Avaritia Auri (Ilyrian Faction) [IC 1]

[Lord Of Mantas]

Oliver

As Oliver approached the aberration, he found his nose assaulted by the most foul stench he had ever experienced. Fleeting comparisons of an otyugh covered in sauerkraut on a hot day filled his mind; however, struggling through, he managed to summon his fortitude and rebalance himself. Almost immediately, he found that while the stench remained, it was not as bad as when he had first smelled it, and surmised that he would not have to worry about it for the rest of the fight. Alphonse, on the other hand, did not seem to be as lucky, and darted back down the corridor from whence the duo had come, cawing in fear. Meanwhile, wobbling about in the air, the blob raised its tentacles... and then promptly smacked itself in the face.

Spoiler: The Veinar hits itself for 7 damage. Turn 2 begins.

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Confusion's a heck of an affliction.

Melody

With practiced skill, the battle-axe Melody had generated swung down and bit into the shoulder of the tiger, sending it off-balance. Taking this opportunity, Nibley quickly dodged backward before loosing a final arrow. It was an arrow that flew straight and true, and as it lodged itself deep into the neck of the tiger and emerged out the other side, the tiger slumped to the ground, lifeless.

Spoiler: And Melody wins her first fight! You earn 800 XP.

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Regrettably the tiger does not have any loot upon its person, even in the form of swallowed coinage.

For a moment, Nibley and Bucky stood their, both of them clearly catching their breath. Then Nibley found himself and rushed over to bucky, clearly fussing over the pained-looking large bird. Hurriedly, Nibley reached into his satchel and uncorked a flask, pouring it into Bucky's mouth. The wound in Bucky's side continued to close up, and although the bird was still clearly pained he no longer looked to be on death's doorstep. Carefully stroking his mount's neck, Nibley looked over to Melody. Not bothering to reach for a chalkboard this time, he instead pointed at the oracle, then made the okay sign, a questioning look on his face.

The Girl with No Name and Boza

At TGWNN's admonishments and instructions to get masks, the two of them promptly jumped to and scurried off, each of them giving a quick "yes'm". In short order, they returned, each with plain black masks of their own, which they slipped over their heads. As TGWNN outlined her plan, each of them nodded.

"I have a spell that can paralyze one of them," said Temur, in reference to being asked to drop his biggest trick. "I'll go for their cleric, if they have one accompanying them. Keep them from getting magically enhanced, or worse yet, keep them from calling for help."

They came as the sun was set, and the light over Newharbor was dimming. It was slightly more difficult to see, now, although that problem was slightly alleviated by the torchlight from the squad of guards making their way up the road. Four generic guardsmen brought up the front, two of whom were carrying the chest they had seen earlier, and a Legionnaire in Iudexus' vestments brought up the rear. All was silent and still - until a couple of soft creaking noises came from the direction of the moneylenders.

"Who's there?!"

Spoiler: The Girl With No Name managed to avoid the notice of the other guards...

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However, Temur and Kagiso did not, and Boza has a negative stealth penalty that means he could not possibly beat their perception checks. TGWNN gets to act in the surprise round.

[Jade_Tarem]

Melody just made a thumbs-up gesture before waving at Nibley and his mount. [Do you need more healing?]

[Nefarion Xid]

Oliver hesitated as the creature brutalized itself. Perhaps it was mad or under some spell. Perhaps its own insidious powers had been turned against it thanks to Agrypha's protection. Still, it was a foul aberration and dangerous. Down here in the bowels of the earth, surrounded by death, such considerations were a lethal luxury. The paladin broke into a sprint and aimed to put the monster down with one decisive stroke.

"Leave my bird alone!"

Spoiler: Charge, Power Attack, Smite Evil

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(1d20+13)[25]
(1d8+13)[16]

if crit threat
(1d20+13)[21]
(1d8+13)[15]

[Lord Of Mantas]

Melody

Nibley examined his forearm, then pointed at himself and shook his head.

[I'm fine.]

He then nodded while tapping Bucky.

[He could use another bit.]

