Hamin shows no anger as he methodically cuts down the maimed Drow that assail him, his blows not fancy but workmanlike, guided by skills acquired over many, many battles, his movements economical but no less deadly as his blades find the mark time and time again.  Two more of the foe fall, though the last is not dissuaded, his sun-scarred visage showing no more emotion than does the one-eyed warrior as he attacks with but a bare fist, the only weapon he has, though his weakness betrays him and his punch is feeble and far from the mark.

On the far side of the well, Brugar turns to see the darkly roiling mass of corruption and races towards it shouting with a manic joy, Alasha'an cursing with equal vehemence as she quickly follows after the Dwarf ...

With a second foe circling around to flank her, Yetta is hard pressed to do other than devote her attention to her own defence ... but like her father her approach is to avoid the threat by ending it.  Her blade flashes twice and the badly wounded Drow succumbs to death, falling to the ground, even as she swiftly turns, unable to avoid the punch from the other, but at least able to see it coming and thus take the brunt of it on her shoulder.   In the morass of writhing tentacles behind her, the last of the Drow trapped therein finally ceases his struggles, crushed to death.

As Brugar and Alasha'an approach the constantly shifting mass, it forms into a vaguely humanoid shape.  Drawing closer, the pair are assailed by the stench of rot and a cold that chills their very souls, and bombarded by blow after blow from giant fists that prove only too solid, landing two solid blows upon the Dwarf and one upon the Elf whose more cautious approach allows her to duck the first swing, though not the second, though the pair manage to strike something solid within the horror's roiling form. 

OOC: Map of the proceedings updated ...
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:10, Wed 10 Jan.

Hamin can hear the fight behind him, and knows that something is happening, but there is still a foe in front of him.  So he attacks until his final Drow is dead, before turning and making his way to help Brugar and Alasha'an.


13:42, Today: Hamin Carmine rolled 26 using 1d20+16.  AOO on punching drow. – 26
13:44, Today: Hamin Carmine rolled 12 using 2d4+9.  aoo damage. – 12

If that is enough damage, Hamin will run in to the fight, looking for a flanking position.  Otherwise ...

13:45, Today: Hamin Carmine rolled 27 using 1d20+15.  attack P1. – 27
13:47, Today: Hamin Carmine rolled 14 using 2d4+7.  p1 dam. – 14
13:45, Today: Hamin Carmine rolled 33 using 1d20+15.  offhand 1. – 33
13:46, Today: Hamin Carmine rolled 21 using 1d20+15.  offhand 1  Crit. – 21
13:48, Today: Hamin Carmine rolled 11 using 1d6+7.  O1 dam. – 11
13:48, Today: Hamin Carmine rolled 12 using 1d6+7.  O1 dam  crit? – 12

If that is enough damage, Hamin will just move towards the fight.

If it ain't enough -  He will stay and hit again  (Please feel free to roll for me)

The dwarf is so consumed by his rage that he barely even registers how much those blows hurt him. He bellows in fury and repeatedly hacks at the shape-shifting creature in front of him, edging around a little to the left as he instinctively searches for the best angle to attack this thing.

OOC: 5-foot step to the left
Brugar Armbuster rolled 36,23 using d20+17,d20+17.  Two Fortitude saves DC20 (including Con bonus from greater rage). – 36,23
Brugar Armbuster rolled 36,31,29,23 using d20+23,d20+23,d20+18,d20+13.  Attack with blunt battleaxe, rage, speed. – 36,31,29,23
Brugar Armbuster rolled 15,12,12,14 using d8+11,d8+11,d8+11,d8+11.  Damage with blunt battleaxe, raging. – 15,12,12,14

Long experience on the battlefield allows Hamin to block out all other distractions as he concentrates on the immediate threat.  Swinging his double bladed weapon, the one-eyed warrior slashes methodically at the remaining Drow before him, dropping him to the ground with three well placed blows, then quickly surveying his immediate vicinity to confirm that there are none remaining to threaten him before turning about to survey how his other companions are faring. 

Yetta attempts to emulate her father, but the maimed Drow before her proves better at dodging than the other ... though at the last she brings him down with a final, deadly thrust, panting as she steps back from the corpse, raising her blade to Hamin as she too turns around.

