Expedition to the Demonweb Pits (by Autopsibiofeeder)

[Autopsibiofeeder]

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/demonweb_gallery/103888.jpg



Expedition to the Demonweb Pits


Part One: Drow Attacks


The large metal gate you have been standing in front of is being opened by a very well-dressed servant. He motions for you to follow and guides you through a several acres large park surrounding a formidable mansion. You pass lanes with tall trees, stables, housing for the staff, mazes and an extensive garden with exotic plants before you are directed to a small terrace at the foot of the large pillars that mark the entrance of the mansion, which looks suitable as a summer palace for a king. However, the man that lives here is no king, not even nobility, but an extremely wealthy merchant by the name of Baldin.

The master of the house is already waiting for you and gestures for you to seat yourselves while yet another servant pours tea for everyone. Baldin is wearing white garbs of the finest silk and while obviously human, his short stature, broad shoulders, excessive jewelry and full but well groomed beard makes him look just a little bit like a dwarf. When everyone is seated and the servant follows up his pouring of tea with handing out small plates with little bits of bread, pate, herb butter and smoked fish, he starts talking.

“Welcome, my friends. My name is Baldin, as I am sure you have been informed. I must say I am truly delighted to be in the presence of heroes that come so well recommended by the king himself!” He takes a sip from his tea before he continues. “You being here means you have indicated to be willing to help me help the traders and merchants in this region, and beyond. As you can see, I am doing fairly well for myself, and I take my position as wealthiest and most influential merchant very serious. It comes with a responsibility to care for, shepherd if you will, my fellow merchants and traders and in order to do so, I need the hired help of the likes of you.”

He puts down his cup of tea while his expression turns from to proud and grand to grave, and his tone of voice lowers. “Times are dire for our trade, as Drow attacks and raids have been occurring more and more frequent. Most attacks are centered on the trade route to the south, where the Elven lands lie.” He stands up and starts pacing and gesturing. “It appears that the Drow are not just out for goods and money, but also to slay as many Elves and Half-elves as they can. This has led to considerable financial losses to the point where many families are in dire troubles, but also to the loss of many lives, mostly Elvenkind.” He takes his seat again: “You see, this is where you come in. This has to stop. I have received confirmation from the priests of Corellon Larethian in the south that they will reward you with a thousand gold pieces each if you can put a stop to this. I will match their reward. Moreover, I will, if you want, buy any treasure you find at standard rates for second-hand equipment without regarding its state or the potential to sell it again.”

He takes a piece of bread and starts smearing pate on it. “Two thousand gold pieces for each of you if you root out this Drow problem. What do you say?”

[PersonMan]

Airesynne admires the merchant's garden as her and her comrades go through it. It was a nice place, but impractical to defend. After a few considerations on where this Baldin needed to build redbouts, Airesynne shakes her head to clear those thoughts away. This wasn't Aurhaven. His garden would not become a battlefield, he didn't need to turn it into a fortification. She doesn't mind the walk - she's done a lot of travel on foot, even after she met Aliseya. The unicorn at least understood her enjoyment of the activity, and she didn't mind not having to carry a saddle for her. Smiling at the thought, Airesynne comes back to paying attention to her surroundings just as they reach their destination.

Taking a seat with the others - leaning her Aurpike against the back of her chair carefully - Airesynne quickly surveys the presented food as Baldin arrives. After he sits down she takes a brief sip of the tea. Once he starts to talk she listens intently, using a brief gap in his speech to take a deep breath, considering whether to start with the pate or fish.

When the man finishes, Airesynne nods. "A chance to prove our power to help those in a position of less strength, an opportunity to pit our strength against that of these drow in battle and a reward stacked on top? I am entirely ready to undergo this mission," she says, nodding with each point on her list. If one looks at her eyes - her crimson gaze is quite intense, even before one accounts for her eyes' color - they couldn't even tell that she was preparing a pate-fish sandwich while speaking.

Once the aurelian finishes her brief explanation, she turns to the food before her and begins to eat, washing it town with tea.

[Sallera]

Tani, too, studies the garden as they are led toward the mansion, although her thoughts run in a rather different direction. She can't help but admire the complexity, wondering whether each rare and valuable plant represents a strand of the merchant prince's holdings. The sheer scope of such an enterprise would be fascinating... but she'd probably get bored before she understood half of it.

Although she is wearing her best clothes for the occasion, the only difference from her normal outfit is slightly better repair; dun trousers and a long-sleeved grey shirt, sturdy leather boots and a charcoal-grey cloak that doesn't quite fit the season. Her usual floppy beret has been transfigured into a pair of silver hairclips, the method she usually uses to appear polite without actually needing to take off her hat. She could have made the entire ensemble appear much nicer than it was, but she never bothered unless she had a particular deception in mind - it wouldn't be real, so where was the attraction?

Tani listens politely to Baldin's request, slowly sipping tea and taking the occasional tiny piece of food. "I'm sure we can work something out. If force of arms doesn't work, we'll convince them one way or another that this isn't worth pursuing."

[Golden Ladybug]

Like the others, Vanna is aware of the proper etiquette of the situation, not going to see the Merchant as if he were armed for war. He left his bulging pack with the Merchant's staff (requesting that it is left undisturbed, with a calm certainty that it wouldn't be), and stowed his well-travelled Full-Plate, Longsword and his Battered Shield within his Ring with a twist of the Mithral Band.

Vanna takes the Tea and the small platter of food with a smile, before subtly passing his plate to Airesynne; he knew from experience that she would enjoy the meal more than he would, and he wasn't particularly hungry. He did keep the cup of tea, however. Breathing in the aroma, he took a small sip before placing his cup down.

As the Merchant explains his proposition and the circumstances leading to it, the Paladin's brow furrowed with concern. Increased Drow Activity was never a particularly good sign, and the few times he had fought against Drow Skirmishers in the past did not make for fond memories. He raises an eyebrow at the Merchant's offer of buying the odds and ends they retrieved from defeated enemies.

"I'm sure a Merchant of your station and skill will be able to find some use for weapons and armor" Vanna quips, smiling calmly, "and your offer is very generous. As Tani and Airesynne have said, we will do what we can to deal with this... "Drow Problem"

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Baldin tilts his head a bit upon Vanna's comment. With the hand gestures, both soothing and authorative, typical for seasoned and skilled negotiators he replies: "Hmm, well, you would be surprised how unpopular weapons and armor created to resemble or feature symbols associated with demons and evil deities can be. The Drow have their own distinctive taste and style." He smiles broadly: "I don't want to sell them to the people we are trying to fend off!"

"But dealing with such is my problem, and my specialty. I am very happy to hear you are willing to help us out. I hope that goes for all of you?" His friendly face turns to Vikungar and William.

[Seharvepernfan]

Vikungar seems unimpressed with the merchant's estate, though that couldn't be farther from the truth. His eyes scan down rows of flora, taking in as many details as possible before moving on. He has never seen such a display of plantlife, and is intrigued by it.

Dressed as he always is, and obviously armed to the teeth, Vikungar sits at the terrace without any apparent fear of not fitting the scene. Baldin's appearance and demeaner make him feel ill at ease; as if he were being judged as a dwarf. At the first scent of smoked fish, Vikungar's eyes move fleetly in search of the source, and a gentle smiles spreads across his face at the sight. Ignoring the bread and ...whatever the other stuff is, he calmly but enthusiastically digs into the fish. He shoots a distrustful sideways glance at the tea, but finds that he actually enjoys it, snorting at something dryly humorous to himself.

At word of the drow, he scowls slightly. He has never met or seen a drow, but given what he's heard about them, he hates their guts. Conversely, he admires the fair folk, paying close attention to every elf he's ever met (not many). The thought of them being killed by drow makes his blood quicken, and he experiences some inner excitement at the thought of actually getting to see an elven forest.

He meets Baldin's gaze, then nods solemnly.

[Mido]

Gate's well built.

William soaks in the scene beyond the gate. It was more aesthetic than defensible within the walls and he started to take note of the place's structural integrity by habit.

That pillar may very well fall in one hit though. They should really have someone check that one out for repairs. Must be an oversight.

He wore his full battle gear going to the meeting. He knew of protocol when meeting with nobles and royalty, but he always leaned towards practicality than propriety in these situations. One should always be ready to fight, even in times of peace.

He rested his shield and sword against his chair as he seated himself, well within arm's reach. He waived off the food and tea, as he had already ingested his necessary nutrition earlier for that point of time of the day. He found it imperative to stick to his proven regimen, even in terms of food.

He listened intently at the wealthy merchant's plight and offer, and as he finished explaining the ordeal and asked for his and Vikungar's input, William gave a decisive nod at the request.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

"Great!" Baldin claps in his hands loudly once in excitement, and promptly a hand ful of song birds that were hanging out in the bushes nearby fly away in panic. "I have a guest house behind my own house, which will be at your disposal for as long as you are on this quest. Day or night or whenever necessary you can come by, my personnel will recognize you and will cater to your needs."

He grabs a wooden board with upstanding edges and puts it on the table. A hand full of sand goes in it which he smoothens and then he starts to draw with his finger.

http://imageshack.us/a/img802/7601/baldinsareamap.png

"To the north east is the road to the king's palace, where you came from. My house is here in the bend." He looks up to make sure you follow. "Follow the road to the south and you will find the junction to the city of Volan. Go straight, don't go to Volan, but go towards the Elven lands. Another eight miles further there is a traveler's hut that is free to use by travelers." He counts and gestures. "Say, fifteen miles total. You can stay in the hut, just leave some gold if you make use of the proviand there." He draws a big circle around the hut. "This is the area where most attacks occurred." He stops drawing and looks up: "This is a good point to start, I reckon."

In his eager and excitement, Baldin does not stop talking. He looks up to the sky and continues: "'Tis late, though, almost time for dinner." He smiles. "You can spend the rest of the day and the night here in my guesthouse, if you want. I don't know if you still want to arrange for things, or if you want to leave immediately?"

OoC to all:
15 miles is about 6 hours of travel at speed 20, and it is around 4 pm. This means that leaving now, or soon, is an option but you will have to push on and then will arrive pretty late. It is summer now, so you would arrive just about when the daylight slims.

[Golden Ladybug]

"That is very generous of you, Baldwin" Vanna notes at the mention of the Guest House, smiling at the Merchant "I thank you for your offer of hospitality"

He pays close attention to the rough map Baldwin sketches for them, and takes care to listen closely to his words. Thinking over the issue, he look over at the rest of the group; Vikungar and William neglected to remove their armor, and both were ready for battle (He supposed that he was also, as his own equipment was only a twist of his ring away), and Airesynne was rarely opposed to situations that brought them into conflict with strong foes. Tani was the wild card, and he had an inkling she would enjoy spending time around the Merchant's estate.

"If my companions do not object, I'm afraid I must decline your offer of hospitality" Vanna politely shaking his head in response to the Merchant's offer, "I feel that finding the root of this problem swiftly would be to our mutual advantage, and I wouldn't want to impose upon your kindness"

Taking another sip of the Rich Tea, Vanna looks at the others to see if they are of a different opinion as to what course of action they should take.

[Seharvepernfan]

Vikungar, chewing a mouthful of fish, absentmindedly rubs his thumb along the blade of his axe, which is sitting across his lap. He nods as Vanna speaks, thinking that now is as good a time as ever to get a move on. Dark elves probably won't let us fight on our terms anyway.

He swallows the last of the fish, then gulps down his cup of tea. "Aye."

[Mido]

"I must concur with Vanna and Vikungar. Withholding this mission for one more day may give these raiders more chances to press their luck further in their heinous acts." He replied as he surveyed the crude map that Baldin presented to them.

"Although I do have concerns in locating these drow." He continued, interweaving his fingers in front of his face as he rested his elbows on top of the table. "This incursion seems to require a bit of tracking and from what I can remember, none of us has an aptitude for such. It may well be unwise to just stumble into their area of influence without a means to locate their band, much less their base camp."

He directed his gaze towards their employer, his posture remaining stoic.

"Sir Baldin, If you could recommend anyone that could track effectively, it would help a great deal in the success of this endeavor. They need not fight, just locate. We'll take care of that part."

[Sallera]

"Oh, I don't know about that." Tani smiles softly, studying the map. Vanna probably had the right of it; weary travellers, late at night? Who better to draw the attention of bandits and raiders? Nodding slightly, she sits back again, letting the ends of her sleeves fall over her hands. "We just need to be targets. Vanna has the ring trick, Airesynne can pass as an attendant, and I can look like... this?" Tani's clothing shimmers for a moment, before shifting in appearance to something that's almost a mirror of Baldin's outfit, albeit in royal blue instead of white. "Or... less fancy." Several pieces of illusory jewelery disappear, and the cut of the cloth shifts to something more suitable for travelling.

She shakes her head vigorously, and the motion seems to dispel the illusion, returning her to her original appearance. "Wealthy and harmless, anyway. They'll see two guards for a travelling merchant's party, not five serious threats."

[Autopsibiofeeder]

The consensus seems to be in favour of leaving now and Baldin nods: "All right. At least take a moment to finish your tea, and please don't forget to fill your waterskins with fresh water at the well." He points at a well some fifty feet away. The well is decorated with a statue of a woman carrying a bucket of water in one hand and a baby in the other. Once you are ready to go, Baldin wishes you the best of luck and guides you to the gate himself. He again stresses that you can come to the mansion at any time should you be in need of a save place to rest.

The road you travel on is well maintained. The first two miles it leads you through farmland and small thorpes, but then the forest takes over. The tall trees are all full of leaves, so this part of the trip is a bit cooler and a bit darker. You do not encounter any other travelers. It looks like people choose to avoid traveling in the evening and night. Your only company is each other, many birds and a hand full of squirrels. After about six hours of traveling, you see a small clearing in the forest featuring a small house on one side of the road. A sign above the door reads "Traveler's Rest"

Knowledge (religion DC10)
These huts are established and maintained by the church of Fharlanghn.

The house is small but very practically decorated so it can hold up to eight people. There is a small amount of food, as well as all kinds of utensils needed to facilitate daily life. You can cook, heat a fire, wash some clothes, etc. Near the door is a small box in which you can deposit some money at your own discretion.

Here is a map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AgBF08i13s81dHEwSGdqUGZZMEgyYmIzdjdtR3liV Xc&usp=sharing)

[PersonMan]

Airesynne, in agreement with the others and recharged by the food, nods as the plan of luring in the drow is brought up. It was certainly the easier strategy and it meant that they were less likely to be, for example, surrounded by a large defensive force at the main camp on their approach. A few raiders would be easier to deal with.

The trip is fairly enjoyable; Airesynne considers bringing Aliseya to the mortal realm to chat with her, but then she remembers how, the last time she had done so, the unicorn had complained greatly about how unbelievably slow they all were. Not interested in riding out in front of the others either, Airesynne decides to leave her companion in the celestial realms, so she can prance about and graze on the apparently wonderfully sweet grass there.

Once they arrive at the house, Airesynne puts down her Aurpike and claims her room in doing so. After a brief look around, she approaches the others again.

"I don't know about you all, but I'm starving. I'll make some food," she says. "Any requests? Apart from tomatoes, I'm feeling up to make just about anything,"

Airesynne gets together enough plates, bowls and mugs for a feast and begins a chant, almost song-like, a crimson aura slowly building around her and energy jumping between her fingers as she channels her power. The others know that this is her standard procedure for when they arrive somewhere - she's going to make a massive amount of food for tonight and the following morning. Essentially all of it meat.

It doesn't have much taste on its own and Airesynne takes out a slim crimson device, a simple magic item she brought with her from her homeland. As she has in the past, she uses it to flavor the food once it takes shape from the rippling red energy that flows onto and into the prepared dishware.

Once the food is prepared - the whole process takes ten minutes of chanting and bringing the energy into order, then another minute to properly flavor everything - Airesynne sits down and, smiling to the others, picks up a fork and knife. She, obviously, starts with some of the meat.

After eating and giving the others time to do so as well, Airesynne uses the still-active device to clean the cleared plates and then stores some of the remaining food to be eaten in the morning. It all stays good for exactly one day's length of time, she's told the others in the past, after which it starts to fall apart quickly.

Once that (and the next) day's sustenance is taken care of, Airesynne goes out on the hunt for the second of her great joys: a hot bath.

[Golden Ladybug]

Thanking the Merchant formally before they leave, Vanna strolls along with the others in the middle of the group, hands held behind his back as he walked. Without his armor on, he seemed much more carefree and had even managed to shed some of the weariness that seemed to plague him of late.

If we weren't on our way to walk into a Drow ambush, this would be quite pleasant, he thought, chuckling softly.

When the group arrived at the Traveler's Rest, while Airs began preparing food for the others (his custom of eating the muselli and grain from the magical pouch he carried was known to them; it was simple, but it sufficed) he took the opportunity to make a slow circuit around the building, his gaze passing lazily over the grass, the trees and the raised slope. After circling around, the Paladin strolled back to the house itself.

Poking his head through the doorway, he took stock of the interior and the markings of the God of Roads that signified who maintained the rest stop.

Vanna then strolled back to where Airesynne was preparing dinner, and unlimbered his pack and sat down, smiling warmly at his companions. Retrieving a small clay mug from his pack and the leather pouch at his belt, he recited the Celestial phrase that filled the mug with water and began to eat and drink, putting on every appearance of being completely relaxed and defenceless.

In the 10 Minutes that Airesynne is creating food and water from the raw magical energies at her finger tips, Vanna will be doing some snooping.

As he walks around the area, Vanna will use his Detect Evil ability to inspect all the trees, grassland and empty spaces for Evil Auras. If we've got any well-hidden or invisible guests that just happen to be Evil, it'll be nice to know about it. I would assume that Vanna has enough time to get a decent look at each of the trees and the general area shown on the map? Detect Evil has a range of 60ft as a Cone Shaped Emanation, which is almost enough to stand in the centre of the map and get a good look at everything.

However, Vanna is going to walk around anyway, so that he can get a good look at everything with his mundane vision as well as his Detect Evil. If he notices any Evil Auras, he will pause while he waits for all three rounds of observation, then continues on.

As with outside, he'll take a gander inside the house with Detect Evil before returning to the rest of the group. If he noticed any Evil Auras, he'll wink at the others. Lets pretend they discussed this tactic on the way here :smallwink:

Knowledge (Religion) [roll0]

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Vanna:
You find no evilness, and you do have enough time and opportunity to give the area a good look-around. The only thing you notice are some traces of fights in the past. Snapped treebranches, squashed bushes and a broken spear, specifically. No idea how long, but these fights might have been weeks ago.

[Mido]

He gave a slight nod to Baldin as he saw them off in their journey. He had been a gracious host, and he felt it a bit lacking in decorum now for having come in his battle gear.

William took point on the long trek towards the Traveller's Rest. He was the "guard" in this little ruse that they had cooked up on the spot, and it had to seem like the travelers had some form of protection or they would seem suspicious. He kept his sword and shield drawn at the ready the whole trip. He was thankful that he did not have to act any differently at all from how he already was since he had difficulty in performing deceptions.

The trip turned out to be uneventful and they reached the Traveller's Rest without much delay. He took note of the humble establishment's makings, taking note of it's structural integrity were anything other than shelter from the elements be required of it. He found it apt to offer a gold piece or two to the god of travel since they had such a safe one, dropping two gold pieces in the box beside the door.

Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering) on Traveller's Rest
[roll0]

He set his pack in one of the rooms, as soon as the group went inside. While Airs readied their food for the night, he exited and stood beside the door, scanning the immediate surroundings for any sign if they were followed or being watched. It seemed that Vanna had the same idea as he walked around the house, surveying the scenery as well.

Several minutes later, he entered the house again, just as soon as Airs finished casting her spell and the food was made available to the party. Honestly, he had no need for it since he had acquired his magical ring that provided him with enough sustenance, but it was always nice to enjoy actual food as much as he can, especially those prepared by Airs. He could never glean what the healer puts in the food she conjures, but it does give it a certain distinct flavor. He found it enjoyable gorging into the meaty fare.

Soon as he finished his meal, he pulled a chair and placed it about a dozen feet or two facing the front door.

"I'll take first watch for the night if we don't have anything else to do but rest." He declared in a matter-of-fact manner."I can go just about the whole night but someone will have to take over later on so I too can get some manner of rest. Anybody willing?"

[Sallera]

Tani resumes her disguise as they leave Baldin's, doing her best approximation of the travelling clothes of a wealthy merchant. Fortunately for her, the hat's illusions made no difference to her actual clothing, so the walk was as comfortable as ever. More so than usual, in fact; the weather was nice, the road pleasant, and Vanna's good cheer quite infectious. It was really quite easy to forget that they were trying to attract a drow attack... but not so easy that she doesn't raise a subtle defensive field around her as they leave the forest.

Nonetheless, nothing out of the ordinary materializes, and that will have to do for the night. Perhaps there are none around, or they are waiting for the deeper darkness, but either way, sleep is a necessity. Tani dispels her merchant guise as they sit around the table; the illusion was as stifling as the real thing, after a while, albeit not in quite the same way. Airesynne's cooking is... as usual, far too rich for her tastes, and after a few exploratory bites, she follows Vanna's example and takes some dried fish and simple bread out of an apparently-empty pocket of her cloak.

