Nori roared as he used the haft of the hammer to keep the dark beast's claws at bay. For all it's magical goodness, the hammer was more trouble than help at this point. Heard Gren and Lorelei to turn off the light but it was not like he willed the blasted thing to do it. Retreat was not an option and both friends stood between him and the door and even then, Nori wasn't going to run knowing the others were still in there.

He gauged the distance to the door and groaned as he turned his back to hurl the mighty weapon out of the room. He hated turning his back on the creature in front of him but that was his only option at this point. Once thrown, he reach behind his back and pulled out his trusty Greataxe. The weapon would be as useless as the magical one but if Nori was going to die, it would be with weapon in hand.


Trying to toss the hammer out the door we came in. Rolled a basic ranged attack.
20:10, Today: Nori Hammerfist rolled 16 using 1d20+4. Throw Hammer.

Unsheathed weapon, Greataxe.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:19, Sun 19 May 2013.

Lorelei stumbled at the hit and nearly braced herself against the wall. Pain she could take but this numb feeling in her veins blooming like a poison was throwing her off balance. She took a defensive stance preparing herself, knowing she had to strike when being struck. Perhaps then the shadow would be vulnerable. Of course... it helped if she could move her arm properly.

13:40, Today: Lorelei rolled 7 using 1d20+3. Unarmed Strike vs Shadow; Held.

"BY THE DAMNED GODS OF THE ABYSS EXTINQUISH THE LIGHTS!" Gren bellowed, shortly followed by a flying hammer of light as Nori chucked the ancient glowing hammer toward the doorway. The weapon struck stone, bounced a few times, and skittered along the floor out into the next room. At least that was done with. Unsheathing his greataxe, he turned to face his opponent, even with no hope of hurting the damn thing. Lorelei seemed equally helpless against the creature as her weakened attack did nothing but move around the stale air in the room. Gren, however, called upon the magical ancestry of his blood to imbue his strike with arcane energies. When he struck the shadow, who deigned not to move, the blow came down hard and with plenty of resistance, much to the shadow's surprise.

Meanwhile, Strange appeared from the shadows on top of the altar, launching a debilitating claw attack at his unwary opponent. Strange was satisfied with the aim, power, and placement of the blow…but where was the satisfying feeling that marked his success? Why was he nearly knocked off balance from his effort? Why had his trust claw passed through the damnable thing?!




Initiative:

Group 1
23 Kass
16 Dale

Enemies
15 Shadows

Group 2
13 Nori
  8 Gren
  5 Lorelei
  4 Strange

Cumulative Party Status:
Dale:-17 HP & -13 STR
Gren:-1 HP
Kass:-2 HP
Lorelei:-10 HP & -6 STR
Nori:Full HP
Strange:Full HP


This message was last edited by the GM at 00:24, Mon 20 May 2013.

Dale buckles under the weight of his armor, leaning on his sword.  He's not going to be able to move far like this.  He steps a bit back and decides to give in to Gren's shouting.  He releases his light spell.  "Kass, can you get me out of here?"

---

Move to M-13.
Dispel light.
HP 0, AC 17 (due to weight encumbrance), Str 4

Kass saw Strange's claws slice straight through the shadow thing, and then the lights went out, as Nori tossed the glowing hammer out of the room and Dale extinguished the light on his armour. Her eyes started to adjust to the darkness, but because of it it was hard to tell whether the shadow things had disappeared or were just blending in with the darkness.

"Stay calm and stay behind me," Kass instructed Dale as she stepped back while slashing defensively at the shadow creature in front of her and missing entirely - she hoped because it wasn't there anymore. A quick glance at Dale revealed that he was severely weakened, barely able to stand. He was deeply wounded, and it looked like he barely had the strength to keep his sword arm raised.

"Give me your sword!" she told him as she prepared to defend herself from the next volley of attacks, hoping that she would still be standing at the end of it to receive it. She intended to arm Strange with it, hoping that it, being magical at least in some way, shared the ability that her own blade had to harm these creatures.

OOC:
5'-step to N-14
Attack defensively and miss.
AC 22 for this round.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 00:22, Mon 20 May 2013.

As Dale and Kass maneuvered to keep the gravely wounded magus from being dealt a death-blow, Dale dismissed his light spell and the room went dark. There was a moment of silence and stillness as the group waited to see what would happen next...

...


...


...


Nothing. It seemed their gamble had payed off and the dead man's words had indeed been true. With the light gone, so too were the shadows. At least for now.



Cumulative Party Status:
Dale:-17 HP & -13 STR
Gren:-1 HP
Kass:-2 HP
Lorelei:-10 HP & -6 STR
Nori:Full HP
Strange:Full HP


This message was last edited by the GM at 00:31, Mon 20 May 2013.

