Post by Dead Greyhawk on May 14, 2006 21:53:17 GMT -5
The Company is in dire straits, having been beaten near senseless by a horde of undead, coupled with several powerful clerics of an unknown god. Oaklock is dead. Dell is unconscious. Adrienne, Al, and Hugh have all been paralyzed by the dark god's might. Only Dell's wall of fire encircling him and Adrienne provide enough cover from the boulders of the surrounding giants to keep them from being pounded to paste.
Winthrop collects Dell and Adrienne, using Foebiter to bring them to the kennel, where the others wait. They join with Hugh and use the fading wall to burn the undead previously feared by the clerics. The wall burns some of the undead, but then sputters out, leaving the paralyzed Hugh and Adrienne at risk.
One of the giant, headless wights survives the burning and approaches the foursome. As Dell shouts, "Take them! Take them! They are the paralyzed ones!" the wights reaches for him. Dell scampers out of reach, tossing the golden lion out and commanding it to kill the wight. Hugh is mauled by the other undead before the wight and the remaining zombies are finally slain by Winthrop and Dell's Golden Lion.
All the while the steading rings like a bell, sounding the same as when the demons had been summoned before. Diego exclaims forcefully that the Company must flee, but Raven instead sends the others into the steading to secure the hallway to the Great Hall.
Snookums, recognizing her former home, lumbers off to her den, hoping to rest after fighting and being so badly injured. Jasper and Cedrus try to convince her to return to the Company, but she doesn't budge. She growls at poor Jasper, blaming him for her discomfort, claiming that he promised food, not rotted meat. Only after Cedrus heals some of her wounds does she stir forth.
Raven establishes a fighting line at the junction of two corridors, near the Great Hall, but opposite a closed door. Placing the paralyzed Al in the line, he hopes that Al will quickly limber up. Cedrus and Snookums fit in well, and as Al and Hugh both shed the effects of the dark god, undead can be seen stirring in the Great Hall. Adrienne, having been affected by a more powerful priest, remains immobile.
Large undead, likely bugbear, zombies mixed with human zombies march resolutely through the Great Hall towards the Company. "I see what happened to the people of the dorf," comments Dell. As the zombie bugbears meet the line of the Company, the door across from the Company opens and disgorges more orcish zombies.
The Company begins the battle in fine form, expecting their two clerics to quickly make work of the weaker undead. Instead, the powers of Trithereon and Ehlonna both appear to be weakened in this place and few of the zombies are turned to dust. Worse, while the Company quickly slays the bugbear zombies, the sheer number of them ensure that the Company suffer the odd blow here and there. The warriors of the Company, and the bear Snookums, are being slowly worn down.
Into the midst of this battle comes two cowled priests with a ziggurat marked shield. One has not been seen before, but the other appears to be the one shot by Diego with the red fletched arrow. The new priest quickly clasps Raven and Cedrus in his dark god's grasp.
The injured priest turns towards his comrade and attempts to do something unpleasant to him. The priest is difficult to damage and his attack goes awry. "Kill him quickly! More are coming! Three priests are here and that doesn't count the mage or the demons below!" shouts the injured priest, as he takes on the new priest's shape.
The new priest is difficult to damage. Diego's shots are rejected. Pavel's blows fall short. Even the golden lion has no success. The battle grows close, as the priest struggles to attack Dell, who has taunted him mercilessly. The zombies are being struck down, slowly but surely, but at some cost. Snookums appears enraged and badly wounded, blood coating her sides and Jasper calls for someone to heal her before she dies.
Winthrop rallies to the cause, driving Foebreaker deep into the priest and knocking him to the ground. Coinciding with the fall of the last of the zombies, Hugh is able to heal Snookums and everyone draws back. Winthrop, who had started rifling the corpse, instead mends Otto's armor. The mobile pull the immobile back into the cross corridor.
Snookums wanders to the door back into the kennel. She paws at the door, clearly wanting to leave this place. Pavel joins her there, waiting for the others to flee.