"I'll take over for you when the time comes," she offers to William. "Although if we're lucky, something interesting will happen before then."

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Dinner has been had and Airesynne managed to take a small bath behind the building, where there is a tub that can serve as bath and as a laundry site. Twilight turns to dusk and as talk of watch is happening, Vikungar hears some noise outside. After he alerts you, everybody can hear it: The distinct clanking of armor and weapons dispels the evening quiet.

When you look outside through the window, you notice four large creatures. Their silhouette makes you think they are Ogres, but their movement is weird: Slow, jerking and one of them has his head twisted on his shoulders (not to mention the one that seems as if his knee bends the wrong way around when walking).

DMrolls:

Vikungar [roll0]
Vanna [roll1]
Tani [roll2]
Airesynne [roll3]
William [roll4]

Ba [roll5]
P [roll6]

[Sallera]

"Speaking of interesting..." Tani grins as she looks out the window. "Looks like we've been spotted. Not drow... but probably their pets. That one doesn't look like he ought to be walking around; figure we've got dead things after us?" Her hand drifting into a closed pocket, Tani fiddles with a ring, slipping it onto her finger, but not revealing it yet. No need to show a light until they had to. And dead things were... well, there wasn't much of anything she could do to them anyway. No minds to touch; she'd have to find their master.

[PersonMan]

Airesynne, already in a good mood after a filling meal of meat, meat, with a side of meat and a wonderful bath afterwards, is positively ecstatic as the ogre-things are spotted. Especially as they seemed to be undead - while her chosen enemy was death, rather than simple mortal combatants, she did relish the opportunity to sear such beings with her power.

"Wonderful, evening entertainment. I hope their leader is around here somewhere, pitting ourselves against a few shambling corpses won't really be a test of our power after we've done so so many times in the past..." Airesynne says, smiling a bit as she remembers the necromancer's servants.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Since you are not charging out immediately, the approach of the Unogres is followed by a taunt. A female voice is carried by the wind. Its source is hidden, but its message clear: "Come out, you cowards, and meet the wrath of the Spider Goddess!"

[Sallera]

Tani giggles, looking around at the party as her visage changes to that of a long-haired drow in robes of a cut she'd not be caught dead wearing in her real form. "Shall we? If you catch sight of the leader, point her out to me, and I'll prod her a bit."

Disguise: [roll0]

[Seharvepernfan]

Vikungar finishes his mouthful of summoned food, then simply grins. He moves to the window to peek out and get a better look, while shuffling his shield and axe into readiness. ("Of course they attack during dinner. Drow.") He shakes his head at some silent thought.

Spot check, please. I'm trying to get a good look at these unogres, and also to see if I can spot the dark elf, if she's here.

EDIT: Also, don't forget my dwarven bonuses, please, if any of them are going to (be) applicable.

He also silently indicates the alchemical arsenal on his bandoleers to the group, reminding them that he has them available if they want any.

[Golden Ladybug]

"Come out? Well, why not humour her? Vanna whispers to the others, and gets to his feet.

"Tani, I'll do what I can to find the Drow woman for you" He tells the Psion as he straps on his Bracers and pulls his Cloak around his shoulders. The situational irony was not lost on him; he'd taken this cloak the last time he'd come into conflict with the Drow, and it had served him much better than it had its previous master.

The other item he withdraws from his pack is the Warhammer he carries; two twists of his Ring later and it is stored within the ring as well. In his experience, a Hammer is a good thing to have on hand. He grins at the others, trusting that they'll have his back if he needs it.

Strolling out the door, he stands on the road and looks at the towering Ogres with his hands raised non-threateningly in the air.

"We don't want to fight you!" He calls out, looking around the clearing for any signs of life. "Please, just tell us what you want? We don't have to be enemies, and nobody needs to get hurt tonight!

All true statements, and a rather pertinent question. Vanna would prefer not to fight, and if they could subdue their attacker without bloodshed he would be rather happy with that. He didn't expect that to happen, but it would be nice.

Okay, so Vanna is trying to do a lot of things at once here. When Vanna walks out of the hut, he'll go stand in K18.

First of all, lets make a Diplomacy check. Avoiding a fight altogether would be great, even if... you know, Ogres and Fervent Lolth Worshippers.

Diplomacy [roll0]

He'll also try to bring to mind what he knows about this possibly not alive Ogres, and the Spider Goddess

Ogres - Knowledge (Religion) [roll1]
Lolth - Knowledge (Religion) [roll2]

IF he has time to do so, Vanna will start up his Detect Evil (unless it has a really obvious visual effect; I don't want to look like a Lighthouse of Evil Detecting when I'm trying to be discreet :smallbiggrin:) and take a look in the direction of the Ogres. Which, unless I'm mistaken, should be able to cover the cone made by these Squares.

L18 - M17 - N16 - O15 - P16 (Wall) - Q13 (Obstructed by the Wall, Vanna won't be able to see these) - R12 - S11 - T12 (He can see this though) - U14 - V16 - W18
L19 - M20 - N21 - O22 - P23 - Q24 - R25 - S26 - T25 - U23 - V21 - W19

...sorry if that doesn't make any sense :smalleek:

If he doesn't see anything evil besides the Ogres, and he hasn't been attacked by Ogres yet, Vanna will incline his head so that his Cone is facing south, which should catch everything on the map up to between K19 - Q25 / J19 - D25. If that turns up nothing, he'll stop with the Detect Evil and start readying an action to activate his ring and put on his Armor and Weapons if someone makes an aggressive action towards him. So, he'll be ready if something attacks him 12 seconds from now :smallbiggrin:

If he gets attacked in the mean-time, he'll use his Shadow Cloak of Charisma to teleport 10ft away from his attacker by spending an Immediate action. A very worthy purchase, if I do say so myself.

Vanna has Darkvision 60ft, and he'll scan the area around him when he walks out of the hut. So, if there's anything just standing around in the darkness not trying to hide, hopefully he notices it.

...phew, that was a lot of stuff

[Mido]

No sooner had he rested his sword and shield against his chair had Vikungar been alerted of the shambling ogres' presence.

Well, that didn't take long at all.

He put his weapons and defense at the ready as Vanna whispers his plan and walks into the fray.

Daring plan. Better back him up.

"Vikungar" He whispered to the dwarf, who himself was already on high alert. "I'll try and give him cover if this turns up badly. See if you can get at a better angle so you can get into position to search for whoever that was that just asked us to come out. Me and Vanna will keep those ogres busy. Airs, Tani, keep yourselves out of sight until they are well enough busy with the three of us."

Crouched down, he made his way beside the doorway that Vanna had left open and put his back against the wall, keeping an eye on the paladin as he tried to talk to their guest. He kept himself at the ready if any of the ogres or anything else neared Vanna in a menacing manner. If they drew any closer, he planned to block their path and attack in kind.

Moving to J15, trying to keep myself hidden as best I can. If any of the ogres charge or moves to attack Vanna, I'll charge to block them from reaching melee range, preferably landing on M18 if it can be helped, also putting in full combat expertise bonuses if I do so.

edit: Ok, taking into account Airs' action, that raises my ac up to 30 if I'm not mistaken, so I would like to waive my declared combat expertise bonuses earlier and change it to power attack +5, which in this case adds 10 damage thanks to Uncanny Blow.

[PersonMan]

As Vanna describes his plan, Airesynne cracks her knuckles and draws upon her power, a faint red aura outlining her as she stokes her magic to its full strength. Closing her eyes she concentrates, listening to the paladin as she considers her wards.

"I have some things that I wouldn't mind adding," she says. Airesynne chants quietly for a moment - you hear a few words she commonly uses, those being 'Airelle', 'Macht' and 'Schutz', then a wave of energy washes out from her, followed by an expanding of the aura around her. It isn't visible for long, but it reappears when she casts another spell as Vanna begins to move away, stronger this time.

Finally, Airesynne simply tenses for a moment and her aura expands yet again, covering those nearby with yet more protective energy. Unlike the first two, it doesn't bring with it an uplifting confidence, but it does have a feeling of safety to it. Tani can also detect another force - it's not as useful to the others, but it imbues her abilities with a greater tenacity to aid them in cutting through the resistance of beings such as the drow.

"I'm in such good spirits, I might break out an old battle hymn," she murmurs as she finishes. "Anyways, that's everything for now. Let's get to work!"

OOC:
Just a quick note: Macht = power, Schutz = protection

So, stuff happening here.

With my full round I'm using Mass Conviction to give everyone a +3 morale bonus to saves. Lasts 9 minutes. 20' AoE I can place anywhere within 190 feet, so I should be able to hit all of us.

Partial action (standard) is Divine Protection for a +1 morale bonus to AC (and saves, but it's overlapped by M. Conviction). Lasts 9 minutes. Same AoE and range at Mass Conviction.

Then I'm using an immediate action to bring up Protection Domain's aura. Allies within 30' gain a +4 sacred bonus to AC. Lasts 1 minute.

Also, Draconic Aura (Power) is up, so we also have a +2 bonus on CL checks against SR. Assuming magic-psionics transparency, this will help Tani do her thing.

Looking at the map now, I just realized the distances are way shorter than I expected. I can cover everyone with all my auras, I think, without any difficulty.

Put Airesynne at L15.

[Seharvepernfan]

Before Vanna walks out to speak with their enemies, Vikungar slips a potion vial out of his bandoleer and drinks its' contents while peeking out the window. Seeing the ogre-dead, and listening to Bill whisper plans, he quickly decides to drop his shield to wield his axe two-handed. "Aye, lad!"

Hearing the ogres' boots grip the dirt of the road in a sudden lurch forward, and Vanna's sudden intake of breath, Vikungar tears out of the hut with every ounce of speed he can muster. He races straight out, nearly touching Vanna in his dash to the slope. "Good luck!" He sprints up it, then turns sharply left, heading in the direction of the ogres.

Drinks a potion of Protection from evil.

Runs to K23, jumping if necessary, then to Q24, in a double move. He kneels (not drop prone!) at the end of his movement, assuming that doesn't take an action, for a little bit more concealment in the grass. He's looking for the caster, but doesn't have enough time for a dedicated spot check.

Assuming the ogres still count as giants, his AC against them is 29, and 25 against everything else, with an additional +2 from the attacks of evil creatures.

[Sallera]

Tani, for her part, is quite confident in Vanna's ability to protect her if necessary, and this part of the plan required her to draw out the drow leader. "What do drow hate the most? Other drow, of course," she says to no one in particular as she softly weaves layers of protection around her body. Stepping out to stand a little way behind Vanna, she adds an invisible field of energy conversion before calling out in a bored voice.

"I think you might be wasting your time, dear. I do believe the scarcity of drow smart enough to realize their blind fanaticism is eclipsed only by that of those who act on the realization." Not that she knew more than rumours on the subject, but rumours were quite sufficient for a bit of taunting, and she ought to at least make an effort to stay in character.

Preparation round will be spent manifesting a 9pp Vigor and moving to I17. Partial round action will be to manifest Energy Adaptation (resist 20 to all types).
As a reminder, Tani is currently in the guise of a drow priestess, but not one of Lolth. (Disguise 27).
Concentration (suppress display, Vigor, DC16) - automatic success.
Concentration (suppress display, Energy Adaptation, DC19): [roll0]

[Golden Ladybug]

"Don't be rude, Tani" Vanna says with a Grin, quickly understanding what the 'Drow' was planning, "there's no reason we can't find a peaceful solution here"

"Isn't that right?" He calls out, looking around the clearing for their hidden enemy.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Vikungar:
When you gaze out the window, you notice immediately that these Ogres are zombies. You don't see any sign of other foes, though. After you have run out, and are positioned on the elevated bit of grass, you hear something. The soft voice of a chanting female. A priestess? She is close. Very close. And casting spells.

Vanna:
You recognize the Ogres as zombies. Swords are optimal for fighting them. You also know they tend to be slow.

Enforced with Aire's magic, Vanna moves out and calls out his plea. He is met with female laughter and undead groaning. Their response is unequivocal: the horrors with rotten flesh charge Vanna. Just before, Vikungar rushes to the hill followed by William who speeds out to intercept the undead. Both William and Vanna are struck once with an enormous wooden club as the two nearest Ogres manage to clear the distance and attack, the other two shuffle to a spot close to you, but are not yet attacking. Vanna takes a serious blow to his head, while William manages to block the blow. Vanna calls out his armour and William retaliates: he buries his sword deep into the undead's rotten flesh.

Vanna:
You take 24 damage (I rolled a 20).

William:
You block the attack, and I took the liberty of rolling your attack roll. You hit, but I am not sure which weapon you used so please roll damage.

MAP (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AgBF08i13s81dHEwSGdqUGZZMEgyYmIzdjdtR3liV Xc&usp=sharing)

Rolls:

W:[roll0]
[roll1]

V[roll2]
[roll3]

William: [roll4]
[roll5]

[Mido]

"Would appreciate it if you could clue us in on the plan next time." William jested. "I guess they weren't open to diplomacy then eh?"

His blade cut into the shambling ogre's molting flesh as he charged into the fray. Although it was a telling blow, as he had put much weight into his swing, it didn't feel all that damaging because where a normal adversary would scream in pain at this instance, all William heard was the unholy moaning of the undead monstrosities.

He felt power in the creature's strike as he deftly blocked it's retaliation. It boggles the mind how something that's barely coordinated could hit so hard. Vanna was less fortunate however as one of the ogres landed a blow of it's own on him.

We need to thin their ranks fast. We still have no idea what other forces they have out here. Hopefully Vikungar's having better luck than me and Vanna.

He focused his attacks on the ogre he struck earlier, putting the same added weight to his strikes.

Attacking the same ogre I hit with my charge earlier with both of my attacks. Declaring Power Attack +5 again, that gives me a +13/+8 on my full attack to hit with +22 to damage again.

First Attack
[roll0]
[roll1]

Second Attack
[roll2]
[roll3]

[Golden Ladybug]

Reeling from the heavy blow, Vanna stumbles but manages to keep his footing. A turn of his Ring later, and he is armed once again; his loose cloak fills up with the familiar weight of his Armor, and his Shield appears at his Arm. The Warhammer falls to his feet, unneeded for this battle while his Sword leaps to his hand.

Vanna forces himself to recover his stance and brings up his Shield and Longsword, ready to fight.

"Apparently they are not, but what sort of Paladin would I be if I didn't try?" Vanna replies, spitting out a gob of blood.

"They're not living; stabbing them or hitting them will do little good. Only a blade will put them down" He shouts to his companions, hoping that Vikungar could hear him, wherever the Dwarf had gotten to.

He'd never liked fighting against the Undead, but one thing that had always intrigued him was that his own healing touch seemed anathema to them. Calling upon the spark of Divine Magic that was nestled within him, Vanna felt his aching body bolster. Suddenly, this battle didn't seem so unwinnable.

Outstretching one Gauntleted Hand with his sword held loosely in his grip, Vanna touched the closest Ogre with the tips of his fingers - and with a flash, he unleashed a torrent of energy into the Ogre's Corpse!

Hmm, that's an inauspicious start to the fight :smalleek:

As a Swift Action, Vanna will cast Divine Favour with Battle Blessing to give himself +2 to hit and +2 to Damage for the next minute.

Since a group of five 9th level characters is fighting against a mere four Ogres, I think its safe to say that my full Lay on Hands will probably be insufficient to down one, I think I'm just going to pile it all on. I have my Spirit of Healing still waiting in the wings to pick up the slack if I need something healed later in the fight.

Although, it is a shame I can't use it offensively. Its got a lot more Positive Energy to burn then I do.

So, a 45 Damage Lay on Hands, as long as I can make a Melee Touch Attack. Here's hoping [roll0] (please not a 1, please not a 1)

[Seharvepernfan]

Vikungar ignores the melee going on down by the hut, focusing his senses on the bluff around him, scanning the grass for any sign of habitation. His blood begins to run faster, and he can feel the warmth of his anger rising.

His axe held out in front of him in his left hand, his right arm cocked back and ready to grab and throw, he shouts above the din, "She's up 'ere!"

Making a dedicated spot/listen check as a move action, and readying a standard action to quick draw a weapon and throw it if he manages to make out where she is. If she's within 30ft., he throws the net, if she's farther than that, he rages and throws his shortspear.

[Sallera]

"Is she now?" Tani grins in anticipation, taking her hand from her pocket and letting the pale blue light of her ring spill across the field. Focusing her senses on the incline where Vikungar stands, she lets her attention to mundane sounds lapse, listening instead to the echoes of thoughts rebounding from the hillside. Not always effective... but a good deal more accurate than the information her ears provided.

Tani will manifest Read Thoughts (a 60ft cone centred on Vikungar's location), with a Will save at DC18 to resist the effects. (Oh, and I suppose she'll catch everyone but Airesynne in the cone along with the presumed drow, which could actually be a minor benefit for silent communication if they don't make their saves. :3)
Spell resistance, if needed: [roll0]
Concentration to suppress display, DC17: [roll1]

[PersonMan]

Airesynne, hearing the distinctive sound of Vanna being whacked in the face (to be honest, she couldn't actually tell where he'd been hit, but she liked to boast that she could), exits the hut. Seeing the multiple ogre zombies, she grimaces and tries to remember the precise rhythm of ducking and dodging she needed to use to get to Vanna without exposing herself.

Quickly realizing that she has no idea what she has to do, Airesynne gives up and, after a zig-zag that would have been embarrassing if anyone was watching her rather than the battle, simply rushes over to Vanna. Now for the fun part.

Again a crimson aura builds around her, and Airesynne extends her arms, red energy surging from her palms as she puts them on Vanna's back at the easiest opportunity.

"Vanna, you don't have to catch their clubs," she says, sending a wave of her power through his body. That was a good one, Airesynne thinks, Not a mark on him, now.

Actions:
Move: Walking to Vanna. Just too far to five foot step to him...oh well.

Trying to Tumble (DC 15) to avoid AOOs: [roll0]

Fail. So, now at K17. Vikungar is precisely 5' outside of Aura of Protection.

Standard: Healing! Using a Cure Moderate via Spontaneous Healer. Converting a Calm Emotions to CMW.

[roll1] 10 from CL, 4 from Augment Healing

If I take an AOO and am damaged, Amulet of Retributive Healing if it's more than...let's say 10 damage.

Fluff will come once I see whether or not Airs can tumble through and how good the healing is.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

William dismembers the Ogre next to him, which collapses promptly as Vanna forces her jolt of divine power through yet another one. In addition to the blow dealt by William with his swift strike as the Ogre passed in his charge on Vanna, this utterly destroys the undead. It crumbles to a pile of bone fragments.

Aire works her healing magic while Tani probes for thinking minds. Sadly, she does not find any at first. But then two Drow charge in from the west side of the house. Carrying greataxes, they charge Tani and Aire with bloodshot eyes and uncontrolled frenzy. Luckily, they both miss. Their minds are easy to read, even without the aid of magic: Glaaaargh! Blood! Kill!. In the meanwhile, William and Vanna skillfully evade the blows by the two Ogres that still stand. It seems like that one blow was a lucky blow.

Vikungar focuses his senses. While he does not manage to pinpoint the lady, he gets a good idea of her general location. She is up in the air, ten feet perhaps, just north of Vikungar. He throws his net in the general direction and gets lucky: The net sticks in mid air and the lady shrieks and curses. While still invisible, her secret has been compromised. Vikungar hears her uttering the words of a spell. When she finishes, she appears: A tall elf with the well-known pitch black skin and white hair clad in a black dress. Over the dress, she wears a chain shirt which is also black and features a purple spider web pattern. On her belt are many daggers, most of them look ceremonial.

I need everybody except Vikungar to make a will save (vs spell effect, mind affecting, enchantment, compulsion) before they can act. Vikungar can act freely.

Updated map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AgBF08i13s81dHEwSGdqUGZZMEgyYmIzdjdtR3liV Xc&usp=sharing)


V Spot:[roll0]
V Listen:[roll1]
V attack roll (Optional): [roll2]

O1 (V): [roll3] ; [roll4]
O2 (W): [roll5] ; [roll6]

B1 (T): [roll7] ; [roll8]
B2 (A): [roll9] ; [roll10]

[Sallera]

Tani sways back and forth, avoiding the drow's crazed swings without seeming to pay any attention to them at all. In fact, she is quite focused on a spot a few feet in front of her face, her eyes tracing a lazy path across the field. "Fireflies," she murmurs, one hand swinging up as though to poke the drow next to her in the eye. "Four and nine, lines of white, dance without meaning. You can't read it, so move; you're blocking my view."

[PersonMan]

Airesynne sighs as (at least) two or her comrades start babbling. Wonderful, she thinks. Weaving back from the new enemies, using Tani's waving to give her an opening, she digs into her stores of power again. "Is that all you can muster, blasphemer? My kid brother could cast a stronger spell. In his sleep," the aurelian taunts, leaning back to yawn just as Tani said something about fireflies again.

