<Action continues here.>

Lanliss lays a hand on the wooden door. If the spell can sift through the branches and leaves of the densest woods, then why not through the planks of a wooden door, he conjectures.

<casts Sleep through the door>

Roak grits his teeth and keeps pulling....

There was only so much room to tug on the door, and besides that Vsaati wasn't especially excited about meeting such a deadly creature face to face (literally).  Instead she readied her bow and watched through her peripheral vision the crack where the door was slightly ajar.

She hoped if she had to loose an arrow it would fly clear of any of her companions...

Voran kept pulling as well, hoping the beasts inside would give up sooner than later.

There is a brief period right after Lanliss finishes his spell when the party members have the impression that the pulling on the door from the other side slackens somewhat, then both of the creatures beyond can be heard to shout in anger and their furious attempt to get at our heroes intensifies again.

Fortunately for those holding onto the door from this side, there are enough hands pulling from here that they pair of medusas are unable to get the door open.

Roak keeps pulling on the door until the medusas give up!

"Does anyone have a better plan than pulling on this door until they fall asleep naturally?" asks Elboc.

"If i think of one I will let you know."  Sherborne shakes his head.

In a moment of inattention, perhaps while conversing, the ring slips from enough hands that the door moves inward just a bit, and then is stopped short by the haft of Albricht's warhammer, jammed through the pull-ring and braced against the door and the surrounding wall.

The dwarf nearly patted himself on the back as he stood there pleased with himself. After a few moments however, the grin faded to be replaced by a scowl.

"Now how do I get my hammer back?"

Lanliss pulls out his Wand of Paralyzation.

"I don't think this will work through the door... I already wasted one spell on these ladies..."

A tiny lantern lights up inside Lanliss's head.

"If only we had a BLIND YET POWERFUL SHAPESHIFTER to help clear this room!"

Albricht nodded so hard it looked like his aged neck might have come undone inside somewhere.

"Aye! For once an elf has an idea worth pursuing! Goody-bear can prove himself right here! See! Elf-magic does have its uses!"

The thought of throwing the werebear in with the snake-women by the scruff of its neck and then witnessing the subsequent chaos, warmed the dwarf from the inside out.

"We better have the counterspell ready for when he's done. Once that's in place we can run back and find our fuzzy friends. The messenger definitely should NOT be you, Dwarf."

Roak grunts as he pulls on the door. "Fine. We go back and try to convince the blind were-bear to help us once these thrice-damened medusas stop trying to kill us."

He does, in fact, keep securing the door until he is good and confident that the medusas are trying to get out to kill him.

Lanliss blinks, trying to parse the halfling logic.

"If the medusae WEREN'T trying to kill us then we WOULDN'T need the bear's help!

After several minutes, the attempts to open the door from the other side slow, become sporadic, and then stop.  Roak stays to be sure, and about ten minutes after he had thought they were finally done, there is a cautious attempt at the door, as if those on the other side were trying to test it without being noticed.  The attempt ends just as soon as the door comes tight up against the haft of Albricht's hammer, and then all is quiet again.

"Would a rope keep if shut and let Albricht get back his hammer? Maybe we can leave them like that and come back in a couple of weeks to see if they've died of thirst." asks Elboc.

"These aren't undead that just stand in one room for all eternity. I must assume they have more than one door in and out of their chamber. They may have fled deeper into the dungeon and getting reinforcements, or they might know some secret passages and circling back behind us for all we know."

Elboc eyes the pull-ring in the door and finds only the pull-ring in the door to the room with the ladder in reach, or anywhere near.  A quick estimate shows that about 120 feet of rope would be needed, and would result in the doors to both rooms not being openable.

Lanliss offers his 50' of rope for the cause.

Voran is willing to donate his 50' as well, if someone is willing to donate their 20'.

Sherborne offers his as well.

Roak takes and ties the three lengths together and finds a place to affix the rope, then, testing the rope and holding a torch in his free hand, climbs down!

Albricht shuffled over to the ropes and inspected the work of Roak, not trusting the halfling any more, and knowing that dwarf-knots were far superior to those of any other race, save perhaps goblin-kind... however their knot philosophy was more of the 'if you can't tie a knot, tie a lot' persuasion.

Once satisfied, Albricht joined the others, but arrears due to a previous altercation with certain werebears.


OOC: Checking Roak's knots for integrity...

After some time looking at the knots put in place by Roak, Albricht is eventually satisfied that they won't be coming free anytime soon.  When the others have descended the ladder Albricht follows them down to the room below.

<Can I assume that the party finishes this trek and opens the door to the room with the sun painted on the wall, where the werebears were going?>

Albricht kept to the rear of the group, not wanting to spook the werebears, and not really trusting himself against throttling them into rugs if he got the chance. There was something about those two that rubbed him the wrong way, the killing way as it were.

The party does, in fact, finish this trek and opens the door to the room with the sun painted on the wall, where the werebears were going.

Both of the werebears turn their heads toward the door as the party enters, although one fairly obviously is doing this out of habit, with light continuing to stream out from his face.

"Ah.  You.  Have you encountered a problem?" comes the question.

In reply to Dungeon Master (msg # 31):

"Indeed. A pair of medusae have made themselves home in one of the chambers. Luckily, none of us made direct eye contact. We've secured the door, but a unique threat like this calls for...unique solutions."

Voran walks up to the werebears. "I have an unusual proposition for you. The blind bear could go in and attack the medusae. If the fight goes badly, Sherborne and I could stay outside the room and heal you if needed if you retreat to the doorway."

"Medusae are evil, to be sure, but their nature alone is not enough to warrant trying to kill them."

"Which of you did they injure without provocation?  Did you barge into their home, as you did ours, or did them come upon you unawares and begin attacking without preamble?"

The dwarf snorted, a derisive sort of sound that reminded one of that made by bloated rock-mites exploding when exposed to sunlight. "They called us 'little morsels'... when something in an unknown place threatens to eat me, that's a good enough reason for me to get serious about not being eaten!"

"Knew these goody-goodies weren't serious about their convictions. Happy to dish out their Law, but reluctant to actually keep innocent adventurers from being eaten by snake-women..."

This was said from the back, just loud enough to be carried across the room to reach the werebears.

The elf holds his brow and shakes his head slightly.

"This one is making me question my career path. I'm just interested in getting back to the city at this point!"

Both of the werebears pointedly ignore Albricht.

"If you're so concerned about getting back to the city, why didn't you just continue on when you locked them in that room?" comes Meshif's gentle question, in response to Lanliss' statement.

"Because at some point they are going to find a way out of that room and come looking for us! And when they do, it's reasonable to assume they'll show up here, just a few rooms away, where you've set up your post! Your brother can't meet their gaze in his current state, but that doesn't make them any less dangerous to you both. That's why we thought you'd be interested in defeating them with us, before they waltz in here with shining eyes, hungry lips, and a gravel casserole dish!"

Roak shrugs. "Like Lanliss was saying, they are a chaotic threat. If you don't want to mess with them hoping they won't come after you, that's fine."

"We do generally prefer to avoid violence and death unless the threat is fairly direct," Zadar explains, "and they are probably pretty bad at getting up and down ladders."

Meshif seems almost as if he might say something, then subsides, sitting pensively.

Voran proposes that the party go east and explore the unexplored hallway rather than bother the werebears further. "We will be back to heal you, like we said," he says to the blind werebear.

<I've read a proposal to the group.  Is that what you all want to  do?>

"I would prefer to return to the ladder and climb it back to the city. It's our only way back to the city, and I'd rather face its dangers now, rather than after we've faced more monsters like the medusae."

"Come to think of it, the ladder went no higher than that room. Perhaps the werebears will let us sleep in their room and then cure the blindness in the morning."

"Those of us that didn't ambush the werebears, at least."

"If they will have us I would appreciate their company."

"Ambush? They started it all!" Albricht snorted. He stood near the door, fully prepared to leave, but hesitating a bit and then sighed.

"Snake-women and haunted crypts make for strange bedfellows. Lucky for us, one of'em's blinded. If they promise to stay on their side of the room, I'll rest with my back against the door on this side."

The dwarf's own wounds weren't minor and they'd been trekking around down here for some time. More than that however, he had a bit of a hunch, the sort that one ignored at his own peril...

Voran considers. "I will intercede for the dwarf. Albricht, you must agree to let me keep your weapon while we are in the room with the werebears, though.

Meshif and Zadar agree readily enough for the party to stay with them, at least once it is pointed out that Albricht will be kept away from them.

<Per the rules & rulings thread, you can heal your character level plus your CON bonus overnight.>
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:25, Thu 16 Jan 2020.

Elboc wakes up, feeling refreshed but still bruised. After learning spells for the day, he waits to see the results of the continual darkness spell.

