This was the 2nd half of the epic fight. It did not go as expected when I originally envisioned it, but honestly I think it makes for a better game and adventure based upon the way it ended up going.
The paladin really came through in making this happen since his actions singularly changed the actions and reactions of the vrocks and the BBG who finally had come to be seen.
It was almost a TPK, but two characters did remain elusive throughout the fight and they will be pivotal in effacing a rescue for the rest of the group.
Write up to a very epic combat and fighting sequence follows - Enjoy - I know we all did!:
Aleron, deaf and his ears ringing, gathered up the fallen Norris and proceeded to bring his fallen companion back inside the gate. The horse with the broken leg was still screaming. Detheron laid his hands on Guyus and healed him, Draugmor came up to the druid (while still invisible) and announced his presence, Ludwig cast a healing on Gwyn, Thurin was taking stock of the many dead bodies upon the ground, and Mebali was heading towards the gate to help Aleron.
The battlefield was a mess. Draugmor then took Coscles (the Lycos Sun operative still affected by the held spell) arrows, bow, as well as his Lyreth medallion. Thurin took the other held operative’s Lyreth medallion. Aleron tried to let the group know that the orcs which had been patrolling the grounds some 15 minutes or so ago were nowhere to be seen. This caused the group to become concerned. Detheron called out for another Call Lightning spell, Thurin and Mebali came to the cemetery graveyard, looking past where Aleron was commenting that the nearest home had some movement within.
At that point there was a rending sound and the walls of the closest structure split open, revealing four, 14’ tall orcish giants, each armed with a 12’ great axe. There were then three flashes of rainbow light and three sets of 4 crossbow wielding orcs appeared on the next closest 3 buildings. And finally we heard a mighty cry of “GRUMMASH!!” as a horde of orcs came down the nearby street in and clashing of axes and shields, riling themselves up into a fury.
It was at this point that the air above our heads split open and a gap thirty feet long and 20 wide tore through the reality of space, out which floated a wildly dressed mohawked individual, body clad in flapping robes and murder in his eyes. He shouted down, “The cart and its belongings are mine – the rest of the foes are yours to take as you want!” The orcs sprung forward to attack, their cries deafening to the group.
Ludwig called to Freya, blessing the entire party. One of the groups of orcs went first, showering Mebali and Thurin with bolts. The wheelwright went down while Thurin was able to shift into sparrow form and tried to fly away. Coming from the rent in the air were a pair of vulture like humanoids, their bodies trailing black shreds of shadows. They swooped down from the sky at Djohrgahd’s call of, “Get the wagon!”, diving to the broken cart on the ground.
As the vrocks were diving, Guyus the paladin snatched the explosive rod from Gwyn, pressed the button, and burst the wagon into pieces. Gear and boxes went flying. Only about a third of the wagon was still in one piece. Djohrgahd gave forth a horrible scream of anguish as the paladin sneered skyward. Then four more of the orcs fired their crossbows from other parts of the battle. One of them hit the transformed Thurin – spinning the sparrow out of the sky with a bolt in him! Ludwig was also hit, the bolt staggering him, the Halfling tripped and dropped.
One of the closer giant orcs grabbed one of the charging orcs, picked him up, and hurled him over the gate and into Aleron! The orc, spun through the air yelling, “Grummash”, and slammed into the ranger. He tripped backwards and fell over Pisser. The next giant orc threw his armor class to the wind, charged forward, and snagged the wheelwright, picking him up and chucking him into Guyus. Mebali howled as he hit the paladin.
Detheron called to Frey and summoned an Ice Storm, the cyclone of driving sleet and hail slammed into the ground just outside the gate. It barreled into the giant orcs just outside the gate, blinding the area and all within, knocking them to the ground. Orcs charging forward tripped upon hitting the perimeter of the spell and fell over.
Digger charged forward and assaulted the closest orc that was thrown at Aleron, tearing into his chest and slaying it. Pisser struggled to his feet. Aleron also climbed up, glancing at the fallen orc. A few of the orcs did not run into the storm, instead back tracking and running behind the nearest building to try and arrive at the cemetery from another angle.
Four more of the orcs shot at Detheron, only one of them actually hitting him. The druid grimaced but did not fall. The two vrocks diving down activated mirror image, making 3 more of each of them appear. One of them gated in another vrock which also dove at the group. They shimmered the area, cursing the battlefield, overwhelming Ludwig’s Bless and empowering two more negatives on the party.
One of them levitated chunks of the fallen bones and gear, moving it towards the rent in the sky. Another snatched at Guyus, it’s claw slammed into him, and flew him about 30’ in height. The last vrock also levitated more of the fallen gear from the ground and sent it towards the sky.
Mebali struggled to his feet and made to run towards the tarp, flailing by Detheron and Ludwig. Gwyn drew his repeating crossbow, took aim at the giant orc, and held down the trigger. All 6 bolts slammed into the orc but to the dwarf’s chagrin, he did not fall, stagger, or died. Ludwig got to his feet, grabbing Mebali’s failing hand and tried to drag the wheelwright further under the tarp.