Oh, right. That.

"Hey! Be quiet! I am the cure for what ails you!" Airesynne shouts, her body briefly glowing with power, her robes fluttering in a nonexistent wind before the energy crashes outwards silently, invisibly. On another level of reality, the blast of energy was very real: slamming into the magic around the minds of her allies like a nose-horn into a stone tower, it shook the foundations of its grip on them.

Actions:
5' step to L17.

Cast Mass Resurgence. All allies are being hit, apart from Vikungar who's out of the AoE but that's ok.

[Mido]

Hacking and slashing, he took down one of the blighted behemoths and was relieved to find Vanna had downed another one with his more subtle abilities.

Alright, that's two down, now to-

"hold the sword about three-quarters of the hilt up to effectively wield in one hand, taking note to improve grip for long term utility."

His brow furrowed hard as to the absurd turn of events. Two drow jumped into the action, and what he had in mind was to jump in between Vanna and the other remaining ogre to free him up to engage the new arrivals, but now all he could do was drone on about random things, despite his impulse to do otherwise.

"Of course, wielding the blade with both hands still provides the most efficient way of putting as much weight to your blows as possible."

Cursed! Damnation I hate mages!

[Seharvepernfan]

Vikungar glances down at the melee with a look of uncertainty. The battle down there just got a lot deadlier, but the girls seemed to be avoiding the beserker's axes at the moment. ("Airs can handle this.")

His blood now running hot and fast, his pulse thundering in his ears, he shoots an evil look at the priestess above him while slipping a potion from his bandoleer. He drinks it and takes a step forward, growing nearly as immense as the ogres as he does so, veins on his forehead and neck bulging. Now within arm's reach of the sorry spider-kisser, he speaks in an unexpectedly moderate (though now much louder) voice, "You will pay."

Takes a move action to draw a potion of enlarge person, and a standard action to drink it. Now large size, he takes a 5ft. step into Q22. He now threatens the square she is in, and the square above that. He also rages, as a free action.

If she provokes an AoO by casting a spell, he will attack her with his waraxe two-handed, @PA 3.
Waraxe: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
If critical:
Waraxe: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3]
(could you imagine?!)

If she provokes an AoO by moving, either up or down and away, he will try to grapple her.
Melee Touch/Grab: [roll4]
Hold: [roll5]
Unarmed Damage (Subdual): [roll6]

[Golden Ladybug]

Permitting himself a small smile after the burst of Positive Energy annihilates the Zombie, Vanna grips his Sword and prepares to engage the next Ogre, trusting that both Tani and Airs would be able to hold the-

Images! Sounds! Light! Fog! No...Babble! Laugh! Cry!

Unprepared for the sudden Mental Assault, it takes all of Vanna's discipline to avoid succumbing. The Paladin reels, head still ringing from the Ogre's club (even after Airesynne's healing Magic had repaired the wound, he still felt the sting of the blow; his age must be starting to show), but does not fall. It would take far more than this to floor him, one who had been called "the Anvil"!

Two slashes with his blade at the Ogre's midriff as he catches his feet, twisting his feet and hips to generate the momentum for the follow-up; stabbing the metal spike that adorned his Shield into the Ogre's decaying torso. The Zombie would resist some of the damage, but not all. They would wear these Monsters down, that was certain.

Settling back into a defensive stance, the Paladin took stock of the situation; two of the Ogres downed, but they had been replaced by the Drow Beserkers that even now threatened Tani and Airesynne. The Drow woman who had called out to them, trapped in Vikungar's net as the Dwarf furiously attacked her (he hoped that even in such a Rage, the Dwarf would still be able to restrain himself from killing the Mage; she was clearly the best one to question as to the Drow's motives)

And, closest to him; William, spouting nonsense with his face screwed up in effort as he tried to overcome the compulsion he had been placed under.

"William! Snap out of it!" Vanna cried out, looking at his comrade ensnared by the enemies spell with shock on his face. Taking a step towards William, Vanna outstretched his Sword Arm and touched his fellow warrior with the tips of his fingers and focusing on the small flow of Divine Power at his disposal.

After narrowly passing a Saving Throw, Vanna will start on killing the crap out of this Ogre... which I doubt I'll be able to do in one full attack, since damage output isn't really Vanna's forte

Longsword 1 [roll0]
Damage [roll1]
Longsword 2 [roll2]
Damage [roll3]

Shield Bash [roll4]
Damage [roll5] -5 for Damage Reduction :smallwink:

Those attack rolls are just atrocious :smallannoyed:

Vanna doesn't have Resurgence prepped, but what he does have is Protection from Evil, which will suppress the Compulsion effect for the next 6 Minutes :smallsmile:

Vanna will take a 5ft step to L18 and use his Swift Action to cast it on William.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

As combat progresses the balance appears to tip back and forth. Aire manages to undo Tani's disoriented state of mind, but not before Tani has wasted a few valuable moments doing nothing. William is still in no frame of mind to do combat. It turns out this team is well coordinated, and executes a tactical plan. The drow that had been fighting Tani steps up to Aire and attacks her, bunching up on her with his fellow barbarian. Two greataxes fly through the air and strike true. The first hit delivers a painful blow to the healers arm, but the second causes a near fatal gash in her abdomen. Staggering from the force of the blows, Aire needs to act swift and with purpose if she wants to live to tell the tale ((Aire, you take 23 damage from one blow and 42 from the second, a crit)).

Vanna does battle with both the Ogres now. It seems that the Drow priestess commands them well. They both swing their clubs at him, but fail to pierce his armor. Vanna delivers a shield bash and a longsword swing, inflicting a moderate amount of damage to the Ogre in J-K/19-20 ((20 damage)).

Vikungar is facing the priestess. While he was prepared to whack as she began spellcasting, he finds out she is very good at combat casting. Too good. She utters a small phrase in a language that sounds horrifically evil as Vikungar feels a boiling sting in his eyes and blisters forming on his face. The dwarf needs all his fortitude to prevent collapsing ((Vikungar, make a Fort save)).

With William out of action, Aire lethally injured and Vikungar fighting an evil curse things look dire at the moment. Everybody may now act, except William, who continues to babble incoherently.

Updated map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AgBF08i13s81dHEwSGdqUGZZMEgyYmIzdjdtR3liV Xc&usp=sharing)


DMrolls:

Casting defensively: [roll0]
If fail concentration: [roll1]

Barbarian (Aire): [roll2] ; [roll3]
Barbarian (Aire): [roll4] ; [roll5]

Ogre (Vanna): [roll6] ; [roll7]
Ogre (Vanna): [roll8] ; [roll9]

[Sallera]

As her thoughts snap back into more normal patterns, Tani is less than pleased with the state of the battlefield. "Idiots. Don't touch Airesynne," she mutters, looking up at the priestess Vikungar has locked down for her as she shuffles away from the bloodthirsty barbarians.

From anyone else's perspective, she appears to do very little - there is no impact, no light save the one she carries on her finger, and only her fixed stare to indicate her target. To the drow priestess, however, the effect is immediately obvious - a crushing grip around her will, amplified with every force Tani is capable of throwing at it, even some of the barrier she created earlier as she channels the protective shell back into her assault. That's enough. Call off your forces, and I'll call off mine. We have things to discuss.

5ft step to H17, and hit the priestess with a Dominate. Specifically, a Dominate Overchanneled to ML11 (duration augment) and imbued with Greater Endowment and her Psionatrix, for a Will DC of 24. If it succeeds, Tani will mentally issue the order in italics above.
Concentration to avoid display, DC19: [roll0]
Overchannel damage: [roll1]
Spell resistance: [roll2]

[PersonMan]

Airesynne blinks and looks down at her wounds. Even as injured as she is, she stays stable, rather than swaying or falling as those with less experience might. When she speaks, it becomes clear that she's hurt pretty bad - her words are thickly accented in a way they normally only get when she's been drinking heavily.

"Tssss, typical man, you. Straight for the woman and y'can't even do it right," Airesynne says, gesturing at the massive gash in her stomach. Stepping back, nearly stumbling, she frowns and turns to William. "And you! Villi, stop slacking!" Her aura builds quickly, and she almost misses him with her outstretched arm before landing her hand on his shoulder. Healing power surges through it and Airesynne's amulet glows briefly as it does, redirecting some of the otherwise lost energy into her own wounds.

Finally, Airesynne puts a hand to her temple and mutters something about "Sorry for the bad timing, but..." before she speaks a few words in a melodic tongue. A split second later a unicorn appears in front of her, glancing quickly across the scene to assess it before letting out a neigh-esque sigh.

"Really, Airs, these folks again?" Aliseya asks exasperatedly, touching Airesynne with her horn briefly before turning it towards the drow, this time much more theateningly.

Actions:
Move-equivalent: 5' step to L17.
Standard: Panacea on William. [roll0] to him and me. He's also cured of a laundry list of status effects, including confusion.
Free: Summon Aliseya.

Aliseya
Free: Gripe about the kind of stuff that goes on whenever she gets summoned.
Standard: Using Cure Moderate Wounds SLA on Aliseya.
Spell-Like Defensively: [roll1] (Assuming I can't give her ranks in Concentration due to having done this in the past) vs DC 17
[roll2]

[Seharvepernfan]

Vikungar takes the evil spell right to the face, subconsciously ignoring the pain, his fury and innate dwarven fortitude standing firm like a mountain against the weak drow magic. Face tight with vengeful anger, he grunts and swings his axe in a powerful overhead arc, it's blade singing through the air. "Rrraahhhhgh!!!"


Attacking the priestess @PA 1. Full-attacking if the first one fails to drop her (unless that's against your rules, in which case he just full-attacks from the start). If it does drop her, he will move down into rows 23/24, then over to I/J 23/24.
Waraxe: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
If critical...
Waraxe: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3]

Iterative attack:
Waraxe: [roll4]
Damage: [roll5]
If critical...
Waraxe: [roll6]
Damage: [roll7]

[Golden Ladybug]

With Airesynne (moderately) safe, her rather gruesome injuries knitting themselves back together, he pushed up towards the Berserkers that had dealt such a dolorous blow to her. They were a much larger threat than the Ogres right now; he'd been blindsided by the first attack, and avoiding their clubs had proven simple enough.

The Drow had almost killed one of his Companions, and they had Tani cut off.

"I am your opponent now," Vanna informed the two Drow with a hint of anger in his voice, weaving through the almost mechanical attacks of the Ogre Zomkies, "If you aren't so cowardly to run from a fight where the odds are stacked two-to-one in your favour, that is"

Hoping that his taunts were clear to the rage-addled Drow, he slashed laterally across the closest Drow's body, reversing the swing with a practiced motion; and bringing up his Shield using the momentum of his back-swing!

I don't really want them attacking Tani, since getting to her is going to be tough since we're so boxed in. Hopefully I can get them attacking me, where my high AC and decent Health will keep our friendly neighberhood Psion safe.

Longsword1 [roll0]
Crit Confirm [roll1]
Damage [roll2]
Crit Damage [roll3]

Longsword2 [roll4]
Crit Confirm [roll5]
Damage [roll6]
Crit Damage [roll7]

Shieldbash [roll8]
Crit Confirm [roll9]
Damage [roll10]
Crit Damage [roll11]

Woooow, this Dice Roller just seems to hate me at the moment.

[Mido]

"The enchantment upon the evergreen plains of the island of air has diminished in quite the platonic of fashion. It is certainly of coihsfadhmc that lines of defense could zadesiuymup the best fidutsomvizljg."

His condition worsened upon the passage of such short a time. Where as the first instance he was at least able to draw sentences together, now it has degenerated to absolute gibberish at parts. He became discombobulated as he tried to withhold his errant, uncontrollable speech to focus on the tasks at hand, but his body could not reply in kind.

As he struggled to concentrate, he saw a glimpse of a familiar vermilion sight swirl somewhere in the battlefield. It was one he had grown accustomed to, Airs' familiar magic. He felt the weight of the healer's hand upon his shoulder pauldron, and he felt the babbling haze dissipate, his mind clearing as he started to feel his arms and legs respond truthfully to his intent.

"Sdychg, ppicoy shuycl nad Y visik upon you, a vengeance for toying with my mind, you sad, cowardly bunch of spider offal!"

He gripped his bastard sword tightly, holding his shield at the ready, his focus more intense than ever. He was mad, not unhinged but angered nonetheless. He surveyed the ensuing battle and found where he could direct his fury.

He takes a step to the right, enough so he could reach the second ogre while keeping the first pre-occupied. If he could free up Vanna, he would be able to cover the girls and handle the newly arrived berserkers. He brandished his sword as hard as he could, aiming to take down the hulking undead in the fewest blows as possible.

Gonna take a 5-foot step to L18
Full Attack on the ogre on K19
Declaring Power Attack +10 for an overall bonus to damage of 32 sans the roll.
Gonna post my rolls on the OOC for this at the risk of my rolls wonking out on me on an edit.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Since Aire dispels your confusion before your initiative, you can follow up your babbling with some swordplay this round, William.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aire manages to partly restore her health and fully restore William's mental composure. Maybe the next round the warrior will also regain his aim. Tani attempts to compel the priestess to surrender, but she finds that the woman is warded against this type of magic: The compulsion slides off her as if it was never cast, frustratingly enough.

Vanna finds himself in the midst of the melee and evades two greataxes and a greatclub. Likewise, William effortlessly shrugs off the Ogre's efforts. The paladin strikes at one of the Drow with sword and shield and manages to deliver some serious damage ((28 damage)).

Vikungar finds that the priestess, albeit frail in composure, is quite geared out for melee combat. He manages to hit only once, and barely at that: if it hadn't been for the net restraining her reflexes, Vikungar might have missed. Nevertheless, every hit counts and given her reaction two of these blows might have been to much for her ((25 damage)). The servant of evil takes a moment to cast a spell, carefully avoiding any opportunities for the Dwarf to attack her, after which it looks like she is no longer impeded by the net.

Will the evil priestess have more tricks up her sleeve?

Everyone may act.

Updated map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AgBF08i13s81dHEwSGdqUGZZMEgyYmIzdjdtR3liV Xc#gid=0)

DMrolls:


Drow (Vanna): [roll0] ; [roll1]
Drow (Vanna): [roll2] ; [roll3]
Ogre (Vanna): [roll4] ; [roll5]
Ogre (William): [roll6] ; [roll7]

Priestess concentration: [roll8]

[Seharvepernfan]

"RRrAaHHhhgGh!!! זונה!"

Growling and cursing in frustration (and in dwarven), Vikungar continues his furious assault on the dark elf. Concern for his friends skitters across the edge of his conscious mind, and a tactical calculation quickly slips into gear. He swings a little more accurately with a little less force.


Virtually a repeat of last round, except with no power attack. Also, if my first hit drops her, I will instead quick draw his spear and throw it at the back of the nearest ogre.

Waraxe: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
If critical...
Waraxe: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3]

Iterative attack:
Waraxe: [roll4]
Damage: [roll5]
If critical...
Waraxe: [roll6]
Damage: [roll7]

or
Shortspear: [roll8]
Damage: [roll9]

[PersonMan]

"I know a unicorn who would love to meet you," Airesynne says, stepping back further from the drow berserker and chanting in a melodic language for a few seconds before, in a surge of light, a unicorn appears before her.

"Another battlefield. Of course, Airs, of course. Who are you fighting this time?" Aliseya asks, dipping her head and touching her horn to Airesynne's own forehead.

"Raiders of some sort. They attacked us and, well, I can tell you the rest later," Airesynne says, breathing deeply as her wounds close.

Turning to the drow berserker on one side, Aliseya whinnies loudly, raising briefly onto two legs and lashing out with her hooves, ready to skewer her enemy. Her time with the aurelian healer had eventually given her a taste for battle with evil - the thought of permanently removing a threat to good creatures, rather than merely healing wounds made by them, filled her with resolve.

Actions:
5' step to M17.
Summon Aliseya.

Aliseya:
SLA Defensively (Concentration DC 17): 19
CMW Result: 13

Permanent Magic Circle against Evil gives her everyone but Tani and Vikungar the benefits of a Protection From Evil spell. So +2 Deflection AC and +2 Resist to saves vs evil creatures.

[Sallera]

Tani pouts as the priestess's mind slips effortlessly from her grasp. There was to be no easy end to this one, apparently. "Ah, enough already. Enough flying around, enough tricks, and enough cheating barriers! Don't make me ask my questions to your corpse."

Ignoring the threat of the nearby berserkers as thoroughly as she had since they appeared, Tani lets out a deep breath, focusing on the priestess's magic instead of her will and doing her best to tear it apart.

Targeted Dispel on the priestess. Use as many checks as you need.
Concentration to suppress display, DC18: [roll0]
Dispel: [roll1]
Dispel: [roll2]
Dispel: [roll3]
Dispel: [roll4]
Dispel: [roll5]
Dispel: [roll6]
Dispel: [roll7]
Dispel: [roll8]
Dispel: [roll9]
Dispel: [roll10]

[Mido]

"Tch!"

Perhaps that was too rash.

He was ready to end any enemy that he could reach, but he was not in the right frame of mind. With both his frenzied attacks striking air, he began to empty his mind, focusing on the basics.

Striking hard is useless if I can't land the blow. Words and anger are for later, now we fight.

He closed his eyes for but a brief moment and the world began to calm. As he opened them, his tense stance loosened, he let loose a couple more attacks at the ogre he missed, with both resounding offensives a little more under control.

Full attack on Ogre 2
Declaring Power Attack +5

First Attack on Ogre 2
[roll0] Attack Roll
[roll1] Damage Roll

Second Attack on Ogre 2 (if already dead, target ogre 4)
[roll2] Attack Roll
[roll3] Damage Roll

Cleave Attack on Ogre 4 (if applies)
[roll4] Attack Roll
[roll5] Damage Roll

[Golden Ladybug]

The wild swings of the Berserkers and the Ogre were easily avoided on the Paladin's part, and his counterattack is swift. Striking out against the same Drow, with the grim understanding the only way to protect his companions would be to end this quickly.

"Are you okay, William?" Vanna asks his friend casually as he hefts his Longsword overhead and brings it down savagely, twisting around to slash it across the Drow's chest after the first strike. The shield followed quickly after, the array of spikes tearing flesh as they ripped across the Drow's skin.

If the Drow drops before my Full Attack finishes, Vanna will direct the remaining attacks towards the other Drow, but I doubt that they'll go down that easily.

Longsword1 [roll0]
Crit Confirm [roll1]
Damage [roll2]
Crit Damage [roll3]

Longsword2 [roll4]
Crit Confirm [roll5]
Damage [roll5]
Crit Damage [roll6]

Shieldbash [roll7]
Crit Confirm [roll8]
Damage [roll9]
Crit Damage [roll10]

[Autopsibiofeeder]

The battle seems to reach a climactic end. While Aire summons in reinforcements to help ease the wounds, Tani sends a blaze of disruptive magical energy towards the priestess. Well aware of what is going on, the priestess grunts and turns her eyes towards the telepath. She is distracted, however, by the dwarf who delivers a painful blow which is easier now with some of her magical protection gone. The depth of the hatred in her eyes as she eyes Vikungar, challenging him to do that again, is beyond measure. The axe swings again and with a grim grin the dark elf collapses and falls to the ground.

In the meanwhile, Vanna and William do battle with the Ogres and Drow. William manages to down his first target with his second strike and follows through with a blow on the other Ogre. Vanna does well in damaging the Drow barbarian, but not well enough to down him. While the Ogre continues to bash on William's armor in vain, the Drow barbarians have different plans. They both charge Vikungar, the reason for the death of their mistress. With a loud roar the dwarf is confronted with two spinning axes approaching him at high speed.

The only thing standing between Vikungar and a painful experience, is the swiftness of his comrades: William may make an attack of opportunity on Drow1, Vanna may make one on either drow1 or drow2. Will they manage to slay the barbarians before they reach their friend?

William and Vanna do your AoO. Then I will resolve the charges on Vikungar. After that, everyone may act.

Updated map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AgBF08i13s81dHEwSGdqUGZZMEgyYmIzdjdtR3liV Xc&usp=sharing) (barbarians shown on the square they aim at, halfway the slope, downed foes in grey).

DMRolls:

good rolls in OoC.
Drow1 (Vikungar): [roll]1d20+16[/roll ; [roll0]
Drow2 (Vikungar): [roll]1d20+16[/roll ; [roll1]

Ogre (William): [roll]1d20+10[/roll ; [roll2]

[Mido]

Having downed the ogre threatening Vanna, William guided the momentum of his blow to strike the last remaining ogre. It struck true yet the brute stood. Amidst all this he heard a familiar scream, of that who had fallen in combat. Vikungar had trumphed on his end. Apparently, it had agitated the berserker enough to rush to her side, damning anything in their way.

No you don't!

He took advantage of his opponents' sudden lapse in concentration and aimed to trip one of them. He had trained enough with his sword that, even without a scythe's angles, he could use it to trip up his opponents effectively, using it's innate length and weight.

