote Ddoor

[Gurrdurr99]

Consider this, Master Nightblade: the only one of us that can see with any accuracy in the dark is a mindless undead. I don't know your preferences considering magic, but whatever we try should be in the morning so that we know full well what we're getting into. Be that so we can target our way down, or so we are not caught wholly unawares by whatever lies in wait down there. Fortifying a camp is our best option at the moment.

[DeadHunter]

Either way I say going down blind should not be an option. I leave how we descend to you two, by the break of dawn we move.

[Menteith]

While it'd be easier to hide if I made a ledge for us just below the cliff's edge, I'd rather not be awakened to another elemental cutting us off. I'll shape us a low wall that'll break the worst of the wind, and should stop anyone from easily spotting us, though it'll be silhouetted by the dawn. Ianril studies the area, nods to himself, and slams his hands into the sand, drawing up the solid stone beneath it.

OOC
Ianril will create a 5ft high, 6 inches thick wall of hewn stone (hardness 8, 90 hit points if hit points and thickness are directly related, see Hardness (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/exploration.htm)) encircling the camp. He'll use the cliff's edge as one of the walls, and will create a 30 by 20 fence (so 1 30ft side facing where they came from, opposite the cliff, with two 20ft walls between the cliff and the 30ft wall), with a 5 foot gap in the way they came from (taking up 162.5 cubic feet to create, or 10 casts of Stone Shape). He'll use his three 2nd level Trapsmith slots, sacrifice all of his second level Duskblade slots for 5 more casts, and sacrifice 4 of his first level Trapsmith slots for the final two casts. I actually had to work this one out on paper before I posted... yay for self made logic puzzles, I guess.

[Menteith]

Well, it's not much, but it'll give us a bit of protection should we be attacked in the night. Given a week to work, I could create a decent stronghold. Ianril sighes. But it'll have to do. I'm going to setup a drop trap in the entrance, so watch your step.

OOC

Ianril rigs up a Booby Trap: Drop Trap (Dungeonscape p54), using one of his Tanglefoot Bags and 1sp of materials. If any individual enters the square, the trap will make a ranged touch attack roll with a bonus equal to half the Craft [Trapmaking] result, throwing the Tanglefoot Bag at the target. Ianril will use Cunning Knowledge on this check, adding +3 (his Factotum level) to the check. Craft [Trapmaking] check: [roll0]

[Techwarrior]

"I'll take first watch. You all try to get some sleep, I'm a mite too jittery to sleep right now."

[Gurrdurr99]

I've no problem with that. Just one more thing. Andurik turns to the skeleton. Everything in this circle is an ally. Everything outside is an enemy. If an enemy makes it into our camp and starts acting threatening, exterminate with extreme predjudice. You may not attack anyone currently in the circle. This order holds until I wake up. Andurik turns to Dorian. Enjoy your watch buddy, Master Nightblade. And goodnight~

[Menteith]

Ianril removes his boots, and dangles his feet over the cliff's edge, looking at the ground they still need to cover. He considers trying to map out the ground below them, but decides against it. With the way the terrain can shift, it might do more harm than good, and as long as they can see their destination, they can use it to orient themselves. He takes out a chunk of the metal they retrieved from the corrupted elemental, and focuses intently on it, trying to see if any of the residual magic from the creature remains in the pieces.

OOC
Ianril casts Detect Magic by expending one of his Arcane Attunement uses, focusing on the Electrum they're carrying. If it's nonmagical, he'll stow it again, and doze off in the near one of the walls, using his Haversack as a pillow.

[Zaydos]

Menteith

There is a moderate aura on the electrum.

[Menteith]

Ianril furrows his brow and searches his memory for anything similar to the aura, trying to understand the workings of the magic.

OOC
Ianril will make a Spellcraft check to try and identify the aura. He'll use Cunning Knowledge on the check, for an additional +3 (can use it 1/day for each skill). Spellcraft Check: [roll0]

[Zaydos]

Menteith

A mixed aura of conjuration, transmutation, and evocation.