At this point Djohrgahd cast Suffocation on Detheron, the spell also affecting Mebali and Ludwig. The air was sucked out of their lungs and the three of them fell over gasp and wheezing. Guyus tried to slam the vrock holding him with Gwyn’s rod, striking the demon, but only popping one of the mirror images; leaving three of the vrocks still over him.
Aleron was being shot by the roof bound orcs, two more bolts streaking towards him, one of them hitting him again. Thurin finished his transformation, polymorphing into a grey ooze and sluicing the bolt out of his body. Four more orcs shot, two more at Detheron and two at Guyus. The druid was struck once and the paladin and his vrock carrier was missed entirely.
The two “held” members of the Lycos Suns from earlier were suddenly able to move as the hold ended. The closest giant orc with all the bolts in him roared, stormed towards Gwyn, and whipped his giant ax the dwarf, slamming him for 20 points of damage. The druid tried to keep crawling, gasping from the suffocation. He pulled out his potion of resuscitation and fumbled about the muddy ground.
Digger raced towards the giant orc, the giant wolverine biting and snarling at his ankles. The giant orc slumped to the side, Digger tearing his throat wide open. One of the held Lycos Suns members drew his sword and backstabbed Gwyn, the short sword slamming into his shoulder and cutting deep. Pisser then whirled on the other Lycos Suns man (Krag) and tried to savage him, failing. Aleron assaulted Krag, not doing much.
The orcs in the street, about a third of them attempted to fight through the driving ice storm, most of them making almost no advance. Another third had come around the back of the nearest building and were stopped at the icy fence, frowning. Another four count of crossbow bolts were shot, peppering around Aleron and Gwyn. Coscles, the back stabbing member of the Lycos Suns was struck by an errant shot and pitched to the side.
The vrocks continued to lift the broken gear towards the rent in the sky while one of them slammed into Gwyn. Luckily the dwarf was missed by every blow. However the 2nd vrock did hit Gwyn twice. Inside the ice storm, one of the giant orcs actually crawled to the edge of the driving sleet, his monstrous head poking free. Mebali continued to gasp for air, crawling across the floor.
Gwyn pulled his scimitar free and leaping into the air hacked and stabbed at the mirror images and actual demonic figures. The Lycos man, Coscles, was caught in the wild swings of Gwyn, struck. He did pop two mirror images from one vrock (leaving a single mirror) and popped the same two from another vrock. From there he raced towards the tarpped area, leaping over the gasping druid.
Mebali slumped down, hitting zero hit points. Djohrgahd then shot Guyus with multiple magic missiles as well as the gasping druid. The paladin was staggering, barely conscious but still holding his sword. He used his sword, twisting himself free, broke the demon’s grip and fell to the top of the wall. Aleron was still being shot by random crossbow wielding orcs, Krag also taking a shot.
Thurin changed himself back into a sparrow and then bee lined for the small window in the mausoleum. One of the giant orcs did crawl out of the ice storm. Aleron was fighting off Krag’s assaults, blocking them easily. As for the other third of the orcs they began climbing up the broken roc, using it as a ladder to scale the cemetery gate.
Detheron crawled to Gwyn, potion vial in his hand, gasping for breath. Digger assaulted the nearest vrock, biting and snarling at their ankles, popping one more mirror image vrock! Coscles struggled to his feet, sword in hand and began stalking towards Gwyn. Aleron slammed at Krag, sword and dagger working. More of the orcs continued crawling across the storm field. Meanwhile orcs nearest the fence started lifting other orcs up, piling them on top of each other – but they slipped and the mass of 5 of them fell down.
A group of orcs took long range shots at Guyus, most of them missing, a few dinged off his armor. The nearest vrock dropped a darkness spell over the paladin and then telekinetically shoved him sideways. He tried to make a jumping leap to save himself, but slumped over and stepped off the wall – dropping 25’ to the ground. He hit with a clang and passed out – hitting zero.
The vrocks them turned their attention on Digger, tearing the dire wolverine badly. The other vrock physically lifted the rest of the cart and began flying it up. The giant orc that had crawled backwards from the storm, climbed the nearest building up to where the first crossbow group was perched.
Gwyn tried to breath air into Detheron, but it failed. Ludwig slumped over and died. Detheron struggled to shapeshift, succeeded, but the suffocation spell continued and he slumped over dead – knocked out. However, he did immediately shift back to human and recovered a large portion of his hit points.
More orcs struggled over the roc, pouring into the cemetery. Draugmor, invisible, ran back towards the tarpped are and made some attempt to remain hidden. A single crossbow bolt did fly towards Aleron, hitting the ranger again. The orcs on top of the building with the giant orc were surprised that the giant orc screamed at them to keep shooting, so they did so – hitting nothing.
Another giant orc did crawl to the edge of the ice storm – inside the cemetery! Krag assaulted Pisser next, the war dog did not get hurt. More orcs swarmed over the roc, reaching the ground. Digger tried to hit the last vrock, failing. Coscles came after Gwyn, the two of them clanging away at each other. Pisser then assaulted Krag, biting and clawing at the warrior. The pile of orcs near the gate failed again, more orcs falling.