AoO
Trip attack. It shouldn't provoke attack of opportunity since I got the exotic trip ability for the bastard sword which makes it a tripping weapon.
[roll0] Trip Touch attack
[roll1] Trip Strength check

[Golden Ladybug]

Looking over at Vikungar, who stands over his defeated foe with anger in his eyes, Vanna cringes. Hopefully the Drow still lived, so that they could question her about her motives after the battle.

But that wasn't important right now; the priority was to prevent the remaining Drow from reaching his friend. They only needed one alive to question.

Swinging his Shield with all his might, he slammed the spikes into the back of the charging Drow, hoping that this might be enough to bring him down.

"Smite Evil" Vanna intones, feeling his body bolstered by Holy Power.

Hitting the same guy I've been bashing previously, who I assume is Drow2? Well, anyway, hopefully I don't miss and hopefully this downs him. Then hopefully the other one is tripped over (hopefully :smalltongue:) and then we can question them.

I don't want to just kill them all and have to get ambushed again tomorrow night :smallbiggrin:

Shield Bash [roll0]
Crit [roll1]
Damage [roll2]
Crit Damage [roll3]

...of course, they might not be evil, in which case those values are -5 and -9 respectively. I'm preeeetty sure they're evil, though.

...Wooooow :smallannoyed:

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Vanna tries to finish off the Drow he was fighting as it runs away, but misjudges the speed of the Drow and buries his sword a few inches in the ground. Quick-witted, William decides to try and trip the other Drow. For a moment it looks to succeed, but the barbarian manages to just keep his balance in the end. They both run up to Vikungar and swing wildly, crying and roaring. They end their move halfway the steep slope, and put all their energy into the attacks. They strike true and the Dwarf gets seriously injured ((75 damage)). On the upside, they both slip and fall prone at the base of the slope Vikungar was standing on the edge of.


Trip: [roll0]

Balance1: [roll1]
Balance2: [roll2]

[Sallera]

"Stop doing that!" Tani says, petulantly shoving her hands in her pockets (momentarily forgetting that the illusion cloaking her doesn't have any, to rather odd effect). The priestess was down, but Tani could still try and snare her minions; pulling a mental leash tight about their throats, she attempts to force them to back down in a more direct fashion.

Another Overchanneled Dominate on both drow barbarians, two points going toward duration and two for an extra target. (Of course, they also get a free +6 to their save from drowness and rage, but at least they don't have a high base and high wisdom to go along with it... *sigh*)
Will DC is 22. If it succeeds, Tani will mentally order them to drop their weapons and sit down.
Concentration to suppress display, DC19: [roll0]
Overchannel damage: [roll1]

[Seharvepernfan]

Hearing the wildly-charging beserkers coming towards him, Vikungar silenty spins his ogrish bulk in their direction, axe already mid-swing.

THWACK!

THUNK!

THRIIIP!

"RAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"

In three seconds of horrific violence, the blood spilled in this battle doubled. Sporting a new crevice in his ribcage, and a sickening crack in his skull that shows more white and soft pink interior than any living creature has a right too, with blood streaming down his face and torso, Vikungar silently takes advantage of his superior reach and higher ground. His face a mad grimace obviously wracked with incredible pain, Vikungar swings his axe in a mighty downward-arc, seeking drow flesh.


I think I should have had an AoO, since I now have 10ft. reach, so that's what this first attack is. Also, I believe I have height advantage.

Waraxe: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
If critical...
Waraxe: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3]

Full-attack @PA5 (they're prone, so what the hell).

Waraxe: [roll4]
Damage: [roll5]
If critical...
Waraxe: [roll6]
Damage: [roll7]

Iterative attack:

Waraxe: [roll8]
Damage: [roll9]
If critical...
Waraxe: [roll10]
Damage: [roll11]

Vikungar attacks whichever one looks the most wounded first, and if one of them goes unconscious, he attacks the next one with any remaining attacks. He does not move this round, instead he holds his ground and waits for an AoO when they stand up (if they ever stand up again). If they both go unconscious, and he has an attack left, he does not use it.

[Mido]

Stronger than I thought. William thought frustratingly as the drow slipped through his attempt to render it prone.

He hoped that Vikungar could handle two more enthusiastic combatants. His impulse spurred him to rush to his aid, but he had to dispatch the last of the undead. He had given it a good thrashing, and he had surmised that it takes a few of his hits to actually take it down for good.

The others will handle it. I hope Vikungar can hold until then.

"Grraaaaaaah! Hyaaaah!" He shouted in kind as he imparted two attacks upon remaining ogre.

Full Attack on the last ogre, declaring power attack +5

First Attack
[roll0] Attack Roll
[roll1] Damage Roll

Second Attack
[roll2] Attack Roll
[roll3] Damage Roll

[PersonMan]

"That looks painful," Aliseya remarks as the unicorn sees Vikungar's great wounds.

"What a keen observation," Airesynne replies.

If the ogre zombie is "killed" by William's attack
Airesynne, taking care to not trip over the thing's corpse, walks over it and avoids getting too close to the berserker drow. Speeding up a bit as she approaches the slope, she climbs up it quickly and approaches Vikungar from the side, keeping out of the remaining drow's reach.

"Don't take it personally, but I'm going to make sure our prisoner doesn't bleed out before I fix that. And that. And - oh, that doesn't actually look so bad. Oh, it's bent the wrong way. I can fix that, too," Airesynne says, looking for signs of life on the drow woman.

If the ogre zombie is not "killed"
Airesynne goes around the edge of the fighting, avoiding the wide swings of the zombie and the threat of the drow combatant. Scrambling up the slope, she briefly crouches next to the fallen drow woman and examines her for signs of life.

"Don't take it personally, but I'm going to make sure our prisoner doesn't bleed out before I fix that. And that. And - oh, that doesn't actually look so bad. Oh, it's bent the wrong way. I can fix that, too," Airesynne says as she does so.

Aliseya, seeing the battlefield almost entirely cleared just as she arrives, lowers her head and charges across the field, quickly closing the distance between her and the last remaining opposition to impale it on her horn.

Actions:
Using Withdraw.

If the ogre zombie goes down, Airesynne will move over it and go to P24. Assuming the corpse and slope are difficult terrain or an equivalent, this takes exactly 60' of movement, which is my max distance with a withdraw.

If the ogre zombie does not go down, Airesynne loops around and goes up the slope to end up in R22.

Either way, I'd like to make a Heal check to check if the drow is still alive.

Heal: [roll0]

Assuming the ogre zombie is down, Aliseya is charging the remaining drow berserker with Smite Evil. She now occupies O or P 19-20, depending on which one is alive.

A: [roll1] EDIT: Forgot, +2 from flanking.
D: [roll2]

AC down to 16 until next turn.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

One of the Drow barbarians racing to Vikungar to swing at him gets intercepted by the Dwarf's axe. In a dying effort he manages to connect with Vikungar's armor, but the only result is a soft *clunk* before his body slides inertly to the bottom of the slope. The other Drow ends up next to his friend, but this one if very much alive and content with the heavy blow he just dealt. Even after a mighty blow by Vikungar and a crushing charge by a Unicorn you all have seen a few times before, he is still seething. Surprisingly, though, he throws away his weapon and spits on the ground.

William has by now found his true aim and form back and swiftly dispatches the Ogre zombie like only a warrior of his stature can. Vanna regards the combat field and, again, pleas for the capture of at least one foe.

Tani:
Success. You connect with both Drow, but with one the line drops dead pretty much immediately. Feels like he is gone for good. The other one obeys, and sits at the bottom of the slope.

Aire:
I put you in Q21, since you'll have to be there to do the heal check. You can check both the Drow. The priestess is dead beyond healing, as is the barbarian.

New map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AgBF08i13s81dHEwSGdqUGZZMEgyYmIzdjdtR3liV Xc&usp=sharing)

Four destroyed Ogre zombies, two Drow down and one literally down on his knees. It looks like the battle is over. Everybody may act.

DMRolls:

Willsave drow1 [roll0]
Willsave drow2 [roll1]

[Seharvepernfan]

Vikungar, red, wide-eyed, teeth-bared, breathing heavily, bloodsoaked, stares intensely at the drow below him for a few seconds, looking as if he is deciding whether or not to split it's skull. Then, a look of slight confusion and coming-to crosses his face, and he quickly scans his surroundings, taking stock of the scene. He lays eyes on his friends, then sighs in relief and almost seems to shrink. As Airs is examining the prone and unmoving drow beside him, he stares at her, and then them, in what can only be a guilty look. He opens and closes his mouth a few times, as if stumbling over what he is about to say. "...I, eh...I feared we might lose ya."

After a moment, he looks up to the rest of the group, and nods with respect to each in turn. Vanna and William did well, despite unfavorable conditions, and although he didn't actually see Tani do anything, he knew she was critical to his own victory and survival.

He breaks eye contact awkwardly, as usual, and then somewhat sheepishly offers to do any lifting and moving of the bodies, while he's still in his ogre-sized state (apparently not aware of the gaping crevice in his skull).

After examining the bodies (and retrieving and rebundling his net) and questioning the survivor, he'll go chop some firewood to release the stress of his rage (and restock the shelter), before coming back in to finish his food, clean up, and discuss things with the group. I'm mentioning it now in case things progress faster than I can keep up later.

[Sallera]

Tani claps her hands with a grin, dispelling the illusion; it didn't serve much purpose any more, and she was not fond of the image. "Fight's over! Time for some patching up. Don't kill that one, Vikungar, I've got him under control." In a rather more literal fashion than the phrase was usually meant, at that.

Come inside and take a seat, she commands her temporary servant. I have questions I need answers to. And aloud, "Once everyone's injuries are dealt with, we'll have a little chat with our new friend here. And I mean that the way it sounds," she adds with a mock glare. "No shouting, threats, or sharp implements necessary."

With a deep breath, Tani centres her mind, regaining the focus she had lost in the fight, and follows the drow inside. Relax your mind and lower your resistances, she commands. I will heal some of your wounds. Some people in her profession would call this next step overkill, and most of the time it probably would be, but she only had one prisoner, and keeping a drow on side while asking him to reveal information was notoriously difficult. Better to give him less reason to struggle.

Laying a hand lightly on the elf's worst injury, she touches a hand to one of the pale stones on her belt, channeling healing energy once, twice, and... once the routine is established, channeling something quite different. A much more subtle compulsion, to change his view of her to someone he had less reason to resist commands to reveal information from.

Ok, this one's a bit complicated. In game terms, Tani commands the drow to lower his spell resistance and voluntarily fail his Will saves so she can heal him (don't want him dying when his rage wears off, or something). This is partially true, but she's also tacking a Charm onto the end, so a Bluff check may or may not be required, depending on your interpretation of the level of control granted by a Dominate (she's trying to avoid giving him any extra saves, here, of the 'against the subject's nature' variety).
Bluff, if necessary: [roll0]
Then healing, from the Healing Belt: [roll1], [roll2]
And a Psionic Charm with Greater Endowment (she regained her focus before all this), Will DC19 if she doesn't successfully convince him to voluntarily fail his save. Automatic success on suppressing the display.
And regain focus again.

That should get us ready for the interrogation.

[PersonMan]

Airesynne smiles at Vikungar's apology. "You don't need to feel guilty about your strength," she says, surrounding her right hand with a sphere of crimson energy with a flick of her wrist. At first she seems to be moving to give him a heavy pat on the arm, but seeing a large wound there the aurelian reconsiders and instead prods his arm, the energy flowing through her finger into his body. At the same time, the amulet hanging from her neck glows red for a moment and she is surrounded by wisps of red energy.

The effect on both is immediately visible. Their wounds begin to close with clearly supernatural speed, bone regrowing, new blood pumping through the reformed veins and new flesh being created to fill the gaps that were left by weapons. After about one and one-third minutes, even Vikungar's massive wounds are entirely gone, with energy still flowing from his skin in waves that make it clear that the power put into him is still ready to work on new wounds.

Cracking her knuckles and neck, Airesynne turns to Aliseya and nods. "I'd love to keep you here, but as you always say, the celestial realms are..."

"Less boring! Yes, please. I'd stay and chat, but you all seem to have business with your prisoner here," Aliseya responds, disappearing into shimmering red light a moment later, as Airesynne nods and focuses for a moment.

Turning to see Tani healing the drow with her implements, Airesynne chuckles lightly. "Really, do you think I've run out or something? If they weren't so dead I could put together all the drow here, I'm pumping with power," she says. For someone who was on the receiving end of an axe not more than two minutes ago, she's quite chipper. This post-battle happiness is normal for the healer.

Amulet of Retributive Healing-ing Greater Vigor. We're now both fully healed, as it heals for 84 over the duration.

[Mido]

William let loose a skilled downward swing of his sword and the ogre broke down, it's unholy pieces falling unceremoniously to the ground. He directed his attention towards his dwarf friend, but it seems that that scuffle had been resolved, with two drows apparently dead and one incapacitated.

He swung his sword to the side with force, flinging whatever pieces of the undead that clung onto it to the ground. As he sheathed both his sword and shield on his back, he recounted the battle in it's entirety in his head.

It seems I still have much work to do in terms of shielding my mind as well as my body. I am of no merit to anyone if I am enchanted again, or even if I just lose my temper.

It was a good fight all around. Suffice it to say, he believed that he could have done better overall, but they dispatched the raiders and captured a prisoner for interrogation.

"I apologize if I was a bit non-responsive a few moments ago." He asked pardon from Vanna, not really establishing eye contact with the aasimar.

He then neared their prisoner as Tani tended to it's wounds, Airs' examined the other drows and Vikungar unwound from his enraged state stammering.

"Indeed." He added to Airesynne's remark of his use of strength.

He pawed through some of the dead drows' equipment. They seemed well equipped for such attacks.

Perhaps we may have found our lead here.

He joined the dwarf in the cleanup. This was a rest house for weary travelers after all and it would be imprudent to leave such vile rotting flesh, fresh or otherwise, just in it's front steps after they have used it's amenities.

"Let's try to scout around while they tend to the prisoner," He asked Vikungar as he carried a huge bit of dead ogre to throw away. "see if there are any more surprises still lurking around here."

I'll help Vikungar with cleaning up the mess (which entails putting the corpses away and retrieving any loot and for now, placing them inside the house for later examination). Also, if Sehar approves, we'd like to scout around the perimeter and see if there are any more signs of potential ambush on Traveler's Rest or if there are any tracks that the attackers left to be trailed later. For now, gonna leave the prisoner interrogation actions to those guys with actual positive charisma modifiers, unless intimidation is needed any time soon.

[Golden Ladybug]

"Pay it no mind, my friend" Vanna replies warmly, holding no anger nor grudge for William's lack of communication, "I've been on the receiving end of a Mental Whammy like that before; its not fun"

Stretching out like a cat, Vanna strolled over to his fallen Warhammer and resealed it (and the rest of his combat gear) into his ring. With a grin, he remembered picking it up, back when he was a more active member of the Mystic Fire Knights; he'd thought it useless, then, but this ring had more than proved its worth. Even if just in comfort.

Vanna moves over to the corpses of their defeated foes, and helps Vikungar to drag the bodies over into a pile; stripping the possessions of the dead had never sat well with him, but it was a sad necessity in such a violent lifestyle. Equipping oneself with the equipment needed to survive against greater and greater foes was almost as important as one's own strength. Such things had always amused him.

Once the useful valuables had been recovered, Vanna scans the small pile of items, looking intently at them. His eyes seem unfocused, as he looks past the physical in an attempt to gain some insight. The Holy Symbol of Lolth bears the trace of Evil, but that isn't particularly surprising; it is the state of the other gear that interests him.

Vanna will use Detect Evil for 3 Rounds to try to discern any particularly Evil Auras that our Loot may contain.

If, besides the Symbol of Lolth (because duh), anything shows up as being evil, Vanna will say to the others "I'd be careful with [ITEM], if I were you. It is tainted"

Once that is done, he sticks close to Tani as she attempts to gain access to the Drow's mind, a slight frown on his face. He knows that he would be well-suited to talking with the Berserker, but he still finds Tani's mental powers disquieting.

[Seharvepernfan]

"Mhm." Vikungar grunts in agreement with Bill's proposal.

Now regular size, he walks into the shelter to retrieve his shield (and finish some food real quick), then goes to retrieve the potion vials he dropped. He is also stalling a bit, so that he can recover from the fatigue induced by his battle-fury. He takes a long, slow look around before starting their patrol, just to be sure.

Spot and listen check.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

The Drow smiles at Tani and accepts the healing. Still out of breath from his fit of rage he still looks pretty beaten up, but the healing for sure has helped. With a nod, he confirms his cooperation and joins you inside. He remains silent and ignores everyone but Tani, baring his teeth like a wild animal when anyone else comes near him.

As you search the corpses, you find many weapons, armor and some vials and potions. The mithral armor worn by the priestess looks especially interesting. Seldom is a normal armor so elaborately decorated and finely crafted:

http://wizards.com/dnd/images/demonweb_gallery/103914.jpg

Tucked away in the belt, you find a letter:

http://cdn.obsidianportal.com/assets/96001/Lithara_s_Letter.jpg

She also carries a detailed journal. She writes little about herself and her activities; her writings chronicle larger, broader topics. She details the worship of Lolth, the religion, rites, and services. Her entries also reveal a wealth of information about the political and social life of drow among the upper classes. Most of the personal information about herself and her life appear as margin notes among drawings and doodles. In the last entry, she has made the following notes in the margin:


Rule-of-Three of Sigil intrigues me as few others have. As he would say: a riddle, an enigma, a puzzle. Regardless of his ultimate loyalty (impossible to determine), he would make a fine sacrifice to honor the Spider Queen.

If anyone is ever eager to find out things about Drow social life and religion, this booklet might come in handy.

Vanna:
Aside from the holy symbol, nothing is specifically evil, not even that special spider armor.

Vikungar and William:
As you scout out the perimeter, you do not find any clues hinting at another imminent threat. Vikungar finds tracks, however, and William can see them as well once pointed out. They are obviously made by the limp shuffling of the four massive undead that you just fought. They should enable you to find where they came from. The weather is calm and no rain is to be expected, so they will still be there in the morning.

You manage to collect some wood and absorb enough of the now quiet evening summer air to wind down from the fight.

[Sallera]

Smiling at the drow as her secondary charm takes hold, Tani sits across from him, leaning back and crossing her arms. "<Now then, I'm a little confused about what's going on, so won't you help me out?>" she says in Elven, not sure whether he even understood Common. "<Let's start with who you were with and why you were here. Tell me everything you can about the priestess you were following, where you came from, and what your goals were in this area.>"

[Autopsibiofeeder]

The Drow grunts and distorts his face in disgust. It looks like he did not quite understand you. He spits on the ground and starts speaking in the Undercommon language:

Undercommon
"I thought you were a friend. What friend speaks in the surface bastards dwelling tongue? You belong to that filth?"

[Sallera]

Shrugging, Tani switches to Undercommon, her smile taking on a slightly mischievous twist. <"I belong to no one but myself, whatever guise I wear, and words are only a substitute for thoughts; the language is insignificant. I find the sound of this tongue often unnerves the other upworlders, but if it is easier for you, then so be it. Now then, kindly ease the burden of my confusion. I wish to know of the priestess you followed, your purpose here, and whence you came. Spare not the details; we have plenty of time.>"

[Golden Ladybug]

Vanna looks on at Tani conversing with the Drow in... some language with a blank look on his face.

"Tani..." He asks, obviously confused about what is being said, "...is there anything I can do to help?

Considering that the dialogue is taking place in Undercommon, Vanna feels slightly like a 3rd wheel; if he is not needed here, he will deal with the bodies of the other Drow and the Ogres. Even if they were their enemies, they do not deserve to rot and fester in a pile on the ground. It would also be disrespectful to the shrine to the God of Roads they had taken up residence in.

If Tani has things in hand, Vanna will take his Flint and Steel and put together a funeral pyre for our defeated foes

[Sallera]

Tani gives a little toss of her head, winking at the drow as if to say 'you see?' Crooking a finger in Vanna's direction, she reaches up to poke him briefly in the forehead as he approaches, her thoughts appearing in his mind as though conveyed by her touch. It's mostly pushing buttons from here. I'd appreciate it if you could save the priestess's body for me, though, make sure no one does anything with it. I'm sure we'll have questions this guy can't answer, and even dead elves hold a lot of memories.

Establishing a Mindlink with Vanna. Simple two-way telepathy, no range limit. (Automatic success on suppressing the display, as usual.)

Tani can Speak With Dead, so please don't burn the priestess yet. :smalltongue:

[Autopsibiofeeder]

"I really should not be telling this, but I guess what I say is safe with you." He watches and waits untill Vanna has left. "She who we followed is called High Priestess or Your Unholiness. We come here to bring death and destruction to surface-dwellers, as they deserve. We, my nephew and I, come from the lands below. Her Unholiness summons us to this place when she requires our services." He rests his hands in his lap and smiles at you. "You should get out of here, this region. Find the safety of a city. I would hate to see you get hurt. Which you will if you stay here." He rolls his eyes towards the door and lowers his voice: "Unless...you want to help me avenge the High Priestess and my nephew. We can go out and catch them by surprise. Kill them fast, and the Dwarf very slowly."

