Beneath Dourstone Mine

[Duniagdra]

Marcus allows his friends room to back out of the space. He's won't attack until he has clear line of attack.

[patransom]

Round 13 Continues

Cyrius and Prost immediately yell out to alert the rest of the party to the situation. Filge, therefore, blindly directs his spectral hand to attack where he believes the beast to be. He guesses right and chills the giant boar a bit [6 hp damage to the boar, but Fort save succeeded]. The skeletons continue to guard the passageway, not advancing into the fog.

After calling out about the boar, Prost stabs it with his rapier, managing to find a good target in the fog. Unfortunately, the creature seems well aware of his location, so he doesn't take it by surprise [no sneak attack damage, but still 5 hp to the boar]. He then attempts to tumble between the creature's legs to get beside it, but he is not agile enough to succeed. The boar blocks Prost's maneuver, but misses an opportunity to gore him [you had to move through the creature's square to reach 1212 because of the corner, which raises the tumble DC by 5; even without that you failed the check, but trying to go through his square means you don't get to move; at least he missed on the AoO].

Tex tries to arc a shot into the boar, but his arrow disappears harmlessly into the fog. Then he backs up to give everyone room to get out of the fog, complaining about the spell as he goes.

Marcus waits where he is, trying to provide his allies room to retreat.

Lola explains that everyone seemed to agree on the strategy with the fog earlier, then mutters to herself, possibly about the difficulty of explaining how spells work to certain dwarves. She also advises everyone to move back. When no one does, she switches from sword to crossbow.

After confirming that Prost isn't joking around about the boar, Cyrius thrusts at the beast with his psychic weapon and stabs it solidly [15 hp to the boar]. He then recharges his mind blade with extra power.

Round 14 Begins

The boar is particularly angry with Cyrius after that significant stab. It tries to gore him, but can't get through Cyrius' chain shirt.

[ae]Bless (everyone, +1 attack and saves vs fear): 2.1 min left
Fog Cloud (20% miss chance within 5 feet, 50% farther away): 39.7 min left

Round 14 Continues
Filge: false life (7 temp HP) 58.2 min left, mage armor 238.1 min left, spectral hand (2 hp) 3.6 min left, chill touch 2 left
Filge's commanded skeletons (S4, S7, S8)
Evan Prost: antitoxin 58.2 min left, darkvision 178.1 min left
Texudus TreeBender
Marcus Tilsworth: mage armor 238.2 min left, antitoxin 58.1 min left, 3 hp damage
Lola: shield of faith 2.1 min left
Cyrius of the Sudden Blade: sunrod ~5 hours left
Round 14 Begins
Tiefling (T1): uninjured, location unknown
Beast (B): 26 hp damage[/ae]

[Duniagdra]

Still having no clean shot with a ranged attack, and the boar too far for anything else, Marcus steps to a side to allow his allies to back up. [talk]I agree. Let this thing come further out and we can all team up on it.[/talk]

[JPetherick]

[talk]It looks like we'll have to either move ahead blindly through that fog, or find a way around,[/talk] says the human necromancer.

Filge tries again to injure the beast, hoping to be successful once again.

OUT OF CHARACTER

[dice]0[/dice] Miss chance: [dice]1[/dice] Damage (+1 Str damage, Will DC 16 to negate) [dice]2[/dice]

 

[smeltdm]

Prost agrees with Marcus and decides make a tactical retreat to 1216. Prost dives and tumbles away as he yells back to Marcus [yell]I'm coming out![/yell]

OUT OF CHARACTER

I'm not sure if I should roll one or two. So here is two. 1st: [dice]0[/dice] 2nd: [dice]1[/dice]

 

[tdsprouse]

Tex moves to 1319, and though its a tough shot, he can still see part of the big boar, so he takes his shot.

Atk - Bless, PBS, DA
[dice=totalonly]0[/dice]

Dam
[dice=totalonly]1[/dice]

miss%
[dice=totalonly]2[/dice]


[ooc]I did not know that about the (D) on the spell, for some reason i thought that meant dispelable. Glad you pointed that out.[/ooc]

[CGM3]

Following the lead of the others, Cyrius shifts to full defensive mode (+4 AC for a total of 24, but no attack) and moves to 1116.

[patransom]

[ooc]Waiting on Lola[/ooc]

[patransom]

Round 14 Continues

“It looks like we'll have to either move ahead blindly through that fog, or find a way around,” says Filge. In spite of his concerns, he continues to prove quite good at guessing blindly and chills the boar again [6 hp damage, but save made]. Filge's skeletons continue to guard the hallway.

Prost decides make a tactical retreat, diving and tumbling away as he yells back to Marcus I'm coming out! He manages to avoid any parting shots from the boar.

Tex backs up. Leaning around a pillar, he still has a line at where he thinks the boar is, so he takes a shot. Rather amazingly, his arrow finds its mark. The beast screams out in pain, but stubbornly refuses to die.

Still having no clean shot with a ranged attack, and the boar too far for anything else, Marcus steps to a side to allow his allies to back up. “I agree. Let this thing come further out and we can all team up on it.”

Lola stubbornly does nothing.