Crossbow bolts fell around Digger, nothing hitting the wolverine. The vrocks left levitated the last of the broken gear from the floor and headed towards the rent in the sky. Digger was struck by numerous vrock hits, the wolverine fell over and slumped unconscious.
The giant orc on the roof jumped to the wall, ran along the length. And leapt to the ground also inside the cemetery. Gwyn ignored Coscles’ assault and poured Detheron’s potions down the druid’s throat – waking him up! He hurled the empty vial at the thief, shattering it on his chest.
Djohrgahd made an attempt to dispel the ice storm – but actually failed! Pop, Thurin’s familiar, was an invisible owl, and snatched up his fallen spellbook and succeeded in grabbing it. The closest orc giant orc made a swing, popping one of Pop’s duplicates, but the familiar did escape. Crossbow bolts did fly around the flying Pop – none of them hit!
The giant orc inside the cemetery then stood up, giant axe leading the way, and swung mightily. Pisser was flattened and knocked out, then Krag was crumpled over, axe slamming him in the midsection and he fell over unmoving. More orcs came down the roc and started running into the battlefield.
Coscles, seeing he was overwhelmed by Gwyn, gave a grin and stabbed down at the Halfling, slitting his throat. Coup de grace on Ludwig and the clerical Halfling was permanently dead. Aleron turned his attention to the giant orc that took out Krag and Pisser, sword and dagger working over and over. The two of them traded a dozen blows back and forth, the ranger making a great show of himself until the giant orc hurled his great axe crossways and sent the ranger flying, his armor crumbled and down to the negative hit point, bleeding and dying.
More of the orcs were crawling through the ice storm, making little headway. Two of the vrocks were gone, only one was left. One of the last giant orcs picked up the very dead Norris and hurled him at Coscles! The bard’s body slams into the thief, breaking his neck, the two bodies bouncing off Gwyn. Detheron crawled to his feet, laid his hand on Gwyn and called a fast healing upon the dwarf.
Gwyn knew there was lots of orcs coming, but was feeling a bit alone as most of his companions were either gone or elsewhere. He loaded a bloodfire crossbow bolt into his weapon and shot it at the giant orc, just hitting him. He staggered from the effect of the poison, hurting badly.
Draugmor stayed invisible and hidden, while Djohrgahd finally dispelled Detheron’s ice storm spell. With the ice storm spell gone, more crossbow bolts flew about the battlefield. One of the giant orcs threw one of the regular orcs at the tarp, tearing more than half of it away, revealing Detheron and Gwyn.
Detheron’s Called lightning bolt was finally available, and he charged it, shooting it at the largest batch of orcs outside the fence, frying five of them. Gwyn reaches into Norris’ bag of holding, feels for the rocket, and leaves it there, changing his mind about taking it out and shooting it. Instead, he pushed his back against the mausoleum and readied his scimitar.
Djohrgahd watched Detheron and caused the entire ground to rumble and shake, dropping 15’ down as a localized earthquake shook him. And then the mausoleum fell over, burying the druid and dropping him to zero hit points and knocking him out. And then Djohrgahd left with a satisfied grunt along with the last vrock.
Orcs attacked around the mausoleum en mass, assaulting Gwyn. He dodged and blocked and dashed around. He swung wildly, hitting orcs left and right but getting hit as well. Thurin snuck out of the mausoleum and cast a Charm spell on one of the orcs, calling on him to, “Help, hit and kill the others!”
More orcs swarmed in, including one of the last giant ones. Gwyn was holding his own but being driven further and further back. Thurin ran back and hid again. Then the dwarf was tackled, with two, three, and then more orcs piling on top of him. He slumped down struggling to get to his feet but was unable to and then the dwarf was bashed repeatedly until he slumped over unconscious.
With the last of the visible party members down and Djohrgahd gone with his vrock contingent, Thurin from his hiding place and Draugmor invisible watched as the orcs grabbed each of the party members that were here, dead or alive, and trussed them up. Rudimentary bandaging was applied and then about 40 more orcs came from the depths of Kreladale to help out. Every sword, bow, bolt, scrap of cloth, fallen foe – everything was taken from the battlefield. Each fallen orc, Lycos Suns member, and party member was taken EXCEPT for Guyus – the paladin had fallen outside the city wall. And except for Iohannes, the werewolf had been shot by Detheron’s earlier lightning spell while fleeing across the local rooftops.
With nervous eyes the two elves watched over 70 orcs leave, with carts and travois and just litters of riches, running out of Northgate and loping across the scrublands to the northwest and beyond.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Meet 146, Adv 12, 10/1/11
The party had given lots of thought to their fight with Vanir, Iohannes, and the rest of the Lycos Suns - arranging the place, time, and as many of the protective buffs as possible.
Due to their efforts they seriously trounced the bad guys so much so that they were able to maintain momentum even after the Lycos Suns were striking back. Having a 12th level wizard as the enemy would have normally slaughtered the party however he had been sacrifice wounded earlier by Havic and the party KNEW that the Lycos Suns did not have a cleric at their beck and call - so he would not be a major player.