[Menteith]

Ianril frowns at the shard, and walks back to his companions.The metal we took from that creature is giving off an aura of magic, from a few different schools. Most magical objects or enchanted items loses their power when separated from their original source, but this aura is still of moderate strength. Either the creature we fought was composed of far stronger magic that I thought, to leave such an impression, or this metal still has magical properties. I can't say for sure what they might be; the schools I detected were conjuration, transmutation, and evocation, which could be any number of effects.

[DeadHunter]

Therius, listening to his companion as he makes his bed is not sure what to think of what he's told. He cuts straight to the point. Do you think it poses a threat? He didn't feel any different since he started carrying it. Still he was suspicious. He heads over to the ledge and looks if he can see anything. After a quick look he grumbles. Blast this open country and these cliffs. Give me structure. I could kill a village of trolls but a slip could quickly end me. He doesn't stay near the edge for long.

[Menteith]

Ianril considers the question carefully, and says, "It's possible that I'm only sensing the remnants of the magic that summoned or created the creature. Powerful magical energies can linger for hours, or even days, on the things that they've altered...and the magics I sense would be appropriate for a spell which summoned and bound a being into that form. But it's possible there's more to it that than - I can't say for certain. I don't believe that it's actively dangerous in any case, but you should be aware of it. I'll check again in the morning; if the aura's diminished in strength, I'll have a better idea of what it might be."

[DeadHunter]

Hhmm very well. The answer was sufficient enough for his liking.

[Techwarrior]

Dorian watches his comrades make their preparations for sleep, and readies his bow, watching the entrance to the cave closely, but occasionally checks the sky and around the stone 'fence.' He will watch for 4 hours, then wake up Ianril if he's not awake, then trance for 4 hours.

Spot: [roll0]
Listen: [roll1]

[DeadHunter]

Therius makes a round about the camp, searching for weak spots and for sign of easy access. His sceptical eyes trained by years of experience and hard-to-break routine comb the perimeter. He is very regimented when it comes to these things and his comrades find it quite predictable, yet appreciated. He walks towards the entrance and peers long and hard into the distance. After an hour he heads to bed, knowing well enough he needed the rest.

Spot
[roll0]

Search
[roll1]

[Techwarrior]

Oh, Dorian readies an attack with his bow covering the doorway. He will immediately fire at any immediately apparent enemy that comes through.

[Zaydos]

Deadhunter

While you're awake you do see a few creatures in the distance. They don't come closer, instead moving away. They were largish shapes, much larger than humans.

[DeadHunter]

As Therius looks across the landscape he notices something on the horizon, he speaks to Dorian who is keeping guard. Out on the horizon, I see shapes. They aren't men, they're larger then men. There's more then one but I can't count them. He is not sure what they are but he waits on guard for just over an hour to keep an eye out. The entire time he spent sitting in the sand with his back against a shadowy corner, small sparks lighting the twilight as he slowly sharpens his axe. The bursts of light being the only betrayal of his massive hidden shape in the shadows of the walls. The quiet sound of stone on metal echos through the silent camp.

Therius stands up and raises his free hand to his brow to block the last rays of light from his eyes. I can still make them out. He recieves a wordless look from Dorian whom he was guarding with. He makes a statement, attempting to anticipates his allies thoughts. They don't seem to be getting closer, in fact they actually seem to be getting further away, moving on. I don't anticipate an attack.

He turns and makes his way back into the base. If you see anything at all, and I mean anything. Raise hell. His massive frame disappears into the camp, his voice rumbling as he walks. Stay vigilant.

[Zaydos]

The rest of the night passes uneventfully, at least till all of you have slept and rested. The sun is still an hour shy of rising ((about 5 AM)).

[Menteith]

Ianril stretches out briefly, and rolls to his feat in a single motion. Good morning everyone. Let me know when you're ready to tackle the cliff. I'm ready to try floating you all down whenever you are; I'd rather get an early start to this in case it takes longer than I hope. While the group is preparing themselves, Ianril turns him attention toward the metal that had puzzled him the night before. Ianril had spent the night thinking of ways he could learn more about the magic on the metal, recalling his time spent in study. He vaguely recalled a spell that might help, and expends it on the electrum to see if he can learn more about it.

OOC
Prepares Identify in the place of Charm Person for his Arcane Dilettante. Mimics Identify as a Spell Like ability by spending a point of Inspiration, targeting the Electrum.