Following the lead of the others, Cyrius shifts to full defensive mode and backs out of the fog. In spite of his best defense, the beast manages to gore him as he goes [15 hp damage, but the potential critical did not confirm].

Round 15 Begins

The boar moves angrily forward, where it is met by the skeletons. With silent effectiveness, the first skeleton bashes the creature with its mace. From beyond the fog, the party hears a great thud and the boar's bellowing ceases with a gurgle.

OUT OF CHARACTER

We can move out of combat mode now, unless you guys want to pursue the tiefling immediately. For expedience, I've expanded the map to show the whole "cathedral" area, although you have not yet brought your light quite far enough to see all of it.

 

ACTIVE EFFECTS

Bless (everyone, +1 attack and saves vs fear): 2 min left Fog Cloud (20% miss chance within 5 feet, 50% farther away): 39.6 min left Filge: false life (7 temp HP) 58.1 min left, mage armor 238 min left, spectral hand (2 hp) 3.5 min left, chill touch 1 left Filge's commanded skeletons (S4, S7, S8) Evan Prost: antitoxin 58.1 min left, darkvision 178 min left Texudus TreeBender Marcus Tilsworth: mage armor 238.1 min left, antitoxin 58 min left, 3 hp damage Lola: shield of faith 2 min left Cyrius of the Sudden Blade: sunrod ~5 hours left, 15 hp damage

[Duniagdra]

[talk]Seems your skeletons proved too much for the boar Filge?[/talk] Marcus addresses everyone. [talk]Do we give chase or do we wait for the fight to come to us? I say we go. This way we don't get overwhelmed with too many different opponents. Keep the numbers down to a manageable number.[/talk]

[CGM3]

[talk]If the pit's gone and somebody will patch me up, I'm game to carry the fight to them,[/talk] Cyrius concurs.

[tdsprouse]

[talk]I say we investigate where we are, verify that this area is clear at least, before we run off down the hall. Its going to be a while before the fog is gone anyway. But we can go forward, lets not just forget to investigate on the way out.[/talk]

[smeltdm]

[talk]We should search the main chamber before moving forward into any of the obvious doors[/talk] Prost goes on to comment[talk]I recommend we start from my current position working east along the wall and up the stairs and around to the south position[/talk]

[ooc]It looks to me as if the stairs progress clockwise from the twelve o’clock position to a high point six o’clock.[/ooc]

[JPetherick]

[talk]Stand and guard,[/talk] Filge instructs his skeletons. Once he is satisfied with their position, the necromancer turns to his companions.

[talk]I will leave them there to guard our backs. We should check the trapdoor right here, too. At the very least, secure it so that nothing or no one can catch us between them.[/talk]

[Duniagdra]

[talk]If the skeletons are covering the passage, then maybe we could have a quick look around. I am curious about why there is a trap door here.[/talk]

[CGM3]

While the rest of the party is looking around, Cyrius will remain where he is in case another foe emerges from the fog.

[Duniagdra]

Marcus remains with the skeletons and Cyrius even though he would like to look around. He does not like leaving a known threat unguarded.

[smeltdm]

[talk]Ok, so its door number one then[/talk] Prost then moves to 1017 and starts checking the wall around the trap door for traps [talk]Now why would someone put a wall around a trap door ...[/talk], moving clockwise till he comes to 0919. Once there Prost then checks the trap door for traps and lisening at 1019, 1018, 1118 & 1119.

OUT OF CHARACTER

1017 [dice=totalonly]0[/dice], 1117 [dice=totalonly]1[/dice], 1217[dice=totalonly]2[/dice], 1218[dice=totalonly]3[/dice], 1219[dice=totalonly]4[/dice], 1220[dice=totalonly]5[/dice], 1120[dice=totalonly]6[/dice], 1020[dice=totalonly]7[/dice], 0920[dice=totalonly]8[/dice], 0919[dice=totalonly]9[/dice], 1019[dice=totalonly]10[/dice], 1018[dice=totalonly]11[/dice], 1118[dice=totalonly]12[/dice], & 1119[dice=totalonly]13[/dice],

 

[patransom]

With the immediate pressure of combat gone, the party takes a minute to survey the large chamber and quickly come to the conclusion that it is some sort of Ancient Dark Cathedral. To the east the black marble chamber opens into a vast domed hall. In stark contrast to the rough mine passages above, this place bears the mark of an expert artisan. The black, marble tile floor glistens in the light of Cyrius' sunrod, while elaborate, carefully worked marble pillars and arches sweep over the chamber. Toward the back of the chamber, opposite the entrance from the mines, is a large pool of dark liquid. A stairway carved into the curved wall around the pool ascends to a platform thirty feet above the pool. The chamber’s domed ceiling arches to a height of sixty feet over the pool’s surface (going up clockwise from the northwest corner of the circle to the south end, as suggested by smeltdm). The contents of the pool itself are dark and viscous, and exude an aura of uncomfortable cold.

A small wooden shack, which looks likes a recent addition, occupies the middle of the "entryway" portion of the Dark Cathedral. It shelters a trapdoor in the floor, which also appears to be a recent addition. Prost's search around the trapdoor and shack finds nothing unusual and confirms that the trapdoor is locked, as previously observed. The single marble door to the south is unmarked and, like the trapdoor, locked.