However, the fight isn't done. And now the group is going to be on the other side of the coin. And it is going to hurt.
Write up follows:
We arrived at Bork Keep as clean and as ready as we were able to. It was only a few minutes before Sir Bork had us escorted in and gave us his thanks as well as the thanks for the entire town of Flat Rock. With over 40% of the townsfolk dead from the ravages of the plague there was some concern as to the going continuation of the locale but Sir Bork felt confident as far as the future was concerned.
There was nothing left in the coffers and precious little to be drummed up as far as reward could be considered, but Sir Bork was able to make a few concessions towards the group (who denied needing any reward). First, Market Square was going to be renamed Havic Square in honor of our dwarven barbarian who died during our attempts to cure the plague. Second, Three Dog Hotel, who had lost its proprietor, Blemarius, was going to be renamed Sundered Chains Hotel and be jointly handled by Blemarius’ widow as well as Sir Bork’s Castellan. And finally, he was willing to award 5 acres of homestead farmlands around Flatrock to each of the surviving members of the Sundered Chains and affiliated adventurers: Guyus, Detheron, Gwyn, Aleron, Thurin, Norris, Mebali, and Ludwig. To the group this was the most exciting result but were unsure if they could accept since no one had any skill with farming.
Sir Bork was more that hopeful that the party would just willingly settle here in Flat Rock as there was much work to do and the promise of lands would entice them to stay. If they did not want to, he would have the land offered to other prospective people (should anyone want to come back north and settle around here), paying the party the rental costs when that time would arrive. The group was very thankful and accepted this as an equitable solution. We also picked up Draugmore, a wild elven king’s thief with a charter from Count Cedric himself and impeccable references.
From there we wanted to leave town as fast as possible, making our way towards Kreladale and our encounter with the Lycos Suns. By noon we were gone and pressed on as fast as we could towards High Mesa. Once there, Detheron transformed into a falcon once again and scouted ahead to give the place a once over. He made 4 passes, doing his best to stay as far over the outpost as possible. He did note that the area with the mausoleums in the middle of Kreladale cemetery had some sort of tenting over them, some oilskinned tarp. There was the butt end of a wagon seen.
In addition, he could count at least 5 figures about, two of which were filling holes (graves) not under the tarp. As for Kreladale itself, the main roads had some orcish figures patrolling the outpost; maybe a dozen. He returned and told us of what he had found. We went over our plan a bit and then decided to press on.
As expected, at 2 PM, a sudden thunderstorm materialized over not only the badlands, but for miles and miles in all directions. The sky grew dark, clouds became dark, and with a crack of thunder, the rain began to fall. Visibility dropped to a thousand feet and the group quickly donned baladranas as soon as possible. After waiting a few minutes the party began firing off spells. Extended call lightning, polymorph self, protections from fire and lightnings, protection from normal missiles, longstrider, even greater magic fang for Digger. It ended with an Invisibility 10’ radius for the party and then we pressed on as fast as we could towards Kreladale.
We came upon the southwest gate where a few minutes observation let us know that the orcs were walking patrol and seemed pretty regular, about 80’ or so apart. At the end of West Road they looked towards the cemetery and made a thumbs up and nod before turning the corner. Ok, the orcs were patrolling for the Lycos Suns.
We broke the party into 3 groups of 4 and spaced ourselves out, invisibly of course, to follow in between the orc patrollers to the end of the block and then to the small road that would lead to the cemetery. Once there we stood silently off the path until all parties were back together. The cemetery had a single guard at the gate, signaling to the rest of the Lycos Suns beyond each time the orcs gave the all clear. The gate itself was closed with a wrap of chain. Was it locked? Someone was going to need to get closer to check.
Aleron volunteered and the ranger relayed back that it was held closed with chain and only a slip of wire bent around itself. But getting it open would alert the guard. What to do next? Our protection spells were slowly passing by as time marched on, the minutes ticking by until they expired. We needed to do something and do it swiftly.
Detheron pointed to the sky and channeled a bolt of lightning from above, calling it down so it struck the gate, frying the guard next to it as well as blowing Aleron back and away. Thurin rattled off a Hold person spell, causing two of the lycos sun to freeze in place. Ludwig sang off a Bless spell. Guyus called his warhorse and mounted up. And three of the party members armed with Lyreth medallions stormed the gate, knocking it open as the lightning scored chain was weakened from the blast.
The guard at the front was slain by the blast and a few of the lycos suns were able to fire arrows at us. One of the slavers used a mirror image spell on themselves and we heard Iohannes under the tarp confirm with Vanir to stay put as he was going to change. A large figure with a two-handed sword tried to stop Guyus but the mounted paladin was undeterred. King went into the cemetery and charged towards the lone archer taking cover along the northern mausoleum. A flaming sphere blossomed into space AT the party, only Detheron avoiding any damage due to his protections. More of the party charged into the cemetery.