[DeadHunter]

A grumble comes from the minotaur as he begins climbing from his bed. He raises and begins his morning routine. I am ready now, let's move out. He grabs his axe and pack.

[Zaydos]

Ianril

The electrum doesn't seem to be enchanted, but simply still hold some lingering power from the beast; it would probably be useful for a craftsman seeking to make magical goods, though, as it could provide some of the energy for the enchantment.

OoC: It replaces part of the GP and/or XP cost of creating items (dependent upon what items is being made, for some it will replace part of one, for some the other, and for some bits of both).

[Menteith]

The metal we recovered isn't enchanted in the usual sense - while it bears no enchantment itself, it will readily take any new enchantment applied to it. Should anyone desire to craft an artifact, it could prove invaluable. Ianril finishes gathering his things, and approaches the ledge, looking down into the darkness.So long as the canyon hasn't deepened in the night, we should be fine....everyone, please make sure to stick near the wall, and try and stay in sight of the person ahead of you. Getting separated here could be the death of us all. I have an item for whoever is going first, to help ensure that we don't lose sight of them; any volunteers?. Ianril reaches into his bag and retrieves a glowing stone, which takes up an orbit around his head.

OOC
Retrieves a Dull Grey Ioun Stone enchanted with Continual Flame. It'll still emit light on someone enchanted with Gaseous Form, allowing us to meet up once we land, since we don't have Darkvision.

[Techwarrior]

"I'll go first." Dorian says, his voice surprisingly firm. He hesitates a second, looking like he's about to start speaking again, then decides against it.

[DeadHunter]

I will follow. Therius steps forward. It's obvious he wants to be over. Heights are not something he is entirely used to.

[Menteith]

Ianril approaches Dorian, and hands him the ioun stone. Keep this hidden until you've landed, else any in the land beyond will know of our presence. Once you've touched down, reveal it to us; below the canyon walls, the light won't carry, but from above, we shouldn't have a problem seeing it, and can use it to rendezvous. It might be safer for the two of you to go down together, just in case there's something down there; Once we see you've landed safely, and you've given a signal, the next pair of us will descend. Are you taking your horse down with you now, Dorian, or should I try and teleport him down last, when I go? Unless he's had flight training, it'll be simpler to teleport him after the rest of you are clear.

OOC
If you two are ready, and everyone else is active, Ianril will cast Gaseous Form on the pair of you, and wish you luck. Unless someone's got a great Handle Animal check (capable of pushing a wounded horse to learn how to fly as a trick), Ianril will just Dimension Door Silver down with him on the last trip. After you two land and give us a place to land, Ianril will Gaseous Form Andurik, his dragon, and Tyril, and Dimension Door down himself and Silver. Does that sound good with everyone?

EDIT
Gaseous Form (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/gaseousForm.htm) will last for 14 minutes, and grant you a flight speed of 10ft/round, which is enough to descend 1400ft. If the bottom of the canyon has lengthened in the night, we might be in trouble....good luck!

[Gurrdurr99]

On we go! Andurik eyes the electrum momentarily, a small grin curling his lips, then turns to Ianril. Shall we?

[Techwarrior]

"No, Silver hasn't been trained to fly. I'd love to take her with though, if you would be so kind. Sounds good to me."
Dorian takes the Ioun Stone and puts it in one of his pockets. He waits patiently for the magic, and then will go down the canyon.

[Menteith]

Alright, here goes nothing. Best of luck, and I'll see you in a few minutes. Ianril murmurs an incantation under his breath, and touches Dorian, his mount Silver, and Therius.

OOC
Casts Gaseous Form on Dorian, Silver, and Therius, expending 1 first level Trapsmith Slot and all of his 0th level Duskblade slots, sacrificing them through Versatile Spellcaster.

[Zaydos]

You manage to descend to the nearest ledge 245-ft down, a 5-ft wide precipice though one that looks unstable, without any problem. The wind is beginning to pick up, though (currently 10 mph) and will probably increase deeper into the canyon. The true bottom is still at least five times deeper, probably more.