Instead, the Company forms another fighting line in the corridor, waiting for another attack. With Raven and Cedrus paralyzed, the Company is not prepared to retreat. Dell casts an enchantment of flight upon himself and can see across the Great Hall another detachment of undead bugbears forming. He notes that these bugbears move more quickly than the other, as if they had been magically hasted.
Winthrop moves forward to use his wand of steam on the approaching undead. As such, he is perfectly placed to see the sudden appearance of a robed, cowled man. The man looks familiar, and it takes a moment for Winthrop to recognize him. The man is the Nerullite wizard from the Temple in the Jotens where Otto was found.
The man gestures at the Company. Winthrop and Dell, who has also seen and recognized him, turn to shout a warning, but their voices are overwhelmed by the rush of fire that fills the corridor. Twenty feet high and twenty feet wide, reddish blue flames flow over the Company, scorching and burning them.
Dell crashes to the ground and lies limp. Adrienne falls over against the wall. Hugh begins to melt and Jasper ignites like a candle. Snookums roars and collapses. The others remain conscious and quickly act.
Otto scoops up Hugh and Jasper and runs through the flames towards the kennel entrance, where he knows another passageway is. Pavel quickly joins him there, dragging Oaklock's corpse. Al grabs the fallen Dell and runs forward towards the mage. Winthrop steps forward as well and steams the mage and the onrushing undead bugbears, causing many of them to boil and collapse. Diego steps to Raven's side and pulls forth Raven's bastard sword, the sword he wielded in the volcanic Dwarvish ruins. It ignites with a cold fire and cools the area some, but not enough to overcome the raging inferno.
The mage appears immune to the steam until an undead walks through him. Apparently, the mage is an image projected by mighty magic. Faced with an undead onslaught, Al drinks his potion from the Knot, reviving himself. He is wise to do so as the mage targets him for bolt after magical bolt. The bolts rip Al's skin from him, but he weathers them.
Unfortunately, the magical fire has been damaging to many of the magical items of the Company. Al's axe, several potions, and rings have all melted in the intense fire. Winthrop, attempting to put out the fire, dispels magics in the area of Raven and Cedrus. This dispels his magics and destroys several potions, but does not damp the fire nor release Cedrus and Raven from the dark god's grip.
Diego drags Cedrus from the fires as Otto rushes in to grasp Raven, who is nearly cooked. Adrienne is cooked, as she melts and catches fire like a tallow candle.
Al searches through Dell's magical pouch, finding it full of coin, but no potions. Withstanding more magical bolts, Al pours his potion of fire resistance onto Dell's body, preparing to run back through the wall. Winthrop summons a globe of darkness onto the projected image, blocking sight.
As Otto drags out Raven, Al finds Dell's potion from the Knot and pours it onto Dell. Dell awakens, wet and cool, to Al's burnt, panicked face. Al starts screaming, "Get me out of here before we all die! Fly me or teleport me or do something magical!" Winthrop changes shape into a gargoyle as Dell grabs hold of Al. Between the two of them and Winthrop's magical boots of levitation, they are able to lift Al into the air up over the fiery wall. The ground beneath and now behind them erupts into a patch of ebony tentacles that flail about searching for the Company as more undead lumber in.
Diego has been able to douse a small area of flame near the door to the kennels while Pavel has poured an enchanted oil upon himself. Handing a potion to Diego, Pavel says, "Good luck. See you outside," and fades away. Winthrop is able to use the flaming sword to gain access to Adrienne's corpse.
All throughout the battle, occasional bursts of light from the flames seem to signify the destruction of some object of power. As Winthrop returns with the half-elven corpse, he can see that her equipment has fared better than most.
The steading is clearly aflame at this point. The dark god's grip finally is thrown off by Cedrus. He uses his last prayer to restore the health of Hugh, who uses two of his last three prayers to restore Jasper and Raven. Diego, Otto, and Al check the kennel and find it empty, with the doors still closed.
Dell turns invisible. He then flies down to the room where the large map and the secret door to the dungeons were found. The door is ajar, so he listens carefully. He can hear the sound of perhaps a bellows: air rushing in and out. Cautiously he peeks around the corner into the stairwell. Down the stairs below him, slowly rising in the stairwell, is a red haze, blocking the full width and height of the corridor. Dell flees back to the kennels, franticly trying to find a way out though the smoke and fire.