Magic missiles flew and Guyus charged at one of the lone warriors, hacking his down as he charged up. Digger tore into the two-handed swordsman, the dire wolverine worrying at the figure. King ripped one of the Lycos Suns apart, beating the archer to death. Another lightning bolt slammed down at Detheron’s call. Our surprise attack on the Lycos Suns caught them ill prepared and the party was carrying the momentum.
Iohannes, in werewolf form, leapt out from under the tarp and assaulted Guyus, his claws ripping into his steed and causing the paladin to send his companion back to the astral plane. A Charm spell shattered against the party. More lightning flew. More magic missiles flew. A female warrior in platemail with a very deadly mace kept trying to smash Guyus to the ground. King charged under the tarp and ripped the female mage there near Vanir to shreds. Vanir cast disintegration on the ape and he burst apart in a spray of green dust.
Iohannes made a HUGE leap, 60’, avoiding Guyus and landing amongst the spellcasters outside the gate. Most everyone who did not have a silver weapon found their equipment weakening with each blow. Mebali and Norris tried to hold Iohannes in place but the werewolf was much too strong for the two of them. Norris was laid low, the half elven bard slain by Iohannes.
Most of the rest of the Lycos Suns were either down or dying. Vanir fired off an Ice Storm which pelted most of the party members still in the open. Another bolt of lightning arced down, tearing the melee site apart. Draugmore attempted to climb on the wagon and proceeded to ride the horse and wagon away. Vanir’s spell he had cast earlier finally went off, and a 225’ wingspan roc appeared, it reached down and grabbed the wagon and horse, attempting to fly away. The enemy mage teleported on top of the roc and made some attempt to flee. Another lightning bolt arced down. The roc was going to escape. Draugmore leapt down to safety.
Iohannes jumped back into the battlefield. Aleron seeing the roc and Vanir was to escape took out Norris’ dwarven rocket and launcher. Oil and a lit candle was tossed down the stone tube and one of the precious rockets followed. The blast the came next was so terrible that it deafened the ranger and streak of fire shot up to the flying Roc and blasted the mighty god-bird apart – 250 hp of damage. It crashed back to the ground, Vanir falling with it – the mage taking 190’ drop like a stone where he hit the ground in a single bone shattering smash.
Iohannes made to flee; Detheron scored another lightning bolt at the escaping werewolf. It howled horribly. He transformed into a falcon, kept pace, and dropped two more bolts from his called lightning down on the werewolf until it failed to move anymore and the battle ended.
Due to their efforts they seriously trounced the bad guys so much so that they were able to maintain momentum even after the Lycos Suns were striking back. Having a 12th level wizard as the enemy would have normally slaughtered the party however he had been sacrifice wounded earlier by Havic and the party KNEW that the Lycos Suns did not have a cleric at their beck and call - so he would not be a major player.
However, the fight isn't done. And now the group is going to be on the other side of the coin. And it is going to hurt.
Write up follows:
We arrived at Bork Keep as clean and as ready as we were able to. It was only a few minutes before Sir Bork had us escorted in and gave us his thanks as well as the thanks for the entire town of Flat Rock. With over 40% of the townsfolk dead from the ravages of the plague there was some concern as to the going continuation of the locale but Sir Bork felt confident as far as the future was concerned.
There was nothing left in the coffers and precious little to be drummed up as far as reward could be considered, but Sir Bork was able to make a few concessions towards the group (who denied needing any reward). First, Market Square was going to be renamed Havic Square in honor of our dwarven barbarian who died during our attempts to cure the plague. Second, Three Dog Hotel, who had lost its proprietor, Blemarius, was going to be renamed Sundered Chains Hotel and be jointly handled by Blemarius’ widow as well as Sir Bork’s Castellan. And finally, he was willing to award 5 acres of homestead farmlands around Flatrock to each of the surviving members of the Sundered Chains and affiliated adventurers: Guyus, Detheron, Gwyn, Aleron, Thurin, Norris, Mebali, and Ludwig. To the group this was the most exciting result but were unsure if they could accept since no one had any skill with farming.
Sir Bork was more that hopeful that the party would just willingly settle here in Flat Rock as there was much work to do and the promise of lands would entice them to stay. If they did not want to, he would have the land offered to other prospective people (should anyone want to come back north and settle around here), paying the party the rental costs when that time would arrive. The group was very thankful and accepted this as an equitable solution. We also picked up Draugmore, a wild elven king’s thief with a charter from Count Cedric himself and impeccable references.
From there we wanted to leave town as fast as possible, making our way towards Kreladale and our encounter with the Lycos Suns. By noon we were gone and pressed on as fast as we could towards High Mesa. Once there, Detheron transformed into a falcon once again and scouted ahead to give the place a once over. He made 4 passes, doing his best to stay as far over the outpost as possible. He did note that the area with the mausoleums in the middle of Kreladale cemetery had some sort of tenting over them, some oilskinned tarp. There was the butt end of a wagon seen.
In addition, he could count at least 5 figures about, two of which were filling holes (graves) not under the tarp. As for Kreladale itself, the main roads had some orcish figures patrolling the outpost; maybe a dozen. He returned and told us of what he had found. We went over our plan a bit and then decided to press on.