[Techwarrior]

Dorian scans the cliff face, looking for the next precipice to go down to. If it's less than another 435 (what's left of range for Dimension Door since that's how Ianril said he'd come down.) feet he'll try and fly down to it, then give the signal. If he can't see anything that looks like it'll be acceptable he'll give the signal now.

Spot: [roll0]

[Zaydos]

There's another ledge, almost 400-ft further down, which seems to also go a good ways.

[Techwarrior]

Dorian heads for that ledge, as carefully as he can. Then gives the signal assuming he makes it there safely.

[DeadHunter]

Trying not to show his uneasiness, Therius makes no comments. Just looks at the drop and bares his large pointed teeth. He makes no sudden moves.

[Zaydos]

Dorian finds himself swiftly blown off-course as the winds increase in speed to a veritable windstorm as he goes further down. While he can still make it to the ledge, by the time he does so he'll be most of a mile away from where he intended to be.

[DeadHunter]

Therius lets the rest of his group work out the details. He knows well enough that another input would cause more bad then good.

[DeadHunter]

Standing on the edge, Therius is uneasy. He puts his axe on his back and keeps one hand on the wall at all times. He scans his field of view, trying to keep his mind off falling.

Spot
[roll0]

[Zaydos]

Cliff face for over two-hundred feet, your gaseous companion still down there somewhere in the wind. The winds are picking up even as you stand there, the faint scent of an oncoming storm in the air.

[DeadHunter]

Grr lets get moving, I smell a storm. His hand tightens on the cliffside.

[Menteith]

Do you want to try Gaseous Form, or do you think teleportation would be a better option? It'll spend almost all of my juice to teleport us all, although I think I'll have enough to get us all down....do you make out where he's been blown off to? If you can spot him or the signal, I'll start moving us toward him now.

[DeadHunter]

I cannot see him. Either way we must get down. Chances are we would all get blown the same direction but with the wind getting stronger it could prove disastrous. We may never find each other. I say if you think we can make it down by teleportation then that would be our best bet. It was becoming apparent that Therius was not a huge fan of taking risks. And heights to begin with weren't exactly his favourite thing to deal with.

[Menteith]

I think trying Gaseous Form will be safer, even with the wind....if I've misjudged the distance, then I'd leave half of us stranded here for another day, and I'll risk a breeze over a dragon's jaws. Gather close, everyone, and try and stay together as we descend. If anyone sees a light, let us all know so we can make for it together.

OOC
Casts Gaseous Form on the group, spending 5 Trapsmith 1st level slots. When everyone's ready, Ianril will attempt to fly with them down to the ground, changing position to a light should he see one

[Techwarrior]

Dorian looks around for the closest ledge that looks like he can make it to and aims for that, no matter what it's size is. Even if he can't give the signal, it'll be safer than getting blown far off course.

[Zaydos]

Dorian, having already been blown off course given his first dive, scrambles towards the ledge. He makes it back to the upper ledge, but only with some difficulties. He's still quite a ways off from the others but at least it is only a fraction of a mile.

[Techwarrior]

Dorian attempts to estimate how far it is from here to where they're supposed to be. Depending on the distance, he'll decided whether or not to give the signal.

(He doesn't know they decided on a new plan without him)

[Zaydos]

From the distance and angle it's difficult for you to see them, you think you can but it might just be some rocks or your own imagination. You think you're about half a mile away.

[Techwarrior]

Well, there goes that plan. Dorian will not be giving the signal, as he thinks they are way too far off to get to him in a controlled fashion. Dorian will attempt to go back towards them, being extremely careful to avoid being caught up by the wind again.

[Zaydos]

As the others land on the ledge the skeletal dragon, several times larger than the ground its attempting to stand on, slips falling towards the depths below. Even as it does the weak ledge gives way beneath the minotaur and dread necromancer hurtling them both after it. The dragon strikes on the lower ledge, but due to its bulk is too large to catch itself and fall yet again.

The necromancer and minotaur land, painfully, on the lower ledge.

Therion: takes 74 falling damage.
DN: takes 68 falling damage after DR.

[DeadHunter]

Immense pain runs through Therius. The pain was almost unbearable. He stands up, lucky to be alive. He looks up to where he fell then down to how much further to go. He then heads towards the back of the ledge and leans his injured body against it. Waiting to see what their next move will be.