Before sleeping, he opens his book to remember any spells previously cast. In the "morning" he steps out of his sleeping bag and rolls it up, then dons his armor.

The sleep period has passed with no major negative events.  Zadar and Meshif stir and begin to share preserved food and water between the two of them.

"Are any of you now able to counter this spell?" comes the expected question.

Albricht had slept horribly, or at least that's what he would have everyone believe. In fact, his morning ritual might well have left all those unfortunate enough to observe it wondering at what point the old dwarf's bones, skin and connecting tissues would simply decide to part ways on day. After a cacophony of bodily noises, not all of which were joint-related, Albricht had somehow managed to get himself re-armed and re-armored.

"Sure we don't just want to chain'em up and force'em to lead the way upward? Lot of good they're doing down here..."

The dwarf's opinion of the Lawful twain had apparently not improved with rest.

"Roak, how about you let me use Biter today?"

Voran is one of the early risers, completing his prayers. He sighs. "As I said yesterday, it is beyond my ability at this time. Sherborne, is this something within your means?"

"Unfortunately no.  I need to learn a little more."

<iirc we looked it up not too long ago and I needed to be 6th level I think.>

"OK, I guess it's time to push on to find our way out then," says Elboc.

"One of you elves, cast your spell and let's get going." Albricht huffed.

"We'd better be double-careful when we leave here. If those snake-women got the rope loose, they could be anywhere by now!"

Roak laughs. "Silly me. One of our elves was going to do that for you. Hold on--Elboc, show them that you're a good pal."

OOC: Head back to the hallway we were exploring. Borrow a mirror and look around the corner with it at 5G. If we see no medusas, we proceed to the hallway at 4b. Referencing this map: link to a message in this game
This message was last edited by the player at 23:17, Mon 20 Jan 2020.

<I'm looking to see which of the elves casts continual darkness, so that we can keep track of which spells have been cast.>
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:20, Mon 20 Jan 2020.

Tempted though he was to cast continual light on the other werebear, Elboc cast continual darkness on the blind one instead, wondering what the effect would be.

The werebears tense as Elboc prepares and casts his spell, but the spell does exactly what everyone hoped that it would.  The mass of light streaming out from the face of the werebear simply winks out, with no other obvious effects of either spell lingering in the area.

"Ah, that's much better, and the spots are receding from in front of my eyes," Meshif announces.  His companion, Zadar, visibly relaxes.

"This is good, and it does much to right the wrong against us," Zadar intones.  "We thank you for your assistance with this."

"Now that I can see again, I think that we'll move back out into the other room.  There's entirely too much traffic through the area to allow the other denizens of this accursed places free movement, and this room is quite cramped."  With that Meshif leads Zadar toward the door out of the room.

After the werebears are settled back where they had been when the party first encountered them, Roak leads the group back up the ladder.  You find that the door that had been used to tie onto, to hold the door to the room where the medusas are, is still held tightly shut by the rope you used.  While casting about the room for options, your eyes fall on the southern door from this room, which you had not tried previously.

Elboc will listen at the southern door.

Elboc hears nothing from beyond the heavy door.

In that case he'll try to open it.

Elboc opens the door easily enough, and a passage is revealed.  It passes directly ahead, to the south, then branches left and right, along with continuing forward for another little bit, then ends in another closed door.

No sounds come to the elf's keen ears.

"Had a thought..." Albricht said as the door was being manipulated, "we get ambushed, we run back this way, cut the rope on the door and let the medusassesesesses come out and do our dirty work."

He seemed quite proud of himself, but soon the bristly grin faded as a realization seemed to come to mind. "...but then we'd still have to deal with the snake-women... hmmm..."

Elboc smiled as Albricht realised the down side to his plan.

"Who is gong first?" he asked.

Roak moves up and opens this new, next door.

Albricht motioned Roak to the halfling's left (eastward), "Perhaps we can work our way around to the medusssuseses and ambush them from behind..." he whispered, sounding like sandpaper sliding over a slate floor tile.

Roak moves down the hall, past the four-way intersection (the limit of his torchlight reveals only that the side passages extend beyond that light), and down to the door.  The door opens slowly, with quiet grinding of disused hinges, and reveals an oddly shaped room.  The walls are extremely rough, and the room looks to have walls that angle forward at about 45 degrees until they meet the side walls.  The left-hand wall starts this angled travel 10 feet after the right wall, and the back wall, opposite where the halfling stands in the doorway, is 50 feet across and 40 feet away.

There appears to be only dust and rubble in this room, although there are some notable scratches in the the uneven floor, and an ancient brown smear that looks as if something were dragged out of here many years ago.


This message was last edited by the GM at 15:29, Tue 28 Jan 2020.

The smear looks as if it was dragged out which door? The one we just came in through?

Roak inspects the smear more closely and he finds that the smear comes out of this new room, then fades out as it moves north to the four-way intersection.

"Perhaps as should check out those branching corridors," suggests Elboc.

In reply to Elboc Ice Eyes (msg # 74):

"Agreed. I say we check the east passage first."

Sherborne also nods in agreement.

With something of an eye for such things, and being an expert, [This is not to be disputed], the Burghammer clansman shuffled over to have a look at the scratch marks.

Albricht checks out the somewhat shallow scratches on the floor, but is at a loss as to what might have made them, aside from the fact that they look to be associated with the smear.

"Whatever caused the smear seems to have made these scratch marks... just as I thought. Now that I've put you all at ease over this detail, yes, let's continue eastward..."

Roak leads the way down the eastern passage next.

Roak continues down the passage, finding that it goes for 60 feet before branching to the northwest, the southwest, and continues forward.  20 feet down each of the branches and the main passage are closed doors.  Very faint, muffled conversation in exceedingly deep voices is coming from behind one of the doors.


This message was last edited by the GM at 03:17, Thu 30 Jan 2020.

Lanliss chuckles. "At least we know they're not medusae.""

Motioning the others to silence, Elboc listens at the door.

Lanliss crouches at the other side of the door and listens as well.

Lanliss and Elboc both listen at the door, but can't make out any of the words.  They are in a language that neither recognizes, but remain quite deep, with long and drawn out vowel sounds, and frequent deep moans or rumbles.

"Shall we charge in and kill whoever it is, like we normally do?" asks Elboc.

"My educated guess is ogres. If we're very unlucky, trolls. I doubt these passages are big enough to let giants in here..."

"Or more weres... a couple weresloths perhaps?" Albricht offered.

"Shall we set an ambush?"

Voran scratches his chin. "Given that we blindly attacked a bunch of eventual allies before, I recommend caution. Vsaati, can you try opening the door stealthily to get a look at what we're dealing with?"

"Allies?" Albricht made a snorting sound that was similar to that of a congested hippogriff.

He did however nod his assent to Vsaati. The lass was certainly capable.

In the meantime, Albricht plead his case once more with Roak... making it clear the oldster wasn't very adept at the subtleties of negotiation.

"Give my my bolt, or, by the Boulders, I'll sell your ears at the swap market in the Oph'dri-un Oasis!"

Vsaati moves in a quietly tries to open the door, but it squeaks loudly as she tries to push it open past a sticking point.

07:16, Today: Vsaati rolled 70 using 1d100.  Move Silently.
This message was last updated by the player at 15:17, Mon 03 Feb 2020.

The door quickly swings past the sticking point and reveals two large, bull-headed, otherwise man-shaped creatures in the room.  They both appear to be as surprised as the party members peering back at them.  This moment of inaction passes quickly, and both of them charge at Vsaati with a roar, slamming and goring her.

OOC:
Your turn, guys.


07:19, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 4 using 1d6.  Monters' Initiative.
07:19, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 2 using 1d6.  Players' Initiative.

07:21, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 18 using 1d20.  Attack on Vsaati.
07:22, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 2 using 1d6.  Damage.

07:21, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 11 using 1d20.  Attack on Vsaati.
07:22, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 1 using 1d6.  Damage.

07:21, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 10 using 1d20.  Attack on Vsaati.
07:22, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 4 using 1d6.  Damage.

07:21, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 1 using 1d20.  Attack on Vsaati.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:25, Mon 03 Feb 2020.

"...and of course, I was wrong. VASATI! STEP BACK!"

Lanliss pulls the wand of paralyzation from his belt and utters the activation word, pointing the cone of effect at the minotaurs.

Once Vsaati steps back, Roak steps into the breach, attacking the leg of the closest minotaur. He hits the doorframe instead!

Move up and attack; missed with a nat 1.

21:00, Today: Roak The Quick rolled 4 using 1d20+3 with rolls of 1.  Attack a minotaur.

Sherborne tries to swing at the nearest one but doesn't seem to find the mark.