As expected, at 2 PM, a sudden thunderstorm materialized over not only the badlands, but for miles and miles in all directions. The sky grew dark, clouds became dark, and with a crack of thunder, the rain began to fall. Visibility dropped to a thousand feet and the group quickly donned baladranas as soon as possible. After waiting a few minutes the party began firing off spells. Extended call lightning, polymorph self, protections from fire and lightnings, protection from normal missiles, longstrider, even greater magic fang for Digger. It ended with an Invisibility 10’ radius for the party and then we pressed on as fast as we could towards Kreladale.
We came upon the southwest gate where a few minutes observation let us know that the orcs were walking patrol and seemed pretty regular, about 80’ or so apart. At the end of West Road they looked towards the cemetery and made a thumbs up and nod before turning the corner. Ok, the orcs were patrolling for the Lycos Suns.
We broke the party into 3 groups of 4 and spaced ourselves out, invisibly of course, to follow in between the orc patrollers to the end of the block and then to the small road that would lead to the cemetery. Once there we stood silently off the path until all parties were back together. The cemetery had a single guard at the gate, signaling to the rest of the Lycos Suns beyond each time the orcs gave the all clear. The gate itself was closed with a wrap of chain. Was it locked? Someone was going to need to get closer to check.
Aleron volunteered and the ranger relayed back that it was held closed with chain and only a slip of wire bent around itself. But getting it open would alert the guard. What to do next? Our protection spells were slowly passing by as time marched on, the minutes ticking by until they expired. We needed to do something and do it swiftly.
Detheron pointed to the sky and channeled a bolt of lightning from above, calling it down so it struck the gate, frying the guard next to it as well as blowing Aleron back and away. Thurin rattled off a Hold person spell, causing two of the lycos sun to freeze in place. Ludwig sang off a Bless spell. Guyus called his warhorse and mounted up. And three of the party members armed with Lyreth medallions stormed the gate, knocking it open as the lightning scored chain was weakened from the blast.
The guard at the front was slain by the blast and a few of the lycos suns were able to fire arrows at us. One of the slavers used a mirror image spell on themselves and we heard Iohannes under the tarp confirm with Vanir to stay put as he was going to change. A large figure with a two-handed sword tried to stop Guyus but the mounted paladin was undeterred. King went into the cemetery and charged towards the lone archer taking cover along the northern mausoleum. A flaming sphere blossomed into space AT the party, only Detheron avoiding any damage due to his protections. More of the party charged into the cemetery.
Magic missiles flew and Guyus charged at one of the lone warriors, hacking his down as he charged up. Digger tore into the two-handed swordsman, the dire wolverine worrying at the figure. King ripped one of the Lycos Suns apart, beating the archer to death. Another lightning bolt slammed down at Detheron’s call. Our surprise attack on the Lycos Suns caught them ill prepared and the party was carrying the momentum.
Iohannes, in werewolf form, leapt out from under the tarp and assaulted Guyus, his claws ripping into his steed and causing the paladin to send his companion back to the astral plane. A Charm spell shattered against the party. More lightning flew. More magic missiles flew. A female warrior in platemail with a very deadly mace kept trying to smash Guyus to the ground. King charged under the tarp and ripped the female mage there near Vanir to shreds. Vanir cast disintegration on the ape and he burst apart in a spray of green dust.
Iohannes made a HUGE leap, 60’, avoiding Guyus and landing amongst the spellcasters outside the gate. Most everyone who did not have a silver weapon found their equipment weakening with each blow. Mebali and Norris tried to hold Iohannes in place but the werewolf was much too strong for the two of them. Norris was laid low, the half elven bard slain by Iohannes.
Most of the rest of the Lycos Suns were either down or dying. Vanir fired off an Ice Storm which pelted most of the party members still in the open. Another bolt of lightning arced down, tearing the melee site apart. Draugmore attempted to climb on the wagon and proceeded to ride the horse and wagon away. Vanir’s spell he had cast earlier finally went off, and a 225’ wingspan roc appeared, it reached down and grabbed the wagon and horse, attempting to fly away. The enemy mage teleported on top of the roc and made some attempt to flee. Another lightning bolt arced down. The roc was going to escape. Draugmore leapt down to safety.
Iohannes jumped back into the battlefield. Aleron seeing the roc and Vanir was to escape took out Norris’ dwarven rocket and launcher. Oil and a lit candle was tossed down the stone tube and one of the precious rockets followed. The blast the came next was so terrible that it deafened the ranger and streak of fire shot up to the flying Roc and blasted the mighty god-bird apart – 250 hp of damage. It crashed back to the ground, Vanir falling with it – the mage taking 190’ drop like a stone where he hit the ground in a single bone shattering smash.
Iohannes made to flee; Detheron scored another lightning bolt at the escaping werewolf. It howled horribly. He transformed into a falcon, kept pace, and dropped two more bolts from his called lightning down on the werewolf until it failed to move anymore and the battle ended.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Meet 145, Adv 12, 9/23/11
The group had decided on which of the two adversaries they were going to go against, opting on Vanir and the Lycos Suns as the target of theri aggression. It was going to be the culmination of 2 plus years in game realization where they would finally take down the guy who was 2nd in command in their original incarceration.