[Sallera]

"<What, and leave myself without protectors in this dangerous region?>" Tani shakes her head. "<You have seen them fight. Put such hopeless thoughts from your mind, lest they sense your intent.>"

"<Is there a city nearby in the lands below, that you come from? I am not familiar with the area. Do you know where the High Priestess is from? And why was this region chosen? The surface is full of places to bring destruction to. Who made that decision?>"

[Autopsibiofeeder]

He shakes his head. "The motives and reasons for Her Unholiness are something between her and the Spider Godess. None of my concern, nor my business. I don't know where the eminence lives...." Is that a tear forming in his eye? "....lived, I guess" he stammers on. "Wherever that is, she will be missed. And avenged. You have no idea how precious the thing is your associates have destroyed." He pauses a moment. "Yeah, there are cities belowground. Splendor unmatched on the surface. Wouldn't go there, if I were you."

[Sallera]

"<True, I doubt I will. But whether I wish to visit it or avoid it, the knowledge is still important. Where is the nearest city belowground, and how far is it from here? By what name is it known?>" Tani crosses her arms again, resting her chin on one hand. "<And for the other matter, you mentioned this area was still dangerous, despite the loss of the High Priestess. Are there other groups operating here I should watch out for? If so, how many?>"

[Autopsibiofeeder]

He shrugs. "The city has many names. I believe you people call it Undermountain. It is one day of travel from here if you know your way around the underdark. If not, it can take weeks to find it. I don't know how to explain to someone like you how to get there. Navigation there is....different." He listens to the second part of your question and again shrugs. "Word is that our kind are rising against the surface-dwellers. The ways of the Spider Godess are mysterious, but also thorough. I don't know of others personally, but you seriously think it is just the three of us out on a field day here?"

[Sallera]

"<For just this region? I did not think so, no, but it would not be impossible. You are, and the others were, clearly quite capable.>" Tani sighs, rising from her chair. Mercenaries. She'd have been much happier with the priestess, but you had to work with what you got. "<Stay inside, for now; you may rest, if you wish. I will ensure you are kept safe.>"

Stepping outside and shutting the door, she joins the others by the beginnings of the makeshift pyre. "That one's little more than hired help, as it turns out. But what I can gather is that the drow seem to be in the beginnings of a new crusade. He doesn't know the details, but it sounds like it's more than just this little band. Their purpose here was, according to him, 'death and destruction,' which is thoroughly unhelpful to us, since it can't really be satisfied. Oh, and there's apparently a drow city called Undermountain a day from here, for what that's worth."

Twisting her ring back and forth as she looks over the items recovered from the bodies, Tani glances up at Vanna and Airesynne. "Either of you know what to make of this letter? I want to ask the priestess a few questions, but I might not be able to draw out the memories; she had a pretty strong mind while she was alive."

[Autopsibiofeeder]

As Tani is discussion outside next to the beginnings of the pyre, the Drow shouts from the door entrance, in Undercommon: "Hey, hey! HEY! What is that idiot doing? Is he burning her Unholiness and my nephew? That's forbidden....he can't do that!" He is fighting the compulsion to stay inside, driven by the need to run out and do something. "You, you are my friend? Tell him to stop! They deserve a ritual and rest in their family tomb!" Sweat is breaking on his forehead: "Stop him or I will!"

[Sallera]

"<Calm yourself,>" Tani calls back. "<He means respect, but is unfamiliar with your customs. I will deal with the matter. The pyre I intend to use only for these rotting ogres.>"

Well, that was an interesting tidbit. Perhaps she would have the drow explain in more detail later; knowing Vanna, he might want to listen himself. Grinning at the paladin, she waves a hand at the hut. "Don't burn the elves, he says. Well, I already didn't want to burn the priestess, but take the other one off the list, too. He's stretching the limit of the bonds; apparently it's something they feel pretty strongly over. Want me to have him explain their funeral customs later?"

[Autopsibiofeeder]

The Drow stays lurking in the door opening. "Burn the giants, who cares." He keeps eyeing the process. Given the tension, he will go berserk the moment Vanna or someone else comes near the Drow bodies. That might even include Tani, that is how upset he is. Turns out it is quite a thing.

[Mido]

The gentle night breeze and dim starlit skies greeted the two as they secured the borders of their temporary haven. He was glad that the house did not sustain any structural damage, more so since the giants that attacked were quite capable of rendering it asunder. William made a concerted effort to locate anything to give them any information of tonight's events or anything looming in the horizon. He knew it was a bit useless on his part, he was never good at it. Vikungar on the other hand was quite the man for the job. The dwarf's skills always amazed him. His keen detection and penchant for finding has proven to be reliable and this time would be no different.

The ogres may have been a nuisance but there was a distinct advantage in having to have faced them. They had left an indelible mark on the ground, one that is not too hard to follow as Vikungar had found the trail. It too was fortunate that the weather actually agreed with them as it did not seem like it would be raining any time soon.

That should help.

Content with their findings for now, he sought Vikungar's attention and nodded his head towards the front door. Until daybreak, it would be perilous to move forward in unfamiliar territory.

Coming back, they started a fire to burn most of the refuse of the skirmish. He wished he had a separate one for the drows from the undead ogres though. They had been willing to destroy them a time ago, but something about bunching them with a pile of abominations just did not sit right with him.

"Vikungar found tracks that we could follow if this interrogation does not pan out." He reported back as Vanna joined their task.

The burning bits of rotting flesh made a somewhat sickening aroma waft in the area. It was something that could not shake his constitution but the experience was notable. Tani joined them a bit later and as they were half-way in purging the undead refuse and turned their attention to the drow bodies, the screams of their captive made him turn his head. He could not understand the drow's tongue, but he could see and feel the urgency and concern in his speech. He put his attention back towards the deceased and furrowed his brow.

"Who were you?" He whispered to himself.

As Tani advised them to dissuade from further touching the drow bodies, his eyes widened slightly as a thought occurred to him. Something that he could be sympathetic about, something from his past.

Family.

He had wanted to have a proper send-off for his own when they had been massacred, but could not. He looked back at the last drow standing by the doorway again, his face contorted in both rage and concern and he felt a frail kinship towards their captive as his supposition was tenuously confirmed. He left the drow corpses alone and redirected his efforts in finishing the job with the ogres' corpses.

[Seharvepernfan]

("Course we won't burn the elves. This one is going to take those corpses back to their city, and we're going to help him. However, Tani is going to speak to the dead priestess, and we are going to take their gear, including this one's, eventually. Vikungar can understand the pain of this one's loss, but if this drow thinks that is going to make up for all the surface elves it has killed, it has another thing coming.")

Vikungar never speaks a word, he just locks stares with the drow, but his eyes say it all, ("Go ahead. Take a step towards Tani. We can question your corpse as well, then burn all three of ye.")

He stands there, in the doorway, axe held in both hands with the blade end resting on the floor. Staring.

[Mido]

As William dumped the last of the dead ogre flesh into the pyre, he put his attention at the letter Tani had presented them, putting his slightly marred, gauntleted hand on the letter. It was pretty much out of context from where he was standing, but the note on the side caught his eye.

A bent piece of iron? Could that be for confirming identities or for some other mystical applications?

He had garnered a bit of knowledge towards the ways of both arcane or divine magics over the years. He could not hope to comprehend on how to apply them, but he had gotten hold of some basics, specifically that some needed a focus or material component, a seemingly innocuous object that powered or directed the intangible force towards the appropriate use. Perhaps this could be such, or it could just be a way to identify a confidant or accomplice.

"Well, it seems if we are to act by this correspondence, then we are in more need of your expertise then, Tani." He stated matter-of-factly.

"We are still in the dark as to the entire landscape of the matter but this seems like a good edge piece. If we want any more information regarding out aggressor's or her accomplices' motives, this letter should be a good lead as any, and from what this letter suggests, there is more to this than simple raids on Elven travelers. As for the whereabouts of the Oarsman itself, perhaps our friend there could shed some light on that subject. Also, we should heed the note along the side and find ourselves a horse shoe."

He placed the letter in front of him, it's back facing the fire. He had hoped this would reveal any hidden markings or missives on the parchment, as was standard practice when passing correspondences to allies by courier.

"Any of you have any knowledge of symbols? These signet ring marks are foreign to me."

[PersonMan]

"Your guess is as good as mine, unfortunately. I could recognize a handful of Aurhaven noble family crests, but that's the end of my symbol-recognizing talents," Airesynne admits, shrugging. "I think the metal thing could be referring to putting one end into the portal in such a way that the other end would, due to the bend, stick back to the end you're standing in. Perhaps the note means that such an experiment worked?"

[Sallera]

"Huh. It's a thought, at least. Is it even possible for a portal to cut something in half if you try to go forward and back again?" Tani fingers the seals, trying to remember whether she'd ever seen anything similar, but another part of the letter catches her eye.

"The writer takes the trouble of specifying the Material Plane, meaning this was probably written... elsewhere. Presumably the same place the Oarsman is, which we want to go to, to get that 'further information...' and we don't know where we'll end up even if we find the portal and it works as promised."

Tani glances over at the doorway, then back at the letter. "Think I should show this to our friend, see if he knows anything? Thing is, if he didn't already know about it - and I'm guessing he didn't - we'd be as good as telling him where we plan to go."

No idea what field covers those seals - probably Planes, with our luck - but here are the ones Tani has.
Knowledge: Local: [roll0]
Knowledge: Dungeoneering: [roll1]
Knowledge: Nobility: [roll2]

[Seharvepernfan]

"Hm." Vikungar rumbles, thinking over something for a few more seconds. "I gotta few pitons n' caltrops I could bend inta shape, but aye, may as well tell Baldin. Might grab a few horseshoes while we're thar."

[Sallera]

"Yeah, or we could just go straight to following those tracks you found. I don't know if they'd lead us all the way to the portal, but it might be a start." Tani spreads her hands in a curious sort of shrug. "We haven't really finished the job, yet, anyway. He," she jerks a thumb at the drow, "said there are probably others in the area, although he doesn't know about them personally. And if this is a big deal, we ought to go straight to the best source of information we've got, which is going to be either the priestess's memories, if I can get at them, or more likely whoever's waiting at this Oarsman."

[Autopsibiofeeder]

As you discuss the note and other clues around the fire, a Dwarf and a Drow are entering a staring contest. It seems the Drow does not know fear, or not much, as he shows no sign of being impressed...perhaps naively so. However one can imagine Vikungar can respect the resolve and bravery this Drow displays. Or fatal faithfulness...

Pondering on the seals, none of you manage to come up with a good interpretation of them. On the up side, Tani and Aire share their knowledge of magic and conclude that the 'bent piece of iron' is likely an object needed to activate the portal. Often, but not always, portals are guarded with secret passage phrases, movements or tied to specific (types of) objects that are required to activate them.

The two of you discuss further and you can inform the team that portal traveling can be dangerous and confusing: A portal does not always work as a two-way passage, sometimes it is just one-way. Also, sometimes a portal 'works' on both sides, but does not lead to the same place back and forth. It could be that a portal in one location leads to another location, and stepping through the same portal that location leads to yet another location. Furthermore, you have heard of places where many portals are, and where both the destination and the activation key changes at the whim of the creator. These are the most unnerving types of portals.

***

Tani is right, you have not quite finished the job yet. There's the note with mention of a portal and that might lead to someone who knows more. You have enslaved a Drow who seems to be not much more than hired muscle. Zealous, but not very knowledgeable, it appears. There's the corpse of the Drow priestess. Tani can try to tap into her memories. This is an unpleasant business, especially with vile minds, but is likely to reveal some answers (even though they can be cryptic in nature). And there are the tracks of the Ogres Vikungar and William found. Since they were under the priestess' control, it is likely her tracks are there as well, but none of you have the skill to verify that.

[Sallera]

"Okay, so we've got a portal somewhere nearby, a drow who probably doesn't know where it is, a tavern or something on the other side of it, no guarantee we'll be able to get back easily if we go through..." Tani counts the points off on her fingers as she speaks, eventually giving up and turning back to the priestess's corpse. Staring at its face as though trying to see past the flesh and straight into its soul - which is, more or less, what she is doing - she addresses what's left of the priestess with a wordless inquiry, attempting to make contact with the stubborn remains of its mind. By what route would one travel, on foot, from the place of your death to the interplanar portal you last used?

Attempting a Speak With Dead at DC20 (21 if it's Telepathy, but I think it's Clairsentience). Take 10 on Concentration to suppress display.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Tani taps into the memories of the priestess, and finds that she is successful. As always, Tani, this is a bit disturbing, because next to the answer to the question you ask, you get flashes of images of the thoughts and events the deceased experienced just prior to death, especially when the corpse is this fresh.

A large pyre fed not by ogre bodies, but by that of humans fills your mind. You recognize the armors of William and Vanna engulfed in flames. Vikungar is suspended upside down above the fire, his body bashed, defeated, stabbed. With great satisfaction you hold the Dwarfs heart in your hand. The image disappears within a split second, soon enough to prevent you from becoming nauseous. Then you see a trail to the east, the direction in which your friends found the tracks, hills and a peculiarly shaped monolith on your left hand. Before you can see beyond the huge stone, your mind focuses back on the corpse you are questioning. With sweat starting to form in the palm of your hands, you ready yourself for the next question.

DMRolls:
Will save: [roll0]

[Sallera]

Tani shivers at the brief exposure to the priestess' mind - feeling such intense hatred, even vicariously, always brought back unpleasant memories. But she had her link, and her questions, and secrets were worth more than feelings.

In what city and plane is the Styx Oarsman located?

[Autopsibiofeeder]

You see your friend Aire wielding protective magic, close to the traveler's hut. A pair of greataxes charge at her and strike exceptionally true. The display of blood as the near-fatal gashes appear are not very disturbing, as you have seen that before. The sensation of intense thrill at the drawing of blood from the good-hearted healer that overwhelms you is wicked, though. The sheer satisfaction at being witness of such butchery is an emotion alien to you, and is a clear clue on how unsettling this Drow's mind works.

Next, you see a street with tall buildings. At the corner, you see two large figures engaged in conversation. The left one sports a scaly red and black skin, long horns, dripping fangs and glowing red eyes. He has a pair of leathery wings folded on his back. The other, surprisingly, is a fair emerald-skinned lady (or man?), with golden eyes en white feathery wings. It does not look like they are very friendly, but they are also not at each others' throats. Weird. A thought races through your mind, just before your focus returns to reality: The City of Doors.

[Sallera]

Tani wraps her arms around herself, pinching her elbow as though to reassert her sense of the present, but tries not to let her discomfort show on her face. She was only halfway done, after all.

What prompted you to start your campaign of aggression against this region?

[Autopsibiofeeder]

No images this time, but a plain and concise answer. As you recieve it, it strikes you as the most simple and logical thing: The crusade of The Spider Goddess.

[Sallera]

Tani frowns slightly, trying to think of how best to utilize her next question. If the goddess herself had called for a crusade, there was going to be a lot more blood before this was through... unless they could find the target, the cause, something to end it early.

What is the reason behind the current crusade?

[Autopsibiofeeder]

You draw a complete blank, Tani. This means that either The Spider Goddess does not need a reason to go on a crusade, or that the priestess just does not know why. Chances are that the information in the letter you found on her is what she was acting on, rather than further inside information.

On the up side, you get one more question (the psi version is a bit different in this respect, 5 + 1 per 4 PP augment).

[Sallera]

Well, that hadn't been helpful. It was looking like a long trip to the City of Doors, for them... so she may as well make sure they could get there.

How did you travel through the portal from the City of Doors to the Material Plane?

[Autopsibiofeeder]

You see yourself standing in front of a large window, or is it a door with glass panels? You are outside, but heavy shading is cast over the situation. Perhaps an alley of sorts. You touch the window, it is solid. Then, you produce an object from your pocket. It looks like a bridle. When you touch the glass with the object, it briefly ripples and then it goes through as if the glass turned to water. Satisfied, you thank The Spider Goddess as you step through.

[Sallera]

Looking away from the priestess's corpse, Tani allows the link to fade, letting out a deep breath to dispel the last of the lingering negative emotions.

"Okay... okay, that worked a little better than I expected. The Oarsman is in a place called the City of Doors, which from the glimpse I got seems to the sort of place where a demon and an angel can hold a conversation. Neutral ground, I guess, which would explain the portals. So if we end up there, try not to take offense to weird stuff. I got an idea of the way to the portal as well - same direction those tracks lead - and what it looks like from the other side, but not, unfortunately, what it looks like on this end - and they seem to be pretty innocuous until you touch them with the key."

"The bad news," she continues, glancing around at the rest, "is that the priestess also knew nothing about this crusade except that there was one. No known cause, trigger, or objective beyond general destruction. So we definitely have to find the author of this note, and see if they've found that extra information they were looking for."

[Seharvepernfan]

Vikungar, finishing his meal from earlier, stares at the table for a few moments. ("Hm. Sleep now or get a move on? Tell Baldin or not? What do we do with this one?") His eyes flick up to the captive. He finishes his current mouthful, "Right. What are we waiting for?"

[Mido]

An angel and demon conversing. In all my years, I'd never thought I'd hear of such a notion. I'd thought them eternally conflicted as I am with Black-Briar.

"A proper course of action." William replies as he cleaned his sword and shield of the last battle stains.

"And from what you say," He addresses the telepath without looking at her. "then we have little choice but to move on the information that you've gathered Tani if we are to resolve our current task. I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I think it best if we rest up for the night then carry on in the morning, just so we have better visibility on our trek."

He gave a passing glance towards their dark, captive audience, casually watching on. He felt a slight twinge of unease as he remembered that but a few moments ago, this man was all but ready to end them.

"The question still stands though," He glances around at the rest of the party, staying his stare for a short time on Vanna, seeking a reaction from whom he felt may have the most compelling opinion on his next question. "What fate should we deal to our prisoner? I am not one to execute someone who cannot strike back.." A quick memory of his family's massacre causes him to flinch from his task for a moment. "but I'm uneasy on bringing him further on this incursion of ours."

[Sallera]

"Well..." Tani, too, looks to Vanna before answering. "I don't see any reason we need to kill him, really. We can take his weapons and magic, let him have the other two to take home, and tell him not to interfere with us further. That'll hold until tomorrow evening, which is probably enough time for us to be well on our way, maybe even through the portal already."

Nodding as she watches the rotting ogres burn, Tani fiddles with the end of her sleeve as she continues. "And our secrets should be safe, too. From what I know of drow society, there's not much chance of the priestess getting brought back, and one of the side benefits of looking at her memories like that is that no one else can do the same for about a week. By then, it shouldn't matter."

[Seharvepernfan]

Vikungar furrows his brow at the mention of letting the drow go, "Hm. He'll be back to killin just as soon as 'e can, an probably after us too. How about we take'em to tha elves? I'm sure they'd want ta question 'em for their own defense." He looks up to the drow, contempt plain on his face. ("Murderin' bastard.")

[Sallera]

Tani looks a bit uncomfortable with the suggestion as she turns toward the pyre, her gaze dropping to the ground. "What if we lose the trail, though? I'm not sure how far that memory will take us, and it would take time to bring him all that way. And I don't think he knows much of anything that would be useful to them. Not that we haven't already found out, and we still don't have much to work with."

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Handing the Drow over to the Elves would take a day, perhaps two depending on the timing of travel, if you do it through your merchant employer, Baldin (assuming that is an option). Bringing him to the Elves yourselves is a matter of weeks, two at least.

[Seharvepernfan]

Vikungar stares at the table for a while, then softly snorts (his way of sigh-ing).
"Right, lass."

[Sallera]

Tani looks back up at the others, then nods. "I'll send him on his way. Unless he actually knows where the portal is, in which case I suppose we could have him show us tomorrow. Better to know than be wandering around for days looking."

Returning to the hut, Tani stands in front of the door, switching to Undercommon as she addresses the drow. "<Another question has become relevant. Do you know the locations of any portals nearby? If you do, tell me any details you know about them.>"

[Mido]

"Better off that way I suppose." He agreed as he neared Tani.

"Can he understand common? I would like a word with him before he is let loose." He whispered, just a short while before the mind warper addressed the drow in a language he could only wish to comprehend.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

The drow stares at Tani briefly. "Portals, no. Is that where the water ships come from? I'd like to see that once. I heard they are huge", he answers in Undercommon.

Tani:
Yes, he speaks common.

[Sallera]

Tani nods briskly, tapping William on the shoulder. "We will soon be parting, but my friend here has words for you; listen carefully, and respond in the same language."

[Autopsibiofeeder]

The Drow turns to William. He does not look too eager to have a talk with a stranger that was just trying to kill him, though.

[Mido]

William approaches the drow in a less imposing manner. Hard to do when clad in full plate, but he tried to seem less menacing as he was.