20:09, Today: Sherborne rolled 6 using 1d6+2.  damage.
20:06, Today: Sherborne rolled 10 using 1d20+2.  Attack nearest bullheaded guy. AC 7
I am assuming that's a miss but jic.  Also the double roll is because I hit the back button.

Elboc swings his blade at the nearest enemy.

08:01, Today: Elboc Ice Eyes rolled 14 using 1d20 ((14)). Hits AC 3
08:04, Today: Elboc Ice Eyes rolled 4 using 1d8+2 ((2)).

Albricht had secretly been expecting to see stone elementals within the room, having long held a fascination for such strange and wonderful manifestations of the the stuff dwarves were anciently carved from.

But that wasn't the case, no, these were very dangerous creatures indeed!

The sandal-footed water-finder saw his companions flailing about like a bunch of frightened schoolchildren and knew - once again - that he needed to show them how it was done in order to set their nerves at ease.

"Pay attention! Big foe, hit low!" An old dwarven bit of battle wisdom was that.

He shuffled over and took a mighty swing at the minotaur's ankle!

That's when he realized minotaurs have cloven hooves and became as distracted as the others...


Mace of Bass (attack): Albricht Burghammer rolled 5 to hit AC nothing.

Vsaati swings wildly, the doorway getting too crowded to swing effectively, and backs out of the melee, allowing others to get into the fight.

07:29, Today: Vsaati rolled 5 using 1d20+2.  Attack.

The wand has an immediate effect on one of the two minotaurs, freezing it in place.

07:33, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 6 using 1d20.  Save vs. Magic Wand.

The remaining minotaur roars in rage and swings wildly at Sherborne and Albricht, missing the cleric by a good margin and the dwarf catching the blow on his shield.

OOC:
It's your turn again, guys!

07:09, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 2 using 1d6.  Monters' Initiative.
07:09, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 1 using 1d6.  Players' Initiative.

07:11, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 6 using 1d20.  Attack on Sherborne (AC 8)
07:11, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 14 using 1d20.  Attack on Albricht (AC 0)

Lanliss aims his wand at the second minotaur.

"And that's QUITE ENOUGH from you!"

The elf unleashes another ray of energy at the monster.

Elboc attacks the second minotaur, trying to avoid its horns.

19:13, Today: Elboc Ice Eyes rolled 20 using 1d20+3.  To hit (sword).

19:10, Today: Elboc Ice Eyes rolled 8 using 1d8+3.  Damage (sword).

Sherborne attempts to swing at the second Minotaur.


20:49, Today: Sherborne rolled 8 using 1d6+2.  damage.
20:48, Today: Sherborne rolled 13 using 1d20+2.  Attack on Minotaur. hit AC4
This message was last edited by the player at 03:52, Sat 08 Feb 2020.

Albricht was able to deflect the blow with his shield, but it knocked the old dwarf to his knees with the force. Using an old ground fighting technique he picked up from a troupe of performing halfling grapplers whose moves were mostly just for show, Albricht rolled into a ball and came up between the second minotaur's legs with his mace!

"Ruckus Roll this one's called!"


Mace of Bass Attack: Albricht Burghammer rolled 23 (Natural 20 - CRIT!)
Damage: Albricht Burghammer rolled 8 (Doubled for Crit = 16!)

Voran has been hanging back; now, seeing a consistent target, he flings a sling stone at the minotaur that everyone else is targeting, hitting it solidly...

Natural 20 for an automatic hit, would otherwise hit AC -4. 5 damage.

14:32, Today: Elder Voran rolled 5 using 1d4+3.  Damage.
14:32, Today: Elder Voran rolled 23 using 1d20+3.  Sling on un-frozen minotaur.

Roak presses the attack but just takes up space...

Attack, miss.

14:33, Today: Roak The Quick rolled 6 using 1d20+3 with rolls of 3.  Kill a minotaur!

The massed fury of several party members make the question of whether or not the remaining minotaur succumbed to the paralyzing effect of the wand quite irrelevant.  The creature goes down in a virtual shower of blood and viscera.  Its companion remains, upright, next to this grizzly sight, still paralyzed.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:34, Tue 11 Feb 2020.

Albricht made a flicking motion with his magical mace, mimicking what Lanliss had done. "That's a good trick for something that should have been a tool-handle..."

"Spread 'round young-uns, let's fell this bovine tree!"

The old dwarf waited a moment before he made a terrific smack at the remaining minotaur's knee.


Smack paralyzed minotaur - Mace of Bass damage: Albricht Burghammer rolled 6 - Assuming I don't need to roll for hitting a paralyzed foe much larger than Albricht...

Albricht's mace make both a meaty thunk and a disturbing crunch as it smashes into the knee of the paralyzed minotaur.

"Let's not waste our time on this one. It's a minotaur, not a pinata."

He draws his sword and slices it across the beast's throat.

The minotaur falls, dead, after Lanliss' cut, its body no longer held by the spell, due to no longer being alive to be paralyzed.

Elboc will search the bodies and the room.

"Hhrrrrumph!" Snorted the dwarf, obviously perturbed.

"Where's the fun in that?" He dejectedly began to search the room while the others went over the body like a couple of elven leeches.

"Well, at least we'll have meat for a while..." He added the upshot. He was tired of eating fungus.

The elf stopped in his tracks, and turn to the dwarf in disbelief as he continued wiping his sword clean.

"Please tell me you're kidding. They may have the heads of bulls, but they are humanoid and descended from humans cursed by the gods. And one of the transgressions that could get you cursed like this? Cannibalism!"
This message was last edited by the player at 15:02, Thu 13 Feb 2020.

A search of the bodies reveals a small pouch on one of them that contains four gems.  There is also what obviously was passing for their food, tucked back in one corner of the room.  It appears to be several dozen large rats that have been butterflied out on skewers and roasted.  There is no sign of a fire having been lit in this room, so they must have been cooked elsewhere.

Roak, meanwhile, tries to forget his dreadful showing in this fight and searches the perimeter of the room.

Roak searches around the edges of the room, but finds nothing further of note.  The room is surprisingly spare, with no clear indication of why the minotaurs were here.

Voran then examines the two hallways. "Which way, folks?" he asks.

"Every race apart from the dwarven sort have been cursed by the gods... And how do you figure that anyway? What makes you so certain they weren't cattle cursed to walk upright? I say we eat'em, neither of us are human, and neither of us seem to be particularly bovine..."

He pulled out a dagger, "Who else wants some?"

Roak shakes his head vigorously, moving in front of Albricht. "Don't you dare. Those were sentient creatures, no matter how much they look like cattle. Leave 'em where they lie."

Albricht straightened and approached Roak, the dagger in his hand. "Getting really tired of you shorty. You still have my bolt, and now you're telling me what I can eat...! If I didn't think it more fun to push you down a spiked pit or trade you to a dragon, I'd carve off some of that attitude. HRRRUMPH!"

"Bah!" The dwarf snarled, kicked the corpse of the closest minotaur he'd been about to start cutting on, and prepared to leave the room. He gestured to the right, too angry to speak Common, but grumbling continually in the Dwarven tongue.

Voran clears his throat. "Again, which way, folks?" he asks. He points at the two hallways.

Desperate to get away from the dwarf and halfling's argument, Elboc joins Voran. "Let's go this way," he suggests, pointing to the nearest exit.

"I am happy to move on as well."  Sharborne take a glance around to make sure nothing was attracted by the arguing.

The elf nods to Roak in gratitude for talking some sense into the increasingly unhinged dwarf.

"The near exit, I suppose."

Roak points at the northeast exit. "That feels nearer to me. Let's go that way."

The party move back to the angled intersection, peering around the corner to the northeast.  Several feet down the short, angled hallway is a closed wooden door.  The door appears to be quite old and the wood in its construction is quite dried out.  Initially, there is no sound or light coming from beyond it that anyone can detect.

"Shall we try here first?" suggests Elboc, ready to open the door.

"Shouldn't we put our ear to it first?"

Roak shrugs. "The elves didn't hear anything, so inward. Open the door, Elboc."

Elboc will open the door.

Elboc opens the door to find a room that appears to be empty of all contents, living and otherwise.  There is dust, and a few tattered cobwebs, but nothing else in the oddly shaped room.

Elboc will enter and look around.

Roak does as well, looking around the perimeter of the room in particular for secret doors, tapping the ground and floor in front of him with his sword.

Empty rooms were like orcish birthday parties, disappointing and not well attended... Albricht didn't believe it though and spent some time examining the floor and ceiling.

Lanliss traces his fingers along the stone, the walls, the ceiling, the floor...feeling for a rush of air or unusual smell between invisible cracks, or even that prickly feeling on the back of his neck when there's a hidden space nearby. But...nothing.

Elboc, Roak, Albricht, Lanliss, and Vsaati all search the room, but find no secret exits, traps or doors.  The marks of their passage are clearly visible in the dust on the floor.