Will the Company make it out alive?
Winthrop collects Dell and Adrienne, using Foebiter to bring them to the kennel, where the others wait. They join with Hugh and use the fading wall to burn the undead previously feared by the clerics. The wall burns some of the undead, but then sputters out, leaving the paralyzed Hugh and Adrienne at risk.
One of the giant, headless wights survives the burning and approaches the foursome. As Dell shouts, "Take them! Take them! They are the paralyzed ones!" the wights reaches for him. Dell scampers out of reach, tossing the golden lion out and commanding it to kill the wight. Hugh is mauled by the other undead before the wight and the remaining zombies are finally slain by Winthrop and Dell's Golden Lion.
All the while the steading rings like a bell, sounding the same as when the demons had been summoned before. Diego exclaims forcefully that the Company must flee, but Raven instead sends the others into the steading to secure the hallway to the Great Hall.
Snookums, recognizing her former home, lumbers off to her den, hoping to rest after fighting and being so badly injured. Jasper and Cedrus try to convince her to return to the Company, but she doesn't budge. She growls at poor Jasper, blaming him for her discomfort, claiming that he promised food, not rotted meat. Only after Cedrus heals some of her wounds does she stir forth.
Raven establishes a fighting line at the junction of two corridors, near the Great Hall, but opposite a closed door. Placing the paralyzed Al in the line, he hopes that Al will quickly limber up. Cedrus and Snookums fit in well, and as Al and Hugh both shed the effects of the dark god, undead can be seen stirring in the Great Hall. Adrienne, having been affected by a more powerful priest, remains immobile.
Large undead, likely bugbear, zombies mixed with human zombies march resolutely through the Great Hall towards the Company. "I see what happened to the people of the dorf," comments Dell. As the zombie bugbears meet the line of the Company, the door across from the Company opens and disgorges more orcish zombies.
The Company begins the battle in fine form, expecting their two clerics to quickly make work of the weaker undead. Instead, the powers of Trithereon and Ehlonna both appear to be weakened in this place and few of the zombies are turned to dust. Worse, while the Company quickly slays the bugbear zombies, the sheer number of them ensure that the Company suffer the odd blow here and there. The warriors of the Company, and the bear Snookums, are being slowly worn down.
Into the midst of this battle comes two cowled priests with a ziggurat marked shield. One has not been seen before, but the other appears to be the one shot by Diego with the red fletched arrow. The new priest quickly clasps Raven and Cedrus in his dark god's grasp.
The injured priest turns towards his comrade and attempts to do something unpleasant to him. The priest is difficult to damage and his attack goes awry. "Kill him quickly! More are coming! Three priests are here and that doesn't count the mage or the demons below!" shouts the injured priest, as he takes on the new priest's shape.
The new priest is difficult to damage. Diego's shots are rejected. Pavel's blows fall short. Even the golden lion has no success. The battle grows close, as the priest struggles to attack Dell, who has taunted him mercilessly. The zombies are being struck down, slowly but surely, but at some cost. Snookums appears enraged and badly wounded, blood coating her sides and Jasper calls for someone to heal her before she dies.
Winthrop rallies to the cause, driving Foebreaker deep into the priest and knocking him to the ground. Coinciding with the fall of the last of the zombies, Hugh is able to heal Snookums and everyone draws back. Winthrop, who had started rifling the corpse, instead mends Otto's armor. The mobile pull the immobile back into the cross corridor.
Snookums wanders to the door back into the kennel. She paws at the door, clearly wanting to leave this place. Pavel joins her there, waiting for the others to flee.
Instead, the Company forms another fighting line in the corridor, waiting for another attack. With Raven and Cedrus paralyzed, the Company is not prepared to retreat. Dell casts an enchantment of flight upon himself and can see across the Great Hall another detachment of undead bugbears forming. He notes that these bugbears move more quickly than the other, as if they had been magically hasted.
