Aldrych heads over to stand protectively in front of Mittens. He shoots two more arrows and... nothing. Neither hits.

---

"Beep Boop. Error. Error. Massive Damage sustained. Malfunction."
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:49, Wed 13 Mar 2013.

Dido puts a hand on Callie, healing her. Then scurries over to and up the cliff! As soon as he's up there, he charges the tiefling and hits it. The tiefling once more teleports, but doesn't look terribly long for this world. Especially if Mitts finishes it.

---

Minor: Lay on Hands
 Callie heals for 9 hp.
 Dido surges: 8-1 = 7
Move: North to cliff top
Standard: Charge using Ardent Strike v H1! Hit(22)!
 dmg: 9
 H1 is now divinely sanctioned.

Callie HP: 13 + 9 = 22
H1 HP: 24 - 9 = 15 and marked by Dido

Callie moves around the boulder to get a clearer shot. But fire in the eyes is distracting to the already inaccurate halfling.

---

Move: To get better shot.
Standard: Sacred Flame v H1. Miss(9).
Save throw: 9. Fail.

Callie HP: 22 - 5 = 17

Mits climbs the nearby ledge to get line of sight on the enemy then finishes him off with a double magic missile!

"Finally!  Is it just me or are fights dragging on longer and longer?  Someone put out Callie's fire."

Callie stops, drops and rolls. Dido heads down to help Callie. It takes a few rolls and pats, but she's out. She doesn't bother resting before going to the ledge and getting to climbing to go after the tiefling.

Dido says, "Callie, rest!"

Callie ignores him.

---

Ongoing damage: 5
Save throw: 4
Ongoing damage: 5
Save throw: 15

Callie HP: 17 - 10 = 7

  "It is not just you,  However in this case it appears our enemies were somewhat focused on dragging things out compared to merely several tough targets at once."  Damage resist vs a low damage party, and ranged teleporters with piles of ongoing damage.  At least they were not insubstantial, regenerating, and causing a ragequit portal explosion if the party actually won.


Tedisas HP 30+11+11= 42/42  5-2= 42/42  S 5-2 = 3.  AP 0.
blowing a surge for +1 more HP offends me, but Ter has been reduced to 1 hitpoint too often to chance it <.<

Mits gets to work tying up the nearest tiefling if he's still breathing, then heads over to help Callie with hers assuming the same breathing bit.

Treasure: Once the PCs have defeated the ambushers,
they can recover a small satchel from one of the tieflings.
The satchel contains a scroll case with three scrolls inside.
The first scroll reads:
I don’t care how you do it, but deal with these adventurers. Take
one of the bronze warders if you must. If they remain in the
Labyrinth, they could disrupt my plans. Once you’ve dealt with
them, deliver their bodies to our gnoll friends, along with the
enclosed scroll.
Paldemar
One of the scrolls has a wax seal bearing an ornate letter
“P.” The scroll reads as follows:
To Maldrick Scarmaker, Exalted Chieftain of the Blackfangs and
Chosen of Yeenoghu: Paldemar offers you the corpses of these
champions as a gift of ongoing friendship, that our arrangement
might continue to be mutually beneficial. May you savor their
blood.
Your friend and ally, Paldemar
The final scroll bears a map of the Labyrinth that has
directions to the Well of Demons, which is circled and
marked with the word “Blackfangs.”
One of the tieflings also wears a command amulet. Even
if the bronze warder somehow survives the battle, a PC
donning the necklace must know the correct command
word to gain control of the warder, and that is knowledge
that only Paldemar and his trusted servants possess.

Once the tieflings are tied up, Callie finally rests. Callie heals the tiefling and then wakes him with rage in her eyes that would make Kitau proud.

However, she knows she isn't as intimidating as Dido.

---

Surges: 7 - 4 = 3
Callie HP: 7 + 9 + 9 + 9 + 9 = Full

Dido looks angry as well and with the draconic flair that is becoming relatively regular in his voice these days, he says, "Now. Why wasn't surrender an option?"