"Further down the corridor, then?" asks Elboc.

Roak nods and leads the group further down the corridor.

Sherborne continues to watch the back and otherwise keep a lookout.

OOC:
To be clear, you're moving back to the four-way intersection to the west, and not looking behind the door to the southeast?

OOC: I don't realise there was a door. I think we'll try listening at it then.

Roak gets ready to open the door that Elboc is listening at. If Elboc doesn't hear anything unusual and the door's not locked or trapped, Roak will open it.

Elboc listens at the door, but hears nothing of note.

Vsaati moves forward and checks for traps, but finds none.

Roak opens the door to reveal a huge gray worm in the room, with the worm easily 30 feet long, its mouth ringed around with sharp teeth.  The creature rears up from where it had been resting, as the door is opened.  There is a section of wall behind it that looks to have collapsed, and was once a tunnel large enough for the worm to have passed through.

Lanliss stares balefully at the giant worm.

"Can we close that door again, please?

Elboc tries to close the door, calling for someone to spike it shut if possible.

Elboc quickly pulls the door shut, and it's a good thing that it was made to swing into the room and not out into the hall.  The crash of the giant worm's body slamming into the ancient door can be both heard and felt in the seconds immediately following the dark elf's quick thinking.

The creature ineffectually bludgeons the door several more times before seeming to give up, and all is silent again.

"I wonder if it will do that every time..." Albricht mused.

"Say we rig a trap out here in the hallway and then open the door and goad that nasty worm to come at us? I'd bet a bent copper that it'd spit itself up nicely... Anybody got a spear?"

The old dwarf tried not to look at Roak, because every time he did, he thought about throttling the little bugger to get his magical bolt back.

"We couuuuuuld rig a short rope to the door handle and then us archers could ready a volley. Open the door, we all shoot, and the rest of you pull it shut again with the rope... Of course, that'd mean I'd need my Biter back..."

"It looked like the tunnel had collapsed," said Elboc. "What do you hope to gain by risking our lives fighting that thing?"

"He wants his precious back."

"Not sure that's worth our lives for whatever else might be in there."  Sherborne looks around to make sure the noise didn't attract anything.

"We're all better off if I HAVE it back!" Albricht snorted at Lanliss.

"Figure out another way to go then, at some point we're going to have to fight our way upward. Let's find whatever means that's going to be..."

Roak nods. "Yeah, skip it for now. If we don't find a better option, we can kill that thing later."

He looks around the perimeter here for other options before leading the party back to the intersection.

OOC: Which ways have we yet to explore?

OOC:
Unexplored passages are marked in red:

OOC: Where are we on the map?

We're in the three way intersection on the lower right. Elves! ::eyeroll::

We need to just start poking our heads in hallways and doors to look for stairs up!

The one due west looks closest. Shall we try that way first?

Roak agrees and leads the way going due west, tapping the floor in front of him with his sword as he proceeds.

Roak carefully moves forward, testing the floor as he goes, the sound of the metal making contact with the stone ringing out into the darkness.  After several feet down the passage to the west a side branch to the left (south) comes into view, and the passage also continues forward.

Without hesitation, Roak angles left (south), tapping the floor in front of him as the party continues to explore.

Roak moves forward to the T intersection.  The passage continues to the west here, off into the darkness.  The halfling turns south and finds that the southern passage continues for another 30 feet before ending at a closed wooden door, banded with iron.


This message was last edited by the GM at 15:23, Tue 03 Mar 2020.

OOC:
Did my map update not show as a new post because I edited it?

OOC: I don't think it did

Elboc will listen at the new door.

Roak gets ready to open the southern door if Elboc gives him the go-ahead.

Elboc listens at the door, but hears nothing from beyond it.  He gives the nod to Roak, who steps forward and pushes the door open, which grates and squeals on hinges that sound as if they haven't moved in a great many years.

The room that is revealed is roughly 40' by 40', with a bit of the northwest corner having crumbled and fallen in.  Against the southern wall, directly opposite of the door and better centered in the room, is wooden chest, bound in iron, with a lock built into its face.  Two small stone sarcophagi sit, parallel to each other, in front of the chest.

He frowns at the sarcophagi, remembering the poison gas.

"Oh yes, this doesn't look ominous at all."

Roak shrugs. "Is our goal to get out and up or exploration? If it's still the first, let's leave this room and keep looking."

"If there's anything in those sarcophagi, it could creep up on us from behind. I think we should clear the room."

"Also a good point. While that huge worm was not silent, the undead are quiet by nature."

Voran nods. "I concur. If someone opens one of the sarcophagi, I will stand ready to turn undead should an undead creature emerge."

Sherborne nods in agreement with Elder.  "Hopefully our faith will be strong enough if it comes to that."

"I'll happily do that, if the sarcophagus can be checked for traps first."

Vsaati looks to the rest of the group with a question on her face before approaching the eastern sarcophagus to check it for traps.  When she is done there she moves to the western sarcophagus.  Satisfied that neither is trapped, she moves on to look over the chest.  She spends somewhat longer there, but finally gives the "all clear" to the rest of the party, having been unable to detect any sort of trap on the three objects.

OOC:
12:33, Today: Vsaati rolled 17 using 1d100.  Find Traps.

Elboc will open the first sarcophagus.

OOC:
I'm out of time this morning.  I may not be able to post again until tomorrow.

Elboc, with some effort, pushes the stone lid of the sarcophagus aside to reveal ancient bones dressed in the moldering remains of some type of clothing.  What appears to have been copper jewelry is heavily corroded, and there are some scraps of hair still clinging to the skull.

An dark, ghostly, insubstantial form rises from the bones just before a second similar form appears from the other sarcophagus.  The party had expected something like this, so is able to act before the pair of menacing figures can attack.

OOC:
07:27, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 3 using 1d6.  Monters' Initiative.
07:27, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 6 using 1d6.  Players' Initiative.

With a lingering sense of regret on ever taking the journey to the pyramid, Lanliss gestures in the air to concentrate enough energy to unleash at the figure floating closest to Elboc.

12:52, Today: Lanliss rolled 3 using 1d6+1.  Magic Missile. - [roll=1583859128.44108.228380]

Elboc, standing next to the apparition, swiftly draws his sword, but the horror of the thing is so great that he can't bring himself to attack it.

22:32, Today: Elboc Ice Eyes rolled 2 using 1d20 ((2)).

Sherborne swings and whiffs almost as badly as Elboc.

17:21, Today: Sherborne rolled 4 using 1d20+2.  Attack apparition.

OOC:
Does anyone else care to make an attack?  If not, I can move on to the monsters' turn.

Albricht gasped as the apparitions appeared. Their experience with such entities down here had not gone well. He remembered the room full of shadows which they may - or many not - have lured a squad of Gormish soldiers into. He recalled the unslumbering Queen and her King from whom Albricht had gotten his magical armor. No, they had not done well, and he didn't suppose they'd be faring much better with these!

"Roak!" the dwarf hissed insistently, desperation in his gravelly voice. "Give me Biter, now is the time! I'll return it to you if we survive, but for our very survival I need it right now!"


OOC: If Roak concedes, Albricht will take a shot this round... I went back and looked and it appears that Roak has the other +1 bolts as well.

Voran raises his holy symbol and tries to call forth holy power to turn the spectral being, but his faith falters.

Turn Undead fails.

19:56, Today: Elder Voran rolled 5 using 2d6.  Turn undead!!

Roak, like an idiot, tosses Albricht Biter and then steps up and swings at the ghost. His blade doesn't even get close to it.

Attack with magic sword, miss. Gah.

19:57, Today: Roak The Quick rolled 5 using 1d20+3.  Longsword attack on ghost.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:54, Thu 12 Mar 2020.

OOC:
Is Roak ignoring Albricht?  I'd like to be clear on this.

Also, we're waiting to hear from Vsaati.  If she won't be getting into the fight, please let me know.

Having moved back by the door to the hallway, Vsaati held back attacking. She began to retrieve her sling and a stone wondering if they'd even have an effect on the apparition.

Vsatti won't be getting into the fight at this point. She had moved back out of the way when they decided to open the sarcophagus.

OOC:
Albricht, Roak revised his post and tossed you Biter.  Have at 'em!

With a deftness that defied his considerable age, Albricht snagged Biter out of the air, giving Roak a hearty "Hrrrrumph!"

Then the oldster loaded his prized possession, now his own once more, into his crossbow and took careful aim at the apparition. "Back to the hells with ye!" Then downrange the missile sped!


Biter Attack: Albricht Burghammer rolled 13 14 (+1 close range) to hit AC3 for 5 damage

Albricht and Elboc both manage to do some damage to one of the two semi-solid undead cretures, but not enough to take it out of the action.

