Khorth looked in the room but didn't see anything to interest him "There is nooothing here, Darkscale"

I'm sure there is something, but with that roll... nothing for him lol

Today: Khorth rolled 7 using 1d20+2 with rolls of 5.  perception.

The group split up to manage both winches in hope of raising the gates while Khorth investigated the new rooms.


The others worked in concert to time the turning of their winches. They had their timing down, and Gundren was able to help call it out through the murder slits, to help everyone stay on the same count. The winches went from incredibly taught to suddenly almost loose as you heard a griding followed by a crash.

Gundren spoke, "It looks like the portcullis was knocked off its center, wedging itself at an angle. That explains why our efforts to lift it yielded nothing. Try it again. It might actually be easier now."

Matching their timing once more, the two groups put the winches to use once again. It did take some effort when the mechanisms engaged the weight, but they actually had been designed to help counter-balance one another, and soon the use of the winches became almost easy, and the large iron portcullis lifted. The crowd gathered at the gate clapped and cheered as the gate was raised, and Gundren's brothers helped to organize and gather the crew, and lead them inside.

Your blood flowed with a chill, your bones lightly vibrating, as a shrill scream echoed throughout the keep.

"Well....someone isn't happy we're making ourselves at home..."
Ariadne quickly made her way back to the others, looking around for trouble

"Was that a banshee ?" She looked all around for the source of that cold scream.

Akyra smiled at the effort of the portcullis, but once the scream happened, she lost her smile. She looked at Gundren. "Tell the group to meet in the room Leading out - i will get Khorth."

She moved Through the door to Khorth. "Come...we have disturbed who is home."

She leads him west into the large room with the double doors, waiting for everyone. She looks at Gundren. "I want you to wait here and keep everyone out until we clear this place - i don't want anyone stumbling upon undead in here."

She looked at the group she trusted so well. "We search - room by room and make sure there is no danger....and there is. We see the Banshee, let me deal with her. Only attack when i signal."

She looked at her hands, then the group again. "I can silence her screams, but it will silence all within 20 feet of her so be warned - you want to use magic against her, you have to be out of that area. I can also protect a person against undead, but only one."

The party regrouped and gathered together in the large room, as Akyra sent Gundren off to stay with the miners. Brillik spoke up, "I'll stay with them. Just in case."

Akyra proposed a plan for searching the ruined fortress, clearing it of undead, and and a proposal for how to deal with the Banshee as well.

Ariadne nodded to Akyra and readied her bow.
"Lead on, my friend.  We'll follow your lead."

"I am glad you have a method for the Banshee, that I admit had my concern."

Lady Chlora nodded to the level headed Dragonborn.

The druid looked around, with a shrug
"Shall we start with the eastern door, or does anyone have other ideas?"

"Fine by me." opens that door.

Khorth was deep in thought looking at the dirt tunnels, putting his clawed fingers on the grooves found on the walls and ceilings of the low tunnels, when Akyra came to fetch him. "Noooo beasts oooof the Mother made thoooose tunnels, Darkscales. I think we wooould be leaving predatoooors in ooour back if we doooon't exterminate them first."

He nonetheless followed the cleric and drew his sword as the banshee wailed.

Akyra listened to the girls, but when Khorth spoke, she nodded, trusting his judgement. "We start in the east room we came through and Khorth has explored. Once clear we will come back here and fan out from this room, spreading out - our priority is keeping this point clear and safe."

She looked at Brillik. "You are to guard those outside with Gundren. You hold that door. If the weather gets bad, bring them in here and hold this roo, and entrance. until we clear the rooms surounding it."

With that she made her way east to where Khorth had seen the markings.

Having agreed to start in the east, the group pushed onward through the eastern door. Khorth pointed out a small tunnel that had been carved into the hallway just to your north. Here in the eastern area you see the after-effects of one of the events that helped to seal Axeholm off from the rest of the world. Some years ago an earthquake had struck, triggering a portion of ceiling to collapse. A natural pathway remains for you to move further south if you wish, though it curves back around to the west not too far in. The eastern portion of this room, and the paths within it are strewn with debris from the earthquake, making it difficult to pass through (difficult terrain, moved costs double).

The path also branched to the north, but it took only a moment to find that whatever else may have been there before, if anything, had been entirely filled in and/or destroyed by the effects of the earthquake.