Kass sighed relief as no attack seemed to come and her dark-vision adjusted enough that she could tell that the creatures were in fact gone. Just to be sure, she waved her sword around in front of her gingerly and feeling no resistance, sheathed it again before she turned to Dale. "You idiot," she growled at him, observing more carefully the state he was in, but he could tell that there was more concern in her voice than anger, and then she took the heavy things he was carrying off him so he could walk more easily.

They had noticed the glint of coins on the altar when they entered, but for once Kass was resisting the urge to collect them up; she didn't want to tempt fate and risk summoning more evil spirits. "Come on," she said to Dale, leading him towards the door and guiding him around the pews, since they were still bathed in darkness and she knew that he could not see, whereas she could.


OOC: If Dale will give me the sword and shield I'll take them (temporarily) to hopefully alleviate the weight somewhat.

It seemed that Gren's words had saved the day and the shadows had disappeared. Nori's darkvision was able to see just fine in the room as he looked back and forth for any signs of danger. He saw that Kass was already attending to Dale so Nori moved over towards Lorelei as it seemed she took a heavy hit, "Oi..you ok?" He wasn't a healer nor a medic but at least he could help with what he could.

Gren let out a breath he seemed to be holding for far too long.  He had no idea if his suggestions would work or not.  It could very well have made things worse for all he knew.  He said nothing, he didn't want his voice to betray the uncertainty he had to the others.  For now he just wanted to get out of this room.  Once the door was safely shut and people's wounds were tended too, perhaps they could discuss having just those who could see in the dark explore the room further.  He personally felt they should bar the door and never enter again.

Lorelei turned a blind gaze towards Nori's voice once the lights where extinguished, unlike the others not able to make out a single thing. She nodded though, unsure if he himself could see her or not. She had never understood quite how darkvision worked outside of the fact she preferred not to fight in the dark against those who had it. She was bleeding and weak that was for sure, but she wasn't dead.

"I'll live, but I might need awhile to recover. My muscles feel numb....I think they might have had poison"

Dale's actually rather surprised when the light goes out and he doesn't get immediately killed.  OK, he'll take it.

Dale lets Kass take the shield from him, but he keeps using the sword as a slightly lethal crutch.  He needs to get to Lyria.  And then take a nap.

If Gren does bring up searching the room, Dale says, "Well, someone went through the effort of trapping it, so there's likely something worth finding.  But it's more up to those of you that can see in the dark.  Which, it seems, is most of you.  I gotta say, I feel a little left out."

---

I think that without lesser restoration, the only way to recover attribute damage is through sleep.  So assume that's what I do for a while.

Nori offered his shoulder to Lorelei, his strength was more than enough to handle her weight against his. He looked towards Gren and over in the other group's direction, "Oi, got one 'eavily injured 'ere. We movin a'ead or fallin back?" Nori was not thrilled to meet those creatures again, almost everyone was injured and his weapons were useless to fight back.

He waited to see what the group would decide, either way he would stay by Lorelei.

---

If we're going to move forward, I want to take a few minutes to go back to the other room and wrap the hammer in something to hide the light. If we're going back, I'm still going to do that in case we run into shadows again in the near future.

Strange was more than a little chagrined at having such a great success turn around and humiliate him so.  What's worse is that no sooner had he attempted his attack then the lights went out again and, despite his monstrous appearance, he had no real means of seeing in the dark.

"Hmm..." he mumbles to himself as he looks around using what little light enters through the door at the corner of the room.  The others seem to be moving in that direction and so he does too, claws at the ready to attack any shadows that pop up - not that that would have any real effect on them...
This message was last edited by the player at 00:43, Tue 21 May 2013.

"I would wager that that man in there set the trap to stop anyone entering and waking up the shadows... though why he didn't just leave is a little mysterious," Kass said as she allowed Dale to lean against a wall and put his shield down, for the moment. It was rather heavy and carrying it didn't suit her at all, especially if she was going to be re-entering the dark room.

"It might be worth checking him, and the room. If one person goes in while another watches their back, that might be best; Gren, if you'll stand by the door and block the light I can go. It seems that our weapons were the only ones that were effective at all."

Kass had never been afraid of the dark; in fact, she felt almost at home in it as usually she found that she had an advantage, due to her dark-vision. If no one had any objections, she would pass by Strange and when Gren gave her the signal that he was ready to watch her back, would enter the room with sword drawn and look around, particularly around the altar and the man.

Gren had stepped out of the room once it was safe to do so.  He nodded in agreement as Kass gave her assessment of the situation.  He then had to stifle a cringe as she mentioned going back into the room.  While it was true the dead stranger may have clues or answers on his person, Gren had been shaken by the shadows come to life.  He was a half-ogre of the Boarshead Clan, however, and refused to show cowardice or fear.

He took a moment to compose himself and, with club in hand, followed Kass into the room.  He took a side step once he entered to keep any light from the next room from casting his shadow.  Without Dale's magical light to throw off his darvision it was actually easier for Gren to see the room.