Both of the creatures attack, on swiping at Sherborne, and the other at Roak.  Only the strike at Roak makes contact, but it does so with horrific effect.  Not only is the halfling's flesh rent by the incorporeal claws of the shady being, but some of his very life force is sucked away from him at the same time.

Despite the heart-stopping sight of part of Roak's life essence being torn away from him, the party members are quickly able to mount a response to the violent action and strike back.


OOC:
12:23, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 3 using 1d20.  Attack vs. Sherborne.
12:23, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 19 using 1d20.  Attack vs. Roak.
12:24, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 6 using 1d6.  Damage vs. Roak (plus 1 level of experience drained, leaving him at level 3 and 6000 XP).

12:27, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 2 using 1d6.  Monters' Initiative.
12:27, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 3 using 1d6.  Players' Initiative.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:29, Sat 14 Mar 2020.

The shock of the attack on Roak started Vsaati just as she attempted to launch the stone with the sling.

16:37, Today: Vsaati rolled 4 using 1d20+3.  Attack w/Sling

Voran raises his holy symbol again and summons an attempt to turn the foul undead...

Turn Undead attempt again, probably a fail with an 8.

16:56, Today: Elder Voran rolled 8 using 2d6 with rolls of 6,2.  Turn undead!!

Roak, though his life be partially drained, courageously fights on...

And the dice are trying to kill me. Crap.
16:57, Today: Roak The Quick rolled 9 using 1d20+3 with rolls of 6.  Magic longsword on ghostly undead.

Despite the horror of what happened to Roak, Elboc swings again.

22:32, Today: Elboc Ice Eyes rolled 7 using 1d8+3.  Damage (sword +1). - [roll=1584225164.13759.228217]

22:32, Today: Elboc Ice Eyes rolled 14 using 1d20+3.  To hit (sword +1). - [roll=1584225144.11363.228217]

"BY THE BOULDERS! IT HAPPENED AGAIN!" Albricht blurted as he fumbled with his crossbow, momentarily forgetting that Biter was enchanted to return and load itself. There was a wild look in the dwarf's eyes, as if some inner part of him was battling between fight or flight. Remembering other apparitions they'd fought higher up in the dungeon, the dwarf shuddered. With shaking, gnarled hands he raised the crossbow and took a hasty aim before clicking off another shot!

"HRRUMPH! Don't let'em touch you!!!"

Move: Edging back toward the door, ready to make a quick exit.
Attack (Biter): Albricht Burghammer rolled 16 to hit AC1 for 6 damage.

Sherborne swings at the most damaged or closest apparition with a little more zeal this time.

22:45, Today: Sherborne rolled 7 using 1d6+2.  damage.
22:45, Today: Sherborne rolled 17 using 1d20+2.  Attack apparition. hit AC 0

Only Sherborne and Albricht manage to connect with either of the wraiths, but the pair manage to destroy the one that had already been damaged, both the magical bolt and the magical mace bite deep into the incorporeal substance of the undead and shred it into nothingness.

The remaining wraith swipes at Roak, but once-bitten, the small warrior is faster on his feet and manages to dodge away without getting hurt.  The creature then lashes out, lightning-fast, at Sherborne, the closest combatant who recently destroyed its fellow.  The quick shift of focus and Sherborne's reflexes are enough to keep that rapid second attack from landing as well, leaving the creature in a vulnerable position for the group's response.

OOC:
11:29, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 4 using 1d20.  Attack vs. Roak.

11:33, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 2 using 1d6.  Players' Initiative.
11:33, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 5 using 1d6.  Monters' Initiative.

11:33, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 13 using 1d20.  Attack vs. Sherborne.

Round 3 (or is it 4?)!  Fight!

Roak viciously counter-attacks, hoping to hit the ghostly figure....

Hit AC 6 for 6 hp.

15:50, Today: Roak The Quick rolled 6 using 1d10+3.  Damage.
15:49, Today: Roak The Quick rolled 13 using 1d20+3.  Roak counter-attack.

Panicking at the damage done to Roak, Elboc fluffs his strike.

23:09, Today: Elboc Ice Eyes rolled 4 using 1d20.  To hit (sword +1). - [roll=1584313747.90452.228217]

Angry at herself and the attack on Roak, Vsatti grab another stone and let it fly.

19:47, Today: Vsaati rolled 15 using 1d20+3.  Attack w/Sling
This message was last edited by the player at 04:08, Mon 16 Mar 2020.

Sherborne swings at the remaining wraith with a little extra vigor again.

22:45, Today: Sherborne rolled 7 using 1d6+2.  damage.
22:45, Today: Sherborne rolled 17 using 1d20+2.  Attack on wraith. hit AC 0
Exact same rolls...what are the odds?

It was as if the old-timer had gotten back his groove with each successive shot of his beloved Biter. Ablricht crouched and shot once more. His grin was wide, a little too wide. His hood had fallen back and the shining wings of his shiny helm reflected what little light there was in the room. With a gleeful shout, he watched as the bolt sped toward its mark, trailing minute magical sparkles!

"Die, die creature of the nighter,
you now feel the teeth of Biter!"

Attack (Biter, +1 Close Range): Albricht Burghammer rolled 23 to hit AC-6 for 7 damage!

The elf draws their blade and with a shout and an artful swing, he wades into the fray.

"YOU SHALL LEARN TO KEEP A RESPECTABLE DISTANCE FROM THE LIVING!"

09:35, Today: Lanliss rolled 16,10 using d20+4,d8+4.  freshly sliced wraith. - [roll=1584365710.23357.228380]
This message was last edited by the player at 13:38, Mon 16 Mar 2020.

Vsaati's sling stone flies true, but simply passes through the insubstantial form of the wraith.  Sherborne, Albricht, and Lanliss do much better, with their weapons collectively shredding the undead, life-sucking horror.  In the seconds after its tattered substance fades away into the nothingness, no sound can be heard, aside from the heavy breathing of the party members.

Roak leans quickly against the wall, shuddering. "Well, that will...take some while to recover from," he says grimly. He then gathers himself and searches the sarcophagi.

Aside from the moldering bones and clothing, there are the corroded remains of what appears to be copper jewelry on the bodies in the sarcophagi.

Roak looks rather bitter at this. "Next time, I vote for leaving dead men where they lie unless they actively chase us," he growls.

Unless anyone objects, he leads the party out and they continue to investigate the hallway outside...

Moving down to B17, tapping the floor in front of me with me sword.

OOC:
To be clear, is Roak leaving the chest that sits at the head of both sarcophagi alone?

Vsaati moves back over to the chest to examine it. (NOTE: She was beginning to examine it back in message #173) She slowly checks it again for traps.

16:27, Today: Vsaati rolled 94 using 1d100.  Find Traps (Chest).

Vsaati checks the chest over, but finds no traps.

Albricht snorted in agreement and shuffled toward the door, keeping watch to see if their sounds of battle and banter might have drawn any attention from other denizens of this place.

"Let's try to stay on the lookout for a way upward. There'll be times ahead for the searching of these catacombs fully for that is the way of adventuring, this is known. But we need to find our way out or we're going to become like them, mad ghosts destined to a long and lonely despair..."

The old dwarf pulled his hood back up over his winged helm and peeked around the corner of the hall.

Vsaati will attempt to open the chest, if successful she will examine the inside.

Vsaati works at the lock for several minutes, but is unable to open the chest.

"Can we smash it open?" asks Silverglade.

"I'm sure we could try," she replied. "Not sure if the noise would be worth the possible results." as she looked down at the chest one last time and then headed for the exit to the hallway.

The dwarf's whiskers began to twitch. He glanced back from where he was keeping watch.

"Leave it behind???" he asked incredulously. "We can't leave it behind! We'll smash it open, or we can just take it with us and open it when we get back up to the city and we're not worried about noise."

"Or if we must leave it for now, let's hide it in the rubble of that worm we just killed and come back for it later when we're healed and hale."


OOC: Unless anyone objects, Albricht will, carefully and from the side, nudge the chest with his warhammer while holding up his shield and covering his mouth and nose with a bit of cloth from his robes. If nothing happens, he'll give it a hearty whack with his warhammer. If it doesn't break, then he'll pick up the chest so that it can be buried in the room down the hall where the worm thing was.

Silverglade will stand back while Albricht does that.

Elboc stands aside while Albricht nudges, and then hits the chest with his warhammer.  There is the quick clack of something mechanical moving inside of the chest, and then a small dart shoots out of the front of it, missing Lanliss, who happened to be more in front of the chest than the dwarf.

OOC:
06:58, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 9 using 1d20.  Dart Trap vs. Lanliss.

*cursing in Elvish*

Voran smirks. "Should be safe now." He tries to open the chest now.