"Listen well friend," He speaks in a manner that only he and the drow could hear. "I am not one to destroy a spent force, and clearly you are. I believe the decision among our band is to let you be free with the bodies of your allies here so that you may deal with them as you see fit. I for one agree, though a concern presents itself and I believe I need to address it now."

His gauntleted hand suddenly gripped into a tight fist.

"Come back and cross us again, and you and whoever you are with will receive less hospitality on our end and more in common with the rabble that your mage brought here with you." He said with a threatening glare about his eyes, tilting his head slightly towards the burning undead on the pyre as he spoke of them.

"Now go," He continued, in a much less stern demeanor. "tend to your fallen. Nobody should be robbed the right to honor their dead."

Intimidate check to dissuade any later plans of vengeance from his mind.
[roll0]

[Autopsibiofeeder]

The Drow gives William a level look. When William is done speaking he replies: "I respect your decision. You have shown strength in combat and honour in letting me go." He pauses a moment and then adds: "Let's hope our paths do not cross again."

The fighting, discussions, scouting, pyre-building (and, presumably cleaning up) and questioning have taken quite some time. It is late and dark, a situation in which the creatures of the Underdark have a clear advantage. The Drow obeys the orders to hand over his equipment and meekly collects the remains of his allies. He ties them together for ease of transport and, while heavily burdened, he appears strong enough to carry them and travel, albeit slowly. Before he leaves, he adresses Tani: "I believe I owe my life to you. That, I will not forget."

OoC/All:
If you want to have said to or done something to/for the Drow before he leaves, you can indicate so in your next post. Also, please indicate any changes to spells prepared and similar things.

Alarmed by the recent events, you keep watchful eyes out the rest of the night during rest, but nothing happens. In the morning, after meditating, praying, eating and securing your equipment is in order, you head off to follow the tracks Vikungar and William had found the day before. They are easy enough to follow even for the untrained. Sometimes you lose them, but then there is an obvious path to follow and at other times Tani can help out through the visions she had.

A mere two hours of traveling later, through forest trails in the slightly hilly landscape, you find the tall monolith Tani recognizes from the priestess' memories. It stands at the foot of a steep, rocky hill perhaps 500 feet high. The tracks and trails stop and for a short moment there is some confusion, but Vikungar spots something behind a pair of tall trees. A cave leading into the hill.

It is dark and silent inside. Because of the trees not much daylight shines in, but even those not blessed with the superior sight of some races can see that it is some 30 feet deep and then curves to the right. The cave looks to be natural, but then later worked to create somewhat even floors and walls. It is roughly 10 feet wide and some 15 feet high. Looking at the debris and dust on the floor, you'd guess creatures have passed here, but it really takes an expert to tell anything more.

OoC/All:
There'll be a map later, but first I need to know a marching order. Vanna will be at the back. I'd also like to know about things you want to have done in retrospect before advancing any further.

[Sallera]

Tani nods at the drow's words, reinforcing their discussion from earlier with the firm assurance of a mental command. Take your fallen companions home as best you are able. Do not attempt to follow us in any way, now or later. Once he is out of sight, she gives a relieved sigh, her posture relaxing noticeably - perhaps a bit too much, her tendency to slouch when not under scrutiny showing as she takes a seat. "Well, that's one problem solved. Now for sleep, and a bigger problem tomorrow."

Despite her words, Tani did take the time to analyse their magical acquisitions that night, and the priestess's ring has taken a place on her left hand to match the pale blue flame she slips onto her right at the sight of the cave. "Well, unless that monolith itself is the portal, it's probably in here. Have we got a portal key ready, Vikungar? We might need to start testing suspicious-looking surfaces if nothing obvious shows itself."

Tani will have refreshed her Inertial Armor for the day.

Edit: And I forgot marching order. Tani will go fourth, before Vanna.

[Seharvepernfan]

During all the cleaning, resting, and preparing, Vikungar slips a silver coin in the donations box. Ya never know when some two-bit thief will come by and empty these things, but the god of travel might smile on us all the same.

At the cave, Vikungar looks up the hill and states, "Could climb it." He stands wearing his shield and holding his spear. When Tani asks her question, "Good thinkin'. Vanna is strongest." He says in his characteristic low and flat voice while retrieving five of his pitons and handing them to Vanna.

Then, Vike inspects the cave from where the group is standing, trying to see if he can determine anything about it. He also looks up the hill, trying to determine by sight how easily he could climb it.

Dungeoneering: [roll0]

His climb is +22.

He will take point if we head into the cave.

[Mido]

William gave a nod towards the drow as he steered his gaze towards the group for the last time before leaving.

The night was quite eventful, yet he still needed to tend to some business. He picked up the longbow among the loot, coupled with some alchemical arrows. Fighting in close quarters was fine and well, but he had no implements to deal with creatures from afar. He was taught the basics of using the ranged weapon, but he did not excel at it as much as the sword. Still, having the option felt reassuring.

He rested for a couple of hours, then took watch for the rest of the night. There was always a slight feeling of vulnerability whenever he had to take off his armor. It always felt right after he donned it again to guard the hovel.

The morning after and the trek towards the monolith proved less eventful. At times, they had to stop to retrace the trail but it was not too tasking a setback. A couple of hours later and they reached their destination.

The cave seemed natural at first, but a few hints later proved otherwise. He took note of it's structural integrity, keeping wary whether the place seemed stable and safe.


Knowledge architecture/engineering check if cave is stable since it seems it had been worked on.
[roll0]

Also, gonna come in second, just 10-15 feet behind Vikungar with the everburning torch in one hand and bastard sword grasped with my sword arm.

[PersonMan]

Airesynne lets Tani deal with the drow and the others the pyre, reading through the captured diary to try and glean as much information as she can from it. Once the pyre is burning low she goes to check if any of the others are still sporting small injuries and, if they are, works her magic on them, pouring red power into their bodies until they are healthy again. Before it gets too late she goes off to sleep, intent on recovering her strength before the next day without holding up the others.

In the morning, Airesynne spends time to channel her energy into a usable form, playing out scenes of glorious battlefields in her mind as she contemplates what to do with her strength. Once this is finished, she completes her morning ritual with a hearty breakfast of meat, meat and, to mix it up a bit, meat, enjoying the possibilities offered by the food she had forged from her own power the night before. As always, she remarks on how odd it is for her to feed herself with something that's a physical manifestation of her own energy.

The marching is something she's used to - both before and after she joined the group. Enjoying the terrain, Airesynne takes her position in the center of the group*, reading more of the drow priestess' diary when the pace and trail allow her to. Every now and then she remarks about how unusual the drow practices are as well as how they relate to the true worship of Lolth.

As the group reaches the monolith, Airesynne takes a few moments to admire it before the group moves on to the cave.

"Bah, dark caves," she says, placing one hand on the metal loop attached to her clothes - the simplest of her medals, bearing the carving of a dock. Whispering something briefly, she finishes with a strongly-spoken "Leuchte auf, Zeichen von Aurhaven," as the medal brightens and then sheds light, glowing crimson and illuminating the area.

"Much better. I think red is a better color to light things with than your boring old torch," Airesynne says, smiling, as if the humor in her voice wasn't already obvious.

Light on the medal for the next 120 minutes. Aurelian (German) is "light up/glow, symbol of Aurhaven".

*A central position is good to both keep her out of any unfortunate surprises and quickly get to injured/disabled party members quickly, so I'll go with her being there unless someone objects. That'd be 3rd, based on the order of Vikunger - William - Airesynne - Tani - Vanna.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

You inspect the stone, tapping it and bumping into it, but this does not look like it is a portal. It looks like the hill an be climbed by most with some form of training, and will pose quite the challenge for those that are not used to climbing. Moreover, Vikungar notices that there is a lot of loose rubble along the surface. People climbing would eventually cause a lot of that to end up at the base, which is not the case. Combined with the (unidentifiable) tracks you found leading into the cave, it seems most likely that the portal is somewhere inside.

William inspects the cave walls and concludes it is as solid as can be: The manual work that has been done on it did not only make it more comfortable to traverse, it also made it stronger, if anything.

Will you go into the cave now?

[Seharvepernfan]

Checking behind himself to make sure the crew was ready, Vikungar gripped his spear and began walking slowly into the cave without delay or expression. He can see much farther into the darkness than the others can, and focuses his senses out to the edge of his vision. Old habit and instincts push him to stick to one wall or the other, should they happen past a hidden door or compartment. As usual, he stays completely silent, and the others know he prefers them to stay silent as well, communicating via touch and pantomiming if necessary.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

The cave is dark, damp and cool. The dense stone on the walls and floor has been worked to make passing through more comfortable. Otherwise, you notice no other modifications such as traps and secret doors. It heads some 30 feet into the hill and then turns right. You carry on, trying to be as silent as possible, something some of you are better at than others. Then, after yet another 25 feet, the cave turns left and you notice here a large undeground cavern sits, the ceilings rising up to 40 feet high. You notice left and right that the cavern is about 100 feet wide and it runs deeper than your darkvision, or normal vision supported by the torch reaches.

You notice a pair of pillars connecting the floor and ceiling right in front of you and in between a small elevated bit, some 10 feet high. A 5 feet wide chasm runs through the cavern (indicated with the black line on the map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AgBF08i13s81dHNTNEY1TXRYYWlWZTBQal9oNGhRX 3c#gid=0)). Easy enough to jump over for most people, but you recognize it as a serious hazard should some combat happen.

Speaking of which: As Vikungar and then William round the corner and advance a bit into the large cavern, two creatures that had apparently been expecting you appear in your sight. Before you can really assess what is going on, two arrows fly through the air, one aimed at William and one at Vikungar.

People with darkvision and/or low-light vision:
Just beyond the chasm, you spot two drow riding exceptionally large reptiles. Monstrous lizards of sorts, one to your left and one to your right. The animals look like they can deliver a nasty bite, and their claws have long and sharp nails. The drow, both male, are clad in chain shirts and have a longbow in their hands. You also notice they carry spiked chains.

People without special vision:
Just beyond the chasm, you notice two creatures, one left and right, lurking in the shadows. By the silhouettes, you guess they are both humanoids, riding some mount. Not a horse, though, that's for sure, but what it is...

Vikungar:
One arrow flies at you:
Attack [roll0] vs your flat-footed AC
Damage [roll1]

William:
One arrow flies at you:
Attack [roll2] vs your flat-footed AC
Damage [roll3]


Initiative order:
Vanna
William
Tani
Vikungar
Opponents
Aire

Initiative:
Vikungar [roll4]
Vanna [roll5]
Tani [roll6]
Airesynne [roll7]
William [roll8]

Opponents: [roll9]

Everyone but Aire may now act.

[Seharvepernfan]

Vikungar grunts at the pain, smirking at the one that shot him, as if to say, "was that supposed to hurt?" He moves in front of the closest of the girls, between her and the bowmen, and takes up a defensive position, shield raised. "Get back around the corner!"

Moves into the first square between Tani or Airs and the archers, providing soft cover, and takes a total defense action (+6 dodge bonus to AC). If the group moves back around the corner before his turn, he moves in front of Airs (we'll say F11, assuming William moves).

[Sallera]

"Oh, sure. Careful there, Vanna. I just need to make a slight adjustment, first..." Focusing on the curious mount of the bowman in view, Tani glances down at the chasm and... alters its perception, just slightly, before grinning and stepping back around the corner.

False Sensory Input, targeted at the lizard of the southern drow. Will DC19; if it fails, it sees the chasm as being 1 foot wide, rather than 5, with the edge nearest to it in the same place.
Concentration to suppress display, DC18: [roll0]
Move back to D8.

[Mido]

An arrow whizzed past William's shoulder that brought his attention on the alert. After the turn was a cavern where apparently two mounted humanoids found it apt to attack them. He had never been known for bad sight but in the dim edges of his torch and Airs' magical light, he could not make out what it was in the distance that had shot at them nor what they were riding.

Vikungar braced himself, prepared to defend the casters. A sentiment he has always been adamant in the past, a sentiment he found admirable though if not overly chivalrous.

"Watch each other's backs." He alluded as he turned to make his move. "If you can, try to advance and get a better vantage point against them. Keep an eye on the way from which we came. Can't be sure but this may be a two pronged ambush. I'll try and keep the ones north busy."

He darted for the middle pillar, aiming to use it for cover as he advanced on the figures northwards. He cursed under his breath as he missed the boons of his shield greatly as he pressed his back against the stony column, but visibility took precedence over comfort. Grasping bastard sword in his sword arm and everburning torch in the other, he made a slight glance from the cover of the pillar at his target.

Moving to J10, using it for cover, standard fighting defensively if applicable, and making a concerted effort to see my target on O6.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Everybody but Aire spends time moving and assuming a tactical position, and Tani tries to work her mind magic one of the mounts. Vanna grunts when William suggests someone should mind the back and positions himself to protect you from attacks from behind.

William:
You can now see what those with darkvision could just before. Here is the info:

Just beyond the chasm, you spot two drow riding exceptionally large reptiles. Monstrous lizards of sorts, one to your left and one to your right. The animals look like they can deliver a nasty bite, and their claws have long and sharp nails. The drow, both male, are clad in chain shirts and have a longbow in their hands. You also notice they carry spiked chains.


Both William and Vikungar notice that both Drow draw another arrow but withhold shooting for now. "Begone and you will not be harmed. You have no business here." The voice is that of the Drow occupying O6, and he speaks in common, with a funny accent. "Linger....and die!" Both have their bows readied, likely to shoot at anyone that provokes them.


DMRolls:
Will save [roll0]

[PersonMan]

Airesynne gets up on her toes, taking a look up ahead to try and see the opposition, not making out more than a few shapes but quickly judging the distance. After a moment she smiles, settling back onto her feet and putting a hand to her adamantine cross, inhaling deeply before speaking in a loud, commanding voice. It's all in aurelian, but by the end of it you probably recognize the words and expect the wave of crimson power that surges out from Airesynne, flooding the cavern briefly, reaching just past the mounted figures in the darkness.

"Well, I'd be happy to let them come to us, but I doubt they'd do so...Besides, William's already rushed in," Airesynne contemplates moving up, herself, but decides against it - if she went up there and got pincered (judging by the angle of the arrows and the location of one of the voices, the enemy was on opposite sides of the cavern), it would not end well. Instead she takes a few steps back, intent on being able to rush in if it's necessary. If she were a caster like Tani, she could just pull back fully, but as a devoted of Airelle her role was somewhat different.

Actions:
Standard: Recitation. Allies get a +2 luck bonus on attack/saving throws, and both drow unknown enemies (:smallwink:) need to make a save don't get one, but I roll vs SR.

Northern drow: [roll0]
Southern drow: [roll1]

Then I step to D11, which gives me total cover against both enemies, if I'm drawing these lines right.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aire casts her spell, but does not move towards the enemies. You hear the faint cracking sound of someone pulling the string of a bow as far as he can. "Last warning. Move out. You, behind the pillar: MOVE!" The tension in the room increases as the rest of the team is up, and likely to provoke actions by your enemies.

[Sallera]

"Oh, I don't know about that," Tani murmurs. It seemed that William had opted not to follow Vikungar's suggestion, so it was time for a new plan. Abandoning the sensory hold she has on the mount, she steps back out into the open, wagging a finger at the drow.

"Ah, enough posturing. You've demonstrated your dedication to the satisfaction of anyone, I'm sure. But we do, in fact, have business here, and you would be wise to accept that and keep to your own devices."

A Psionic Suggestion to that effect, targeted at the drow, Will DC18.
Concentration to suppress display, DC17: [roll0]

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Tani:
Which of the two drow are you targeting (north or south)? I also need a SR check.

[Seharvepernfan]

Vikungar assesses the situation for a second, calmly, and comes up with an idea. If Tani's ploy works, then great, but if it doesn't, we'd be better off fighting on our own terms. Waving to William in a "come here" motion, he speaks loudly enough for the dark elves to hear (if not understand), "(Dwarven) Lad, let 'em come to us, or let us use magic 'fore goin' ta them! No sense in fightin' on their terms!"

Maintaining total defense as a standard action.

[Mido]

"It's just to give us an option, if ever we need to reach them. Now, I'm within charging range." William replied in dwarven to Vikungar's concern. He understood it well. The battlefield had not been scouted at all and any reckless advances could lead to disaster. Still, he believed that a few advances would be harmless, for now anyway. He was just glad that his earlier aspersions whether the cavern was trapped was unfounded for the moment.

"Our business is for us to determine." He then addressed the lizard riding drows. "If you are party to raids towards elven travellers then I'm afraid our paths are crossed whether it be our intent or not. If so, I assure you that this will not end well." He ended in a deadpan voice as he sheathes his sword, lays down his enchanted torch and draws his newly acquired longbow, readying in kind to return fire if the fellows across the chasm were to shoot another volley their way. He of course, valued Vikungar's assessment and would stay relatively in place.

Staying behind cover, placing the everburning torch at my feet, sheathing my sword and drawing the MCLB, readying it for a ranged attack later.

Also, intimidate check against our friends across the gap hoping if they are not in league with the raiders, they'd back off. Or if they are, it would at least rattle their confidence.
[roll0]

[Sallera]

South, as it's the only one visible to Tani.
Spell resistance: [roll0]
In future, if I forget something like that, please feel free to roll it yourself to save time.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Tani
The lack of resistance tells you your spell never made it to the Drow's mind.

Vikungar
You spot the northern drow gesturing quickly with his hand. Some sort of sign language? Immediately after, they start acting.

Aside from the ladies' spells you are not initiating combat. They are convinced this is not going to end peacefully, though. The southern Drow puts away his bow and draws his spiked chain. He spins it around, pounding the ground twice, which produces a loud CLANG that echoes through the cave. The mount of the northern Drow moves forward, clearing the chasm as if it weren't there and, even more impressive, scurries up the ramp of the rise where William is hiding effortlessly (it would take a humanoid quite some climbing to do so).

By the time he arrives, the Drow (now on the rise) has his spiked chain drawn. It uses its superior reach to lash out at William. He misses, but only barely so. You hear the high pitched whipping sound right before he pounds on your armor. No damage, but perhaps a bruise. "Move, I said!"

Spiked chain attack roll:
[roll0], damage [roll1]

MAP (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AgBF08i13s81dHNTNEY1TXRYYWlWZTBQal9oNGhRX 3c&usp=sharing)

[Seharvepernfan]

Vikungar accepts the situation without any display. As the mounted dark elf appears on the rise in front of him, he hurls his spear at the rider, then snags a glass flask from his bandolier and slings it at the giant lizard. Before the flask reaches it's target, he is holding his treasured waraxe in his right hand. He bangs it on his shield twice, as if taunting his enemies.


Cold Iron Shortspear: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
if critical:
Cold Iron Shortspear: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3]

Acid Flask: [roll4] (if more than two increments, subtract 2)
Damage: [roll5]+1 splash
if critical:
Acid Flask: [roll6]
Damage: [roll7]

Quick draws axe at end of round.
EDIT: Acid flask attack is a ranged-touch attack, btw.
2nd EDIT: I forgot the +2 bonus from recitation.

[Sallera]

"Fine. Be that way." Drow minds really were a bother... so she focuses on the mount again. No need for William to have to deal with a black elf and an angry lizard.

Jamming her hands in her pockets to hide her clenched fists as she draws on power she hasn't had the time to safely store away, she stares at the creature, willing it under her control. Animals were much easier to lead around than people, and if there were any more steep cliffs around here, one of them could probably make use of it...

Going to use the psionic focus and Overchannel for an Endowed 11pp Dominate on spiky's lizard. Will DC 24. If it succeeds, she'll command it to throw off its rider.

[Mido]

William reeled slightly at the blow. He had miscalculated the reaction from their hosts and now he was at a slight disadvantage. A small grin creased on his face as still, his ancestral armor was as reliable as ever.

He dropped his bow right beside his torch. He would not want to give his adversary an opportunity since he clearly had the high ground and reach.

He then drew both bastard sword and shield, for now seeking to defend himself further against the elf and his mount. He grit his teeth and kept himself wary for the incoming attacks.

Drawing both bastard sword and shield, staying in place for now and standard fighting defensively if it's still possible considering my current actions.

[PersonMan]

Uh...if the lizard is the only one that moved up, why is William being attacked by a spiked chain? Did I miss something?

Airesynne, quickly judging the distance between her and William, takes a few quick steps forwards, holding a hand to her necklace and the twin-handle sword this time. Speaking loudly, her voice filling the cavern, intones words of magic and aurelian, a crimson aura building around her until it explodes, red energy flying through the air. Where it splashes over Airesynne's allies, the power stays, seeping over them and pouring into their bodies, filling them with a lust for battle for a brief moment. Even afterwards, their hearts ride higher, they move just a bit faster, more readily avoiding blows.

Casting Divine Protection after stepping to F10. Hitting all allies for +1 morale to AC and saves.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

The standoff continues as minor physical punisment is exchanged and the distance between foes remains. Vikungar hurls a spear and a flask to the rise and manages to hit the Drow that is very much occupied with keeping his lizard under control. The beast bucks as if startled, perhaps by the flask that just hit him (though Tani knows better). A very skilled rider, he manages to leap from the saddle and move back to his former position and draws his bow while his mount remains on the rise.