Khorth found that the further he pushed down the southern hallway, the more potent the stench of death became.

Zhalis peeked through an already opened door to the south, and found it to be completely empty. The walls were slightly damaged by the earthquake, but not by much. Whatever may have been in here before, it seems the dwarves who fled Axeholm took all of its contents with them when they left, and even the dust on the floor shows no indication that it has been disturbed by so much as a rodent or insect, in years.

Khorth has investigated the small tunnel in the northern hallway (north of Zhalis), but not fully explored it. The area that Ariadne is in is the one that is totally collapsed. The room near Zhalis is empty. The tunnel Khorth is currently in is the only new path you've not yet taken on the eastern side.

Ariadne left the tunnel she'd been examining, shaking her head and relaying the information about the collapse.

Akyra, with rte others searching the areas they found, backtracked to the small passage, Khorth said he briefly looked at. It was a squeeze, but the dragonborn made her way in enough to determine there was nothing there.

"Nothing....it leads to the floor we were on before." She said, dusting off her armor.

Khorth moved forward in the southern passage, still getting used to the strange vision the googles gave him, shield in front of him.

With other options found to lead to nothing, the group followed Khorth down the path to the south. Debris crunched under foot with every step, and the group was careful not to disturb any of the more solid debris that makes up your "ceiling" and walls. The stench of death grew with every step, but there weren't all that many steps required before you found a larger opening and then a room.

Khorth barely had time to take note of the moving shadows before a rotting dwarven corpse was there and trying to claw his face off, with more of the dwarven ghouls piling in behind the first. Luckily, the ghoul's claws raked across Khorth's shield and nothing more, but they clearly weren't going to settle for that...

20:54, Today: Psynister rolled 7,7 using d20+4,2d4+2.  Claw, Con DC 10 vs Paralyze. – 7,7

Khorth and Akyra can see three ghouls from their position. Chlora and Ariadne can see two from their position, and Zhalis sees only one.

Picture this, but with beards:



Ghouls act on Initiative 12.

There is room for 4 of you to move through Khorth's square to one of the spaces adjacent to him. Ranged attacks will be difficult to land with small spaces and lots of allies standing in your way.


This message was last edited by the GM at 02:17, Mon 03 Apr 2023.

Ariadne's eyes went wide with alarm and disgust, and she acted quickly.  She was hesitant to use her bow in such tight quarters, but she did what she could to help her friends, and cast a druidic incantation to illuminate their enemies

OOC: 21:21, Today: Ariadne Greenthorn rolled 18 using 1d20+3.  initiative.

Cast Faerie Fire on the ghouls

Khorth every instincts born of his association with a nature deity reacted to the sight of undead dwarves and he roared as he struck true, the tooth blade shining white as he channeled some of his energy in the blade.


Initiative 12

Rapier strike on the first ghoul,24 to hit for 14 magical damage + 17 radiant from a smite, total of 31. Apparently that was his last spell slot according to my sheet!


Today: Khorth rolled 17 using 3d8 with rolls of 3,7,7.  smite. – 17

17:32, Today: Khorth rolled 12 using 1d20+3 with rolls of 9.  initiative. – 12

17:31, Today: Khorth rolled 24,14 using 1d20+6,1d8+6 with rolls of 18,8.  rapier attack+damage.

She could see two and it was enough from her position. She hissed and fired a blob of acid.




16:14, Today: Lady Chlora rolled 5 using 1d20+2.  Initiative .


Acid Splash Cantrip
The two need to make a Dex saving throw or take

16:17, Today: Lady Chlora rolled 6 using 1d6.  Acid Damage.

Akyra felt the stench of undeath even as they came up to Khorth. With her staff in hand, her eyes started with crackling energy as she held her hand out. A bolt of electrical energy cascaded down her arm and shot out at he closest zombie.

---

<OOC: Action - casts lightning blast

Akyra Clethtinthiallor rolled 15 using 1d20+6.  Attack - lightning blast.
Akyra Clethtinthiallor rolled 8 using 1d10.  Damage - lightning blast.

Bonus Action - None>

Ariadne reached into the fey realm and lit up the room where the ghouls had come from, with the glowing fires of the faerie realms. It made seeing them, and fighting them, easier and more effective. As the flames danced around, producing no heat, those near the front of the line who could see into the room were able to tell that there were more sources of light than only these three... (4 failed saves, 2 successes)
12:59, Today: Psynister rolled 4,18,10,7,9,18 using d20+2,d20+2,d20+2,d20+2,d20+2,d20+2.  Dex Saves .