Elder Voran quickly determines that the chest is still locked, despite having ejected a dart from a trap.

OOC:
I've enabled language groups, so you can now select your language group when you click on first "Insert a private line:" and then "The language group" and then the language that you would like to post in, in the bottom right corner of the editing window.

Lanliss' cursing in elvish brought it to mind:

[Language unknown: Man il n staantillsetpro tin!]
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:14, Fri 20 Mar 2020.

[Language unknown: "Tiivur linwhiwil n al u comterour n ic fifor m ectlinson be bena,"] says Elboc in Elvish. He raises his sword up and smashes the hilt against the chest in an attempt to break in.

Voran very happily stands out of the way to see if Elboc succeeds.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:39, Sat 21 Mar 2020.

Sherborne also stands back and lets it happen.

Albricht's aged eyes widened as the dart nearly skewered the nearby elf, nearly - but not quite - erasing the many lines time had etched into his countenance. He allowed Elboc to attempt a break-in, but if that were to fail, the old dwarf stood ready with his trusty warhammer to do the job right.

"Hope whatever's inside isn't breakable..." he muttered.

The ancient wood crumbles a bit under the force of Elboc's blow, prompting the dark elf to continue with his attempt to open the chest.  A couple of minutes' work later, the contents are displayed before him.  There are thousands of electrum and gold pieces, along with several pieces of jewelry.

OOC:
3000 ep, 5000gp and 8 pieces of jewelry worth no small amount, weighing in at over 160 pounds in total.

Feeling pleased with himself for their haul, Elboc helps gather up the treasure before readying to leave the room.

Albricht's wrinkle-rimmed eyes lit up as coins and gems spilled out. "Well done lad!"

He proceeded to divide up the loot for each to carry a share.

"Quite a haul!" he said, rubbing his hands greedily. "Well then, let's get this back to one of our stashes."

"Like I always say, risk and reward, perfectly reasonable to raid these old tombs, clearly they couldn't take it with them..." he prattled on.

He adjusted the winged helm, his shield and replaced his worn warhammer to its loop. Holding his crossbow at the ready, he made ready to journey onward.


Edit: Albricht has a large sack that can hold all of the treasure, or we can split it up into 23cn worth of encumbrance each, or some other combination.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:53, Tue 24 Mar 2020.

In reply to Albricht Burghammer (msg # 226):

”Albricht? This was an exception. Stow that cursed thing away.”
This message was last edited by the player at 00:56, Thu 26 Mar 2020.

Roak nods. "Aye, hand Biter back to me. I'll give it back to you if you need it, promise. As for the treasure, we split it up amongst the stronger of us. Voran here's too weak."

The party moves back out of the room with the sarcophagi, stopping to look around at the top of the T intersection before going on.

The party moves on toward the west....

Heading toward 17A. If that's a dead-end, search for secret doors.

In reply to Roak The Quick (msg # 228):

Albricht snorted. "You need something else to worry about, Roak."

The oldster gesticulated and gestured upwards. "We need to get back to the City and you're worried about my weapons and some fuzzy-faced, do-nothing, werebears!"

He tossed the bolt to the halfling as he fell into line in their exploration westward.

Roak moves toward the previous limit of the party's limited light, only to find that after about 20 more feet, there is a passage to the left that ends in a door, and that the passage continues forward from that tee-intersection to curve gradually to the right.

Roak points this out to the party and asks Elboc to listen at the door to the south.

Elboc does as requested, listening at the door.

Elboc listens at the door and hears faint movement and light breathing from at least a couple of creatures from beyond the door.  There is no light coming from around or under the door.

Elboc softly mutters the incantation of a sleep spell, hoping to ease the confrontation ahead of them by putting to sleep whoever is through the door.

The spell goes off, although with the door closed, there is no way to determine if it had any effect.  The soft breathing from beyond the door continues.

Albricht put a finger to his lips and motioned for Vsaati to quietly open the door. He motioned to the others to be ready to go!

If the door is opened, Albricht will click off a shot.

Vsaati quietly moves to the door and checks to see if the door is locked. If locked she opens the lock quietly before opening the door as quietly as possible.

14:32, Today: Vsaati rolled 6 using 1d100.  Open Locks (35%)

Roak then opens the door!

The door opens to reveal a room, approximately 40 feet by 60 feet.  There are three large dogs sleeping in a pile against the far wall, 40 feet away, and they make to movement of recognition or wakefulness as Roak opens the door.


This message was last edited by the GM at 14:28, Fri 03 Apr 2020.

Elboc points to the dogs, then mimes to Roak or Vsaati to creep up to them and kill them in their sleep.

Roak nods to Vsaati, drawing his blade. Once he gets acknowledgement from Vsaati that she's ready, he creeps up with the thief and proceeds to kill the dogs as quickly and quietly as he can.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:24, Thu 09 Apr 2020.

Drawing her sword, she returns Roak nod and begins to move slowly towards the dog on the left.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:23, Thu 09 Apr 2020.

Sherborne remains silent and watches the rear.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:23, Thu 09 Apr 2020.

Ablricht held his shot, but kept his crossbow at the ready lest one of the two were unsuccessful in their mutt murdering.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:23, Thu 09 Apr 2020.

Roak and Vsaati make quick work of the sleeping dogs, killing them swiftly and efficiently, with nary a whimper to let their pack mates know that they've died.  The blood flows freely across the stone floor, and there is the momentary feeling that something beautiful has gone out of the world.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:23, Thu 09 Apr 2020.

Shrugging his shoulders at the dogs' fate, Elboc will take a look around the room and see if there's anything worth stealing.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:22, Thu 09 Apr 2020.

Elboc quickly scans the room, but finds nothing of note.  Vsaati and Roak likewise find nothing out of the ordinary, aside from the fact that this room seems to be completely empty of any type of detritus, furniture, or clue as to what its intended purpose might have been.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:22, Thu 09 Apr 2020.

Roak glares at Elboc and steps in front of him, shaking his head vigorously. He pantomimes closing the door.

Vsaati looks back and forth between Elboc and Roak then moves back into the hallway. Whispering, "I'll be over here."

Sherborne continues to keep a watch with an odd feeling of Deja Vu.

Elboc tries to see whether there is anything valuable-looking in the room. Perhaps it's worth a fight with these dogs.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 18:17, Fri 10 Apr 2020.

Lanliss takes his rope and hog-ties the two dogs together by their paws.

Albricht was about to congratulate the success of the magical effect, when he noticed that nobody was going to capitalize on it. He raised his crossbow, lowered it, then raised it again, covering for Elboc who seemed to be looking for something.

Suddenly the crossbow fired, and the tell-tale sparkles of Biter floated lazily in the air as the magical bolt sped towards one of the sleeping dogs!

"Hrrrumph... uh... Ooops."



OOC: Not sure if I need to roll for murderhobo with a magical crossbow bolt vs a magically slept vict- erm... target...

Voran tries to stop Albricht from shooting the sleeping dogs!!!

DM, not sure how you want to handle this.

OOC:
Since Albricht stated that he (the player) intended that this be as the result of an accident, I'll need him to make an attack roll against AC9 and a damage roll, if he hits.

If he does hit, I'll give Elder Voran a chance to jump in front of the bolt, as a save versus dragon breath, and take the damage if successful.

OOC: Sorry if that wasn't clear, my intention was absolutely deliberate. Albricht was conflicted for a moment, but quickly overcame it. The 'oops' was only sarcasm... He's definitely trying to snipe the dogs! But I'm curious to see how this plays out, so I'm happy to roll it!

Crossbow (Biter) Attack, +1 close range: Albricht Burghammer rolled 22 to hit AC-5 for 4 damage!

Also, Albricht gave (a) crossbow bolt to Roak who apparently neglected to check and see if it was indeed Biter... I did this via PM to DM in post #231, the gesticulating was the distraction.

Sorry Voran, but great roleplay!

Lanliss looks up from his ropework as the dwarf levels his crossbow.

"STOP YOU IDIOT!"

Voran still tries to stop Albricht from shooting!!

Entirely up to the DM whether he succeeds or not, of course.

OOC:

quote:

If he does hit, I'll give Elder Voran a chance to jump in front of the bolt, as a save versus dragon breath, and take the damage if successful.

This message was last edited by the GM at 04:47, Tue 14 Apr 2020.

Voran tries in vain, however. The bolt flies toward its target past him.

I tried!
14:21, Today: Elder Voran rolled 9 using 1d20 with rolls of 9.  Save vs. Dragon Breath.

The formerly sleeping dog awakes with a yelp, then immediately disappears.  A moment later, it appears behind Albricht and bites at the armored dwarf, completely failing to penetrate his armor.  It looks both frustrated and deeply prepared to continue this fight.