I hesitate to mention this...but Vanir is the 2nd in command. Not the first. That would be Djohrgahd Wolverton. And when he realizes what the group is going to do, the shit will hit the fan.
Write up follows:
As Gwyn explained what happened both Mebali and Thurin looked on with growing concern and disbelief. What was going on? Were the guards coming back? Where is Havic? Mebali offered to go search out the missing barbaric dwarf while Gwyn would stay and watch over the party. Meanwhile Thurin “borrowed” Aleron’s patents of nobility and brought them to his room to forge a copy.
In short order Sheriff Ulric Van Renselyer showed and took over the investigation, questioning Gwyn of what occurred. His inexperience was very obvious in short order and Gwyn tried to paint the Red Clouds and Karis of Melbourne as the villain. Meanwhile party members were waking up slowly, most of them in poor poor condition. Norris wanted to go to Split Beard Tavern as he had to drop off the 11 cures of the plague for the local thieves guild and Lamelon as promised. Gwyn took the bard with him.
It was while at the Split Beard that Norris was asking about Lamelon (finding out he was a custodian at the Lost Wind Orphanage nearby) that Gwyn observed a figure in a grayish cloak paying too much attention to Norris and himself. It was when the man in question tried to duck out the back door that the dwarf dragged Norris outside and had him sit on the side of the building. He then ran to the narrow alley, dove down to a pile of garbage, and took out his crossbow with a “web” arrow at the ready.
As soon as the side door of the Split Beard tavern opened into the refuse littered street, Gwyn let fly, engulfing the grey cloaked figure in sticky strands. They two of them bandied words, Gwyn not letting on that he was the dwarf and stayed hidden, telling the engulfed man to spill his guts. Yes he was from the Lycos Suns and was here on order of Iohannes. There were 4 of them about town, watching inns and taverns for the party, with orders to report to Kreladale immediately as soon as we made any intention of leaving Flatrock.
He did speak of Iohannes inability to be hurt and Vanir’s overwhelming craziness. Gwyn informed him that they should leave the Sundered Chains alone and give the party a wide berth or the next time he would just kill them. Then he gathered up Norris and went off to the Lost Winds to give the antidotes to Lamelon and finishing up his payment to the local guild. From there the two friends headed back.
Meanwhile the rest of the party was waking up, Detheron dropping lesser restorations on the group along the way. Aleron had vomited all over Detheron’s room and was taking his job to clean it up seriously. Detheron went down to check on the “damage” downstairs, but the local sheriff and militia had already taken care of cleaning up any potential clues. Even the body was missing. Coming back upstairs we talked about what to happen next, Gwyn and Norris returning as well.
Detheron took Aleron’s cleaning bucket and settled down to scry on Mebali as he and Havic were both now still missing. It took some time (and hour) but we did get and image of Mebali lying somewhere dark, his head bleeding slightly. On pulling the image back to get a better view of where he was, it was very dark and then we saw a grave near the fence line of the cemetery, a marker of three sticks with a single crossbeam marking the site. Sonovacrap!
What about Havic? The scry showed nothing. With little time left, Detheron changed it over to Karis and saw him on horseback riding in the dark somewhere in the badlands, men riding with him and behind him. And then the scrying pool ended. We needed to find and rescue Mebali.
Some of the party went off to the cemetery where a rusting spell took care of the lock and we snuck in. It was Pisser who found Mebali’s scent and the party used Digger and Pop (polymorphed into a dire wolverine) to dig out the wheelwright and then help tear the coffin cover off. They dragged out the weak and beaten up Mebali (5 painful wounds!) and limped back to the 3 Dog Hotel where he told his tale.
He did not find Havic at first but did run afoul of the Lycos Suns. Their overtures of friendship where long gone and the group of them held him in place while Iohannes took him time beating the wheelwright up. They asked questions, hit him some, and mulled over the answers. He did learn that Havic was dead and according to Iohannes it was at the hands of Vanir. The wizard was badly hurt and resting at this point and the Lycos Suns were on their way out of here and off to Kreladale. They dumped Mebali into a box and shoved him into a shallow grave.
The party thought about it. Where to go? Lycos Suns and Kreladale or Glittercap and Karis? It was decided that Vanir was the threat and the Lycos Suns as well – and if Havic did indeed die and beat the hell out of Vanir, then we should strike now and soon to maximize the barbarian’s efforts. At shortly after 10 we fell asleep with the knowledge that we would have a big day on the morrow.
We awoke, broke our fast, prayed, and then composed a listing of what supplies we would need and would need to get in and about town. Detheron went to Zinthar’s where he gave the eccentric druid the last of our miracle dirt, getting a favor of a two day storm later on. Guyus went to the Tradegoods where he got a large pile of gear we would need, and Norris went off to the taxidermist for esoteric magical supplies we might need as well as components. It was just about 10:30 when we reconvened at the 3 Dog Hotel, split up what gear we had gotten, and were getting ourselves ready for the meeting with Sir Bork at 11 this day.