Khorth roared as he struck true, the tooth blade shining white as he channeled some of his energy in the blade. The ghoul hissed as the blade pierced its chest, then what was left of its face took on an expression of pained shock as a green-white energy flowed into the blade and then ripped through the creature's body, consuming all of its flesh in a flash. (Ghoul 1 is destroyed)

Ghoul 1 was nothing more than a pile of ash and bits of bone.

Ghoul 2 slid into the room to replace its fallen companion and raked at Khorth with its claws. Khorth's shield and scales kept him safe, but as he got a look at the claws, he could see all the flesh had been ripped from its fingertips. (miss)
13:08, Today: Psynister rolled 10,9 using d20+4,2d4+2.  Claw, Con DC 10 vs Paralyze.

Ghoul 3 followed the lead of its predecessor, sliding into the narrow space and raking at Khorth with its claws. This one caught the paladin solidly across his chest, raking into the scales. Khorth felt a cold and deadly pulse enter the wound, and fought to resist whatever the effect was. (Khorth takes 8 damage, and must make a Con DC 10 or become paralyzed for 10 rounds)
13:08, Today: Psynister rolled 19,8 using d20+4,2d4+2.  Claw, Con DC 10 vs Paralyze. 

Ghoul 4 rushed in as well, taking advantage of the opening cause by the previous ghoul's attack to try to bite at Khorth's shield-arm. (attack will miss if Khorth passes his above save, otherwise he'll take 8 points of damage)
13:09, Today: Psynister rolled 7,8,19 using d20+2,2d6+2,d20+2.  Bite.

Ghoul 5 and Ghoul 6 rushed into the room as best they could, trying to fill all of the empty spaces to reach out and touch flesh. For the moment, there was not enough room to further surround Khorth, or reach the others.

Akyra fired a blast of lightning energy at the nearest ghoul, burning a spidering pattern into the grey creature's putrid flesh. (Ghoul 2 takes 8 damage)

Zhalis cursed the situation, as well as one of the ghouls, before sending a blast of her own. It flew just behind Khorth's head, and slammed into the face of the ghoul who now occupied the doorway. (Ghoul 3 takes 16 damage)
13:20, Today: Psynister, on behalf of Zhalis, rolled 21,11,5 using d20+5,d10+3,d6.  Eldritch Blast  Hex.

Lady Chlora threw a blob of acid into the mix. The ghoul's erratic movements saved it from taking the acid damage directly, but as its claws pierced the blob, the acid spilled out onto the ghoul standing next to it. (Ghoul 2 resists the spell, Ghoul 3 takes 6 damage)
13:23, Today: Psynister, on behalf of Zhalis, rolled 15,12 using d20+2,d20+2.  Dex Saves

Round 2!

Ariadne has her bow out, but the paralyzing touch of the foul undead was something she didn't want to take any chances with.  She cast another druidic enchantment, causing fiery moonlight to come from the ceiling, filling a five foot cylinder amidst the group of ghouls before Khorth.

OOC:
17:53, Today: Ariadne Greenthorn rolled 15 using 2d10.  Moon beam damage.
Con save for half damage
Centered on Ghouls 2,3, and 4

 

The paladin watched with satisfaction the ghoul disintegrate, unable to resist the power of the Mother, as he blocked an attack. But another undead went through his guard and slashed him badly, and he started to feel the insidious poison making him sluggish. Roaring again, even louder, he dipped in his innermost strength and shrugged off the poison... his huntsmates depended on him and he would not let them down.

Con Save, 9, using my inspiration to raise it to a minimum of 10

Rapier attack on ghoul 3, 23 to hit for 14 magical damage.

Today: Khorth rolled 9,23,14 using 1d20+4,1d20+6,1d8+6 with rolls of 5,17,8.  con save, rapier attack. –

Akyra see's the wounds inflicted on her teammates, and with the staff in one hand, touches Khorth's shoulder with the other.

---

<OOC: Action - Cast cure wounds (2nd level) on Khorth using 2 charges from the staff of healing

Akyra Clethtinthiallor rolled 12 using 2d8+3.  cure wounds - 2nd level (Staff).

Khorth heals 12hp

Bonus Action - None>