[Tychris1]

Grinding her heavy dwarven axe, The Girl rubbed her calloused fingers over the grooves in her finely crafted murder implement, and whispered sweet nothings into the carefully painted image of Timara's holy symbol on the side of its head. A hand grasped around the rounded top of the battleaxes weight. Clenching this small dirty world in a Mother's caring hand. Lunging out of the barrel she got the drop on the south eastern most guard and swung her axe violently towards his shoulder.

"EAT SH*TE." She grunted.

Spoiler: Surprise Round

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I'm gonna Study this guard as he's walking towards the ambush spot

Surprise Round Five Foot Step and Attack G4:(1d20+10)[30]
Damage:(1d10+5)[13] + (2d6)[9]

[Jade_Tarem]

Melody shrugged and tried the old divine healing trick again.

Spoiler: OOC

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Cure Light Wounds for (1d8+5)[7]

[Lord Of Mantas]

The Girl With No Name and Boza

Distracted as they were by the sound of Temur and Kagiso within the moneylenders, the guards did not notice TGWNN's presence until it was far too late. Her battleaxe struck true, cleaving past the right rearguard's sword arm and completely severing it before burying itself further into his torso, completely reducing his heart and spinal cord to jelly. As TGWNN jerked it out, he then fell to the ground, a death rattle leaving his throat as the life completely faded from his body. The other guards whirled around on their feet, looks of utter terror on their faces.

Roll for Initiative.

- Turn 1

Spoiler: Team Scary wins, so you all get to go first.

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What will you do?

Melody

As Melody continued to apply magic to Bucky, the wound continued to close further and further. At this point, the wound was still rather prominent, but it had finally reduced itself down from being immediately life-threatening to being merely concerning. Nibley examined it and wiped his brow, then finally fetched out the chalkboard and began writing.

I have to thank you. I am surprised that a tiger has gotten this close to Newharbor. They usually stay further inland.
Do you intend to continue onward? Bucky isn't the worst he's been, but I'd be lying if I wasn't slightly worried.

[Tychris1]

Hacking the man’s arm clean through a powerful spurt of blood shot across The Girl’s horrid mask, eliciting a cackle of delight, and lead into her shoving the now deceased Legionnaire off to the side. With an unceremonious kick to his still armed side she guffawed, placed a boot on top of the loot itself, and glared at the cleric from behind stitched eyes. ”No need to heal’em, love, he’s All Right now!” She tittered fecklessly at the lot of terrified guards before growling and swinging wildly towards the Cleric’s chest.

Spoiler: Round 1

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Move Action Study Cleric
Five Foot Step

Attack Cleric:(1d20+10)[15]
Damage:(1d10+5)[15] + (2d6)[3]
Crit?:(1d20+10)[13]
Damage:(2d10+10)[24]

[Jade_Tarem]

The oracle just made an unamused expression and zapped the bird again.

Spoiler: Maybe the d8 goes higher than a 2 this time

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Cure Light Wounds

(1d8+5)[9]

[zabbarot]

Boza took his cue from Agwynn, and hurled a bomb down at the lead guard as she dismembered their back line. He fought off a bit of tunnel vision as he felt the heat of the explosion wash over him. It passed with a wave of euphoria that made the hair on his arms stand up inside his armor. "You aren't a gods damned stereotype, Boza."

Spoiler: Action

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Throw one Alchemist Bomb at guard 1. This is Modified with Explosive, so it has a 10ft radius and will set anyone hit directly on fire. Those caught in the AoE take 5 damage.

(1d20+6)[26]
(2d6+3)[9]
[roll]1d6[/roll]

[Lord Of Mantas]

Oliver

As Oliver's divinely-infused blade cut into the aberration's flesh, it let out a mental squeal of anguish. Then, his mind felt touched again, the voice distinctly angry.

Halltharin flessshgirat. Mentat hahaikirAAAGH!

And then, he felt the distinct thrust of someone trying to attack his mind.

Spoiler: Make a DC 14 Will Save.

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If you fail, you will take 20 damage from the Veinar's Mind Thrust ability. Making the will save negates this damage. If you fail it by 5 or more, you are confused for 1d4 rounds.

- Turn 3

Meanwhile, far off in the distance, Alphonse's panicked cawing ceased.

