If she heard or understood Shirok's order, Ilsa didn't acknowledge it. When Roth attacked the child, she yelled, "I warned you!" and launched at him with her mighty sword.

16:51, Today: Ilsa Redeye rolled 22 using 1d20+5. Attack Roth, Power Attack: +/- 3.
16:52, Today: Ilsa Redeye rolled 17 using 2d6+9. Damage, Power Attack.

"Get this door open! We have to help them."

Stan ordered the halfling frantically, not even sure Porto knew how to pick a lock.

As he shouted Stan pulled from his robes a small red phial. He held it nervously in his hands, hoping that the magic inside would be appropriate to their foe.

Standard: Ready action to drink potion of protection from evil if Porto does indeed get the door open.

I'm a singer, not a thief! Porto yells back as he starts into a song.

Standard Action:Inspire courage

A bear there was, a bear, a BEAR! All black and brown, and covered with hair

the Bear! Oh, come, they said, oh come to the Fair! The Fair! Said he, But I'm a Bear! All black and brown, and covered with hair! And down the road from here to there. From here to there! Three boys, a goat, and a dancing bear!

For the first time since the party had joined together, Roth revealed his knowledge of Orc Tongue and remarked to Shirok in its guttural tones before being rushed and felled by Ilsa.


OOC: Doesn't Ilsa EVER roll poorly?  And I'm guessing that should have been 2d6+12...

Exasperated that Roth—someone who had claimed to be her friend—would blow-off her warnings and continue to assail the little boy, Ilsa lunged at him!  She brought her heavy sword down onto the elf, aiming for the center of his skull.  The nimble elf shifts his weight and avoids the attack that would surely prove fatal; but can’t escape the blow entirely.  Ilsa’s blade slices a deep wound into Roth’s shoulder, cutting through his armor, muscle, and finally stopping at bone.  Roth looks directly at his attacker, his eyes burning into Ilsa’s, and speaks something in perfect Orcish just before collapsing.

Focusing on the task at hand, Shirok and the Black Bear continue to press the boy’s dog.  The Black Bear rakes a particularly severe lateral gash along the dog’s back!  Shirok attempts to skewer the canine; but his spear fails to penetrate the dog’s hide.

“Keep away from him, you infernal creature!” the boy cries out at the Black Bear as its attack draws a high-pitched whine from the boy’s dog.  “Stop it!”  Looking to Ilsa and pleading for her assistance the boy says, “Help Arroyo—he’s the only family I have left!”  The boy then focuses on Shirok, points, and shouts, “Benebeln!”

Powerless to unlock the door, Porto does the only thing he thinks he can do—sing.  He begins a song, hoping to inspire courage; and greater still, hoping his companions can hear him...

The dog has suffered a terrible wound, and it is obvious by its movements it is quickly growing weary of the abuse it has suffered at the claws of the Black Bear.  It issues a low growl, and begins to fade away!

Somewhat surprised at Porto’s reaction and subsequent singing, Stan does the only thing he thinks he can do—kick the door.  He quickly finds himself surprised again when the door gives and flies open, having never been locked.

Shirok and the Black Bear may take an AoO against the Blink Dog as it uses its supernatural blink ability while threatened.
Shirok, please roll a Will Save (DC 14), or be dazed.
Also, everyone benefits from Porto's Inspire Courage ability.

Round 3 Deadline Date Wednesday, Dec. 16th @ 08:30 AM CST
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:29, Tue 15 Dec 2009.

Shirok saves against the dazed and succeeds. (22 vs. 14)

Bear uses claw attack against Blink Dog (atk 14, 7 dmg)
Shirok uses spear against Blink Dog (nat 20, confirm 13, 3 dmg w/out crit)

I don't know if the timing works out for Porto's song bonus, so it is not included in the numbers above. I am delaying the rest of my turn until I find out whether these attacks were able to down the dog.

12:47, Today: Shirok Rezkala rolled 22 using 1d20+7. Will Save DC 14.
12:51, Today: Shirok Rezkala rolled 13 using 1d20+3. Shirok crit confirm.
12:51, Today: Shirok Rezkala rolled 23,3 using 1d20+3,1d8. Shirok AoO, dmg.
12:51, Today: Shirok Rezkala rolled 14,7 using 1d20+8,1d4+6. Bear Claw AoO, dmg.

OOC [Clarification] Porto began singing at Initiative 10 and the blink dog provoked the AoO at Initiative 9, thus Shirok and the Black Bear benefit from his Inspire Courage ability for this AoO round.

Combat Summary Update—
The dog begins to fade out of view, but not before Shirok and his summoned Black Bear companion can react to the otherworldly phenomenon.  They both deliver brutal attacks, and Shirok finally succeeds in skewering the magical beast.  It falls to the ground, its form slowly regaining substance as a dark pool of blood forms underneath it.