Winthrop moves forward to use his wand of steam on the approaching undead. As such, he is perfectly placed to see the sudden appearance of a robed, cowled man. The man looks familiar, and it takes a moment for Winthrop to recognize him. The man is the Nerullite wizard from the Temple in the Jotens where Otto was found.
The man gestures at the Company. Winthrop and Dell, who has also seen and recognized him, turn to shout a warning, but their voices are overwhelmed by the rush of fire that fills the corridor. Twenty feet high and twenty feet wide, reddish blue flames flow over the Company, scorching and burning them.
Dell crashes to the ground and lies limp. Adrienne falls over against the wall. Hugh begins to melt and Jasper ignites like a candle. Snookums roars and collapses. The others remain conscious and quickly act.
Otto scoops up Hugh and Jasper and runs through the flames towards the kennel entrance, where he knows another passageway is. Pavel quickly joins him there, dragging Oaklock's corpse. Al grabs the fallen Dell and runs forward towards the mage. Winthrop steps forward as well and steams the mage and the onrushing undead bugbears, causing many of them to boil and collapse. Diego steps to Raven's side and pulls forth Raven's bastard sword, the sword he wielded in the volcanic Dwarvish ruins. It ignites with a cold fire and cools the area some, but not enough to overcome the raging inferno.
The mage appears immune to the steam until an undead walks through him. Apparently, the mage is an image projected by mighty magic. Faced with an undead onslaught, Al drinks his potion from the Knot, reviving himself. He is wise to do so as the mage targets him for bolt after magical bolt. The bolts rip Al's skin from him, but he weathers them.
Unfortunately, the magical fire has been damaging to many of the magical items of the Company. Al's axe, several potions, and rings have all melted in the intense fire. Winthrop, attempting to put out the fire, dispels magics in the area of Raven and Cedrus. This dispels his magics and destroys several potions, but does not damp the fire nor release Cedrus and Raven from the dark god's grip.
Diego drags Cedrus from the fires as Otto rushes in to grasp Raven, who is nearly cooked. Adrienne is cooked, as she melts and catches fire like a tallow candle.
Al searches through Dell's magical pouch, finding it full of coin, but no potions. Withstanding more magical bolts, Al pours his potion of fire resistance onto Dell's body, preparing to run back through the wall. Winthrop summons a globe of darkness onto the projected image, blocking sight.
As Otto drags out Raven, Al finds Dell's potion from the Knot and pours it onto Dell. Dell awakens, wet and cool, to Al's burnt, panicked face. Al starts screaming, "Get me out of here before we all die! Fly me or teleport me or do something magical!" Winthrop changes shape into a gargoyle as Dell grabs hold of Al. Between the two of them and Winthrop's magical boots of levitation, they are able to lift Al into the air up over the fiery wall. The ground beneath and now behind them erupts into a patch of ebony tentacles that flail about searching for the Company as more undead lumber in.
Diego has been able to douse a small area of flame near the door to the kennels while Pavel has poured an enchanted oil upon himself. Handing a potion to Diego, Pavel says, "Good luck. See you outside," and fades away. Winthrop is able to use the flaming sword to gain access to Adrienne's corpse.
All throughout the battle, occasional bursts of light from the flames seem to signify the destruction of some object of power. As Winthrop returns with the half-elven corpse, he can see that her equipment has fared better than most.
The steading is clearly aflame at this point. The dark god's grip finally is thrown off by Cedrus. He uses his last prayer to restore the health of Hugh, who uses two of his last three prayers to restore Jasper and Raven. Diego, Otto, and Al check the kennel and find it empty, with the doors still closed.
Dell turns invisible. He then flies down to the room where the large map and the secret door to the dungeons were found. The door is ajar, so he listens carefully. He can hear the sound of perhaps a bellows: air rushing in and out. Cautiously he peeks around the corner into the stairwell. Down the stairs below him, slowly rising in the stairwell, is a red haze, blocking the full width and height of the corridor. Dell flees back to the kennels, franticly trying to find a way out though the smoke and fire.
Will the Company make it out alive?