Spoiler: Alphonse is no longer panicked.

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What will you do?

Melody

The wound closed even further, and was now quite shallow. While Bucky was clearly not at his best, still, it was a signficant improvement, and the bird made a motion with his beak and cocked his head at Melody in a way that suggested happiness. Nibley also nodded.

Onward it is, then.

***

In the end, with all the jungle in their way and the game trail coming to an end, it took them a full two hours to find the location of the catacombs. However, eventually, as Frederick had promised, they reached a clearing in the jungle, and in the center was a hill crested by a pair of coconut palms - and at the bottom, a 10x10 set of double doors, each wrought of metal. The doors laid open, for anyone to try and come inside. Removing a torch from his saddlebags, Nibley dismounted Bucky and lit it, and, together with Melody and Bucky, peeked cautiously into the first room of the catacombs.

The entire room appeared to be wrought of obsidian, with a granite floor. Upon the walls, the explorers could see what appeared to be ancient carvings of battles long past, depicting small reptilians battling against humans. Ahead, a corridor split in two directions: One went to the left, while the other went to the right.

The Girl With No Name and Boza

As Boza hurled his bomb, it scored a direct hit on the guard carrying the front end of the chest, and so he immediately went down to the ground, writhing and screaming in pain. A quick attempt to roll over and put out the fire was of no avail, and he soon stopped moving.

Temur, in the meantime, burst out the ajar door and leveled his fingers at the Cleric, intoning words to a spell of paralysis. The cleric, however, stood fast, and did not appear to be fazed by Temur's magic. Unfortunately, he had substantially less success resisting the razor-sharp claws that erupted from Kagiso's hands as he rushed out in a rage (having forgone the plan to push over the scaffolding on account of Boza sitting atop it), and soon lay in a pool of his own blood, dying.

The two remaining guards quickly regained their presence of mind, and each leapt toward TGWNN with a battlecry. She managed to dodge the first swing, but found less luck with the second, as the guard's longsword pierced her thigh.

Spoiler: Turn 2 Begins!

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Have fun.

[Nefarion Xid]

Spoiler: Will Save

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Oh boy I don't know if my +9 Willpower will help with this scary save
(1d20+9)[21]

More annoyed at the foul abomination than anything, Oliver continued to brutalize it.

Spoiler: Smite, Power Attack

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(1d20+12)[14]
(1d8+13)[20]

for crits
(1d20+12)[32]
(1d8+13)[14]

[Tychris1]

"You ***** are determined I'll give ya that." She dove to the side, noose in hand, and began to swing it around in a grand display. Hurling the noose through the air at the northernmost guard she snarled, phlegm sputtering, and legs spread wide into an anchoring stance to start strangling. This was where the fun began.

Spoiler: Attack!

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Five Foot Step, then Study G2
Attacking G2 with my "Noose!":(1d20+10)[24]

Strength Check!:(1d20+3)[10]

[Jade_Tarem]

Possessing the ability to see in the dark, Melody strode forward into the catacombs and took the left path, looking for a second room that might contain a dropped seal.

[zabbarot]

Boza scrambled down the ladder, somehow with hammer in hand, and chased after the guard.

[Lord Of Mantas]

The Girl With No Name

As Boza leapt down the scaffolding, and the second guard managed to pull the end of TGWNN's noose free, Kagiso and Temur continued to push forward. Surrounding the second guard, they made short work of him, Temur's falchion and Kagiso's claws ripping into his flesh and sending him spiraling down onto the cobblestones, which were now all totally soaked red with blood.

The lone remaining guard, now seeing that none of his fellows were left standing, threw down his weapon and raised his hands.

"F-fine. You've beaten me. I surrender," he choked out, trying his best to look defiant even as he stood entangled by the noose. "You've made it clear I cannot hope to d-defeat you. The key to the chest is on Michael's belt." He pointed to the fallen cleric. "Take what you wish, but... if you have even a shred of honor or decency, spare my life."

Melody

Rounding a corner, Melody was not, in point of fact, greeted by a swarm of mummified primitive reptilians, but was instead confronted by a mixture of the odd and the macabre.