---

Dido Intimidate: 21 total
Surges: 7 - 3 = 4
Dido HP: 19 + 12 + 12 + 12 = Full

"Because a fate worse than death awaits those who fail Paldemar," the Tiefling answers.

"Now tell us why we shouldn't just hand you to Paldemar and tell him you failed?" Callie asks with a glare.

  "Chirp, they won't be swayed by a fate worse than death because a fate worse than death awaits those swayed by a fate worse than death oh dear I've gone crosseyed."

  Terdisas, anything to add to this conversation?  Well, a Facepalm is partial credit?
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:18, Thu 14 Mar 2013.

"Mittens looks at the map to the villain's lair," Mittens says, "We're going to be bending Paldemar over our collective knee and spanking him regardless of what this guy says..."

"You don't stand a chance against him!  He has the demonic power on his side on top of being one of the Mages of Saruun!  With only one bronze warder and two warlocks giving you so much trouble, you'll be crushed in a heartbeat!"

Dido says, "You know how many times we've heard "you don't stand a chance" from someone's minions and then defeated the boss anyway? At least this time, these guys saw for themselves how annoying they were to us and could gauge from that."

Callie still has an annoyed tone and says, "Thanks for the warning. Not every fight is won with strength alone. We stopped the demon lord Orcus from entering the Prime Material Plane, though I assure you it wasn't because we fought him or we'd be dead. Now again I ask; Why shouldn't I just hand you over to Paldemar?"

"Uh... because he's your enemy and you plan to fight him?  The question makes no sense."

  "Well, you did give the impression that your boss would drop everything for the sole purpose of torturing you.  At the very least throwing you at his cruel mercies because it is on the way may be faster than walking you back to some other authorities."

Mittens snickers.  "I can just see it now!  The villain's monologing so we toss this guy at him.  'Now I'm going to tell you my evil pla... WHAT?!  It's that failure tiefling I sent to kill you and he's still ALIVE!?  Sorry, meddlesome heroes, but I'm going to have to drop everything to torture this guy now.  It's a matter of honor, you see..."

Callie slams her oversized sword into the ground right next to the tiefling's head. "It's simple. You refused to surrender to the heroes; who would have spared your lives. I'm still offering to give you a way out. Tell me everything about Paldemar and I'll let you live. Refuse; and I will bind you and bring your failure selves with us to Paldemar so that even if we die, I will die happy, knowing he will deal with you in a much more unpleasant way afterwords."

"You already know everything useful I know," the tiefling answers, "What more do you want to know?  I'll gladly tell if only to make you that little bit more annoying to him before he kills you then hunts me down."

  "I suppose some insight to why he felt we were worth the effort of trying to ambush, as well as why they feel the Blackfangs are worth his time.  Unless your employer happens to have been the destination of the slaves we have yet to save, odds are we would have completely passed him by if not for his seeking us out."  Well okay, the local wizard town leadership were wondering where the guy had gone too.  But that had felt more like an optional sidequest up until now.

"My magical colleague makes a good point," Mittens concurs.

Callie doesn't say anything. Terdisas' question was a good one.

"Word got out that you smashed the slaver ring," the tiefling answers, "So clearly you're the 'meddlesome hero' types.  I'm guessing he wanted us to kill you to save him the trouble when you inevitably found him and attacked.  As for why the alliance with the Blackfang...  why not?  Allies are more useful than enemies, and I'm sure it would be a hassle trying to get done whatever it is he does without being on their good side."

  "I generally prefer the employed hero type, but problems seem to keep throwing themselves at us anyway.  We could have ended up with more important things to worry about after rescuing the last few people, but no, now your employer has gone and made it personal."

"'Nothing personal,'" Mittens says mockingly while twirling her villainous mustache, "'I only sent a few assasins to kill you and your friends.  It's business, you see.'  Yeah I woulda been somewhat reluctant to do the Mages of Saruun any favors, but this guys' gotta go.  And I'll bet we'll wind up finding the last few slaves in the process anyway."