OOC:

07:33, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 8 using 1d20.  Attack vs. Albricht.
07:33, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 2 using 1d6.  Monters' Initiative.
07:33, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 6 using 1d6.  Players' Initiative.

Whatch' doin' now?

Vsaati laughs and then moves back out of the way. "He's on his own as far as I'm concerned."

Lanliss looks down at his rope that the blink dogs effortlessly escaped from.

"I'll admit...I did not see that coming."

He grabs his rope and quickly exits the room, allowing the dwarf to meet his destiny.

Sherborne continues to watch the rear.  He hears some shuffling but assumes the rest of the group has it in hand.

Elboc draws his sword, ready to strike if attacked.

Voran steps forward, his hands spread wide open without weapons. "Hold. Parley."

Roak steps up and attempts to wrestle the thrice-damned crossbow out of Albricht's hands!
This message was last edited by the player at 19:29, Thu 16 Apr 2020.

"Get back runt, or I'll put one in your gullet!" Albricht barked at Roak as he tried to get off another shot against the strangely disappearing mutt.


Albricht's initiative vs Roak: Albricht Burghammer rolled 1 using 1d6 ((1)) - Crap.

If he wins (probably not), he'll shoot the dog...

OOC:
OK, Roak won the initiative.  No surprise there.  If Albricht is trying to keep him from taking the crossbow away, then I'm going to need both of you to make a straight D20 roll, plus your STR bonux.  If Albricht wins, he will be able to take a shot at the dog with a -2 penalty due to Roak being in his face.

21:08, Yesterday: Roak The Quick rolled 5 using 1d6.  Initiative.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:18, Fri 17 Apr 2020.

"You think these dogs talk? The hell hounds certainly didn't!"
This message was last edited by the player at 14:08, Mon 20 Apr 2020.

Roak gives a less-than mighty yank, sadly.

I hate this dicebot.
23:07, Today: Roak The Quick rolled 5 using 1d20+1 with rolls of 4.  STR check!

"Get off of me you scrawny, too-big-footed, sand slurper!" Albricht snarled at the halfling while wresting his trusty crossbow away from Roak's grasp. In the confusion, the dwarf had lost the dog, but the chomp on his chainmail made him well aware!

The shot was a wild one, and Biter seemed to scatter the little sparkly bits extra liberally as it sped towards its target!


Biter Attack: Albricht Burghammer rolled 17 to hit AC0 for 4 damage.

Albricht Burghammer rolled 17 using 1d20+3.  Crossbow (Biter) Attack, +1 close range, -2 Roak's interference.
Albricht Burghammer rolled 4 using 1d6+3.  Biter damage.

Albricht whirls away from Roak and plugs the teleporting dog again, which responds with a pained yelp.  Biter magically reappears where the aged dwarf can easily reload it when he re-cocks his crossbow.

OOC:
Are any of you other than Roak and Albricht participating in this round?  If so, please post your actions.  If not, please let me know that as well, so that I can go onto their actions.

Vsaati continues to stand back out of the way and watches the show occurring center stage.

Elboc readies himself to attack any dog that blinks near him.

Unable to ignore the sounds anymore, Sherborne glances back but is inclined to stay out of it unless attacked directly.

Voran places himself between the dwarf and the blink dog. "Albricht, stop your attack or we will be forced to attack you back."

The dog which Albricht had been attacking quickly teleports away, reappearing next to its two companions and nipping them hard enough to wake them.  The pair rise from the floor and a fierce growling sound tears its way from their collective throats.

OOC:
07:23, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 2 using 1d6.  Monters' Initiative.
07:23, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 6 using 1d6.  Players' Initiative.

It's your turn again.

Lanliss stays back but keeps his wits about him, knowing these beasts could attack from any direction.

Roak jumps in and tries to wrestle the crossbow away from Albricht again!

Beat a 9, Albricht :-)
19:34, Today: Roak The Quick rolled 9 using 1d20+1 with rolls of 8.  STR check!!

Meanwhile, Voran puts himself between the blink dogs and Albricht, making it very hard for the chaotic dwarf to attack.

"Give it up runt!" Albricht chortled as he easily tore the crossbow from Roak's grasp.

He was about to draw down on the wounded canine, but then it vanished! If that hadn't been bad enough, it then awoke the other two!

"Bones of the Earth!" the dwarf cursed. "NOW LOOK WHAT YE'VE DONE!!!"

The dwarf tried to maneuver away from Roak before pressing off another volley!



STR Check vs Roak: Albricht Burghammer rolled 22 (Natural 20!)
Move: away from Roak if possible...
Attack (Biter) vs Wounded Dog:  Albricht Burghammer rolled 23 CRIT! to hit AC-5 for 14 (2x7) damage!

After Roak fails to wrest the crossbow from the dwarf, Elder Voran again attempts to leap in front of Albricht's shot, this time with near-fatal consequences.  The cleric takes the bolt fully in his chest, far too high and on the left, and immediately crumples, shrieking in pain.

OOC:
12:07, Today: Dungeon Master, on behalf of Elder Voran, rolled 17 using 1d20.  Save vs. Dragon Breath.

The 14 points of damage to to Elder Voran.

Vsaati, Sherborne, and Elboc are still able to act, if you guys care to.  Please let me know, either way.

Elboc looks on bewildered for a moment, then says to Albricht "It looks like you have a clear shot now."

Sherborne runs over to heal Elder.

13:58, Today: Sherborne rolled 4 using 1d6+1.  healing.

"Okay, that's enough," as she notched an arrow and shot it towards Albricht. "You've proved your point. I'm quite positive the next one won't miss." as she walked towards Albricht. "These animals did nothing to harm you, you attacked them in a defenseless state. I can assure you, if you continue to attempt to harm them, you will never be able to turn your back to me again."

Roak draws his sword. "Drop the crossbow now, Albricht, or you're gonna die." He's clearly good and mad now.

The three blink dogs charge the crossbow-wielding Albricht, each tearing onto him in an obvious pack maneuver.  Two of them manage to get their teeth into him.  They take advantage of the confusion produced by the other party members and manage to get another attack in, before teleporting away to the opposite side of the room.

OOC:
07:20, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 15,19,14 using 1d20,1d20,1d20.  Attack vs. Albricht.
07:21, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 4,2 using 1d6,1d6.  Damage to Albricht.

07:22, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 2 using 1d6.  Monters' Initiative.
07:22, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 1 using 1d6.  Players' Initiative.

07:23, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 2,16,4 using 1d20,1d20,1d20.  Attack.
07:23, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 4 using 1d6.  Damage.

A total of 10 damage to Albricht, and now it's the PCs' turn.

"He might die anyway.  It looks like the puppies might see this to the end one way or another", Sherborne adds as he tends to Elder.

"And Good Riddance to him!"

Elboc will stand next to Albricht and try to fend off any attempts at biting him with his shield.

Roak stands back. "Last chance, Albricht. Drop the crossbow, or we let the dogs eat you."

The wily old dwarf laughed heartily at this. "You'll stab me in the back, defenseless, because I took advantage of an opportunity to dispatch a foe? Ye hypocrite! Stay out of this lass if you're not going to help me!"


"You've coveted my Biter since I had it commissioned. You want it for your own, jealous little weasel you are Roak! Take it then! I'll pluck it from your corpse, mark my words!"

With that said, the dwarf tossed the crossbow at Roak and took the chance to arm himself with his magical shield and enchanted mace. Banging them together he slowly backed toward the door, challenged the strange, teleporting, mutts... "Come get me you flea-ridden, out-house-digging, dirty-sock-sniffing, winky-blinky chow hounds!" Of course that insult could have applied to most of the party as well as the odd dog creatures.

Fighting Withdrawal (Basic p.60 - The attacker may follow and continue attacking, but the defender may attack in return.)
Albricht AC-3 w/Shield

All three of the teleporting dogs race forward to attack Albricht, one of them getting in a bite that should have been much more damaging that it was.

OOC:
07:19, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 16,20,11 using 1d20,1d20,1d20.  Attacks
07:19, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 1,1 using 1d6,1d6.  Damage (Nat 20!)

07:19, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 4 using 1d6.  Monters' Initiative.
07:19, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 6 using 1d6.  Players' Initiative.

And it's the PC's turn again.  You guys are going first this round.

Lanliss backs into a corner where he has less chance of being attacked from behind by teleporting dogs.

Vsaati moves aside so that Albricht can exit the room. Smiling as she watches the dogs press their attack. "May the Gods be with them."

Roak sheathes his own blade and moves out of the room.

Voran likewise bows to the dogs and leaves. He stays well away from Albricht.

Since Elder is well enough to move, Sherborne follows the others out as well.

OOC:
Elboc and Albricht, it's up to you guys, it seems.

As the dogs came in for a bite, which was mostly absorbed by Albricht's adapted Kingly armor, the old dwarf gave a backhanded swat with his mace.