In the center of the room, quite prominently placed, was a halfling, not more than about a day or so dead, lying in a pool of his own blood. His right arm was almost completely mangled, as if something spiky had crushed it. The larger pool of blood led, as a trail, all the way to the end of the room, where there was a strange apparatus built into the wall - and above it, a large hole, perfectly sized for one's head or limb to pass through.

Beside her, Melody could feel the air currents disturbed as Nibley and Bucky followed behind. Nibley made a gasping motion, then knelt next to the corpse and clasped his hands in a due to the dead.

Above the hole was a large carving in the wall consisting of three pairs of images. First, at the top, was a carving of a crude city - and beside it, the same city, but with all of the buildings razed to rubble.
Next was a dual image of a forest, and then, a depiction of the ground, with many holes.
And finally, an image of a river, one full and churning with water, the other completely dry.

Below these images, and immediately above the hole, was an inscription in Draconic.

Spoiler: Draconic

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There is a city without buildings,
A forest without trees,
A river without water.
How is this possible?

If you should know, then tell me.

Spoiler: On examining the apparatus itself...

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You see that it is made of stone, and has a large brass funnel upon it, and immediately below it, a stone button.

Oliver

Unfortunately, Oliver's follow-up strike missed, but as it turned out, he needn't have worried quite so much - for right after he missed, the aberration struck itself in the face.

Hallthart. Fargreta elisa farthakka.

And also unfortunately, the increasing focus in the creature's voice gave him the creeping sensation that he would no longer be able to rely on it smacking itself in the face.

- Round 4

Spoiler: One more good hit and the Veinar is dead.

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Make it count.

[Tychris1]

"Mmmmmmmm...." 'Ashley' made a display of visibly mulling over the proposition, placing a crimson stained finger against the drooping elongated nose of her terrifying mask, and shrugged at his pleading "Alright." She stated rather anticlimactically. She waited a brief second for the guards reaction, kicking his weapon away in the process, and then swung her heavy single edged axe down at him with the blunt side aimed to the back of his skull. "But I'm taking you with me." She remarked as the bloodied cold hag enchanted weapon arced through the air.

She turned around to the others, throwing up both of her hands, and tilting her head "Woops, did I do that?" She cackled before pulling on her noose as the guard's body went limp, retrieving her holy implement with wicked speed, and thrusting a finger at the downed clerics body as she scooped the man's slumped body up. "Get the key and lets bail before any more guards show up."

Spoiler: Attack

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Flanking with Boza
Non-Lethal Attack:(1d20+8)[15]
Two Hand Damage:(1d10+6)[12] + (2d6)[7]

[Nefarion Xid]

Oliver

"Please stop hitting yourself and take this seriously! I can't believe I rested up for this."

Spoiler: Power Attack, Smite

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(1d20+12)[17]
(1d8+13)[18]

[Lord Of Mantas]

Oliver

As if in reply, the beast let out a malicious mental cackle, oozed slightly to the side, and then thrust into Oliver's mind again.

- Turn 5

Spoiler: DC 14 Will Save negates.

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Let's try that again.

[Nefarion Xid]

"Your confidence is severely misplaced." Thrust.

Spoiler: No power attack

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(1d20+14)[18]
(1d8+8)[13]

(1d20+14)[23] for crit confirmation
(1d8+8)[16]

[Jade_Tarem]

Melody had heard this riddle before - or at least a longer variation of it - and dug her map of Nidus out of their pack before throwing it into the hole and pushing the button. She did not stick her entire arm in there, because that would be crazy with the evidence before her. I am going to be so irritated if this thing eats my map.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Oliver

With a final thrust, Oliver's sword pierced the foul Veinar (for that was the aberration's type), and it let out a last foul gurgle before slumping to the ground, dead. From the slit he had cut, a large ruby fell out, clattering to the ground.

Spoiler: You gain 1600 XP, and the following loot...

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A ruby worth 1600 gp.

As the creature lay dead, and Alphonse trotted back up beside Oliver, he noticed something else of interest. Right at the rim of the large, yawning pit before him, he could see a pair of places where the rock had been chipped oddly - as if something picklike had bit into it.