With some relieve, William now notices he is no longer threatened from the rise and can move freely now. The other Drow, still on his mount, swiftly draws his bow again and shoots two arrows at Vikungar. Enforced by Aire's latest magic, the Dwarf's defenses proof to be nigh impenetrable by the Dark elf arrows and he misses twice.

From the hallway you came from, you hear Vanna shouting that the situation has not changed there.

MAP (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AgBF08i13s81dHNTNEY1TXRYYWlWZTBQal9oNGhRX 3c#gid=0)

Everyone is up.

DMRolls:

DS attack: [roll0] ; [roll1]
DS attack: [roll2] ; [roll3]

DN 7
LN 3
DS 0
LS 0

V: [roll4]

[Sallera]

Allow the one in front of you to mount. Follow his directions. Giving the lizard a mental command, Tani begins edging along the wall. "Ever fancied riding a lizard, William? This one'll take you now, if you like."

Back against the wall, she takes one hand out of her pocket, letting the ring's light spill out over the stone floor and freeing William to leave his torch behind. Peeking around the corner at the unhorsed (...unlizarded? No, that was silly...) drow, she sends a few jabbing darts of pain through his head. It wasn't her favourite method of dealing with a problem, sometimes got a bit... messy, but it was effective when it worked right.

Move to H9, 5pp Mind Thrust on the northern drow.
Damage: [roll0], Will DC19 negates.
Spell resistance: [roll1]
Concentration to suppress display automatically succeeds.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

The northern Drow is by now pointing his bow and arrow at you, but he suddenly drops it as his arms fall besides his body and he drops to his knees. Agonizingly slow, his upper body topples forward, into the chasm. It drags along his legs and the Drow disappears. The following *thud* comes fairly late, telling you the chasm is quite deep.

[roll0]
[roll1]

[Seharvepernfan]

"Ha!" Vikungar praises Tani in his typical fashion while tearing across the cavern in a run towards the second dark-elf. He dashes straight towards it until he rounds the large stalagmite, then changes his angle and leaps across the chasm. Landing on the far side with a somersault, he continues his boulder-like rolling right into axe-range of the dark-elf and it's over-sized lizard.

Moves like so:http://i43.tinypic.com/2u5bzuw.jpg
The green is normal double-movement, the purple is tumbling.
Jump: [roll0]
Tumble: [roll1]

Don't forget my close-quarters fighting feat if that lizard has improved bite, and my dwarven stability if that dark elf tries to trip me.

[Mido]

The lizard stood prostate in front of William, dim eyes staring upwards, awaiting his next move. He was reluctant to clamber upon the beast, it being an unknown variable. He had some manner of training riding warhorses and those beasts of lesser combat effectiveness but none as exotic as a lizard. He thought better of it.

"Appreciated Tani, but this beast would be better served assisting you back there. I fight better on foot." He replied as he bolted towards their remaining opposition, asking the lizard to step aside as he did.

Vikungar had already vaulted himself towards their enemy. It always surprised him how nimble the dwarf was in contrast to his kin's norm. He needed to get there soon.

He vaulted the chasm and set up several feet apart from the remaining drow, keeping a wary eye at the warrior's unconventional weapon.

Asking the lizard to stand aside and making a double move to P15, jumping the chasm as I do so. Since it's a double move, I believe that will be my actions for the round and it should not attract any AoO.

[roll0] Jump Check

[PersonMan]

"Somehow I doubt that these are the most impressive of our enemies," Airesynne says, raising an eyebrow as one of the drow falls into the chasm. Then she clears her throat and raises her voice.

"Attention enemy survivor! Surrender now or die a warrior's death!"

None of my level 0 or level 1 spells are useful here, and anything higher would just be a waste.

So...time to chill and wait for the fight to end!

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Tani has managed to swiftly, soundlessly but far from painlessly dispatch your first foe. Basking in Aire's supportive magic, the ladies behold the scene and witness the athletic displays in front of them: It is up to the men now.

Vikungar bolts forwards, clears the chasm and quite a bit more, ending his jump with a smooth tumble to end right next to his foe. Not far behind, William follows his example. *Clang, Thud, Clang, Thud* goes the tall and broad warrior. With great strength, the warrior and his gear leave the ground to negotiate the chasm. Shock grips your heart as you notice he drops prematurely to the ground, and into the chasm. Luckily, William reacts as fast as lightning, clasping the edge of the chasm and climbs out quite skillfully.

The Drow does not like to be cornered. He spurs his mount further down the cave, to yet another 10 foot rise, even though this move opens up his defenses to Vikungar. While riding, he shoots an arrow at Vikungar, and upon arrival he drops his bow and draws his spiked chain. The arrow strikes exceptionally true, hitting Vikungar just below his collar bone, dealing 18 damage. Now, in a more advantageous position, he waits to see what happens.

MAP (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AgBF08i13s81dHNTNEY1TXRYYWlWZTBQal9oNGhRX 3c#gid=0)

Everyone is up, and Vikungar may roll an AoO against the Drow or his mount.

DMRolls:

[roll0], [roll1]
VH

[PersonMan]

Airesynne, seeing the drow finally land a hit, cracks her knuckles and heads forwards, striding purposefully until she's at the edge of the crevice.

Double-move to N15.

[Sallera]

"Weelll, if no one else wants it..." With the threat of arrow fire greatly diminished, Tani approaches the lizard curiously, mentally prodding it to turn to the side so she can climb up into the saddle. It isn't something she's done a lot of before, but a direct mental link to one's mount removes a great deal of the challenge.

Circling around the pillar, she sets her sights on the remaining foe, long sleeves flopping about as the lizard breaks into a run with no apparent prompting and leaps over the chasm.

Mount up, double move around the pillar to I17/J18 and across to O18/P19, assuming the lizard has a speed of 40ft. If it's only 30, just double move to M17/N18.

Jump (with running start): [roll0] + whatever the lizard's modifier is

[Seharvepernfan]

Vikungar, teeth grit, lunges forward and swipes his waraxe at the fleeing dark-elf.
Waraxe: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
if critical, an additional:
Waraxe: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3]


As the lizard easily scales the wall of stone, Vikungar lets the anger flow. Using the building rage to lend himself strength, he races across the dark cave as fast as his short legs allow, then throws his momentum upward, arrowing straight up the wall into position on the rise next to the dark-elf and it's lizard.

Rages. Runs to T16, then jumps up onto T15.
Jump: [roll4]


Vikungar rises over the edge, but his feet don't quite make it, so he twists his body onto the ledge, landing prone on his back with a metal-on-stone clanking and scraping, fury evident in his wide clear-blue eyes.

[Mido]

That was less graceful than I could have managed.

William felt disconcerted at his failed attempt at leaping. More so because the distance was trivial at best. Breaking out of his temporary doubts, he eyed the lone drow rider who had taken a higher footing atop another 10 foot rise.

Tch. To think these ones actually have an inclination to tactics.

Vikungar had perched himself beside their enemy, but there hadly seemed any room left atop the rise.

For now, this will have to do.

He stepped forward, taking note of the drow's reaching weapon, aiming to deflect and attempts to impede his movement. He started to regret not taking Tani up on her offer earlier.

He gave a mighty leap towards the rise, raising his sword high to bring it down on the lizard-mount's crown.

Taking 2 steps towards Q15 and doing a leap into an attack towards the lizard, aiming to land below the rise still on Q15 since there doesn't seem to be any more room up there. I'll leave the bonus to flank or charge to you Auto if they are applicable since I'm a bit unsure myself. (crap I need a total of 20 on the jump check, starting to see the disadvantages of heavy armor. ^^; )

[roll0] Jump Check
[roll1] Attack Roll (if I reach 5 feet vertical leap)
[roll2] Damage Roll (if applicable)

[Autopsibiofeeder]

The Drow's decision to move to an advantageous position pays off. Where the claws of his mount seemed to stick to surfaces as it skittered onto the rise, the terrain proves to be more challenging to the team. Tani and Aire close in to improve their view on the situation. They see Vikungar performing a mighty leap onto the rise. While impressive, his effort is not enough for an elegant landing. He trips on the edge and lands prone, right next to the Drow, who swings his chain to make use of the opening in the Dwarf's defenses and hits (7 damage to Vikungar). Meanwhile, William runs up to the rise and jumps up in an effort to swing his sword at the Drow's mount. He clears a few feet, but not enough to strike the Lizard: His sword strikes solid rock.

The Drow decides to make the maximum of his advantage and uses his whipping chain to unleash a full attack on Vikungar while he directs his mount to deliver a vicious bite. Fortunately, the Dwarf is swift and nimble enough to avoid all of the attacks even when down and cornered. The chain produces high pitched cracking sounds as it chips away at the stone, reminding Vikungar of how well he did to evade the attacks.

While the Drow does not manage to wear you down significantly, he does prove to be a tough opponent.

New Map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AgBF08i13s81dHNTNEY1TXRYYWlWZTBQal9oNGhRX 3c#gid=0)

Everyone is up.

DMRolls:

Prone: AC 17
AoO: [roll0], [roll1]
Att1: [roll2], [roll3]
Att2: [roll4], [roll5]
Bite: [roll6], [roll7]

V:MI

[Seharvepernfan]

Vikungar weathers the blows with typical dwarven trust in armor. He quickly rises to his feet and tears off his shield, a look of furious determination on his scarred-face as the spiked-chain whirls in for another blow. He then grips his axe in both hands, raises it high above his head and brings it down in a mighty chop at the mounted dark-elf.

Stand up from prone and loosen shield as a combined move-action. Switch to two-handed grip and attack @PA 3. Remember the dwarven stability bonus.

Waraxe: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
if critical, an additional:
Waraxe: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3]

[Sallera]

"Whew, that was easier than I thought. Kind of useful, these lizards. Hey, I don't suppose you want to lend us yours as well?" Giving the drow a cheeky grin, she accents the statement by throwing a terrible headache his way. "Better than dying, isn't it?"

3pp Mind Thrust on the drow.
Damage: [roll0], Will DC18 negates
Automatic success on suppressing display.

[PersonMan]

"Yes, well, do you expect these blasphemers and their cronies to have much to bring to bear against us?" Airesynne asks, looking down at the gap and frowning. That is something she does not want to try and jump over...

Instead, she cracks her knuckles and begins to chant, intoning words of sylvan as a red aura begins to form in the air before her.

Begin summoning Aliseya.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Vikungar gets back on his feet, and gets whipped with the barbed chain in return as he briefly lowers his defense (8 damage). Immediately after, the Dwarf returns the favour by driving his axe deep into the Dark elf's shoulder. Tani again finds herself again thwarted by the spell resistance of these Elves. Muttering perhaps a minor curse, she notices her mental assault is not met with the usual resistance, but just fades into nothingness. Below the rise, William is frustated but he does not give up. He tracks a few steps back, and runs back to the rise, followed by a mighty leap. With surprise, Vikungar sees first a broad sword and then a determined grin appearing behind the Drow. The blade swings and with a high pitched 'zing' the warrior delivers the perfect blow: The corpse hits the ground as the severed head still spins through the air, then landing on the lizard's hips. The animal is startled and runs off.

Elated by this sudden and very welcome turn of events, you catch your breath. Right before you come to your senses and ready yourselves for further planning three, no four horrid creatures appear, surrounding Aire. Did they just walk through the stone? A group of 8 foot tall vultures lash out with their claws at the healer, but fortunately, they miss. Aire is hardly visible between the mass of ruffled grey feathers and the frenzy of sharp claws and beaks. Their posture is oddly humanoid, though, and they sport arms ending in vicious claws, unlike a normal vulture (not that you've ever seen one this big). Their bodies are only about a third covered in feathers, the rest shows purple and black skin with ample muscle below it. Their beady eyes dart back and forth with unearthly malevolence....

Everyone is up.

New map. (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AgBF08i13s81dHNTNEY1TXRYYWlWZTBQal9oNGhRX 3c#gid=0)


AoO: [roll0], [roll1]
Att 1: [roll2], [roll3]
Att 2: [roll4], [roll5]
Bite: [roll6], [roll7]

jump: [roll8]
Att: [roll9], [roll10]

Att claw: [roll11], [roll12]

[Seharvepernfan]

With hardly a conscious thought, Vikungar runs for the far edge of the rise and leaps out over the first beast. He flies over the creature, lands beside Aire, then spins, swinging his axe in a swift two-handed sideways slice, directly at it's exposed neck. With William distracting the creature, it should prove to be quite a blow.


Jumping to N16.
Jump: [roll0]
Flanks with William.
Waraxe: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]
Sneak Attack: [roll3]
if critical, an additional...
Waraxe: [roll4]
Damage: [roll5]

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Again, you witness the Dwarf flying through the air. He lands skillfully and delivers a powerful blow, but much to your surprise it cleaves straight through the creature, which promptly winks out of existence. Wicked sorcery must be in play here.

Spellcraft/Psicraft DC22:
Mirror image

DMRoll:
[roll0]

[PersonMan]

Start of round: Aliseya appears, occupying QR 16/17

As Airesynne is surrounded, she lets out a short curse in aurelian. Just afterwards, the red aura in the air solidifies, forming the shining white form of a unicorn on the other side of the demon across the fissure from Airesynne.

Taking stock of the situation, Airesynne laughs. "Waiting until we've beaten the rest to show up? Really, you're not the smartest fiend in the underworld, are you?" She asks, cracking her knuckles, grinning at the feathered fiends around her. "Or maybe you came here to get instruction from a few real warriors?" Airesynne is clearly caught up in the thrill of battle, but as she speaks, a crackling crimson field is raised about her and then bursts, surging outwards, catching on her three nearby allies and curling around them like a sentient, protective...thing.

"Come on, let's see if you can do something other than block my view," Airesynne says. Then Vikunger comes flying in and slices one out of existence. "See? That's how you do it!"

"Come now, Airs, don't taunt the denizens of the Lower Planes," Aliseya says, trotting forwards towards the gap in the ground.

Using Protection Devotion. +4 Sacred to AC.
Also, everyone within 10' of Aliseya's new position (OP 16-17) gains a +2 deflection bonus to AC and a +2 resistance bonus on saves. Both these bonuses apply against attacks made or effects created by evil creatures.

[Sallera]

"Haah, fakes. Find the real one, little lizard." Pointing at the nearest demon, Tani directs her new mount to shred it, and the lizard clamps down on its leg with a razor-filled maw. No doubt a taste most unpleasant... but only if it wasn't another illusion. And if it were the real one, it wouldn't last long once identified.

Lizard will full-attack Demon C. I have no idea what the lizard's stats are, so you'll have to make those rolls for me.

[Mido]

A second after one of the demons blinked out of existence, William jumped the chasm, moving past Airs and darted through towards the remaining threats, engaging both the west and north demons. It would not do to have their healer be taken in by simple numbers.

He gave a swift, deft brandish towards the outsider to his immediate north.


Jumping the chasm (gulp), then charging demon a, ending movement on M15.
[roll0] Jump Check
[roll1] Charging Attack Roll
[roll2] Damage Roll

If Crit
[roll3] crit confirm
[roll4] crit damage

[Autopsibiofeeder]

After Vikungar exposes the East vulture as a product of sorcery, Tani uses her mount to do the same to the South demon. Aire uses her divine power, and together with the blessings of her mount the team's defenses are bolstered to extreme levels. William has gotten into a true jumping and swinging flow: With ease, he clears the chasm and charges at the North vulture. In contrast to the others' blows, this one lands, and true at that. Even though William feels the resistance of supernatural hide reducing the force of his blow, he still manages to damage the creature's wing seriously.

The Hellbird retaliates, though. A whirling frenzy of claws, talons and a beak rains down on William. Fortunately, the divine blessings offer enough protection for most blows, but not all (16 damage). While it is whirling, a cloud of one inch large black darts erupts from beneath it's feathers. Both Aire and William find a few of them piercing their armor and sinking into their skin (1 damage to both).

Everyone is up.

New map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AgBF08i13s81dHNTNEY1TXRYYWlWZTBQal9oNGhRX 3c#gid=0)

DMRolls:

[roll0], [roll1]
[roll2], [roll3]
[roll4], [roll5]
[roll6], [roll7]
[roll8], [roll9]

[roll10]
[roll11]
[roll12]

[roll13]

30

[PersonMan]

Airesynne throws her head back and laughs. "If this is all you can do, I advise you to spare us the trouble and return to where you came from," she says, spreading her arms as crimson light builds around them. With an elaborate swing of one arm, the aura quickly fades, then surges from below William and courses through his body.

As Airesynne laughs, Aliseya does something reminiscent of rolling her eyes and charges the demon proven to be real, jabbing her horn at it then rising to two legs to stike with her hooves.

Spontaneous Healer -> Converting Sanctuary to Cure Light Wounds.

Healing: [roll0]

It doesn't provoke an AOO due to Effortless Healing.

Aliseya full attacks.

A Horn: [roll1]
D Horn: [roll2]

A Hoof 1: [roll3]
D Hoof 1: [roll4]

A Hoof 2: [roll5]
D Hoof 2: [roll6]

[Sallera]

"Aha, you found him!" Directing her mount across the chasm, Tani lets the lizard strike first, hopefully removing another illusion to clear the field. Once the demon's position is either identified or unmistakable, she focuses another barrage of invisible energies through its brain, striking at thoughts and senses alike.

Ride to M17/N18.
Jump: [roll0] + whatever

Lizard attacks Demon B: [roll1] + whatever (Can I have the lizard's stats? This is kind of awkward.)

Tani uses a 5pp Mind Thrust on Demon A (or Demon B, if the lizard hits and it's not another illusion)
Damage: [roll2], Will DC19 negates
Spell resistance: [roll3]
Automatic success on suppressing display.

[Mido]

That struck true...

Suddenly William found himself reeling back, keeping his shield on the defensive, as the bird-like demon threw a torrent of blows at him. All manner of the creature's natural weapons, beak, claws, talons, flew at him in retaliation, testing every bit of defense that he had mustered through the years. He found that a beak had slipped through a crack in his stance as it dealt a blow through his armor, making his knee buckle slightly from the force.

The fact that a telling strike could only have a slight effect on the creature made him grit his teeth. Whatever this monster was, it was dangerous and tough as nails.

He brandished his sword again at the demon he just hit. An audible grunt comes from him as he put greater force into his upward slash, aiming to power through the creature's natural plating. He then directed a second attack towards the remaining demon to his left as he brought his sword down. If it was another illusory manifestation as was the first two, he would rather have it revealed now that he was still in striking distance.

Staying in place, performing a full-attack with a +5 power attack bonus to damage, first attack on A, second on B

Attack on Demon A
[roll0] Attack Roll
[roll1] Damage Roll
if crit;
[roll2] Confirm
[roll3] Crit Damage

Attack on Demon B
[roll4] Attack Roll
[roll5] Damage Roll
if crit;
[roll6] Confirm
[roll7] Crit Damage

[Seharvepernfan]

Vikungar watches the melee between William and the ogre-parrot intensely for a brief moment, noting details with a warrior's instinct, then makes a snap decision proving that his logic can pierce his rage. With practiced speed, he whips the bundled net from it's nook on his belt, slinging it over the heads of his friends with a grunt, towards the chest of the ...thing. Before the net is totally unfurled, he has already snatched a flask from his bandoleer and flung it as well.

Quick-draw net
Net (ranged-touch): [roll0]
Entangled: -2 attack/-4 dex/half-speed/can't charge or run/DC 15 Concentration to cast/Escape DC 20/Break DC 25 (both full-round actions)

Quick-draw holy water
Holy Water (ranged-touch): [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]
if critical, an additional:
Holy Water (ranged-touch): [roll3]
Damage: [roll4]

If the first attack is successful, the second will have a better chance to hit, and if it does, we'll know if this thing is a fiend or not. Gonna eat an AoO or two, probably, so I'm formally asking for a nice healing spell before Vike goes a-tumblin' to the other side.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aire heals her allies and taunts the abomination while her Unicorn companion charges. While one of her hoof attacks connects, she is unable to pierce the creature's defences. Tani directs her lizard towards the West vulture and orders it to attack. It bites, or was it a head butt? Anyway, it does not work. Directing a reptile in combat is not so easy, it turns out. Still not sure which opponent to assault, she holds back to see what the warriors do.

William swings his sword at both foes. He misses the Northern one, but the East one turns out to be an illusion and winks away. Tani immediately responds by attacking its mind. The piercing screech while it throws its head back tells her the attack was succesful. Vikungar, as usual, produces some tools he brought that are just right for the situation. First, he draws a net, to which the bird-man reacts by inflicting a vile gash in the Dwarf's side (11 damage). A moment later, though, it is covered in a net. Next, he produces a vial and tosses it at the suspected evil outsider. It misses its attack in reaction to retrieving the vial and it snorts loudly as the liquid burns away at the skin on his belly.