Withdrawal attack vs wounded mutt: Albricht Burghammer rolled 15 to hit AC2 for 8 damage.

Contrary to what might have been expected of a dwarf being betrayed by his companions, Albricht laughed maniacally instead of roaring in fury... for the moment that emotion was stayed. It would be unleashed soon enough!

"What'll you all do when the darkling and I kill them all?!?" Albricht howled. "Start getting your apologies ready! You've seen nothing yet!"

With a wild-eyed nod to Elboc (but what such motion from Albricht wasn't wild-eyed?), the old water-finder stopped his retreat, set his sandaled feet and began the famous Burghammer Battle-Blitz!

Bang.   The noise was the essential intro to this maneuver, accomplished by the dwarf clanging his mace on his shield.

Bravado.   "Bring it on soup-sippers!"

Bounce.   Because a little [very little for the heavily armored] buoyant bit of enthusiasm never hurt.

Bash!   The real stones 'n pebbles of the move. Swinging the ol' money-maker.

Block.   Crouching behind a magical shield is common sense, not cowardice... really.

Mace of Bass attack: Albricht Burghammer rolled 5 to h- uh... miss. Uh-Oh! Luck running out?

Wanting to help, but also keen to avoid the dogs' ire, Elboc cast a shield spell on Albricht.

"Heal him," he called over his shoulder to the others.

All three dogs race in to bite at the heavily-armored dwarf, but none manages to get a good opening.  The milling bodies further confuse the old desert-dweller, however, and they get another set of attacks in before blinking away.  One of those manages to find a hole in the crazed demi-human's defenses, and then they're suddenly all of the way across the room.

OOC:
07:15, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 7,4,9 using 1d20,1d20,1d20.  Attack.

07:16, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 5 using 1d6.  Monters' Initiative.
07:16, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 4 using 1d6.  Players' Initiative.

07:16, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 11,7,19 using 1d20,1d20,1d20.  Attack.
07:16, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 4 using 1d6.  Damage to Albricht.

Albricht and Elboc (and anyone else in the party who is taking actions), it's your turn again.

Voran and Roak are out of the fight at this point.

Sherborne watch the back in case something is attracted to the fighting.

Vsaati waits by the door for everyone else to exit the room. Once they leave she closes the door as she exits the room.

Elboc will try to bundle Albricht out of the door and slam it shut.

Just worry about getting Albricht out of the room, Vsaati will close the door.

The wily wandering water-finder, was worked-up while wary and worried of a warping wolfish wipeout!

"Hold me back! Hold me back!" he belowed at Elboc, seeming to strain against the dark-elf's efforts to drag him from the room, but giving surprisingly little resistance, rather he seemed to be moving mostly of his own accord albeit in a blustering and flailing fashion.

He avoided eye-contact with any of the party members save Roak whom a gave a withering glare. Once beyond the portal, he put on a clinic in speed shuffling as he made his way down the hall away from the room.


Retreat! Full movement out of the room and down the hall away from the subterranean blink-kennel.

The group continue their travel out of the door, which is closed by Vsaati, and are starting to feel that they've left the blink dogs behind, when all three of the teleporting canines appear in their midst and again attack Albricht.  All of them fail to get enough of an opening to make any of their bites telling.  No other party members are targeted.

Before they can teleport away again, the party (or just Albricht) have the opportunity to respond.

OOC:
12:26, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 2 using 1d6.  Monters' Initiative.
12:26, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 3 using 1d6.  Players' Initiative.

12:26, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 1,4,17 using 1d20,1d20,1d20.  Attack.

12:29, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 2 using 1d6.  Monters' Initiative.
12:28, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 5 using 1d6.  Players' Initiative.

With a sigh, muttering about how they should have killed the dogs while they slept, Elboc draws his sword and defends the party.

21:34, Today: Elboc Ice Eyes rolled 4 using 1d20 ((4)).

He soon wishes that he hadn't.

Rationalizing very quickly that she is no match for one of these blink dogs, she draws her sword and stays in the corner to the right of the door prepared to defend herself if necessary. "Albricht, it looks as though you have made a bed you will have to sleep in."

Sherborne stays back and watches to see if anything else is attracted to the noise.

Albricht's eyes widened greatly, stretching many of his wrinkles in a way that made him look, for a moment, to have shed a century or two. Such smoothness quickly disappeared however when his brows knit and a low snarl issued from his lips.

"Bloody sands! Take that you pointy-eared goblin-mount!" Being in close proximity to Elboc, it wasn't entirely clear whether it was meant for the dark-elf or the hound...

The water-finder swung his mace once more at the wounded foe and held his shield at the ready while trying to wiggle his way amongst nearby companions!

Mace of Bass (Attack): Albricht Burghammer rolled 13 to hit AC4 for 5 damage.

Voran and Roak hang back, taking no part in Albricht's apparent doom.

The pack, likely due to Elboc's intervention, despite the fact that he didn't injure any of them, is unable to get past Albricht's armor.  Elboc and Albricht are well set up to counter attack.

OOC:
07:11, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 13,10,10 using 1d20,1d20,1d20.  Blink dog attacks vs. Albricht.


07:12, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 4 using 1d6.  Monters' Initiative.
07:12, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 6 using 1d6.  Players' Initiative.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:13, Tue 05 May 2020.

Realising that only he is fighting alongside Albricht, Elboc tries to attack the dogs again and damage them.

15:30, Today: Elboc Ice Eyes rolled 12 using 1d20+2 ((10)).
15:32, Today: Elboc Ice Eyes rolled 6 using 1d8+2 ((4)).

Albricht made another swipe at the most wounded-looking of the pack, but Elboc's involvement seemed to throw the dwarf off as well. With a rather high-pitched squawk, he crouched behind his shield. He began to say something to Elboc, but the words which came out of his mouth surprised him!

"Kad psi padnu nazad, mi se povučemo, kad napadnu, vraćamo uslugu ... ako radimo zajedno, možda ćemo imati šansu!"


Mace of Bass (attack): Albricht Burghammer rolled 8 to hit AC-meh... even the dice-roller is trying to kill me!

At the sound of the words coming out of Albricht's mouth, the pack of teleporting dogs goes wild, biting and snarling, although this translates into only minor additional damage to the swill-mouthed dwarf.  The pack seem to be ignoring Elboc for the moment, although this might be because he hasn't caused them any damage yet.

OOC:
06:58, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 2,13,19 using 1d20,1d20,1d20.  Attack.
07:00, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 1 using 1d6.  Damage.

07:00, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 1 using 1d6.  Monters' Initiative.
07:00, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 5 using 1d6.  Players' Initiative.

"Elboc! This is the second time you've chosen the wrong side! Back away while you still have the chance! You won't get a third reprieve!"

I want this played at Albricht's funeral...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34CZjsEI1yU

The prospects were grim, to retreat was to give these beasts openings that would likely prove fatal. To stay and fight was a battle of attrition which the dwarf was beginning to realize he could not win as it seemed with every swing of his magical mace he was getting nipped by the sharp teeth. The exquisite platemail he wore beneath his desert garb was now perforated in several places, and the blood - dwarven blood, deep crimson and thick like syrup - was leaking through staining the tattered raiment which was barely a loose congregation of sun-bleached threads at best.

The oldster claimed to have been alive when the Great Fires turned forests to the desert sands above. He spoke an ancient dialect of the dwarven tongue that sounded as pure as cracking granite and was nearly forgotten among dwarves today. His claims of having taken naps longer than a human lifespan and to have scuffled with the grandfathers of modern elves. The lines of his face provided evidence as did the deeply tanned skin, the cross-hatch of scars, and the tales and bits of wisdom he was wont to share, solicited or not.

Though the wild look in his eyes was beginning to show the desperation and frustration he felt, the set of his jaw and the grip of his gnarled hands showed that there was still fight in the oldster! He made another swipe at the most wounded of the strange dogs, his only hope being to put one away.

"Taste that cur! Taste the Burghammer wrath! Ha! Hahaha! Hahahahahahaha!"


Mace of Bass (Attack): Albricht Burghammer rolled 14 to hit AC3 for 5 damage.

Elboc to listens Lanlis, then turns to see Albricht fighting to survive. With a flourish he sheathes his sword.

"Sad to say, but this dwarf has more the spirit of an elf than you, striving to destroy these base animals. You have been eager enough to shed chaotic blood, yet you stand idly by while those of lawful blood kill your companions, who have bled at your side for so long to protect you."

An ancient incantation murmurs from his lips, as a glowing arrow forms before him, before hurtling towards the most wounded of the dogs.

"Blink your way away from that," he whispers.

14:12, Today: Elboc Ice Eyes rolled 7 using 1d6+1.  Magic missile damage.