Melody

Melody felt a vibration coming from the walls, and a light enveloped the inside of the hole for a moment before fading. Out from the hole, a stone plinth emerged, bearing a few items of interest on it, and another inscription in Draconic.

Spoiler: Draconic

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Your mind may be quick, and your hands may show control, but can your eyes see past the surface?

The key will lead you further on, but remember that not all that is dead is harmless.

Spoiler: You gain 1600 XP, and the following loot...

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Five large amethyst worth 275 gp each, and a large brass key whose bow is shaped like a dragon.

The Girl With No Name and Boza

Unarmed and unresisting as he was, the guard fell unconcious under the twin blows of TGWNN and Boza. With this, all of the guards lay still.

Spoiler: Boza and TGWNN each gain 500 XP. You also find the following loot...

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Each of the guards has a longsword, chainmail, and a heavy steel shield; the cleric has the exact same except for the longsword (which is replaced with a heavy mace) and a key on his belt which opens the chest.

The chest contains 750 gold pieces, an amethyst worth 275 gp, and a small golden figurine of a kobold worth around 200 gold pieces, with an inscription in Draconic on the bottom.

Spoiler: Draconic

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Read this, and know that you must tread lightly to pass.

And then, far off in the distance, the group began to hear the sounds of footsteps, and lights come on in the windows a few blocks over. Clearly, the battle had attracted attention, and staying here much longer would not be advisable.

"Where are we meeting back up?" asked Temur.

[Jade_Tarem]

Melody stowed the gems carefully and showed her traveling companions the key, thrusting it out at arms' length and up to put it at their eye level. Then she gripped it normally while gesturing forward and back, wordlessly asking if they should press on or try the other 'second room' to look for the seal.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Nibley

Nibley made a gesture with his arms back out toward the hallway.

[We should try going the other way to look for the seal.]

[Jade_Tarem]

Melody nodded and stowed the key as well before making her way toward the other room.

[Nefarion Xid]

Oliver
Mines

"Oh, you're back? Thank you so much for joining me. I hope you don't mind, I, ya know, killed the monster. Did you want to get one scratch in? I think its still twitching." Oliver chided, but gave the thing a few more jabs and pried it open in search of more gems. He thought about kicking its noxious corpse into the abyss, but decided the miners might want proof of its death and should prefer to burn it rather than let it rot.

"They've gone and tunneled into the Underdark, haven't they, Al? We've got our work cut out for us if we're going to save their operation. Have a look down these crevasses and get a feel for what we're in for. Then I'll figure out where we go from here..."

[Tychris1]

Scooping up her prize, The Girl looked to her two stooges, and growled "Meet us by the Glan River, two miles southeast of Riverport. Now scram!" She hissed as she began to rapidly collect what she could, leaving most of the heavy lifting to Boza, and stopping only long enough to take the first hapless victim's severed arm as a trophy. Smearing the ground with his blood she drew a crude chain being shattered by a clenched fist rising. So all may know who reaped this grim harvest and feel hope. Lugging the arm over her shoulder she scampered away into the moonlit night with her tools in tow, cackling all the while, and fleeing towards the designated spot in the now burnt up letter.

Once she was there she'd begin to tie up the captured guard in earnest, still wearing her Hag mask for the work that needed to be done, and repeatedly poked him in the side of his swollen head with the severed arm waiting for him to come to. "Come ooonnnnn wakey wakey little boy. Can't be sleepin' on the job and all, give all your guard friends a bad name. What'd Ol Righty have to say about this?"

[Lord Of Mantas]

The Girl With No Name and Boza

Temur and Kagiso both nodded hastily. "You got it, boss-lady." Saying this, each of them split, melting into the shadows as best they could and heading south.

Packing up the treasure as hastily as they did, TGWNN and Boza were able to get everything sorted and melt into the shadows themselves just as lights started flickering and heading their way. Far off in the distance, they could hear the cries of alarm as the bodies were (presumably) discovered - and then, but a minutes later, the sound of a horn blowing. Making their way through the poorer parts, they were thankfully, for the most part, unaccosted by the Legion, but it was hard not to hear the loud, repetitive clanking of people running off in the distance as they were called to action - although, as they passed the darkening houses, several windows and doors were shut and locked tight as Boza passed by, their impromptu hostage atop his shoulder.