Please continue, the current Deadline Date stands.

OOC: Is it too late to pull the blow slightly, to down the dog without completely killing it?

The dog fell, still breathing but plainly severely hurt. Quickly Shirok's spear point dropped to the thing's neck, mere inches away from opening its throat. "Stop her!" Shirok growled at the child, the bear growling as it strode forward between Shirok and Ilsa. "Arroyo lives, but not for long. Stop her!"

Bear moves between Ilsa and Shirok, readied attack if she still goes for them.

Shirok threatens dog. Talking is free action, so with luck...

Ilsa was confused. Why was the child calling her Arroyo? And then Shirok clarified what the little one had meant. The dog's name is Arroyo. That makes sense. But then who does Shirok want to stop? She eyed the bear, reading to put a sword through it if it attacked her or the boy. She didn't care about the dog, per se, but then thought what she'd do if it were Neya bleeding on the floor. "You can heal the dog, Shirok. Do it now!" She flared her nostrils and snarled at her friend. Ilsa then turned to the boy and grunted. "You you! Quit sniveling and be a man. Stop saying words that don't make sense." She raised her left hand, the right still holding the sword, as a threat to smack him if he said something she didn't understand.

No real actions. Just delaying and hoping people calm down.

The wizard made a mental note to bring a flashier wand with him on his next adventure, or at least some scrolls. To be without spells was to be without weapons or armor, and this situation called for both.

Stan kicked open the door and tried to sound impressive, perhaps off-putting the rival spellcaster's nerves.

"Stop! Or I will use my magic in ways yet unseen." Unfortunately, his timing was quite off and his manner more comical than actually intimidating.

10:22, Today: Stan Fetchin rolled 7 using 1d20+2. Intimidate (untrained).

Immediately after, Stan realized he was right in front of an annoyed and possibly hostile Ilsa. Thankfully it looked like she too was interested in deflating the situation. He breathed a silent prayer that Ilsa had some common sense under her irritable and quarrelsome exterior.

Despite his fear and his disappointment at having miscalculated his dramatic entrance, Stan tried to glean some hint as to who this strange foe might be. Certainly he had spoken certain historical clues that, if true, might help pinpoint his identity - assuming he was from the past at all.

10:16, Today: Stan Fetchin rolled 19 using 1d20+5. Knowledge (History).

Move: Enter the room
Standard: Intimidate 7 vs boy

“NO!!” the boy screams as he watches the dog fall to the ground, his voice once again high-pitched like a child’s.  He glares at Shirok with supreme contempt; his eyes full of fury, but his mouth frozen in a creepy half smile.  He listens to Shirok’s report that the dog lives for now and his gaze shifts to Ilsa, as if expecting her to launch herself against the summoned bear or half-orc druid.  Seeing that she doesn’t, his expressions change again.
“Kill it,” he spits, his eyes locked onto Shirok.  “It’s not even mine.”  The boy’s body contorts into a twisting motion, akin to that of a baseball pitcher.  He snaps his body perfectly, as if pitching an imaginary ball at the strange statue.  A violent unseen force blasts the statue from its base, causing it to topple over and shatter upon striking the flagstone!
The boy uses the spectacle to make his grand escape, but not before biding Ilsa a fond farewell.  “Asseblief my vriend, hou hulle terug? Vir slegs 'n klein tydjie?”  As the boy speaks in fluent guttural Orcish, he bolts with all haste for the door, where he slams into Stan as he barges through coming the other way.

Ilsa followed the path of the boy's retreat while keeping an eye on the bear. She wasn't afraid of it, but she respected its strength and Shirok's choice of champions. She didn't want to fight Shirok, but she wasn't about to let the bear get a free swipe at her. When the child collided with Stan at the door, she yelled, "Wizard, let him pass! If you do anything to him, I swear I'll rape you with my sword!"

Stan didn't even try to get in the "child's" way. He wasn't sure what the boy was, but he knew better than to try to stop it.

"You stand in guard of a coward that abandons his family and hides behind a child!" Shirok growled as he suddenly moved towards the retreating child, leaving the bear behind as it began to fade back into its homeland. "And I will not allow you to make this mistake."

"And as for you," he snarled, staring at the filth hiding inside the child's body, "I will not allow such an abomination to exist any longer then I must. Disable this thing's body; then perhaps the child can still be saved."


Moves to the doorway to block the kid; if I still have an action then ready non-lethal attack against the kid if he tries to get past.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:51, Wed 16 Dec 2009.