While Alasha'an skillfully feints and probes at the darkly viscous form floating before herself and Brugar, the Dwarf is utterly consumed by his rage and simply hacks and hacks away.  The Elf's first blow misses by a whisker, and her second only just pierces the creature's defences, while Brugar makes every blow count, if at the cost of focusing all of the attention of the horror upon himself, suffering two vicious blows in reply, though pain of his wounds cannot get past the rage that drives him.

OOC: Map of the proceedings updated ...

Hamin checks quickly on his daughter, holding his own weapon up in response to her salute.  A smile almost cracks his face, but there is that thing that Brugar and Alasha'an are fighting ...   Putting his head down, Hamin charges across the room to close the distance.

OOC:  Not sure about distance on the map.  If I don't get there -  so be it.  Charge and attack is first priority.  Second priority is to get somewhere that gives flanking - preferably for both, if not Alasaha'an.  Or at least, into a position close to flanking that I can improve later, with a 5' step.

08:38, Today: Hamin Carmine rolled 21 using 1d20+18.  Charge attack. – 21   LoL
08:38, Today: Hamin Carmine rolled 12 using 2d4+9.  damage. – 12

Brugar continues to hack at the shape-shifting monster in front of him, his rage making him almost oblivious of the serious wounds he has already sustained. But this time he repeats a simple instruction to himself with every blow.

"Hit! Harder! Hit! Harder! Hit! Harder! Hit! Harder!"

OOC: Power attack.
Brugar Armbuster rolled 27,26,22,18 using d20+18,d20+18,d20+13,d20+8.  Attack with blunt battleaxe, rage, speed, pwr atk-5. – 27,26,22,18
Brugar Armbuster rolled 17,20,22,24 using d8+16,d8+16,d8+16,d8+16.  Damage with blunt battleaxe, rage, speed, pwr atk5. – 17,20,22,24
This message was last edited by the player at 11:37, Sun 14 Jan.

As Hamin and Yetta race towards the fight with the constantly shifting mass, Alasha'an takes a step to her right, emulating Brugar's earlier effort as she begins to work her way around the creature and perhaps shift it's attention her way.  Her free hand brushes the ugly amulet at her neck as she drives her dark blade deeply into the viscous substance that passes for its flesh.

Though he remains unmoved by the horror itself, Brugar's anger only increases as it obstinately fails to succumb to the wounds he has inflicted, leading the Dwarf to launch himself into the battle with even more abandon than before, a litany on his tongue as he strikes blow after blow on the creature, his blunt axe exacting a heavy toll.

Hamin's approach is met with a heavy blow as the creature's shifting flesh once more proves only too solid ... but the one-eyed warrior does not falter as his momentum drives him on and though badly off balance still manages to thrust the point of his polearm into the withdrawing limb.  .  :>]

Coming from the opposite direction, Yetta's run is more measured, yet it avails her little as she too becomes the target of the creature's giant fist which slams into her, the daughter proving far less lucky (or perhaps just less unyielding) than her father as her wildly swinging blade fails to connect.

Beset on all sides, the roiling mass of corruption and rot seems to linger on the point of violence before vanishing ...

... only to reappear above the well, hovering there for scant seconds before plunging into its dark depths. 

OOC: Map of the proceedings updated ...

"That was ..." Hamin says, panting slightly from the run across the room.


OOC: Off later today.  I should be able to get a post or two in.

With the foes all vanished or vanquished there is nothing left to feed Brugar's rage and he calms down relatively quickly. He methodically checks the various cuts and bruises he has received and flexes his arms, legs, neck and back to make sure nothing is broken. He is clearly seriously wounded but it looks like he will survive after all.

"That thing gave as good as it got. Tough bugger. Ah 'ope we don't meet it again. Let's check the bodies. See if there's aught we can use," he suggests.

He glances across at Ayas's corpse but doesn't head that way himself. Instead he heads for the drow priestess that he killed and starts searching the body.

Yetta favours her father with a small smile, nodding her agreement with his unspoken words.. though that smile slips as she turns her head towards Ayas at Brugar's suggestion.

"Maybe there's a chance," she mutters, lacking any real hope of that as she sets off towards the elf, wincing as she forces herself into a run.

The flailing tentacles vanish as the magic that sustains them finally fades, leaving the dark marble floor littered with the corpses of the Drow ... and one of your own.