Seriously taunted, netted, mentally assaulted and physically hurt, it peers left and right with its beady eyes for a split second and makes a decision: The holy one dies first. Aire finds her taunting opposed by a rain of attacks. She avoids two claws and a mean bite, but is then seriously hit when it jumps up and rakes at her with its talons (22 damage).

As this all occurs, Aire and William feel the projectiles that hit them just before grow in their skin (1 damage to both of you).

Everyone is up.

New map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AgBF08i13s81dHNTNEY1TXRYYWlWZTBQal9oNGhRX 3c#gid=0)

DMRolls:

AoO 1: [roll0], [roll1]
AoO 2: [roll2], [roll3]
Claw 1: [roll4], [roll5]
Claw 2: [roll6], [roll7]
Bite: [roll8], [roll9]
Talon 1: [roll10], [roll11]
Talon 1: [roll12], [roll13]

Will save: [roll14]
Spores: [roll15]

67

[PersonMan]

Airesynne is winded for a moment by the attack, blood pouring from her wounds, before she recovers, shaking her head to clear her mind.

"I'll be getting out of your way, Vikungar," she says to the dwarf behind her, before looking to the fiend one last time before moving, grinning, blood running down her chin. "By the way...that wasn't particularly impressive,"

Then, stepping to be at Vikungar's side rather than in front of him, Airesynne grits her teeth, clenches her fist and concentrates for a brief moment. Red power flares up from her, and she thumps a hand on her dwarven ally's arm, crimson power surging into his body. The aurelian's necklace flashes red, and after a moment she is suffused in the same energy, her wounds closing.

"You'll need to do better than that to best me, though,"

Aliseya doesn't comment, instead focusing her fury on the fiend before her.

5' step to M16.

Spontaneous Healer: Shield of Warding -> Cure Serious Wounds
Armbands of Max. Healing: Heal result is 40 (24 + 16)

Aliseya full attacks.

A Horn [roll0]
D Horn [roll1]

A Hoof [roll2]
D Hoof [roll3]

A Hoof [roll4]
D Hoof [roll5]

[Seharvepernfan]

Vikungar stares down the fiend with a fierce look as Airs steps over to his side and infuses him with positive energy. He looks her in the eye for a second and nods, then, with acceleration only a dwarf could muster, bolts towards and under the beast in a swift diving-roll at just the right time to get through it's legs. Rolling up to his feet behind it, he spins into position and hauls his waraxe sideways in a vicious slash, aimed at the fiend's spine. "RrrrrrRAAHHHggghhh!!!"


Tumbles in a straight line for 20ft.
Tumble: [roll0]
Attacks @PA1
Waraxe: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]
if critical, an additional:
Waraxe: [roll3]
Damage: [roll4]

If he fails the tumble, he just attacks from William's side of the creature, with his attack roll being two lower.

[Sallera]

"Haah, next time we pick a fight with a demon-bird, we've gotta be more enthusiastic. These guys know how to take a hit." Perched atop her (confused and somewhat annoyed) mount, Tani gives the impression of merely watching the battle intently; she'd never seen the point of Airesynne's flashy displays, preferring instead to appear as unthreatening as possible. It... usually worked. Her steady gaze betrays the depth of her concentration, however, as she sends another invisible assault through the demon's mind.

Delay until after everyone else (just in case it dies first), 3pp Mind Thrust.
Damage: [roll0], Will DC18 negates.

[Mido]

"Agreed." William answered Tani in a deadpan voice.

This thing was formidable, that was for sure.

William flinched for a moment as the spikes that had struck him earlier had burrowed just a bit deeper underneath his armor. It was tolerable, but still disconcerting.

He tightened his grip. Now that the decoys have been dealt with, it was time to focus before they were struck with any more surprises. He swung his sword, again added weight to his brandish, twice attempting to rend the creature in two.


Declaring full attack on remaining Demon, with power attack bonus.

First Attack
[roll0] Attack Roll
[roll1] Damage Roll
if crit:
[roll2] Attack Roll (confirm)
[roll3] Crit Damage Roll

Second Attack
[roll4] Attack Roll
[roll5] Damage Roll
if crit:
[roll6] Attack Roll (confirm)
[roll7] Crit Damage Roll

[Autopsibiofeeder]

It turns out this bird sings a lengthy song. While having problems piercing its exceptional armor, Vikungar still manages to deliver a nasty sneak attack. William and the Unicorn, however, find their efforts frustrated by the monster's defenses. Tani also does not see the wished for reaction in its behavior, as his willpower proves to be stronger than her mind magic.

Again, still netted, the creatures lashes out at Aire. A powerful claw strikes at her throat while its beak pierces the flesh on her shoulder (34 damage). Blood dripping from its beak, it hisses loudly. He enjoyed that...

William and Aire again feel the alien spores grow further on their skin. Next to itching and burning, it is really starting to hurt now (2 damage to each).

Just as you think your foe is out of actions, you all notice a large creature flying over Tani, Unicorn, William and Aire. It looks remarkably similar to the monster you are fighting now, though, admittedly, while flying the creatures look a bit more regal and a bit less clumsy. It sweeps just over your heads as it lets out an ear-piercing, mind numbing screech. Tani, Unicorn, William, Lizard and Aire also feel a batch of spores, those Aire and William are familiar with, landing on them (3 damage to all). The creatures flies on and disappears in the darkness, into the hallway you all came from.

Everybody, also Vikungar, needs to make a fortitude save (DC22) before acting (if at all). Tani, Unicorn, Aire and William may attempt an AoO on the flying creature, but only if they pass their save.

New map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AgBF08i13s81dHNTNEY1TXRYYWlWZTBQal9oNGhRX 3c#gid=0)

DMRolls:

[roll0] (2)

[roll1], [roll2]
[roll3], [roll4]
[roll5], [roll6]
[roll7], [roll8]
[roll9], [roll10]

91

[PersonMan]

Fort save for Aliseya: [roll0]

If two or more others failed their saves
Airesynne looks around at the others, frowning. "Like you said, Tani, more enthusiasm!" She says, her eyes flashing crimson with her power, followed by a sudden surging of her aura to blast outwards, drowning out the scream's effect for a brief moment and allowing those struck by it another chance to recover.

Step to M 16, defensively cast Mass Resurgence. Everyone gets a second save against the scream.

Concentration: [roll1]

Second fort save for Aliseya (if she fails the first): [roll2]

If she can act, the unicorn will full attack again.

A Horn: [roll3]
D Horn: [roll4]

A Hoof: [roll5]
D Hoof: [roll6]

A Hoof: [roll7]
D Hoof: [roll8]



If only William or Tani failed the save
Airesynne grins at the demon, battle-lust flashing in her eyes. "How cute, the little birdie can peck and his friend can sing. Sing me a song, little birdie,"

Stepping back and to the side, Aireynne clenches her blood covered fists and, with a brief chant, her aura surges around one of her hands. Setting it on one of her allies, she focuses for only a moment before the crimson light surges through their form, purging them of the scream's debilitating effect.

Step to M16.

Cast Panacea. It removes blinded, confused, dazed, dazzled, deafened, diseased, exhausted, fatigued, frightened, nauseated, panicked, paralyzed, shaken, sickened, and stunned. It negates sleep effects and the effect of the feeblemind spell, and ends any additional effects from poison, as the neutralize poison spell.

It also heals for [roll9].

Aliseya full attacks.

A Horn: [roll10]
D Horn: [roll11]

A Hoof: [roll12]
D Hoof: [roll13]

A Hoof: [roll14]
D Hoof: [roll15]

[Autopsibiofeeder]

The screech knocks the senses out of William and Tani. Aire swiftly responds by probing William with her curing magics, while the Unicorn fiercely pierces the vultures flank.

William and Vikungar may still act.

DMRolls:
107

[Seharvepernfan]

Noticing that his brutal strike was somewhat less than brutal, Vikungar makes a simple deductive leap, takes a vial of oil from his bandoleer in a rough manner, and smashes it and his axe-blade together with a clash. Re-gripping his axe, he takes a step sideways and swings overhead in a mighty two-handed arc, aimed up at the creature's spine (about the only critical area he can reach).


5ft. adjustment to his right.
Move action - withdraw Oil of Bless Weapon and smash it onto axe.
Attack @PA3.
Waraxe: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Sneak Attack: [roll2]
If crit; auto-confirms an additional:
Damage: [roll3]

[Autopsibiofeeder]

After the piercing by the Unicorn horn the monster was already close to staggering, and Vikungar's blow with his axe is too much for it. As soon as the axe connects, the vulture disappears. Perhaps because it was summoned?

In the meanwhile, your attention is also drawn to the hall you came from, the hall where Vanna was still standing guard. "Couraaagh!" is apparently the sound of a demonic vulture running into an unsuspecting soldier of the light. The cry is followed by a lot of flapping as the beast crashes into Vanna. "Hey!", that's Vanna's voice shouting over a lot of shuffling and rumbling, "....Spawn" it sounds like some serious blows are being exchanged there... "...Darkness!" The entrance of the hallway is briefly lit by a flash of golden blueish light you have learned to recognize as the paladin's smiting "take that!"

Then, silence follows. Everyone may act, and William gets an extra move action (actually in the round before).

[Seharvepernfan]

Acting on a bestial hunch, Vikungar bursts through his friends in a rush, leaping the chasm and running off towards the retreating lizard.

Moves to X19.
Jump: [roll0]

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Here (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AgBF08i13s81dHNTNEY1TXRYYWlWZTBQal9oNGhRX 3c#gid=0) is a new map.

Vikungar:
You intent to move away from where the demon went, right?

[Mido]

"Tani, follow Vikungar, make sure he doesn't get into too much trouble!" William exclaimed as he turned and made a beeline for Vanna's location.

"Airs, you're with me!" He continued as he ran to aid the paladin. If their friend had gotten a bad break, he needed someone to patch him up.

He made a mental note of most of his dropped items, and the direction Vikungar and Tani darted off to. He had doubts about the dwarf's sudden flight but he trusted the old coot's instincts. Hopefully, he thought, it still rings true.


Making a run for the hallway we came from. Stopping at D9, or if roleplaying permits, just 5 feet away of the demon if possible.

If I understand correctly though, I still have one more action? If so, next action would be 5 foot step and full attack on the Demon in question. Will post edits on flavor text and attack rolls if second action is confirmed to be true.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

William:
Moving to the demon takes up your move action in the previous round and the one in this. This means you can make a standard action / one attack against the demon.

[Sallera]

Tani giggles. "Oh, we all know how to handle trouble." She follows William's request anyway, turning the lizard about and jumping the chasm once more, following Vikungar down the hallway.

"What's this about, hmm?" On a whim, she shifts her perspective into the cognitive sphere, looking for any stray thoughts drifting down the hallway.

Lizard double moves to Y17/Z18.
Read Thoughts, targeted down the hallway, Will DC18 negates.

[Mido]

As he turned the corner from where they came from, he beheld the demon who had fled the scuffle earlier. He barely had time to digest what it looked like, only to react as it battled Vanna.

He swung his sword reflexively, as he had practiced so many times in the past. No thought, no plan, just an attack at his foe.


[roll0] Attack Roll
[roll1] Damage Roll
if crit:
[roll2] to confirm
[roll3] crit damage

Also, +2 to attack rolls due to flanking. Sorry, forgot all about it.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

William and Aire arrive in the hallway and find Vanna, breathing heavily. "Demon....it disappeared." At the beginning of the other hall, Vikungar and Tani try to find out if there is someone, or thing, there. Vikungar sees and hears nothing, and Tani does not sense any intelligent presence.

As a painful reminder of the fact that there has to be something lurking here, you feel the spores burying themselves deeper in your flesh. Tani, Unicorn and Lizard take 3 damage, and Aire 7. To his surprise, William finds that Aire's magic has stopped the spore infection.

OoC:
Sorry I gave you the impression you could attack, Mido, but I did not want to spoil this.

[PersonMan]

Airesynne grimaces as the stuff within her digs deeper.

"Time to flush this out," she says, cracking her knuckles. "Don't take offense, Vanna, I'll get to you in a moment,"

Then the aurelian closes her eyes, closes her hands to loose fists and breathes in slowly. Her aura flares, and her eyes open, shining with power.

Using Cleanse Disease on self.

[Sallera]

Wincing as the strange spores continue to burrow into her flesh, Tani lets out a strained breath and drops her search for... whatever Vikungar is looking for. Mentally picking out each stinging point of pain, she surrounds them in a layer of cushioning energy, isolating the spores and preventing them from touching her further.

3pp Vigor. Concentration checks to manifest and hide display automatically succeed.

[Mido]

William, slightly disconcerted, approached the paladin. He always considered paladins a cut above ordinary fighters such as them, since they can do battle and have the grace of the gods backing them. From what he beheld, it seems they were as mortal as him. Shaking his romanticized notions, he tried to prop Vanna up to a standing position.

"What do you mean it disappeared?" He asked urgently, the strain of combat still ringing true in his timbre. "Did it flee or just vanish into thin air?"

His inquiries were cut short as he witnessed Airs cringe in pain. It had already gotten familiar to him, this effect this demon had on them. He braced himself for the inevitable agony but... none came.

Airs!

"Airs!" He exclaimed, feeling that he had already done so a second time, though only the first was just a silent epiphany. "Your spell, it stopped whatever it was the demon did. Try it on yourself, then Vanna, and get back to the others. They may already be afflicted."

He took Vanna's weight under his shoulder and assisted him in walking, taking him as far as the mouth of the cave clearing. He propped him up against the tunnel wall and scanned both the tunnel and the cave, hoping to find if whether the creature had actually left or if it still lingered, cursing them with the burrowing affliction.


@Auto: That's alright. :smallwink:
I'll just edit my earlier post a bit later. You have to keep the suspense.

Anyway, spot check on both the tunnel and the cave clearing, hoping to luck out and find if the demon is still indeed around.

[roll0] Spot Check

[Autopsibiofeeder]

OoC/All:
A small round by round recap, so everyone knows what is going on and what has been going on, and in what order.

Round 0: You are fighting Demon 1, and demon 2 flies over and crashes into Vanna
Round 1: You kill Demon 1, Vanna deals exchanges blows with the Demon 2.
Round 2: You run towards Vanna/the other side of the dungeon and inspect/detect thoughts. The Demon 'disappears'.
Round 3: Mido assists Vanna, Aire heals herself, Tani does Vigor and Vikungar folds his net swiftly (-2 to use instead of -4 next time), demon B.......dun dun DUN...see this post.

Tani notices that the spores now eat away at her psychosomatic shield (3 damage) while Vikungar swiftly folds up the net he had used on the monster and was smart enough to pick up when it disappeared: With another one of those birds it might come in handy again. Then, they get distracted by a flash of light coming from the entrance, where their allies are.

Aire manages to heal herself and oversees how Mido helps Vanna. "I am fine, my friend." The paladin seems to be in order, aside from some scratches. "It takes more than a fiendish pigeon to take me down" With a grim smile, Vanna adds: "It just blinked away..." William is peering around intently to find their foe, when suddenly the corner of the cave Aire, William, Unicorn and Vanna are standing in explodes in a brief burst of fire. All of you need to make a reflex save (vs magic, fire, DC14).

Make the save:
17 fire damage from a Fireball
Fail the save:
34 fire damage from a Fireball

Aire:
You are pretty sure you caught a glimpse of the monster, at E4. It moved towards the exit right as you spotted it.

New map. (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AgBF08i13s81dHNTNEY1TXRYYWlWZTBQal9oNGhRX 3c#gid=0) Everyone is up

DMRolls:

SR: [roll0]
[roll1]

Spot William: [roll2]
Spot Aire: [roll3]

Hide: [roll4]

[Sallera]

The familiar sound of magical flames echoes from the mouth of the cave, and Tani shakes her head vigorously, a few stringy locks coming loose from her hat and falling across her face. "Ah, never mind whatever-it-is, let's go!" As the lizard bounds across the chasm once more, Tani looks inward instead of forward, trusting in the mount's instincts to avoid any falls, and refocuses her reserves of energy into a sharpened point.

Full-round action to regain psionic focus, DC20: [roll0]
Lizard double-moves to M15/N16.

[PersonMan]

Oh snap, Reflex is my weak save.
[roll0]

Won't need any other rolls here.

Airesynne twirls just as the flame hits, letting the flames burn her away from the worst of the heat. It's...a difficult technique to explain. The kind of thing one learns, however, in the kind of environment Aurhaven became in the winter. For a moment, the burning returns her to that place, that time.

"Feind gesichtet!" Airesynne shouts, barely waiting for the flames to fade before rushing off down the tunnel. The brief moment she does wait is mostly occupied by the crimson swirl of energy that erupts from her and surges down her arm. Smacking William on the shoulder with one bloody (and now burned) hand, the aurelian keeps contact just long enough for the red power to shoot over her hand and flow into him. It settles after a moment, forming a faint mist around him that slowly heals his wounds.

Then she charges, bringing her polearm to bear as she runs. "Vorwärts!" Entirely consumed by her focus on the battle, the healer entirely forgets that her allies probably didn't understand a word she said.

Casting, via Spontaneous Healer, L. Vigor. Using Rod of Extend Spell. Duration is 34 rounds.
Moving to E4, drawing the Aurpike along the way.

German
"Enemy spotted!" and "Forwards!"

[Mido]

Reflex Save
[roll0]

No sooner had William laid Vanna resting against the cave wall had the sudden burst of flame engulfed him. It coursed through his vaunted armor, rendered impotent by the mystic fire. The only thing he could do was grit his teeth and endure, and he did, for now at least.

He could not attend to the paladin for now, the danger was still ever present. As he composed himself, gathered his wits and balanced both his sword and shield arm, he felt the familiar crimson energy Airs exuded course through him. It invigorated him and as he recovered, he gleaned the Aurelian dart towards the way they came.

He could barely trust his senses as of the moment, so he trusted his friend. He followed the healer, intent in finding the demon bombarding them with magical flames and running his sword through it down to the hilt.


If it's possible, I'll follow Airs' charge, hopefully if I can spot the demon I can charge it or if not, just close down to melee range. I guess what I'm trying to say is I can't really see the enemy for now, but when I do as I followw Airs, I'll close in on it, attack as well if it's possible. Will make the rolls if it's confirmed I can.

[Seharvepernfan]

Running out of time, Vikungar realizes through the haze of anger that even if he did find an opponent, he wouldn't be able to do much in such a short time. With nothing but a frustrated (though fierce) frown, he follows Tani and the lizard back towards the others, keeping an eye on his surroundings as he goes.

He's sure there are other enemies further-back in the cave, and suspects they are trying to draw him and his friends towards the entrance for some trap or diversion.

("Dung.")

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Vikungar and Tani race towards the entrance of the cave and find Vanna still in sight, but see that Aire and William have moved on. Arriving at the end of the hall, with a view on the entrance, Aire and William find no trace of the Demon. Whatever its tactics are, it sure seems as if it chooses not to face the whole group head-on.

Everyone is up. New map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AgBF08i13s81dHNTNEY1TXRYYWlWZTBQal9oNGhRX 3c#gid=0)

OoC:
There is a lot of 'nothing' in these rounds, which is a consequence of the Demon choosing to separate you, kite you, wear you down, avoid you, or whatever. Sorry about that, but it is not willing to let you slaughter it just like that :smallwink:.

[Sallera]

Unsure whether more fire is incoming, Tani focuses for a moment, a mirrored layer of energy forming an unseen shell around her. Directing her stolen mount forward, she looks over at Vanna. "What, did it run away already?"

Ah, sod it, Energy Adaptation. It lasts an hour and a half anyway.
Concentration to suppress display (DC19): [roll0]
Ride to G10/H11.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Vanna smiles, apparently happy to see Tani, but then his face turns dark as he sees her wounds. "Come here, you. You are hurt!" He walks towards the mind mage and lays his hands on her. His healing is different from that of Aire, it is hard to tell how or why, but in the end, both sorts of healing to their job. "Aire saw it near the entrance. She and William followed it....but I am afraid it moved away. I think it can teleport. It could be anywhere!"

Tani:
+45 hp from lay on hands. Enjoy the zombie paladin for as long as it lasts! :smallsmile:

[Sallera]

Tani wrinkles her nose. "Guess we need to make it come to us, then. Demons are such a bother..."

That's about four times more than Tani needed, but still useful. :smalltongue:

[Autopsibiofeeder]

You try not to group together too close and search for the demon outside and in the hallway and the room where you fought the other demon and the drow. You don't find it, nor does it attack you. Three rounds pass in relative peace before you feel comfortable gathering and deciding on the next step. The way it looks now, the demon has either left or is hiding somewhere inside, perhaps in the far east end of the cave where Tani and Vikungar had been peering down a hallway and there is still an unexplored area.

Aire, do you take this opportunity to relieve Tani of her spore infection?

[Sallera]

"Well." Tani tucks her hair back behind her ears, adjusting her cap as she looks helplessly around the cavern. "Let's just move on? We still need to find the portal, and there's no sense in letting the demon-bird bring extra reinforcements."