The double doors to the north, where all the fighting just took place, are flanked by a pair of crimson banners. These bear the same symbol as displayed on the dead tiefling's tabards:

inanna.jpg

The marble walls of the Dark Cathedral are marked with various etchings, carved into the walls at odd and inhuman angles. The same etchings are repeated over and over and include writings in unfamiliar languages, along with a strange symbol. The symbol with the triangle and sixes is obviously a recent addition, whereas the writings are ancient.

etchings3.jpg

OUT OF CHARACTER

I didn't bother moving anyone on the map because I'm lazy. Just repeating it here so you remember the layout of the room

 

ACTIVE EFFECTS

Bless (everyone, +1 attack and saves vs fear): 1 min left Fog Cloud (20% miss chance within 5 feet, 50% farther away): 38.6 min left Filge: false life (7 temp HP) 57.1 min left, mage armor 237 min left, spectral hand (2 hp) 2.5 min left, chill touch 1 left Filge's commanded skeletons (S4, S7, S8) Evan Prost: antitoxin 57.1 min left, darkvision 177 min left Texudus TreeBender Marcus Tilsworth: mage armor 237.1 min left, antitoxin 57 min left, 3 hp damage Lola: shield of faith 1 min left Cyrius of the Sudden Blade: sunrod ~5 hours left, 15 hp damage

[tdsprouse]

[talk]Marcus, or someone, can you get a rubbing of these inscriptions? Could be helpful later if we can translate them. Other than that, the fog should be lifting soon, we should be ready.[/talk]

[smeltdm]

[talk]Ok it’s not trapped. Should I try to open it or go for the door to the south?[/talk] Prost question is only rhetorical as he begins to attempt opening the trap door.

OUT OF CHARACTER

Open lock: [dice]0[/dice]

 

[JPetherick]

[talk]I can read some of it - a part of it, anyway. Most of it is gibberish, at least to me. Bu that part there I can read since it's written in Abyssal,[/talk] states Filge as he points to a section of the inscription. [talk]It says:[/talk]

[talk]Ahmon-Ibor, o’ friend and companion of the night, thou who rejoicest in the baying of dogs and spilt blood, who wanderest in the midst of shades among the tombs, who longest for blood and bringest terror to mortals, look favorably on our sacrifices.[/talk]

The human necromancer waits for his companions to say anything. [talk]That sounds like the tieflings are demon-worshippers. Do you agree?[/talk]

[Duniagdra]

[talk]Leaves little room to guess anything else. Unfortunate, I have nothing to copy that onto.[/talk]

[patransom]

The human necromancer waits for his companions to say anything. [talk]That sounds like the tieflings are demon-worshippers. Do you agree?[/talk]

[ooc]Actually, Filge should make a couple of Knowledge: Religion checks...[/ooc]

[patransom]

[ooc]Knowledge: Local and Knowledge: Planes checks could also be useful here, for anyone who happens to have those skills.[/ooc]

[smeltdm]

While working on the locked trap door, Prost is wondering about the three six’s. They just seem familiar for some reason.

THINKING: Six,six, six....six, six, six

OUT OF CHARACTER

[dice]0[/dice]

 

[kabkal]

Lola appears to have come back to reality. She looks around and then helps with the search of the area.

[ooc]Sorry about the absence, school and work just took over for a bit. Should be good now.[/ooc]

[JPetherick]

Filge thinks back to his studies as an apprentice, trying to recall anything that may be of use.

OUT OF CHARACTER

Knowledge: Local [dice]0[/dice] Knowledge: Planes [dice]1[/dice] Knowledge: Religion [dice]2[/dice] And, repeat on the Knowledge: Religion [dice]3[/dice]

 

[patransom]

Prost's attempt to pick the lock on the trapdoor fails. However, both he and Filge remember some things related to the carvings on the walls (PMs have been sent).

[ae]Bless (everyone, +1 attack and saves vs fear): 0.9 min left
Fog Cloud (20% miss chance within 5 feet, 50% farther away): 38.5 min left

Filge: false life (7 temp HP) 57 min left, mage armor 236.9 min left, spectral hand (2 hp) 2.4 min left, chill touch 1 left
Filge's commanded skeletons (S4, S7, S8)
Evan Prost: antitoxin 57 min left, darkvision 176.9 min left
Texudus TreeBender
Marcus Tilsworth: mage armor 237 min left, antitoxin 56.9 min left, 3 hp damage
Lola: shield of faith 0.9 min left
Cyrius of the Sudden Blade: sunrod ~5 hours left, 15 hp damage[/ae]

[smeltdm]

Prost curses some forgotten god as his attempt to open the lock fails. He can then be heard commenting as he makes another attempt at opening the lock... [talk]You know, I can vaguely remember hearing something about those triangular symbols. It is only spoken of in whispers throughout the region but, it seems the triangular symbol with the sixes belongs to an evil cult called "The Triad of Sixes."[/talk]

OUT OF CHARACTER

Open lock: [dice]0[/dice]