As Hamin recovers his breath, Brugar heads back to the edge of the well and the corpse of the priestess he slew, while Yetta hurries to the northern end of the huge chamber where Ayas lies.  Kneeling by his side, it takes her but a moment to determine that he is now beyond life.   

OOC: Map of the proceedings updated ...

"We should remove their heads," Yetta suggests grimly, her face a mask, as she kneels at Ayas's side.  "Don't want to risk any of them rising again."

Brugar's search of the body of the priestess finds she is armoured in platemail of exceptional quality and the morningstar at her hip is of similar workmanship.  She also has a bone scroll tube and a highly polished wooden wand. He opens the scrollcase to see what is inside, probably hoping more for a map that he is able to understand rather than spell scrolls that are useless to him. He will show whatever he finds to the others, along with the wand and morningstar in case anyone has a use for any of them.

After that he will strip off the priestess's armour. Assuming no one else wants it he will stow it in his bag of holding in the hope of one day being able to sell it.

Then of course, there are more bodies to search.

Hamin leaves the searching and beeeheading to the others.  "What ever it was, it got me somehow.  I don't feel quite right ...

"Me too," Yetta looks back to her father sympathetically. "Hard to say what it is, just feels wrong."

"No hope for either of them then," Alasha'an suggests to Brugar with a twinkle in her eye. "Better cut their heads off to be on the safe side.."

"I guess we'll just have to leave it for now." he says as he walks across to Ayas, and starts to lay him straight and check hs body over.  "Does any one kow anything about him?  His family, or where he came from?"  As he asks, he starts to remove anythinng of value, or that might be magical from the body.  "Can't leave anything behind that the Drow can use and, when we are done here, we should take his body back into the world for a proper burial."

None of you, even Yetta who's suggestion it was, has any great desire to behead one corpse, let alone so many.  Hamin joins his daughter to attend to poor fallen Ayas, methodically beginning to strip his body of anything that your foe might make use of, the staff being the most obvious as the one-eyed warrior tries to recall what other items the Elf was able to reclaim from the store above Habmor’Anto prison.

Meanwhile Brugar continues to do much the same, setting aside the items he has recovered from the body of the Drow priestess to be distributed amongst you, including the bone scroll case which, to his disgust, contains only two pieces of parchment covered with the unmistakeable and incomprehensible markings of magic.

As the Dwarf begins to unbuckle the straps on the valuable armour that encases the body, he is interrupted as the dark depths of the well beside him begin to stir, swiftly building before his eyes into a roiling whirlpool ...

OOC: Map of the proceedings updated ...

Brugar takes one look at the whirlpool and curses loudly. He quickly scoops up the morningstar, wand and scroll and scurries over to join the others beside Ayas's body.

Sighing, Hamin prepares himself and moves forwards until he is level with Brugar.  However, her keeps some distance away from the Dwarf, hoping to set up a flanking position.

Brugar quickly makes his way over to where Yetta stands poised with her blade over Ayas's body, as Hamin circles around, all eyes fixed upon the violent whirlpool that engulfs the well ...

... a roiling mass of darkness and corruption erupts from the depths, hovering above the well. It is twice the size of the first, and exudes the same chill aura and stench of rot, though whether it is the same one now grown or this is yet another of the creatures, you cannot discern.  As you watch, the constantly shifting cloud resolves, as did the one before, into a vaguely humanoid form that floats menacingly in the upper reaches of the temple.

OOC: Map of the proceedings updated ...

Brugar curses as he sees the size of the thing that has emerged from the well. He is already seriously injured from the previous battle with its smaller cousin.

"Be it time to be leaving?" he suggests reluctantly, as he stows the morningstar, wand and scroll in his bag of holding.

Hamin hadn't realized that Brugar was so badly injured, and it is, perhaps, the first time he has seen the doughty dwarf suggest a retreat.  ""That looks like a stairwell." he says pointing across the temple, "I assume we still need to go down ..."

Like her father, Yetta was unaware of Brugar's injuries. "I have a wand that should heal you," she tells the dwarf, "but we should put some distance between ourselves and that first."

"Stairs it is," she swiftly agrees, without a backward glance. "Let's go!"

"Come on." he says, setting off after his daughter.