"I would leave the coins upon the alter.  No need to risk some god's wrath by stealing their tithe," he whispered as if afraid to wake something up.

As Kass and Gren entered the room again, no shadows jumped up to meet them. The room remained dark and void of terrors. As Kass looked around, moving toward the altar and the deceased man, she took time to fully appreciate the design of the room. The stone walls were masterfully build, bas reliefs of Dwarven masons and heroic deeds carved along a band around the entirety of the room. Making it to the dead man, one thing was readily apparent: this man had been here a while. Around the back of the altar, the sight wasn't a pleasant one. More remains of rodents littered the floor as well as scratches the man had made in the floor that looked like he was trying to write something down but incapable of doing so in the dark. A smell suddenly hit the tiefling as she noticed that the man must have been using the corner of the room as a latrine. What had kept the man in here was surely a mystery. Perhaps it was simply fear that venturing into the room any further would cause the shadows to attack him anyway.

It only took a moment to check the man's ceremonial robes but she came up with four items of note: two vials containing red liquid, a keyring with two large brass keys on it, and a journal. Other than the rodent skeletons and the coins on the altar that they had decided were best left alone, that seemed to be all that was worth investigating with the danger that still lurked here.

Kass gathered up the things from the man's corpse and sighed. He had been driven insane by fear of something he had likely only seen once. Such a frail mind, but a shame that he  hadn't lived to tell his tale. This place was full of treasures and mysteries and she feared they would never get to the bottom of any of them; though perhaps this journal would shed some light on it... Either way, it was time to leave, so, leaving the coins as suggested, she tiptoed back out of the room. "Thanks," she said to Gren as she passed him on her way out of the room. "Shall we go back to Tevlin and Lyria, then?" she asked the others, intending to show them what she'd found once they were in safety and everyone's wounds were seen to.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:42, Wed 22 May 2013.

"Probably for the best.. hmm.. yes." Strange replied to Kass's suggestion as he eyed the more severe wounds taken by Dale and Lorelei.  He takes the lead, moving slowly so that the wounded don't fall behind, though he does not make any offer of support or assistance.  Should anyone object to their leaving so soon he will stop and wait, otherwise it's back to the "camp" room where Lyria and Tevlin wait.

Dale seems interested in the journal but too tired to do much about it.  He nods at Strange and follows the gargoyle back to base camp.

Gren was glad to be out of the dark room.  He silently followed the others as they moved on.

Nori went ahead and wrapped the enchanted hammer in a piece of tapestry he tore from a wall. He carried the weapon in one hand while helping Lorelei with his opposite shoulder if she needed the help.

Lorelei let herself be escorted for a short while before she began to walk on her own. She wasn't as weak as Dalinar had become and though not as strong as normal, she was still as strong as a normal human. It seemed she had a stubborn streak worthy of the dwarves as she limped along with the others silently.

Less than an hour had elapsed since the group had left the slight comfort of their resting room where they left Tevlin and Lyria and so the two were surprised to see them back so soon and so injured besides. "What in the world happened to you?!" Lyria exclaimed, moving to help Dale into a comfortable position, immediately using some of her healing magic to ease the man's pain and mend his wounds. Seeing that Lorelei was hardly better off, she moved to the young monk next, duplicating the spell. Tevlin looked on with concerned eyes but said nothing.


Cumulative Party Status:
Dale:-2 HP & -13 STR
Gren:-1 HP
Kass:-2 HP
Lorelei:-6 STR
Nori:Full HP
Strange:Full HP
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:11, Fri 24 May 2013.

Nori was impressed the way the small monk handled herself. He half expected her to whine or cry about the pain but she did well to keep it in. Dale on the other hand looked like he was about to pass out. Even though he was probably hurt much worse off, a part of Nori believed that he added to the pain because he enjoyed people worrying over him. He had partied long enough with the human to know that he loved the attention.

Once they returned to base camp, Nori said nothing and moved towards an empty part of the room to sit and have a drink. He placed the hammer on his lap while he drank and stared at it as though he were having a conversation with the weapon and it had important things to say.

It's true, Dale does like attention.  But pain is a lame way to get it.  Not that Nori knows this.

Once healed, Dale feels a fair bit better but still quite weak and tired.  To Kass, he says, "I don't think I'm going to be much use in combat for a while.  I'll focus more on my spellwork to back you guys up once we move out again."  Privately, he thinks it's a good thing James isn't here.  Dale'd never hear the end of this.

He also discovers that he dropped his map in the church.  "Ahhh."  It doesn't take long for him to make a new one, though.  They really hadn't gone much further before he lost it.  Once he adds the church onto his map, he labels it Scary chapel of shadowy death.

---

Lorelei, apparently we regain 1 Str per day, regardless of sleep.  Which is pretty slow.