I hesitate to mention this...but Vanir is the 2nd in command. Not the first. That would be Djohrgahd Wolverton. And when he realizes what the group is going to do, the shit will hit the fan.
Write up follows:
As Gwyn explained what happened both Mebali and Thurin looked on with growing concern and disbelief. What was going on? Were the guards coming back? Where is Havic? Mebali offered to go search out the missing barbaric dwarf while Gwyn would stay and watch over the party. Meanwhile Thurin “borrowed” Aleron’s patents of nobility and brought them to his room to forge a copy.
In short order Sheriff Ulric Van Renselyer showed and took over the investigation, questioning Gwyn of what occurred. His inexperience was very obvious in short order and Gwyn tried to paint the Red Clouds and Karis of Melbourne as the villain. Meanwhile party members were waking up slowly, most of them in poor poor condition. Norris wanted to go to Split Beard Tavern as he had to drop off the 11 cures of the plague for the local thieves guild and Lamelon as promised. Gwyn took the bard with him.
It was while at the Split Beard that Norris was asking about Lamelon (finding out he was a custodian at the Lost Wind Orphanage nearby) that Gwyn observed a figure in a grayish cloak paying too much attention to Norris and himself. It was when the man in question tried to duck out the back door that the dwarf dragged Norris outside and had him sit on the side of the building. He then ran to the narrow alley, dove down to a pile of garbage, and took out his crossbow with a “web” arrow at the ready.
As soon as the side door of the Split Beard tavern opened into the refuse littered street, Gwyn let fly, engulfing the grey cloaked figure in sticky strands. They two of them bandied words, Gwyn not letting on that he was the dwarf and stayed hidden, telling the engulfed man to spill his guts. Yes he was from the Lycos Suns and was here on order of Iohannes. There were 4 of them about town, watching inns and taverns for the party, with orders to report to Kreladale immediately as soon as we made any intention of leaving Flatrock.
He did speak of Iohannes inability to be hurt and Vanir’s overwhelming craziness. Gwyn informed him that they should leave the Sundered Chains alone and give the party a wide berth or the next time he would just kill them. Then he gathered up Norris and went off to the Lost Winds to give the antidotes to Lamelon and finishing up his payment to the local guild. From there the two friends headed back.
Meanwhile the rest of the party was waking up, Detheron dropping lesser restorations on the group along the way. Aleron had vomited all over Detheron’s room and was taking his job to clean it up seriously. Detheron went down to check on the “damage” downstairs, but the local sheriff and militia had already taken care of cleaning up any potential clues. Even the body was missing. Coming back upstairs we talked about what to happen next, Gwyn and Norris returning as well.
Detheron took Aleron’s cleaning bucket and settled down to scry on Mebali as he and Havic were both now still missing. It took some time (and hour) but we did get and image of Mebali lying somewhere dark, his head bleeding slightly. On pulling the image back to get a better view of where he was, it was very dark and then we saw a grave near the fence line of the cemetery, a marker of three sticks with a single crossbeam marking the site. Sonovacrap!
What about Havic? The scry showed nothing. With little time left, Detheron changed it over to Karis and saw him on horseback riding in the dark somewhere in the badlands, men riding with him and behind him. And then the scrying pool ended. We needed to find and rescue Mebali.
Some of the party went off to the cemetery where a rusting spell took care of the lock and we snuck in. It was Pisser who found Mebali’s scent and the party used Digger and Pop (polymorphed into a dire wolverine) to dig out the wheelwright and then help tear the coffin cover off. They dragged out the weak and beaten up Mebali (5 painful wounds!) and limped back to the 3 Dog Hotel where he told his tale.
He did not find Havic at first but did run afoul of the Lycos Suns. Their overtures of friendship where long gone and the group of them held him in place while Iohannes took him time beating the wheelwright up. They asked questions, hit him some, and mulled over the answers. He did learn that Havic was dead and according to Iohannes it was at the hands of Vanir. The wizard was badly hurt and resting at this point and the Lycos Suns were on their way out of here and off to Kreladale. They dumped Mebali into a box and shoved him into a shallow grave.
The party thought about it. Where to go? Lycos Suns and Kreladale or Glittercap and Karis? It was decided that Vanir was the threat and the Lycos Suns as well – and if Havic did indeed die and beat the hell out of Vanir, then we should strike now and soon to maximize the barbarian’s efforts. At shortly after 10 we fell asleep with the knowledge that we would have a big day on the morrow.
We awoke, broke our fast, prayed, and then composed a listing of what supplies we would need and would need to get in and about town. Detheron went to Zinthar’s where he gave the eccentric druid the last of our miracle dirt, getting a favor of a two day storm later on. Guyus went to the Tradegoods where he got a large pile of gear we would need, and Norris went off to the taxidermist for esoteric magical supplies we might need as well as components. It was just about 10:30 when we reconvened at the 3 Dog Hotel, split up what gear we had gotten, and were getting ourselves ready for the meeting with Sir Bork at 11 this day.
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