Shortly thereafter, they had made their way to the bank of Glan River, and were making their way through some nearby foliage on the way to the bank - when they promptly came across what appeared to be a cleric in Vaktar's robes and a member of the Ilyrian Inquisition, seated at the bank.

"You hear that horn?" the inquisitor said.

"That's... that's not what I think it is, is it?"

The inquisitor nodded. "One of our own, dead, or worse. And here I thought the rebels would hunker down once the wet season came around -"

It was at that moment that Boza trod on a stick. The cleric, worried as he was, did not appear to have heard it, but the inquisitor whirled around and spotted the alchemist.

"Hold it right there!"

Roll for Initiative.

The inquisitor quickly flashed his hands out, executing a series of complicated gestures before he was enveloped in a golden light.

"Iudexus, grant me your favor!"

Spoiler: The Surprise Round begins. The Cleric and Inquisitor won initiative, but only the Inquisitor spotted you two, so only he acts in the surprise round. Your go.

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What will you do?

Melody

Making their way forward, Melody, Nibley, and bucky wound their way down another hallway, which, after a couple of turns, emerged into a room not completely unlike the entrance. As before, there were four columns, and at the end, there were carvings in the wall that appeared to depict the small reptilians preparing their dead and engaging in various funeral rites. In the center of the room, no less than five men in the garb of the Iudexian Legion lay, their bodies long since cold, with various claw and bite marks stained dark red covering their bodies. Along each of the walls on the east end were a variety of mummified reptiles, with four rather large gaps.

If Melody had to guess who the gaps belonged to, it was the mummified velociraptors, who peeked their heads out around the columns at the approach of the party.

Roll for initiative.

The mummified dinosaurs darted around the columns, swiping their claws and teeth at the trio. Dodging and weaving, both Nibley and Melody managed to avoid teeth and claw; Bucky, being beset by two of the beasts, found himself swarmed and was not so lucky - although, thankfully, it appeared to Melody that the beasts were not as imminent a danger to the bird as the great cat had been.

Spoiler: Turn 1 begins.

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What will you do?

Oliver

Alphonse, after leaning his head in closer to his master in hopes of some ear scritches, dutifully flew down into the dark shaft, soon vanishing from sight. With only the beat of his heart to tell him the time, Oliver didn't know exactly how long it took, but it seemed as if it must have taken several minutes.

Then, from below, a screech. Only a couple minutes later, Alphonse came shooting back out of the shaft at top speed and landed next to Oliver, warbling in a decidedly distressed manner.

Spoiler: Upon casting "Speak with Animals"...

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"Flew down, down! Tried being sneaky. Came across bedrolls, three of them. Then, I spotted three things in the dark! They were like elves, but they had cruel faces, and curved knives in their hands! I flew off before any of them could leap out at me!

[Tychris1]

”Your oppressive god can’t hear you here ya pompous tw*t!” The Girl hissed as she erupted from the brush, charging down the befuddled cleric, and heaving her brutal Timara blessed axe down in a felling motion.

“Freedom!”

Spoiler: Charge!

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Charging the Cleric!:(1d20+11)[31]
Damage:(1d10+6)[12] + (2d6)[3]
Studying him if I hit
Crit?:(1d20+11)[16]
Damage:(2d10+12)[20]

[Jade_Tarem]

Melody scooted backwards to get away from the mummified dinosaurs and once again cast a spell behind her back with one hand - with the other, she held out a piece of flint and the tiniest bit of silver dust, which she flicked into the air as though waving a magic wand. A pinpoint of light grew at the center of the melee until it exploded in a flash of violet-white radiance.

Spoiler: OOC

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Casting the appropriately named Burst of Radiance, centered on the corner where it will hit everyone but Melody (this includes Nibley and Buckey). All those creatures need to make a Reflex Save (DC 18) vs. being blinded for (1d4)[4] rounds. If they succeed, they are dazzled for that many rounds instead.

Any evil creatures in the spell's effect take (5d4)[8] damage (good, light) regardless of whether or not they make the save.