Porto notices Ilsa's weird actions and words notices the signs of a charmed person. Deciding that Shirok may be right he runs after the kid and tries to grab him.

Move Action: Chase boy
Standard Action:Grapple boy

08:08, Today: Dungeon Master, on behalf of Porto 'Chubbs' Brandybuck, rolled 22 using 1d20+2 with rolls of 20. Touch attack to initiate grapple.
23:50, Today: Porto 'Chubbs' Brandybuck rolled 7 using 1d20-2. grapple.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:14, Wed 16 Dec 2009.

Porto attempts to grab the fleeing boy as Stan jumps out of his way, unsure of what the boy could really be and possibly fearing Ilsa’s wrath.  The halfling gets a hand on the boy but as his hand makes contact, Porto’s expressions likewise change.  Supreme confusion fills Porto’s cherub-like face and he begins to babble incoherently.  As the brief exchange occurs, the boy slips his rapier into Porto’s under-arm, scoring a minor wound.

Ilsa and Shirok race for the door as they follow the boy, but for different reasons.  Being closer to the door, Shirok makes it there first and attempts to smack the boy from behind, but takes great care in ensuring the blow be nonlethal; and the blunt end of his spear sails over the boy’s head.

The boy continues his flight to freedom and blazes past Stan.  He easily makes it the short distance to the inverted stairwell and leaps down into the darkness below.

Ilsa leaps down, following the boy, but stops and waits for anyone foolish enough to follow her. "That's it. It's over."

Assuming we are off initiative

Stan grabbed Porto when he saw the halfling get stabbed. The wizard feared the worst, and was relieved when the wound appeared minor.

"Did you hear him mention House Krüpe? Surely a singer and storyteller as skilled as you has some knowledge of the region's nobility. Know you anything of this family?"

"Tend to the fallen, including the boy's dog. Don't wake it but keep it alive," Shirok said brusquely before turning to follow the boy, pausing briefly to stare at Ilsa before rushing after the child.

As Stan reaches for Porto, the halfling jumps in terror.  He looks at Stan, but the look in his eyes tells Stan he doesn’t recognize who he sees.  With a guttural and desperate growl, the halfling jabs his shortspear at the wizard.  Stan throws up his arms in a meager defense, but the spear tip delivers a thin cut along the man’s forearm which causes the wizard to recoil.
A moment later, Porto’s eyes regain their sparkle and clarity.  Seeing that he’s hurt his companion, the halfling drops the spear with a mortified look on his face.  “I’m sorry!  I-I...” he begins, but can’t find the words.  Instead, the halfling draws his healing wand and attempts to reverse what he’s done to Stan.

If Stan will accept the healing, Stan will be completely healed.

Ilsa follows the boy out of the statue chamber and likewise leaps down into the darkness of the level below.  She lands hard, but unscathed from the 10 foot fall.  She looks around, letting her darkvision scan the shadows; but she can’t find any trace of the boy.  A moment later, Shirok drops down beside her.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:02, Wed 16 Dec 2009.

Ilsa grunted unhappily. "Coward," she grumbled. There was no reason for him to run in her mind and she saw it as an insult. Before she had a chance to wipe Roth's blood off her sword, Shirok dropped down. Upon seeing him, she smiled, and thoughts of the boy stopped bothering her.

Shirok ignored her as he landed upon the ground, all of his senses aware as he scanned the area. One hand twitched slightly, and a flash of light suddenly exploded further down the corridor, trying to reveal any hiding places within the shadows.

Casting Flare as far out into the shadows Shirok can, in the direction the kid probably went. Looking for any moving shadows or anything indicating the kid's still around.

17:34, Today: Shirok Rezkala rolled 8,27 using 1d20+6,1d20+7. Spot/Listen.

Feeling a bit uncomfortable Porto gives Stan a weak smile of apology. Then remembering that Roth got the shit cut out of him Porto runs over and starts tapping viciously with his wand.

Ilsa and Shirok scan the room below the inverted stair for the boy, and it appears he fled out into the labyrinth only moments before.  They step through the door back into the twisty and shadowy halls, but aren’t sure where the boy went.  This was his territory and both hunters knew he could be long gone by now.  The searched a little while longer, but ultimately came to the conclusion that they wouldn’t find him today.  They returned to the others on the level above.
Meanwhile, Porto rushes back into the statue chamber and heals Roth and Neya.  With both of the fallen members of the party back in business, they all wait for Ilsa and Shirok to return with news.
The wait isn’t too terribly long, and the two Snake Tongue barbarians return with news that the boy had escaped.  Stand looks down to the tarnished silvered urn and wonders what to do next…

Encounter Summary
Experience Awarded +390

Dungeon Crawl – Complete!
Bonus Experience Awarded +250